Sri Lanka Unemployment Rate

Unemployment Rate in Sri Lanka decreased to 4.10 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013 from
4.40 percent in the third quarter of 2013. Unemployment Rate in Sri Lanka averaged 5.79
Percent from 1996 until 2013, reaching an all time high of 11.30 Percent in the fourth quarter of
1996 and a record low of 3.90 Percent in the third quarter of 2011. Unemployment Rate in Sri
Lanka is reported by the Department of Census and Statistics - Sri Lanka


In Sri Lanka: Highest unemployment rate among educated youth, especially women
Unemployment rates in South Asia tend to rise by level of educational attainment, which is
related, in part, to family income. In Sri Lanka, the highest unemployment rate is found among
those with at least a higher secondary education: 5.5 per cent for men and 11.7 per cent for
women in the second quarter of 2012. In comparison, the unemployment rate for Sri Lankans
who did not complete their lower secondary education is just 1.7 per cent for men and 3.3 per
cent for women (Sri Lanka Department of Census and Statistics, 2012)," ILOs report Global
Employment Trends for Youth 2013: A Generation at Risk noted.

Last month, the World Banks World Development Report 2013 said one of the biggest
challenges facing Sri Lanka was to improve womens employment opportunities, especially for
the young female population. In 2010, only 28 percent of young women aged 15-24 participated
in the labor force in Sri Lanka (compared to 50 percent of young men). The participation rate
among women aged 25-64 in the same year was 43 percent, compared to 90 percent of men in
the same age group. Importantly, the World Bank report said Sri Lanka needed to improve
employable skills.

Sri Lankss youth employment challenge
The educational system seems not be enhancing the skills that are valued by the employers
particularly of those in the private sector, and in turn fail to be hired by their prospective
employers. At the same time, youth are either not interested in the available jobs or have no job
satisfaction. Statistics on career outcomes of Sri Lankan university graduates show that
unemployment among young adults (aged 25-29) and among educated individuals have been
high as 18 percent and 11 percent in recent years. Statistics also depict that unemployment
among educated females is significantly higher than educated males. According to Central
Banks statistics office, for year 2011, Sri Lanka's unemployment fell to 4.2 percent from 4.9
percent a year earlier. Here, the number of state workers has increased to 1.232 million from
1,219 million a year earlier. State workers made up 14.3 percent of the employed while private
sector workers had fallen from 41.2 percent to 40.4 percent last year.
Among the diverse views that surface, the issues related to youth unemployment seem to be
common among many stakeholders. Its necessary to see why the education imparted at
undergraduate levels is not marketable, and the various issues related to youth unemployment in
our country.
The survey on Career outcomes of the Sri Lankan University Graduates carried out by the
Manpower and Employment Department observed that Arts subjects such as History and
Archaeology, Languages and Political Science need to be examined for the possibility of offering
differentiated academic programs which are marketable in the current scenario and have a
demand in the labor market.
It stated that the negative public image on the Arts degrees should be changed systematically,
since it is extremely harmful to some Arts graduates who might have chosen the Arts subject
streams, on their preference. However had they chosen differently they would have higher
employability potential. The survey has also revealed that relatively higher proportions of
Sinhala and Tamil medium graduates have remained unemployed compared to their English
medium counterparts. The report observed that high competency in English is recognized as an
added advantage in many aspects.
http://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/172-opinion/17998-sri-lankas-youth-employment-
challenge.html
Poverty alleviation program that is operational in Sri Lanka
In 1991 the government of Sri Lanka initiated the Janasaviya Poverty Alleviation Program
focusing on the poor and unemployed. Under the Janasaviya program poor families received Rs.
2,500/- a month, over a period of two years, and of this sum each month Rs. 1,458/- was
allocated for consumption, while the balance Rs. 1,042/- was invested on behalf of the recipient.
The intention was that with the grant people would be encouraged to start a small enterprise or
create other means of self-employment. With the change of regime in 1994, the government
launched the Samurdhi Poverty Alleviation Program. This is an extensive program which
addresses issues such as development of rural infrastructure facilities, improving health and
nutritional conditions among rural community and creating livelihood opportunities.
Governments commitment under the Samurdhi program
Though approximately 15.2 percent of the population is considered poor, around 45 percent of
these families are covered under the safety net programs funded by the government through
income transfers (food and income subsidy), nutrition packages for pregnant and lactating
mothers and milk feeding subsidies for children aged between two and five years. The objective
of the Samurdhi program is not only to raise the economic standards of individuals and alleviate
poverty but also to facilitate the strengthening of society. Samurdhi recipients are also
encouraged to develop the practice of savings. The Samurdhi Development Bank assists
beneficiaries in cultivating and sustaining the saving habit, whilst disbursing micro loans to
Samurdhi members for enterprise development. Between four to five percent of the National
Budget is said to be allocated annually to provide safety net assistance to the poor.


benefits from Samurdhi program provide to the poor of Sri Lanka
According to the size of the family, Samurdhi beneficiaries receive food stamps to purchase food
items and kerosene oil, etc., in addition to which they receive special grants for life cycle events
as well as for hospitalization and for their childrens education. The amount of assistance that
should be provided to a family is based on whether they are poor or very poor families. The Food
Stamp Scheme aims to strengthen the nutritional standards of feeding mothers of poor families.
Under the Kerosene Assistance Scheme, Samurdhi recipient families living in areas that lack
electricity are given Rs. 100/- each month to purchase kerosene oil. The Dry Food Ration
Scheme provides dry food ration cards of differing financial values. Under the Samurdhi Society
Insurance Scheme, families are provided financial assistance at times of death, birth, marriage,
hospitalization in the family and for education of children.The Infrastructure Development
program aims to develop the infrastructure and economic development of villages with the
participation of the Samurdhi recipients in the respective areas. For the economic development of
villages, the Samurdhi Authority implements Economic Development programmes together with
the participation of Samurdhi recipients in order to develop agriculture, animal husbandry,
marketing and industrial projects. Under the Animal Husbandry and Fishery Development
Projects, special attention is paid to the development of animal husbandry and fisheries. Social
Upliftment Programs facilitate anti-smoking, anti-alcohol, anti-drugs and anti-gambling
programmes in order to improve the social fabric of the country.Samurdhi Recipient Housing
Projects cater to the most deserving homeless Samurdhi recipients in a Samurdhi Division in
order to construct or renovate their houses.Marketing Programmes help transform Samurdhi
recipient families into new entrepreneurs as a means of alleviating poverty.
http://www.salary.lk/home/labour-law/social-security/unemployment