times24.net: Amid global economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions, several indicators of Bangladesh’s economy are showing signs of improvement. Remittance inflows have maintained positive growth, while overseas employment has shown some recovery from the sharp slowdown earlier this year.
At the same time, garment exports have returned to year-on-year growth and agriculture has remained in expansion, offering signs of resilience in the first quarter of the fiscal year.
Remittance growth continues
Remittance inflows have maintained a positive trend. In September, expatriate Bangladeshis sent home $2.766 billion through formal and banking channels.
Bangladesh received $2.686 billion in remittances in September 2025. That means inflows increased by $80 million, or around 3 percent, year-on-year.
Remittances also recorded strong growth in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. Between July and September, expatriate Bangladeshis sent home a total of $8.591 billion, compared with $7.586 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
Remittance inflows therefore increased by $1.005 billion, or about 13.3 percent, during the first three months of the fiscal year.
Overseas employment shows recovery
According to data from the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, 204,312 Bangladeshis secured overseas jobs during July-September despite the conflict in the Middle East.
Of them, 95,222 went to Saudi Arabia, followed by 23,338 to Singapore, 21,133 to Qatar, 12,690 to the United Arab Emirates and 11,956 to Kuwait.
In the corresponding July-September period of the previous fiscal year, overseas employment stood at 325,855, including 202,994 workers who went to Saudi Arabia.
After the United States and Israel began attacks on Iran on Feb 28, overseas employment fell sharply in March. A total of 44,658 Bangladeshis received clearance for overseas jobs that month, compared with 105,027 in March a year earlier.
Overseas employment has since recovered somewhat from the March low, although it remains below the level recorded a year earlier.
Ali Haider Chowdhury, a former secretary general of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA), said the sector had improved from the sharp decline that followed the start of the Middle East conflict, but overseas recruitment remained low.
He told Banglanews that the conflict had affected business activity in the Middle East and reduced demand for workers.
He said demand in Saudi Arabia was increasingly shifting towards technically skilled workers. While housekeeping workers had previously been in greater demand, he said opportunities were now increasing for drivers and other skilled workers.
Chowdhury described Singapore’s rise to second place among Bangladesh’s overseas labour destinations as a positive development.
He said Bangladesh remained heavily dependent on a limited number of labour markets, leaving the sector vulnerable to war or other disruptions, and stressed the need to find alternative destinations.
He added that until major new labour markets emerged, demand from individual companies in Singapore, Dubai or elsewhere should not be seen as a major structural change.
Agriculture remains in expansion
Alongside remittances and overseas employment, agriculture continued to expand, according to the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI).
Data from the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Policy Exchange Bangladesh showed that the agriculture PMI rose 1.3 points to 56.5 in August.
New business and business activity continued to expand, while employment also increased. Input costs continued to rise strongly, although the pace of increase eased slightly.
Policy Exchange Bangladesh Chairman and CEO M Masrur Reaz said the positive trend in agriculture indicated underlying resilience in the economy.
Garment exports return to growth
After facing significant challenges in the previous fiscal year, Bangladesh’s garment exports recorded growth in the first quarter of FY2026-27.
According to Export Promotion Bureau data, Bangladesh earned $10.57856 billion from ready-made garment exports during July-September, compared with $9.97042 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
Monthly RMG export earnings stood at $3.88672 billion in July, $3.60889 billion in August and $3.08295 billion in September.
On a year-on-year basis, garment exports fell 1.92 percent in July before increasing 13.92 percent in August and 8.56 percent in September, resulting in overall growth during the first quarter.
Former Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association director Mohiuddin Rubel described the positive export trend as encouraging.
He told Banglanews that the economy was returning to positive growth despite economic and energy-related challenges.
Rubel said maintaining the initial annual growth target of 15 percent would be important if the positive trend was to continue.
He said sustaining growth over the coming months would remain a major challenge, even though the severe energy problems seen previously had eased.
Rubel added that greater emphasis should be placed not only on increasing export volumes but also on ensuring that growth remained profitable and sustainable.
