Record 300,000 leave for overseas jobs in 2022

Over 300,000 individuals have left the country through official channels to take up employment overseas so far in 2022.

“The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment has registered and facilitated over 300,000 individuals to take up employment overseas within a calendar year. This is the first time in history,” Labour and Foreign Employment Minister Manusha Nanayakkara said.

Minister Nanayakkara thanked the SLBFE officials and foreign employment agency for their support to reach the target set for this year.

The Minister said the workers’ remittances will contribute to easing the foreign exchange crisis in the country while noting it would also elevate the living standards of their respective families.

Minister Nanayakkara has been working with international partners to provide highly-paid jobs for Sri Lankans in countries such as Japan, South Korea and Malaysia in addition to Middle Eastern countries.

It was also added that the foreign exchange flowing into the country through official channels has also seen a considerable increase in the past few months.

Workers’ remittances saw a rebound in November reaching $ 384.4 million, the highest level so far in 2022.

As per the Central Bank, November saw an 8.2% or $ 29 million increase over October. It is also up by 42% compared to the same period a year ago. 

For the 11 months of 2022, workers’ remittances amounted to $ 3.31 billion, down by 36%. The previous highest in 2022 was in October at $ 355.4 million.