Overseas employment for Bangladesh has shrunk in recent times while the number of returnees increased, as jobs dried up in the traditional markets such as the Middle East countries and Malaysia.

The income from more than 6 million workers overseas, a key source of foreign exchange for the cash-starved economy, hit $10.97 billion in the 2009/10 fiscal year that ended in June, 13 percent above the previous year.

In July-September, the first quarter of the 20010/11 financial year, remittances totaled $2.66 billion, 1.8 percent lower than the same period of the previous year.

Nearly 360,000 Bangladeshis secured foreign jobs during January-September, the lowest in four years, government figures show.

However, the central bank expects remittances to reach $14 billion this fiscal year, aided by the gradual recovery of the global economy.

At the end of September the country’s foreign exchange reserves fell to $10.88 billion from $10.99 billion in August.

Expatriate incomes are the second-biggest source of foreign income for Bangladesh after ready-made garments, which earn around $12 billion annually.