The Impact of COVID-19 on Bangladesh’s Economy: A Focus on Graduate Employability

The COVID-19 pandemic is having an adverse impact on Bangladesh’s economy by affecting millions of people’s life and hampering their income sources. The outbreak of COVID-19 has created more pressure on the labor market. The pandemic reduces employment opportunities as most of the companies have stopped their recruitment process to cut their operational costs, which increases the rate of graduate unemployment in Bangladesh. Hence, this study aims to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on graduate employability in Bangladesh that adversely affects the income of families and eventually the nation’s economy. A literature review has been conducted from secondary sources to evaluate the impact, which shows that the rate of graduate unemployment increased from 47% to 58% in 2020 with an expected annual loss estimated at $53 million. Findings also reveal that the prime reasons for graduate employability are low demand and huge supply of graduates in the labor market, lack of professional skills of graduates, ineffective education system, etc. The study suggests that the government of Bangladesh should develop some policies to overcome this problem such as ensuring employment subsidies, implementing skills development programs, improving labor market flexibility, initiating credit programs for generating employment, and developing entrepreneurial ecosystems in Bangladesh.