Labor Market Trends and Outcomes in Sri Lanka
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Date
2010
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
World Bank
Abstract
The Sri Lankan labor market is currently experiencing several changes that affect youth employment in the country . First, the country has one of the fastest-aging populations in the world—the youth share of the population in the country is declining, while the adult share is rising. As a result, the labor force has aged and its rate of growth has declined. If current participation rates remain constant, the Sri Lankan labor force is expected to begin to shrink around. How are these changes affecting the labor market? Is Sri Lanka making optimum use of its diminishing labor resources? Second, Sri Lanka has grappled with the problem of high unemployment rates among youth over several decades (Rama 1999). In recent times overall unemployment rates in the country have come down steadily . Has that decline led to a corresponding improvement in youth employment prospects? Finally , globalization and technological change have fueled the demand for better -skilled workers in information technology (IT) and IT -enabled services both internationally and domestically . At the same time, demand for skilled migrant workers is growing globally (Lewin and Caillods 2001). To take advantage of these emerging opportunities , the country needs to have a skilled, globally competitive workforce . Is the education sector in the country preparing young workers to meet the skill demands of these emerging labor markets?
To find answers to these questions , this chapter examines the trends in labor market indicators over time for Sri Lanka, with international comparisons , where appropriate . It begins with a description of the major data sources and definitions used in the study . It then looks at trends in the size of the labor force , employment, unemployment, and earnings distribution before offering some concluding thoughts.
Description
E-book
Keywords
Youth employment, School-to-work transition, Labour market, Sri Lanka
Citation
Gunatilaka, Ramani, Mayer, Markus and Vodopivec, Milan (eds). The challenge of youth employment in Sri Lanka.