Migrants rise, remittance declines: 2016 report

- Overseas employment 7.5 lakh from 5.55 lakh

- Remittance declines to USD $12.65 from USD $15.31

- Low oil prices affecting remittance inflow

Overseas employment for Bangladeshi workers increased by 35 percent in 2016, but in comparison, the total remittance sent in by them declined by 11 percent, a new report says.

The number of Bangladeshi migrants reached 7.5 lakhs this year from 5.55 lakhs in 2015, a report prepared by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) said.

Remittance inflow amounted to USD 12.65 billion this year from the USD 15.31 billion in 2015.

RMMRU's founding Chairman Prof Tasneem Siddiqui today disclosed the report titled "Pattern and Trends of Labour Migration 2016: Achievement and Challenge" at Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka.

This is the highest figure of overseas employment since 2008 when it peaked at over 8.75 lakh, according to statistics of Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET).

"The decline in oil prices in the global market seriously affected the Middle Eastern markets where more than 80 percent of the Bangladeshi migrants are working. This is one of the major reasons behind the decline of remittance this year," Prof Tasneem said.

Referring to a recent report of World Bank on remittance-earning countries, she said Bangladesh was in seventh place but the position might slip to 10th by the end of this year.

However, according to the report, in 2016 the highest amount of remittance came in from Saudi Arabia followed by the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Oman was the largest employing country with over 1.82 lakh Bangladeshis followed by Saudi Arabia with 1.26 lakh, Qatar with 1.16 lakh, Bahrain with around 69,000, and Singapore with around 53,000.

Prof Tasneem cited the UAE and Malaysian markets as concerns as these are currently not hiring Bangladeshi workers.