Bangladesh's overseas employment is expected to increase 1.5 times in the outgoing calendar year (2021), said a RMMRU report on Thursday.
It forecasts that the remittance income would climb by an estimated 2.0 per cent.
Citing the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) data, the RMMRU report showed Bangladesh sent 485,893 workers to different countries during the January=November period in 2021.
If the trend continues, it predicts, overseas jobs may increase by one and a half times this year.
Bangladeshis remitted $21.75 billion in 2020. They sent $20.44 billion in the January-November period of 2021, says the report quoting the Bangladesh Bank data.
It hoped that remittance income would rise by 2.0 per cent if capital inflow continued in December in such a manner.
The Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) disclosed the report styled 'Migration Trend Report from Bangladesh-2021, Achievement and Challenge' at a press conference at the National Press Club.
RMMRU chair Prof Tasneem Siddiqui presented the report.
She said the outflow of workers (both male and female) abroad was significant this year amid the pandemic.
"The growth of remittance income also remained steady," she said, adding that the present inward remittance trend would continue in the coming years if any large gap does not happen in the outflow of workers.
If Bangladesh can utilise the potential of the newly-resumed Malaysian job market, the RMMRU chair says, the sector will see further growth next year.
Welcoming the fresh Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur recruitment deal, she said it would help reduce migration cost.
Ms Siddiqui suggests enforcing the agreement properly so that dishonest manpower recruiters cannot feed their vested interests.
She also expressed concern over higher airfares that put migrant workers into trouble recently.
Because of higher charges of air flights, she said, many migrants were forced to count extra cost.
RMMRU, however, appreciates some government initiatives like subsidising quarantine cost to Saudi-bound workers and RT-PCR test fees for the UAE-bound ones.
RMMRU programme director Marina Sultana, among others, was present at the press meet.
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