Iipumbu Sakaria
During the beginning of the year I indicated that this year the Namibia Statistics Agency will be very busy. We are busy with our regular periodic data releases as well as major survey projects that are under way and planned already. For now, let me inform you more about the 2018 Namibia Labour Force Survey which will be released tomorrow on March 28, 2019.
The Labour Force Survey held last year was a country wide household survey which was conducted between September and October 2018. The main purpose for conducting the survey is to provide information on the size and structure of our country`s work force. The other purpose is to provide elements for measuring the labour supply and the extent to which the available human resources are utilised in the production process of the economy and of course, as most of you know, to provide data on employment and unemployment rates in Namibia. The survey also serves as a basis for research in many areas ranging from testing labour market segmentation theories to formulating demographic models.
For starters, how will this labour information be presented? It will first give an indication of the approximate population at the time of the survey, and then break down the population into the age groups of above or below 15 years. Once the population of above 15 years is identified then it is again divided between those that are economically active and those that are economically inactive. One might ask why this is done.
For example, the economically inactive population consists of all persons below 15 years of age who do not form part of the labour force and hence should not be included. It also considers all those above 15 years of age who are not in employment or who are not available for work since they are either full time learners or students, homemakers, ill, disabled or on early retirement. The logic here is that they do are not considered to be in the labour force.
The economically active population is the one that is of much interest for labour market analysis. This segment comprises of all persons of working age who were available for work and are either employed or unemployed. It is hence from this economically active population where we derive our employment as well as the unemployment figures.
The labour force survey is not all about whether one is employed or not employed but offers also other interesting insights into the labour force. One such example is the employment dynamic per industry. We shall provide a breakdown of all industries and how many people are employed in it. The data shall also provide a historical perspective allowing one to assess which industries are shedding or gaining jobs. The report shall also provide average earnings per industry and also provide data on informal employment. For exact details on this, and more, please access our website as well as our mobile app to be up to date with the latest statistics.
*Iipumbu Sakaria is the Manager: Corporate Communications at the Namibia Statistics Agency
Photo: Sakaria
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