Overseas employment for Bangladeshis remains overwhelmingly dependent on the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia receiving the largest share of migrant workers.

However, since the outbreak of the Iran war, flight operations across several Middle Eastern countries have become irregular, placing migrant workers at risk and creating uncertainty about their jobs.

Some expatriates who returned home on leave have become stranded, while many newly recruited workers are unable to depart. Taken together, these developments have put overseas employment under considerable strain.

Amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the number of Bangladeshis leaving for jobs abroad during this period has declined compared with last year.

According to data from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), the number of workers receiving clearance to travel abroad in the first 10 days of March fell by nearly 50 per cent compared with the same period last year.