
28
Jul, 2020
EconTalk: A BUPEC Webinar on Labour Market Dynamics in the Post Pandemic World: Global and National Perspective
In the wake of the ongoing pandemic, it is expected
that the world will go through a recession and a severe economic downturn which
will prompt having changes in the labor market for different jobs, and for
fresh graduates, this is no less than a formidable challenge as the job
dynamics are about to go through a major transmutation.
In light of this situation, BUP Economics Club (BUPEC)
initiated to bring its annual lecture, EconTalk 2020 titled "Labour Market
Dynamics in the Post Pandemic World: Global and National Perspective",
discussing on how the job dynamics will be altered in the labour market due to
the pandemic on a national level along with the view of the global perspectives.
The aim of the event was to unite young minds from all around the country and
have an incisive discussion on the challenges and opportunities due to the
alterations of job requirements and job demands of the labour market in the post-covid-19
world. The event did not only discuss the difficulties faced but also the
appropriate solutions. It was hoped that all young minds together around the
nation can bring up some innovative solutions that add value to the labour market
dynamics in the post-pandemic world.
The
webinar took place on two consecutive days from July 28 to July 29, 2020. The
discussion focused on six different dynamics of employment including fresh
graduates, day labourers in the informal sector, RMG and industrial sector,
agriculture, SME, startups and lastly health care.
On the first day, EconTalk 2020 was joined by six
student speakers from University of Dhaka, Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh
University of Professionals, BRAC University, Noakhali Science and Technology
University and United International University who put forth on the upcoming
labor market crisis and challenges. The discussion was quite engaging. As the
session progressed some very crucial aspects of the labor market were being analyzed.
The unemployment in the informal sector due to pandemic are being hit the
worst. Informal sectors played a key role in the
economic growth as we know that 80-90% of the jobs of Bangladesh are from the
informal sector. In a research of SANEM, it shows that the poverty rate of
Bangladesh may double to 40.9% compared to the time before the pandemic. As a
result the inequality may rise in the economy. Many different questions were
raised by the young enthusiasts which were also discussed on session next day.
On the following day, a thorough analysis was
presented by three most eminent guest speakers on the topic to share their
valuable thoughts, experience, and knowledge which helped us to overcome the
current economic shock due to COVID-19 leading to a job deficiency and other shortcomings
in the job market. The guest speakers were Dr. Selim Raihan, Executive Director
of the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM), Dr. Khondaker Golam
Moazzem, and the Research Director at Centre for Policy Dialogue, Bangladesh
and Engineer Abdus Sobhan CIP, the Managing Director of AUKO-TEX Group.
This discussions were moderated by Md. Nafis Khan and Shahriar
Alam Apurba, undergrad students, pursuing Economics at Bangladesh University of
Professionals.