Latest update April 4th, 2025 6:13 AM
Stats Bureau launches first quarterly labour force report …unemployment rate is 12%
Deputy Chief Statistician of the Bureau of Statistics, Ian Manifold, (left) hands over a copy of the LFS Bulletin to Financial Secretary, Dr. Hector Butts
With support financing from the Inter-American Bank (IDB), Guyana launched the first quarterly labour force survey report yesterday at the Marriott Hotel, which indicated that Guyana’s employment rate remains low.
Deputy Chief Statistician, Bureau of Statistics, Ian Manifold, said that the survey of the labour force brings Guyana in line with other Caribbean countries, among them Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and The Bahamas.
“With the current labour force survey, all the major indicators pertaining to labour are now dealt with. Further, we no longer have to wait every 10 years when a census is conducted to have information on the labour force or at an unspecified time between censuses when a survey is done in order to piggyback a few labour force questions,” Manifold explained.
KEY FINDINGS
The report covers the third quarter of 2017, providing main tools used to track labour market dynamics such as employment rate, job creation, and job destruction.
It was noted that the unemployment rate for persons aged 15 and above was 12%, with the situation for women being substantially worse than that of men, 15.3% versus 9.9%. The data show no substantial differences between urban and rural areas.
According to the survey, the employment-to-population ratio of persons aged 15 and above is 49.2 %, with the rate being substantially higher for men than for women 62.1 % against 36.9%. This situation is substantially similar to that outlined by the 2012 Census.
The survey found that the situation of women who, despite showing a sizeable disadvantage in the labour market, appears to be more engaged in the labour force and be less likely to be unemployed.
For salaried workers, the average labour income is $82,636 per month across all the economic sectors, while the figure decreases to $67,064 for self-employed workers.
The survey considered the labour population as persons aged 15 and above residing in Guyana, –550,831 persons. The 72.2% of the labour force is based in urban areas.
Manifold noted that if investments are not moving at a rapid pace and new businesses are not being created then there will be some issues with jobs.
“If you don’t have an expanded business sector then there can be issues, but what our findings will do as we go forward, is give you a sense of unemployment overtime. It is a snapshot every quarter so from one quarter to the other one will be able to see what is happening with employment,” Manifold stated.
FUNDING CRITICAL
IDB has provided approximately US$930,000 for the first two quarterly records between July and December 2017. The Government has started funding the labour survey for the first quarter of 2018.
Up to July 2017, no such survey was regularly conducted in Guyana. This in reality hindered the possibility of having up to date, objective information to inform evidence-based policy decisions.
Manifold stated that the surveys are expensive and call for political will to get them done.
Finance Secretary, Dr. Hector Butts, was presented with the bulletin from the survey. He noted the Government’s commitment to ensure policy decisions are made on current data.
“To have such statistics, can serve two major purposes, first at the level of managing microeconomic planning and secondly, to determine the impact of labour in the generation of wealth in Guyana,” Butts stated.
IDB’s Country Representative, Sophie Makonnen, reiterated continuous surveys are key in policymaking and are one of the main tools to track labour market dynamics.
“More than ever, Guyana needs to match the supply of its labour with the current and future demand for labour, in ensuring they have the skills for the jobs out there,” Makonnen stated.
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