An Assessment of the Impact of Enhancing the Quality of Foreign Employment on the Sri Lankan Economy

Abstract

Remittances from foreign labour migrants constitute the second highest earner of foreign exchange. Such employment also contribute significantly to reducing the unemployment rate in the country. It would thus be in the best interests of the country and also of the migrants to seek ways of improving this sector, both qualitatively and quantitatively. It is recommended that to improve the productivity of the labour force, more male migrant workers in the skilled category should be encouraged to leave the country, as opposed to female domestic workers, as the former will bring in more foreign exchange, and also mitigate the social costs arising from absentee mothers. Appropriate vocational training should be provided to upgrade the labour forces. Another major recommendation is to explore labour markets in European and other developed countries which provide higher wages.