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SANGSAD BHABAN, Sept 10, 2026 (BSS) - The country’s total labour force stood at around 71.71 million in 2024, with around 69.09 million people employed and 262 million unemployed, Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury told parliament today.

The unemployment rate stood at 3.66 percent, he said.

The minister disclosed the figures while replying to a scripted question from ruling party lawmaker from Kishoreganj-2 Advocate Md Jalal Uddin in the Jatiya Sangsad today.

According to a survey conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on Labour Force Survey 2024, agriculture remains the largest employment sector, employing around 30.87 million people, or 44.67 percent of total employment.

The industrial sector employs 12 million people accounting for 17.37 percent while the services sector employs around 26.22 million people or 37.96 percent of total employment.

The minister said the urban areas had 18.74 million people in the labour force in 2024, of whom 17.92 million were employed.

In rural areas, the labour force stood at around 51.17 million.

He also said around 50.04 million people remained outside the labour force in 2024. Of them, 12.03 million were men and 38.01 million were women.