akistan has a huge youth bulge, with about 60 percent of its population below the age of 30. Not preparing this workforce for the job market could turn this blessing into a great liability.

Pakistan already faces high youth unemployment and the highest unemployment rate is among university graduates. No new industries that can absorb the educated youth are being set up. Jobs in the gig economy and freelancing are therefore welcome. Gig economy is characterised by a job market that offers jobs with small-duration contracts, often with flexible working hours.

Pakistan is ranked among top four countries recognized for their large and skilled workforce. According to the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom Pakistan’s IT, ITeS and freelance exports hit $3.8 billion in FY 2024-25. This represented an 18 percent growth over the previous year that was driven by strategic reforms and government leadership.

Labour Force Survey of 2024-25 found that 2.9 percent of people were engaged full time with the gig economy and 10.6 percent were doing it as a second job. Out of the gig workers, 32 percent are highly educated. 75 percent of this gig force consists of the (with age less than 35 years). The high participation rate of university graduates in the gig economy may be one of the reasons their unemployment rate has come down from 16 percent in 2020-21 to 11 percent in 2025.

39.4 percent of the people currently associated with gig economy are highly skilled; people having medium-level skills are 13 percent; and the ones with low-ranked skills are 47.5 percent. An interesting finding is that the average income of the gig workers is Rs 58,000 per month (greater than those having physical-presence jobs with an average income of Rs 42,000).

The services having major share in the gig economy include teaching, selling goods online, cab services and freelancing activities.

A major hurdle in the adoption of gig economy is availability and reliability of internet service. Poor connectivity and uneven smart-phone penetration restrict people from joining the digital platforms. Many areas of the Pakistan - especially remote areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan – lack reliable mobile internet service.

As per latest stats available on the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority website, out of 201 million mobile phone subscribers 155 million subscribers have the mobile broadband. The remaining 46 million still needs to be tapped. Actual situation of the internet availability on ground may be even worse.

The government needs to remove difficulties faced by gig workers in regulations, in opening bank accounts and in money transfers from their international customers.

PTA’s latest quality of service survey, done in the third quarter of 2025, showed that U-fone and Telenor had download speeds of 3.12 and 5.87Mbps at the most visited tourist spot of Murree and upload speeds of 5.31 and 4.12Mpbs, respectively. Data speeds and the quality of mobile internet in more remote areas are likely far worse.

HIES 2024-25 revealed that the ownership of ICT devices, i.e., laptop/ desktop at household level has decreased from 14 percent to 11 percent. Government initiatives like providing free laptops to students can help ensure the basic ICT tools availability for the gig jobs. However, without ensuring the availability of a reliable internet connection, this will not yield the desirable impact.

PTA periodic exercises to check quality of mobile telephony and internet service in the country are a good initiative. However, most of these surveys are conducted in a few cities and may not provide a full picture. Better mechanisms need to be evolved to allow the consumers to report poor service so that prompt action may be taken by the concerned operator and PTA to address the problem.

A major hurdle for our labour force to be accepted in the gig economy is lack of certified skills. Many graduates lack market-relevant digital skills such as coding, data analysis, digital marketing and content creation. Latest HIES 2024-25 shows that about 50 percent of the individuals have no digi skills, 41 percent people have low level of digi skills, 6 percent have medium level of digi skills and about 3 percent have high level of digi skills.

Though the government has started many digi skills programmes with large investments quality and outcome of these programs need to be assessed regularly by independent auditors. Also, such programs should be part of universities’ curricula. We need to understand the requirements of advanced economies and prepare our gig workers accordingly.

The government needs to remove difficulties faced by gig workers in regulations, in opening bank accounts and in money transfers from their international customers. The gig workers should also get social protection.

Gig economy is a great opportunity for Pakistan especially for its youth. However, the government must ensure the quality and reach of internet services and equip the potential workers with the right skills for this job market.

The writer is an assistant professor at Pakistan Institute of Development Economics