Nearly a quarter of all sanctioned government positions in Bangladesh are lying vacant, highlighting a persistent gap even as millions of educated youths compete for employment.
According to the latest “Government Employee Statistics 2024” released by the Ministry of Public Administration on Monday, there are currently 1,919,111 approved positions in the country’s public sector.
Of these, only 1,450,891 are filled, leaving 468,220 posts vacant—amounting to 24.4% of total sanctioned jobs.
This means roughly one in every four government positions remains unoccupied. The situation underscores a striking contrast, as large numbers of educated young Bangladeshis continue to vie desperately for stable employment.
Historically, the vacancy rate in the country’s public sector has hovered around similar levels. For instance, the 2022 edition of the same report showed that approximately 26% of approved government positions were unfilled at the time, accounting for around half a million vacancies.
Despite annual recruitment drives, experts note that bureaucratic delays, lengthy hiring processes, and limited budgetary clearances often contribute to the backlog of unfilled posts, slowing down the absorption of job seekers into the public sector.
