The outflow of migrant workers surged by more than double in the first three months of the current year, boosting the country's employment growth and remittance earnings.
Official data showed a total of 322,583 workers flew to different countries during the January-March period this year as against 146,895 in the corresponding period of 2021, registering a 119 per cent growth.
Sector insiders said such an upward trend would continue in coming months as the demand for Bangladeshi workers in the traditional markets remained steady.
Data available with the Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training (BMET) showed 109,698 workers went abroad in January, 92,569 in February and 120,316 in March.
Bangladeshi workers went mainly to 20 countries in the last three months. Saudi Arabia received 206,057 workers, while Oman 41,617, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 39,827, Kuwait 1,966, and Singapore 13,364.
Recruiters said they were receiving an increased number of requests for workers' hiring from different countries, especially from Saudi Arabia, as the country needs a large number of workers for its construction, maintenance and service sectors.
Officials at the BMET observed that a record number of workers would go abroad this year. The number of jobs may cross 1.0 million, if Malaysia starts hiring workers.
Job opportunities have also been created in the developed countries, including Greece and Italy, which would help increase quality migration, they added.
On the other hand, migration experts and rights activists emphasised the need for ensuring quality jobs and good workplace environment.
According to the official count, more than 13 million Bangladeshi workers have gone abroad since 1976. A total of 617,209 Bangladeshi found jobs in 2021 while 217,669 workers in 2020. The workers annually send home about US$20 billion as remittances.
