CSO Data highlights of the 3rd Quarter 2011 Labour Force Bulletin

3rd Quarter 2011 Unemployment Rate falls for second consecutive Quarter in 2011


Data highlights of the 3rd Quarter 2011 Labour Force Bulletin

The Central Statistical Office (CSO) is pleased to announce the release of the Labour Force Bulletin for the 3rd Quarter, 2011. The information contained in the bulletin is based on data collected in the Continuous Sample Survey of Population conducted between July – Sept, 2011.  


Labour Force
The Labour Force (Both Sexes) of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, in the 3rd quarter, 2011 registered 609 500 persons, which represented a decrease of 11 300 persons or 1.8% when compared to the 620 800 persons recorded in the Labour Force for the 3rd quarter of 2010.  

An examination of the Labour Force data reveals that in the 3rd quarter, 2011 there were 364 200 males, which indicated a decrease of 1 800 or 0.5% over the 366 000 males who participated in the Labour Force in the 3rd quarter of 2010. With regard to the number of females in the Labour Force, there were 245 300 such persons, representing a decrease of 9 500 or 3.7% from the 254 800 females who participated in the Labour Force in the corresponding quarter of 2010.

The data suggest, that of  the 11 300 persons who exited the Labour Force during the period under review (3rd Quarter 2010 – 3rd Quarter 2011), 84.1% were females.

The age group 35 - 39 experienced the largest increase in the number of persons in the Labour Force of
5 400 or 7.7% . This cohort moved from 70 400 persons in the 3rd quarter of 2010 to 75 800 persons in the 3rd quarter of 2011. The age group 40 - 44 showed the largest decrease of 6 000 or 9.3% since the 3rd quarter 2010 total was 64 700 and the 3rd quarter 2011 figure was 58 700.


A comparison of the data from the 3rd quarter 2011 with those of the 2nd quarter 2011, shows a decrease  in the Labour Force of 8 300 or 1.3% given that there were 617 800 persons in the Labour Force in the 2nd quarter of 2011. The figures further reveal that there was an increase of 400 or 0.1% with regard to the number of males in the Labour Force, which totaled 363 800 in the 2nd quarter of 2011.

In contrast, the number of females in the Labour Force decreased by 8 700, or 2.4% of the 2nd quarter, 2011 tally, which stood at 254 000. These data imply that there was a modest increase in the number of  males in the Labour Force and a comparatively steep decrease in the number of females participating in the Labour Force, between the 2nd Quarter 2011 and the 3rd Quarter, 2011.

Non Institutional Population 15yrs. old and over  

The overall Non-Institutional Population 15yrs. old and over increased by 3900 or 0.4% between the 2nd quarter 2011 and 3rd quarter, 2011. The male Non-Institutional Population 15yrs old and over increased by 1 900, while the female Non-Institutional Population 15yrs old and over increased by 2 100 during the period under review.

Employed Persons

Employed persons (persons with jobs) decreased by 3 900 or 0.7% in the 3rd quarter 2011, from a tally of 581 900 in the 2nd quarter 2011 to 578 000.  The age cohort 40 - 44 was the largest contributor to this decline, with a decrease of 10 800 or 16.0%, where the 2nd quarter 2011 figure was 67 400 and the 3rd quarter 2011 total was 56 600.

A comparison of the number of Persons with Jobs in the 3rd quarter 2011, with data for the 3rd quarter 2010, shows a decrease of 6 300 persons or 1.1%. The Total Persons with Jobs were 584 300 for the 3rd quarter 2010 and 578 000 for the 3rd quarter 2011 respectively.


An analysis of persons with jobs by Industry (for the period 3rd quarter 2010 to 3rd quarter 2011)
 
An analysis of persons with jobs by Industry (for the period 3rd quarter 2010 to 3rd quarter 2011)
revealed that decreases were observed in ‘Other Agriculture, Forestry, Hunting and Fishing‘(2 200 jobs), ‘Construction’ (2 500 jobs), ‘Electricity and Water’ (600 jobs), ‘Other Manufacturing (excluding sugar and oil)’ (3 200 jobs) and ‘Transport, Storage and Communication’ (300 jobs) ‘Wholesale and Retail Trade, Restaurants and Hotels’ (2 700 jobs) and ‘Community, Social and Personal Services’ (500 jobs).




Industries that experienced an increase in the number of Persons with Jobs were ‘Petroleum and Gas including Production, Refining and Service contracting’ (2 000 jobs), ‘Other Mining and Quarrying’ (700) and ‘Financing, Insurance, Real Estate and Business Services’ (2 700 jobs).

Key occupations that recorded a fall in persons with jobs from the 3rd quarter 2010 to 3rd quarter 2011 were ‘Plant, Machine Operators and Assemblers’ (1 800) ‘Craft and related workers’ (2 600 jobs), ‘Agricultural, forestry and fishery workers’ (1 300 jobs), ‘Legislators, Senior Officials and Managers (4 800 jobs) and, ‘Technicians and associated professionals’ (2 200 jobs).  Occupations which saw an increase in Persons with Jobs included, ‘Professionals’ (4 800) and ‘Clerks’ (200).

Analysis of Persons with Jobs by Type of Worker
The type of workers for which decreases in Persons with Jobs were recorded, were ‘Government Public Service/Statutory Board’ (4 400), ‘Non-Government’ (5 000), ‘Employer’ (4 100), ‘Learner/Apprentice’ (600) for the period 3rd quarter 2010 to 3rd quarter 2011. Increases in the number of Persons with Jobs were reflected in, ‘Own Account Workers’ (2 500 jobs) and ‘Unpaid worker’ (100 jobs).

Unemployment Rate
The unemployment rate for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago decreased from 5.8% in the 2nd quarter, 2011 to 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, 2011, a decrease of 0.6 percentage points. When compared with the 3rd quarter 2010 the unemployment rate declined by 0.7 percentage points moving downwards from 5.9% to its current level (5.2%).

The Unemployment Rate of Males ( 4.0%) was below  the national average on the on other  hand the Unemployment Rate of Females (6.8 %) was above the national average.  For Both Males and Females the higher unemployment rates were to be found in the Age groups 15 – 19 and
20 – 24.  This has been a consistent trend in each of the quarters between 3rd Quarter 2010 and 3rd Quarter 2011.

Thirty-two percent (32%) of the unemployed were to be found in the Construction Sector.  This sector continues to record the highest unemployment rates.  46.9% of the unemployed males worked in the construction sector.

In 3rd quarter 2011, the number of unemployed persons for both sexes were concentrated in the ‘Construction’ (32.1%), ‘Wholesale and Retail Trade, Restaurants and Hotels’ (21.6%) and ‘Community Social and Personal Services (25.4%) Sectors.

Click here to download the Labour Force Bulletin for the 3rd Quarter, 2011