Kathmandu, Nepal (BBN)– The number of Nepali workers leaving for overseas destinations increased by 34 percent during the first four months of this fiscal year as against the same period of the previous fiscal.
A total of 102,417 Nepali jobseekers flew to overseas job destinations during the first four months of the fiscal year 2010- 11 (FY11) from mid-July, up from 76,196 recorded during the same period a year earlier, according to the Department of Foreign Employment statistics.
Malaysia received 42,454 Nepalis during the period, up from 20,619 recorded during same period in the previous fiscal year.
Similarly, Qatar became the second most popular destination hosting during the period, welcoming 22,642 Nepalis. The number of Nepali workers leaving for Qatar during the same period in FY10 was 16,994.
A total of 12,593 workers left for the United Arab Emirates during the period, up from 10,357 recorded during the same period a year earlier.
However, departures to Saudi Arabia – the largest destination for Nepali overseas workers — dropped to18019 down from 19,676 recorded during the period under review.
Kumud Khanal, general secretary of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA), said the number of overseas workers increased in the fourth month as many workers made their plan to leave the country after celebrating the Dashain and Tihar festivals.
“This is just a seasonal boom, not an actual increment,” Khanal was quoted by the Republica, a local daily newspaper, as saying. He also attributed the growth to improvement of recipient economies after the financial crisis.
BBN/SI/ANS-20Nov10-3:52 pm (BST)
