The unemployment conundrum

Apr 07, 2022 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Kaieteur News – The actual unemployment rate is far lower than the official statistics indicate. The reason for this is that unemployed refers to those who are out of work but are actively seeking employment.
There are thousands of Guyanese who are listed as not working and who indicate that they are actively looking for jobs and therefore should be categorised as part of the unemployed. In reality, however, they are not interested in working.
A few years ago, a gentleman went berserk in the city and attacked workers in an automotive repair shop. At the time of the attack, there were not many persons on the streets. Fortunately, the police were quickly on the scene and were able to neutralise the threat.
Within minutes of this incident, persons began to emerge from neighbouring yards in their numbers. It was simply unbelievable to see the large numbers that emerged from homes. The question that immediately sprung to mind was: Why were these individuals, most of whom were of working age, not gainfully employed?
It is a development that can be seen throughout Guyana. There are hundreds of persons, especially young people who are at home, not necessarily because there are no jobs but because many of them are simply not interested in working.
After all, why go and work all day for $7,000 when you can wake up late, watch TV all day, enjoy three square meals, dress in the latest threads, and still find time to hang out for hours with friends? Is this not the good life, and all of this compliments of Ma and Pa?
There are some other persons who are being properly compensated by their beaus or girlfriends for staying at home. They are not actively seeking employment.
Many young and not so young persons are simply not interested in working. And so they stay at home all day and laze around.
Not everyone is however that fortunate. The vast majority of our adult population need to work. And there have been many complaints that jobs are not available.
Yet if you pick up the newspapers each day there are a number of vacancies which are advertised. While these will not satisfy the total demand of the unemployed who are seeking jobs, they do amount to a significant number of vacancies.
A discussion with employers also reveals some disturbing trends. For one, there is a high turnover of workers. It seems that many young persons do not stick around long enough, at least not long enough to compensate for the cost of training that is borne by the employers.
Secondly, most employers complain about the quality of the workers they are finding. Some of the applicants have excellent academic qualifications, but are often found wanting in the practical aspects of their training. Then there is also the problem of finding the right employees and in adequate numbers.
There is a shortage of labour in the construction sector, and this is not surprising, since many school leavers prefer to work in offices rather than on construction sites.
During the run-up to Cricket World Cup 2007, two major hotels were being built, and yet there was a problem obtaining labour to complete one of them. The company building one of the hotels was forced to increase the remuneration in order to attract skills.
It is, therefore, not surprising to learn that many contractors are complaining that they cannot find labourers. There are more jobs than takers.
Contractors also have problems with those who turn up for work. Some workers when they are paid on Friday do not turn up to work on Saturday. In fact, many of them booze all weekend and then absent themselves on Monday.
For this reason, many contractors have taken to paying their workers on Mondays, rather than on Fridays or Saturdays. In this way, absenteeism is almost halved.
The Cubans have proven to be excellent workers. They are rarely absent, have excellent work ethic, are prepared to work longer hours and accept far lower wages than Guyanese demand.
The idea therefore that Guyana may need to import labour is not because of full employment in the country. Rather it is because there is always an escape valve – it could be Ma or Pa or remittances from overseas – which act as a disincentive for persons to be actively seeking work.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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The unemployment conundrum

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