Gallup says industry share stagnating as gender, urban-rural gaps persist in labour force
KARACHI:
Pakistan’s employment landscape expanded significantly over the past four years, but a Gallup Pakistan analysis of labour force participation in 2024–25, released on Wednesday, highlights that much of this growth is concentrated in low-productivity and informal services rather than high-value industry. This trend raises concerns about the quality, sustainability and long-term economic impact of job creation.
According to the report, employment climbed from 67.3 million in 2020–21 to 79.7 million in 2024–25, adding approximately 12.4 million workers to the labour force. While this reflects robust overall job creation, the structure of employment tells a more complex story.
The services sector emerged as the primary driver of job growth, increasing its share of total employment from 37.2% to 39.9%, while agriculture’s share declined from 37.4% to 35.1%.
Arif Habib Limited (AHL) economist Sana Tawfik noted that the Gallup survey data reflects gradual structural adjustments, with the services sector now employing close to 40% of the workforce, agriculture around 35%, and industry accounting for the remaining share.
Average monthly wages have increased to approximately Rs39,000, suggesting some improvement in earnings alongside job growth. Overall, the figures portray a labour market that is expanding and evolving, offering a steady foundation for policies aimed at enhancing productivity, formalisation and inclusive economic development, she said.
Meanwhile, industry remained largely stagnant, with its share edging down slightly from 25.4% to 24.9%, according to the survey. Labour market dynamics also reveal persistent gender disparities. In a stark finding, the report shows women remain heavily concentrated in agriculture, with 61.4% of employed women in the sector compared to 24.5% of men, who are more evenly distributed across commerce and services. This signals limited access for women to formal and higher-productivity jobs.
JS Global Senior Vice President Waqas Ghani said the gender disparity within this trend is striking. The ratio of employed women to men reflects a significant imbalance, pointing to limited employment opportunities for women, especially beyond rural and farm-based work. He emphasised the urgent need for broader and more inclusive job creation across sectors.
The report further shows a widening urban–rural divide, with rural economies still anchored in low-productivity agricultural work, while urban areas see growth primarily in retail trade, transport and other informal services. Such patterns underline a labour market driven more by necessity and survival jobs than by structural transformation.
The survey underscores that while headline numbers suggest employment expansion, the quality and resilience of jobs remain weak, with the economy struggling to produce formal, skilled and productivity-enhancing opportunities.
“The addition of 12.4 million workers points to a strong rebound in overall employment. However, a closer look at where these jobs are concentrated reveals deeper structural concerns. Agriculture continues to remain a major job-providing sector, especially in rural areas, highlighting the economy’s slow shift toward more diversified and higher-productivity sectors,” Ghani added.
Analysts say the findings point to an urgent need for industrial growth, skills development and policies that expand formal employment and women’s participation to translate numerical gains into broad-based economic progress.
“A services-heavy economy without productivity and industrial depth creates activity, not prosperity,” remarked Si Global CEO Noman Ahmed Said. He cautioned that much of the services growth sits in low-productivity and informal segments.
Without industrial deepening, technology adoption and skills modernisation, this shift will not translate into sustainable wage growth or export competitiveness. “Services must be connected with high-value manufacturing, digital platforms and productivity-driven SMEs,” he emphasised.