Job vacancies in the private sector fell by 37.73% last year compared to 2008 and this trend is attributed to the global economic crisis, according to a survey conducted by the Planning, Development and Research Division of the Ministry of Labour Relations and Productivity Promotion.
The survey noted that a decline in the labour force may point to weakening economic conditions in the country. But its an indication elsewhere that growth in labour force seems to be associated with growth in working age population than economic growth, showed some ambiguity.
The survey given in detail in the LMI (Labour Market Information) Bulletin, Vol 1 of 2010 is based on the job vacancies advertised in the newspapers in 2009. The survey is conspicuously silent about any job vacancies of the state sector and thus it appears that the survey is incomplete.
It said the number of private sector generated jobs for 2009 was 70,978, the lowest number of vacancies during the past five years and the decline is 37.73% compared to 2008.
There is a declining trend in registering new employers, though according to Central Bank statistics there is a large number of establishments in the country and this declining trend should be viewed seriously, it said.
The survey has identified the main advertising as formal and the vacancies advertised in the classified section of newspapers as informal sector. The formal sector is 57% while informal is 43%.
The analysis indicated the occupational categories as: Plant and Machine Operators and Assemblers 18.85%; Service and Sales Workers 16.46%, Professionals 14.54% Elementary Occupations 12.70% and a significant percentage in Clerical Support Workers.
From 2005 to 2006, the share of vacancies for semi-skilled and elementary occupations has declined while the share of vacancies for skilled occupations increased up to 2007. But, after 2007 the scenario has reversed.
Share of vacancies for highly skilled occupations has marginally declined to 19.40% in 2009 from 20.73% in 2008 by 1.33 percentage points.
Share of vacancies for skilled occupations dropped to 20.96% by 2.13 percentage points with compared to 2008.
The number of vacancies in highly skilled occupations drastically declined by 41.75% to 13,768 compared to 2008. Within this category vacancies for Managers dropped by approximately 46% and vacancies for Professionals by 40.23%.
The vacancies recorded for skilled occupations in 2009 totalled 14,880 with a decline of 11,435 number of vacancies compared to 2008. This associated with a 38.27% and 47.34% decline in the number of vacancies for Technicians and Associate Professionals and Craft and Related Trade Workers, respectively.
The survey showed that for all occupations except ‘Clerks’ employers preferred males. The gender gap is not that wide for professionals.
It indicated that with economic conditions improving, labour force trends too would increase. A decline in the labour force may point to weakening economic conditions.
Sri Lanka’s labour force decreased in the 1990s but increased in early 2000s. Economic conditions were generally positive during that time (except in 2001) and a significant number of people entered the labour market in search of work.
The labour force reached a peak of 6,827,313 (6.8 million) in 2000 followed by a decline in 2001 due to negative economic growth. Then since 2002 the labour force has increased steadily and reached its peak of 8,141,347 (8.1 million) in 2005.
The survey indicated that females have still not been successful in filling the gap between male and female labour forces and this big gap continued. In 2008 there were 2,108,209 fewer women than men and in 1993, there were 1,946,502 fewer women than men in the labour force.
Therefore, the attempts to increase labour force participation in formulating policies and in implementing strategies should focus not only on economic factors but also on factors such as social, cultural and labour market conditions as well, it said
The trend of ageing in the labour force is demonstrated by the increase in the share of labour force of people aged 40 and over, from 39.4 % in 1995 – 1999 to 47.4 % in 2005 – 2009.
This ageing scenario is also supported by the declining trends of the youth in the labour force as well. The share of people aged 15 – 24 years of the labour force has declined from 21.4 % in 995 – 1999 to 16.3 % in 2005.
In the case of education and the labour supply, the survey indicated that an educated labour force includes workers with a broad range of skills and competencies which are essential to ensure the continued competitiveness of organizations in a global knowledge based economy and improved labour market outcomes for individuals.
Lower secondary education still remains as the standard for employment. As per the Quarterly Labour Force Survey Statistics, about 84% of people in the labour force have ordinary and below level of general education.
This may be due to number of factors such as, low economic performance, lack of innovations, less concentration on research and development, less product differentiation, negative attitude towards the private sector participation in education, etc. However, the labour market is also demanding workers with a variety of other skills and abilities including English language, IT literacy, communication, team building, commitment and self motivated. But employers in the organized private sector are challenged to find the skilled workers they need, the survey said.
In regard to working age population the survey indicated that the working age population in Sri Lanka includes all those people who are 10 years and above in the population. However, in this bulletin the working age population has been narrowed to the population of 15 years and above.
The share of youth working age population (aged 15 – 24) has declined by 8.2 percentage points to 21.2 % in 2009 from 29.4 % in 1995. The share of older people (years 40 and above) of the working age population amounted to 49.6 % in 2009 which was 39.8 % in 1995.
These trends clearly indicate that Sri Lanka is ageing as a result of population decline and continuous net out migration.
|
E-mail
