DILI (Joint Press Release) – The General Directorate of Statistics (GDS) of the Ministry of Finance, the Secretariat of State for Vocational Training and Employment (SEFOPE), together with the International Labour Organization (ILO) is launching the 2021 Timor-Leste Labour Force Survey Report today on 26 January 2023. It is officially launched by the Minister of Finance, H.E Rui Augusto Gomes, the Secretary of State for Vocational Training and Employment, H.E Alarico de Rosário and the ILO Country Director for Indonesia and Timor-Leste Ms. Michiko Miyamoto.

The Report is the third full stand-alone Labour Force Survey Report in Timor-Leste since the country’s independence, aiming to collect, analyze and disseminate statistical information on the labour force to support evidence-based policy and programme formulation and monitoring.

Conducted from October to November 2021, with technical support from the ILO, the survey aims to presents a comprehensive picture of the Timor-Leste labour market, analyses various labour market indicators, and provides detailed information disaggregated by sex, age and region on the economic characteristics of the working-age population, including employment, wages and earnings, hours of work, labour underutilization, and economic inactivity.

“The survey provides important indicators on the labour market for identification of needs relating to the creation of employment for all of the Timorese. It will also provide indicators that will help develop important long-term policies that address the needs of the current and future labour market,” stated Minister of Finance H.E Rui Augusto Gomes.

Secretary of State for Vocational Training and Employment H.E Alarico de Rosário highlighted the importance of addressing the country’s unemployment rate, particularly the youth unemployment rate. “The survey report indicates that the general unemployment rate has reached 5.1 per cent with a far greater of youth unemployment rate at 9.6 per cent. These data will be used by the Government as an indicator for the implementation of more measurable governmental programmes and initiatives that will focus on providing more job opportunities and income generation activities,” he stated.

Congratulating the concrete effort taken by the Government of Timor-Leste, Michiko Miyamoto, ILO Country Director for Indonesia and Timor-Leste highlights the importance of developing future employment policies and programmes that can absorb youth into labour market and enhance youth entrepreneurship. “The finding reveals that 30.5 per cent youth aged 15-24 are not engaged in employment, education or training. Thus, there is an urgent need to create more decent job and skills development opportunities for youth that allow them to participate in the labour market,” she said.

The survey is based on a sample of 7,275 households, which have been randomly selected to be representative of the Timor-Leste population. The survey was conducted in line with the latest international standards adopted by the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians.

Some of the key findings include:

• According to the results of the Labour Force Survey, the working-age population aged 15 years and above in Timor-Leste in 2021 was 809.3 thousand, with slightly more women (405.8 thousand) than men (403.6 thousand).
• The labour force, constituting women and men that were either employed or unemployed, totalled 247 thousand. The labour force participation rate was 30.5 per cent overall, with a sharp disparity between women (24.2 per cent) and men (36.9 per cent).
• In terms of the distribution of the labour force by educational attainment, 30.7 per cent had no formal education or had not completed primary schooling. Conversely, 16.8 per cent had at least some tertiary education.
• In total, employment amounted to 234.3 thousand, comprising of 142 thousand men and 92.3 thousand women.
• Nearly half (48.5 per cent) of all workers were classified as wage employees, while 50.3 per cent were self-employed as either an own-account worker or a contributing family worker. Women compared to men were more likely to be self-employed and less likely to be in wage employment.
• Unemployment totalled 12.7 thousand, indicating a general unemployment rate of 5.1 per cent. Unemployment among female jobseekers was higher (5.9 per cent) relative to their male counterparts (4.6 per cent). For young people aged 15-24 years, the unemployment rate was significantly higher at 9.6 per cent.
• 82.8 thousand youth people aged 15-24 years were not in employment, education or training (NEET) in 2021, representing 30.5 per cent of young people of this age group. Young women were more like to be NEET than young men (31.3 per cent compared to 29.8 per cent, respectively).
• Employment by economic activity, 59.1 per cent of total employment was based in the service sector, whereas agriculture and industry accounted for 26.9 per cent and 13.5 per cent, respectively.

For further information please contact:

Lita Octavia
ILO Programme Officer for Timor-Leste
Email: lita@ilo.org