Sri Lanka needs to create close to one million jobs for its people over the next 10 years, a regional head of the World Bank Group for South Asia has said.
The official put the figure at nearly 10 lakh new jobs over the decade. The comment was reported on Friday.
Background
Sri Lanka’s economy contracted sharply during the 2022 economic crisis, when the country defaulted on its foreign debt. Since then the government has worked with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other lenders on a recovery programme.
The World Bank Group, which includes the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), is one of the country’s main development partners and finances projects in areas such as agriculture, social protection and infrastructure.
What it means
Employment is a central concern for young people entering the labour market and for families that depend on remittances from relatives working abroad. A target of nearly one million jobs over 10 years averages out to about 100,000 new jobs a year.
