Laos will continue to work with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to compile up-to-date information about the jobs held by and the general circumstances of Lao labourers.
The findings and the new statistical information of the labour force survey and child labour survey will help planners, policy makers, researchers, students and other users, following the Law on Statistics and National Statistics System Development Strategy (2010-2020).
The survey marks the 2nd batch of statistics collection and just began this year, administrated by the Ministry of Planning and Investment in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare with support from the ILO and other concerned sectors.
The latest survey’s aim was to provide information about the movement of labour, training for skilled labourers, employment makeup and unemployment levels. This data will assist the government to make policies and plans to follow up the situation of workers more effectively.
The authorities are expected to finish collecting information by the end of this year and will announce the results of the survey to the public by July 2017, Head of the National Stratistics Bureau ,Dr Samaychan Boupha said during the meeting on the 2nd labour survey, held on Tuesday in Vientiane.
Dr Samaychan, who is also Deputy Minister, said the authorities have plans to make another pilot survey about labourers at the end of this month and will hold a training course on related issued for the researchers.
At present, the survey was officially adopted and approved on May 23 by the Minister of Planning and Investment.
“This information will be used to compile the database of the government to follow up and evaluate the implementation of the 8th National Socio-Economic Development Plan,” he said.
Dr Samaychan stated that the information will be also used for follow up the progress of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The surveys and the reports have contributed to strengthening the national capacity in Laos to carry out periodic surveys through scientific collection, processing and analysis of the labour force and child labour data which is related to our work,” Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Welfare, Mr. Bounkhong Lasoukan said.
The first labour force survey and child labour Survey in Laos began in 2010 and found that the population at that time was some 5.8 million, of whom 2.9 million were female, according to the ILO.
More than two million people, or almost two-fifths of the population, are under 18 years of age. The report shows that out of 3,886,000 persons aged 15 or over, 3 million are in the labour force.
Of this labour force, 58,600 are registered as unemployed. The highest levels of unemployment are found in the province of Xieng Khuang (6.3 percent) followed by the capital, Vientiane (5.5 percent) and Borikhamxay (3.6 percent).
In urban areas overall unemployment is 3.2 percent, while rural areas without road access reported the lowest unemployment rate, at 0.7 percent. Nationally, the unemployment rate stands at 1.9 percent (male 1.8 percent, female 2.0 percent).
According to the child labour survey, approximately 178,000 children in Laos are considered to be engaged in child labour – around 96,000 girls and 81,000 boys.
Of these, more than 130,000–or two out of every three child labourers-are involved in what is defined as hazardous work.
Ninety percent of child labourers work in agriculture, forestry or fishing, and seven out of 10 work more than 49 hours per week. The majority of child labourers are found in rural areas, ILO reported.
Source: Vientiane Times
