The number of people leaving the country in search of foreign employment has increased by about 41 percent in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, reports said.
A report released by the Department of Labor and Employment Promotion (DLEP) stated that a total of 105,223 persons left for 14 countries in the first seven months. The number was 74,636 in the same period last year. The report said that there was heavy increase in the number of people leaving for Malaysia and other Gulf countries. This year 53,392 Nepalis have chosen Malaysia as their labour destination compared to 37,373 last year during this period. Malaysia comprises about 50 percent of the total outgoing workers.
Similarly, the number of people leaving for Qatar has increased by about 54 percent. A total of 31,819 workers left for Qatar in the first seven months of the current fiscal year compared to 20,629 in the same period last year.
The report further states that the number of people leaving for Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) has increase by 32.3 percent and 35 percent respectively. 9,268 persons left for Saudi Arabia this year, compared to 7,006 last year while 9,226 left for UAE this year compared to 6,832 persons last year.
Similarly, 517 persons left for Israel, 401 for Kuwait, 292 for Bahrain, 126 for South Korea, 82 for Hong Kong, 28 each for Afghanistan, Macau and Oman, 13 for Saipan and 3 for Cyprus during the period.
Number of women leaving for foreign employment also has increased by 131 percent in this period. 691 women left Nepal for foreign employment this year compared to 299 for the same period last year.
The increasing conflict and declining job opportunities due to closure of industries have forced the Nepalis to seek jobs in foreign lands in recent years.