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Sri Lanka’s demographic and labour force variables
have aroused much interest and came into focus, mainly because
of the very high levels of unemployment the country has
been experiencing for more than two decades. In the post-independent
era it has been, except during very brief periods, a case
of slow growth in demand for labour, leaving a part of the
net annual additions to the work-force without productive
employment and adding them to the expanding pool of surplus
labour. The problem of surplus labour has become complex
and intractable. In addition to open unemployment, underemployment
of different types and intensities, the mismatch between
expectations and opportunities and structural unemployment
have aggravated the problem. The dimensions, incidence and
characteristics of the unemployed population are therefore
important, and detailed information on them is of interest
and value for decision making and policy review.
The problem of surplus labour in Sri Lanka
has been studies from several perspectives and the objective
of this paper is restricted to the provision of a statistical
overview of employment and unemployment trends as they have
evolved during the past three decades. The statistical data
base available on employment and unemployment is neither
comprehensive nor of high quality. Surveys for the measurement
of the labour force have not been undertaken regularly and
comparability between data sets has been lost through changes
in definition and concepts. Because of these limitations,
a dedicated analysis of the subject has been difficult.
The study proposes to:
- Identify the sources of labour force data and describe
the type and nature of the information available and
their volume and content.
- Briefly present the problems and issues which have
been encountered in the measurement of employment and
unemployment in census and surveys which affected the
quality of the estimates
- Utilise the available data in the form in which they
are presented to set out and analyse the overall dimensions
and trends of employment and unemployment
- Examine in detail the changes and shifts in employment
and unemployment, including those at sectoral and subsectoral
levels, specially in those components and parameters
of interest for policy purposes
- Noting the limitations in data quality and possible
underestimation of labour force variables, trace the
trends of labour force variables, reconstructing where
necessary and preparing limits over time.
Table of Contents:
- Synopsis
- Introduction
- Sources of data
- Labour force estimates
- Employment growth trends
- Unemployment
- Measurement of the economically active population
- An evaluation and review of the labour force and its
gowth trends
- References
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