Sri Lanka’s unemployment problem more acute in educated females
The number of unemployed persons is estimated as about 422,446 during the First quarter 2015. The unemployment rate for the First quarter 2015 is 4.7 percent.
The overall unemployment rate reported for female is 7.9 percent and it is 2.9 percent for male. Youth unemployment rate 15 – 24 years reported for the First quarter 2015 is 21.7 percent and that reports the highest unemployment
rate among all other age groups. Further rates for both males and females are 15.3 and 31.2 percent respectively for age group 15—24, a recent census revealed.
Unemployment rate by age group and gender –
First Quarter 2015
Age Group (years) Sri Lanka Male Female
Sri Lanka 4.7 2.9 7.9
15 - 24 21.7 15.3 31.2
25-29 8.7 4.1 15.9
Over 30 1.6 0.9 2.8
According to Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey results for the 1st quarter of 2015 released by the Department of Census and Statistics further revealed that the unemployment among females is higher than that of males, in all age groups. Youth and female unemployment contribute more to the overall unemployment of the country.
The highest un-employment rate is reported from the G.C.E.(A/L) and above group which is about 10.1 percent. Corresponding percentages are 5.3 percent and 14.3 percent for males and females respectively. Female unemployment rates are higher than those of males in all levels of education. This further shows that the problem of unemployment is more acute in the case of educated females than educated males, which has been seen the same picture in previous survey results.
Unemployment rate by level of education – First Quarter 2015
Level of Unemployment Rate %
Education
Sri Lanka Male Female
Sri Lanka 4.7 2.9 7.9
Below GCE O/L 2.7 2.0 4.2
GCE O/L 6.6 4.5 10.6
GCE A/L & above 10.1 5.3 14.3
