By Imtiaz Ahmed, Samia Tabassum and Humaira Binte Kabir
The creation of new jobs, new investment, restoring a sound law and order situation, containing non-performing loans and political stability are major challenges of the present BNP government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Mr. Tarique Rahman.
The Bangladesh economy has been battered by the massive corruption by the last Awami League government, corona pandemic, Russia-Ukraine war, the war in the middle-east and the slowdown in global growth.
As the tension in the middle-east erupts again as peace deal between USA and Iran seem teetering, manpower export of Bangladesh to different countries posed 15 percent negative growth during the month of June compared to the previous month May, according to the data of Bureau, Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET)
Bangladesh exported a total of 51,305 workers in the month of June as opposed to 60,155 workers in the month of May.
The manpower of Bangladesh improved in May with the country exported a total of 60,155 workers to different countries clocking 23 percent growth over the previous month, according to Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET)
Bangladesh exported a total of 48,987 workers in April, a total of 45,112 workers in March and 67,969 in February and 99,616 workers in January, according to Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET).
The USA-Israel imposed war on Iran has hit the overseas employment of Bangladesh, creating an uncertainty in the overseas job market, said a leader of Bangladesh Association of International Recruitment Agencies (BAIRA).
Bangladesh exported a total of 95,092 workers in January, 65,634 workers in February, 44,629 workers in March and 43,490 workers in April to overseas countries.
Saudi Arabia remained the top destination with 24,498 workers, followed by Qatar with 8,902, Singapore 6,984 workers, the Maldives with 2,221, UAE with 2,219, Jordan with 1,397 workers, Kuwait with 2,036 workers, Italy with 980 workers.
Saudi Arabia remained the top destination with 30,513 workers, followed by Qatar with 8,902; Singapore 5,683 workers, the Maldives with 2,934, USA with 2,103, Jordan with 1,397 workers, Kuwait with 1,376 workers, Italy with 980 workers, Iraq with 634 workers and Mauritius with 550 workers.
Saudi Arabia remained the top destination in both months, though numbers declined significantly. Labour recruiters noted that low-skilled workers continue to dominate Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern routes.
A leader of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies said that export of manpower to different countries is expected to get momentum, provided the USA and Iran sealed a peace deal
Meanwhile, the USA-Israel imposed war on Iran has hit the overseas employment of Bangladesh creating an uncertainty in the overseas job market, said a leader of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruitment Agencies (BAIRA).
The creation of jobs in the local and international markets is in shambles with growing energy prices shaking the global economic growth including Bangladesh, said a BAIRA leader.
Saudi Arabia remained the top destination in both months, though numbers declined significantly. Labor recruiters noted that low-skilled workers continue to dominate Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern routes.
Shamim Ahmed Chowdhury Noman, former secretary general of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies, said: “The payment structure is still between Tk25,000 and Tk30,000. Most Bangladeshis are employed as cleaners, construction workers, and housemaids. The government has yet to renegotiate salaries with destination countries to ensure better earnings for our workers.”
The BNP government is counting millions of taka in the energy subsidies to maintain economic engine of the economy
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s export earnings have declined in the 2025-26 fiscal year despite a sharp rebound in June, with receipts falling 0.58 percent from the previous year to $48 billion.
The annual export figure also fell nearly 13 percent short of the government’s target of $55 billion, as per a bdnews24.com report.
According to the latest data published by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) recently, export earnings stood at $48.28 billion in FY25.
The overall decline could have been much steeper had exports not rebounded strongly in June.
Exporters earned $4.20 billion in June, up 25.91 percent from $3.334 billion in the same month a year earlier.
The EPB data showed that export earnings had declined for eight consecutive months before recovering in April.
Exports rose to $4.01 billion in April, nearly 33 per cent higher than in the corresponding month of the previous year.
However, the momentum did not continue in May.
Export earnings in May stood at $4.40 billion, down 7.07 per cent from May of the previous fiscal year.
Analysis of the EPB data indicates that the overall negative export growth in FY26 was mainly driven by weaker performance in the ready-made garments sector, the country’s largest export industry.
Ready-made garment exports earned $38.70 billion during the fiscal year, down 1.64 percent from a year earlier.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh continues to witness robust remittance inflows in the current fiscal year, with expatriate Bangladeshis sending over $35 billion during the period from July 2025 to June 23, 2026, marking an impressive 17.8 percent growth compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
According to the latest data from Bangladesh Bank released today, remittance inflow reached $35 billion till June 23 of FY2025-26, up from $29.72 billion received during the same period of FY2024-25.
