Nearly 700,000 youths left for foreign employment in 11 months

KATHMANDU: A total of 72,861 youths left for foreign employment in the 11th month of the current fiscal year (mid-May to mid-June).

According to the latest data from the Department of Foreign Employment, this is the highest departure of workers so far in the current fiscal year.

Data shows 36,700 youths left for foreign employment through recruitment companies, while 36,161 went through individual contacts.

A total of 70,637 youths had left for foreign employment in the previous month (mid-April to mid-May). With this the number of youths who left for foreign employment over the first 11 months of 2023/24 has reached 682,386.

The UAE was the favorite job destination for Nepali youths in the review period, as 20,424 went to the Gulf nation during the review month, followed by Saudi Arabia (13,366), Qatar (11,973), Malaysia (8,752), Kuwait (3,432), and Bahrain (1,100).

Among European nations, Croatia (2,922) was the most popular job destination for Nepali youths, followed by Romania (1,946), Cyprus (899), Malta (281), and Portugal (139).

More than 2,000 left for foreign employment every day during the review month, according to Dandu Raj Ghimire, the director general of DoFE. “Nepali youths traveled to 100 different countries for employment between mid-May and mid-June,” Ghimire added.