Youth unemployment reached 30.2% in 1st quarter of 2020

…labour force survey starts on Thursday

The first quarter of 2020 brought on some worrying figures for the local labour market, with a youth unemployment rate of 30.2 per cent.
This is according to the Bureau of Statistics in its latest report, as it gears up to start the quarterly labour force survey on Thursday. According to published data, the overall unemployment rate within the reporting period was 12.8 per cent. Meanwhile, in rural communities, there was a higher unemployment rate among women.
“The rural unemployed population represents the vast majority of the total unemployed for the first quarter of 2020 and the unemployment rate for women appears to be higher than that for men. The rural unemployed population represents the vast majority of the total unemployed for the first quarter of 2020 and the unemployment rate for women appears to be higher than that for men,” the Bureau highlighted.
The data showed that in the first quarter of 2020, the total population aged 15 and above residing in Guyana was 602,765 persons. Of this number, a majority of 71.8 per cent was based in rural areas and women slightly outnumbered men within the working-age population.
“Such a proportion is more than reversed if one look at the labour force (the percentage of working-age population actively engaged in the labour market) where men represent 58.3 per cent of the total.”
As it relates to employment-to-population ratio, it has increased from 42.4 per cent from the fourth quarter 2019 to 43.9 per cent in the first quarter 2020.
The report further outlined, “The indicator based on usual hours worked per week shows that the share of workers in time-related underemployment was recorded at 3.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, an increase from that recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019, 3.5 per cent.”
The first half of 2020 witnessed a decline in both private and public sector employment, one of the fallouts of the coronavirus pandemic that saw Guyana limiting economic activity to essential services and reducing hiring at public corporations, according to the Bank of Guyana in its half-year report, where it is stated that during the period until June 2020, there was a significant decline in Private Sector employment. This was primarily so in the services sector such as wholesale and retail trade and transportation, which would have been affected by more persons opting to stay home and conserve money, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the other hand, public sector employment fell by 3.3 per cent up to the end of June 2020. This was due to lower employment by Central Government, while the rest of the public sector employment saw a reduction of 8.7 per cent.
Employment in public corporations, which would include entities like the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) and the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI), declined. This was particularly the case with the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), which saw a 12.7 per cent drop in recruitment. (G12)