New Delhi, Feb 21 (IANS) Pakistan’s demographic dividend has turned out to be a “demographic dilemma” as a widening skills gap leads to “economic stagnation which feeds social unrest”, a new report has said.The report from The Express Tribune said the country produced nearly 8 lakh university graduates annually but struggled to access key labour markets such as Japan and South Korea due to mismatches between the skills produced and those demanded by these economies.The report flagged findi…
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New Delhi, Feb 10 (IANS) The Heritage Institute’s Index of Economic Freedom has classified Pakistan as a “repressed” economy, ranking it 150th out of 184 economies, with a score of 49.1 out of 100 for the year 2025.The Heritage Institute’s Index of Economic Freedom measures 12 economic freedoms, which include: property rights, government integrity, judicial effectiveness, tax burden, government spending, fiscal health, business freedom, labour freedom, monetary freedom, trade freedom, investment…
Madrid, Feb 9 (IANS) Spain’s decision to reform its immigration system has sparked a question that European Union has long avoided instead of resolving it – how regularisation policies in a nation operate in a borderless continental space and the implications it produces beyond the state that implement them. Spain has taken the decision as it faces labour shortages, demographic ageing and backlog of unresolved asylum and residency applications. Enhancing legal pathways, regularising undocumented…
Wellington, Feb 4 (IANS) New Zealand’s unemployment rate rose to 5.4 per cent in the December 2025 quarter, the highest since the September 2015 quarter when it was 5.7 per cent, Stats NZ reported Wednesday. The unemployment rate of 5.4 per cent was up from 5.3 per cent in the previous quarter, said the statistics department, Xinhua News Agency reported.The number of unemployed people rose by 5,000 to 165,000 over the quarter, while both employment and participation in the labour market increase…
Washington, Jan 29 (IANS) Emerging market economies have shown notable resilience despite trade disruptions, geopolitical uncertainty, and shifting global financial conditions, senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials said here on Thursday, while warning that risks remain tilted to the downside. Presenting the IMF’s latest assessment ahead of a conference on emerging economies, IMF Economic Counsellor and Director of Research Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said global growth has held up bet…
Washington, Jan 29 (IANS) The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady. Chair Jerome Powell said inflation is still “somewhat elevated,” with tariffs pushing up goods prices.The Federal Open Market Committee “decided to leave our policy rate unchanged,” Powell told reporters on Wednesday (local time). The Fed kept the target range for the federal funds rate at 3.5 per cent to 3.75 per cent.Powell said the economy “expanded at a solid pace last year” and is starting 2026 “on a fir…
Islamabad, Jan 5 (IANS) Pakistan’s maternal mortality remains alarmingly high, with millions of women deprived of access to family planning services, persistent early marriages and widespread gender-based violence — all factors influencing fertility patterns, female labour participation and development of human capital, a report said on Monday. “In climate-exposed districts, weak health systems and limited access to services deepen vulnerability, reinforcing inequalities. The evidence leaves l…
New Delhi, Dec 26 (IANS) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced the premature redemption price for Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) 2017-18 Series-XIII (SGBs) due on Friday.SGB 2017-18 Series-XIII issued on December 26, 2017 can be prematurely redeemed at Rs 13,563 per gram. SGBs have an eight-year maturity, but investors can opt for premature redemption from the fifth year onwards.This SGB was issued at Rs 2,866 per gram without discount and investors achieved 381.6 per cent absolute simple ret…
Athens, Dec 25 (IANS) The gender gap in Pakistan’s labour market and economic opportunities stems from entrenched cultural norms, institutional shortcomings, and structural weaknesses, a report said on Thursday. It added that overcoming these challenges requires comprehensive measures such as strengthening labour law enforcement, improving access to childcare and safe transportation, promoting digital and financial inclusion, and eliminating discriminatory norms that restrict women’s mobility an…