The growing importance of overseas employment for the Bangladesh economy is clearly evident. Remittances rose to over $15 billion in 2015 or about 8% of gross domestic product(GDP)—up from less than $2 billion in 2000—and have become a major source of foreign exchange earnings, second only to ready-made garments. As such, remittances contributed 61% of the recent foreign exchange reserve buildup in 2014–2015. Overseas employment itself represents over one-fifth of the annual addition to the country’s total labor force and over half of additional manufacturing jobs created in recent years. Close to half a million people found jobs abroad every year from 2012 to 2014.
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