On June 23, 2026, expatriates sent $87 million through official banking channels, reflecting the continued contribution of overseas workers to the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
During the first 23 days of June, remittance inflow totalled at $2,238 million.
Meanwhile, the economic projections of the Bangladesh Bank , government, World Bank and Asian Development Bank show that Bangladesh will struggle to attain 5-6 percent growth in the 2026-27 fiscal year…
The World Bank projects Bangladesh’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth to be 4.6% for the 2026-27 fiscal year. This forecast reflects mounting economic headwinds, including persistent inflation, sluggish private sector activity, and global uncertainties. …………
The World Bank projects Bangladesh’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth to be 4.6% for the 2026-27 fiscal year. This forecast reflects mounting economic headwinds, including persistent inflation, sluggish private sector activity, and global uncertainties.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) projects Bangladesh’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to grow by 4.7% in the fiscal year 2026–27 (FY2027), an acceleration from the 4.0% growth estimated for FY2026. This recovery is supported by easing political uncertainty and rebounding consumption and investment
Bangladesh Bank has projected the country’s economy to grow by 6.1% in FY27, lower than the government’s 6.5% target set in the national budget, while keeping key policy interest rates unchanged in an effort to rein in inflation.
The forecast was unveiled in the central bank’s Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) for the July-December period of FY27, released today (30 June).
According to provisional estimates by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the economy grew by 4.14% in FY26, recovering from 3.49% in the previous fiscal year.
The MPS said the government’s fiscal strategy for FY27 combines growth-supportive measures with fiscal discipline, prioritising development spending alongside tax reforms, expenditure rationalisation, targeted subsidies and expanded social protection programs.
“The new government has enacted growth-supportive but fiscally prudent expansion focused on development expenditure as its fiscal stance for FY27,” the statement said.
However, policymakers and BAIRA leaders also see a positive scenario out of war in the middle east. The oil-rich countries are most likely to rebuild their infrastructures, damaged in the war, requiring thousands of workers. The reconstruction works in the Gulf countries can give a boost to overseas job markets after the USA-Israel imposed war in the middle -east ends.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s banking sector has hit an unprecedented crisis point as non-performing loans (NPLs) and wider classified assets surged to historic highs in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, posing a severe structural threat to macroeconomic stability.
According to the Bangladesh Bank’s classified loan and provision report revealed on Tuesday for March 2026, total classified loans—which include NPLs and unclassified distressed assets—skyrocketed by Tk 31,487 crore in just three months, reaching a staggering Tk 5.88 lakh crore.
This brings the ratio of classified loans to an unprecedented 32.26 percent of the country’s total banking credit ecosystem, meaning nearly one out of every three Taka disbursed by the banking sector is now severely compromised.
While overall classified assets reached 32.26 percent, the central bank’s tight definition of pure default loans (NPLs) alone stood at Tk 5.64 lakh crore at the end of March 2026, commanding 30.92 percent of total outstanding loans.
This reflects a sharp quarterly rise from December 2025’s figure of Tk 5.49 lakh crore (29.92 percent). More alarmingly, on a year-on-year basis, NPLs ballooned by an astronomical Tk 2.06 lakh crore from the Tk 3.57 lakh crore recorded in March 2025.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Dr. Khalilur Rahman held a meeting with diplomats of Gulf countries at a breakfast meeting recently at the state guest house Padma and sought their cooperation on energy and employment of Bangladeshis in the region….
Policy Exchange of Bangladesh President M Masroor Reaz said creating momentum in job creation, investment and export is important in the national economy. The government also has major challenges to refix the banking system and ensure energy security.
Bangladesh Bank said the government has adopted a broader economic strategy aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and implementing structural reforms to create the foundation for investment-led growth.
As outlined in the FY27 budget, the first phase of the government’s 3R Strategy—Recovery and Stabilisation, Restoration and Reconstruction for Acceleration—will focus over the next year on stabilising the economy and protecting vulnerable groups from the impact of economic shocks.
The strategy also prioritises strengthening social protection programs, improving public service delivery, simplifying business procedures and enhancing coordination among public institutions.
