Kathmandu, March 27 (Xinhua) The number of Nepali workers leaving for overseas jobs increased by 33.24 percent in the first 10 months of the fiscal year 2007-08 ending in mid-July, compared to the same period of the last fiscal year, The Kathmandu Post reported Thursday.

According to the data of the Department of Labour, the number of jobseekers heading for around three-dozen countries swelled to 154,400 - up from 115,879 recorded previously, during the period.

Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) witnessed significant growth rates of 106 percent and 115 percent in the arrivals of mostly blue-collar Nepali workers, whose numbers ballooned to 56,913 and 29,483 respectively.

The number of employees travelling to Saudi Arabia, the fourth most popular destination for Nepal's migrant workforce, soared by 21 percent to reach 26,329 from 21,632 during the same period last year.

However, Malaysia, which was the largest recipient of Nepali workers last year, saw a whopping 30 percent decline in arrivals, with an intake of 33,507 people, compared to 48,171 previously, according to the report.