Not only is there a need for more timely dissemination of information from the various CSO surveys but also more details that allow for comparisions, mapping of trends and other important analyses.
The latest Labour Bulletin from the Central Statistical Office (CSO) shows that T&T has recorded its lowest ever unemployment rate–3.7 per cent. On the surface, that seems a very good thing but the details of these statistics–or the lack of them–actually put a very different complexion on the job situation.For one thing, the statistics are more than a year old. The period covered in the CSO's latest Labour Bulletin is the first quarter of 2013, based on a survey done between January and March last year, so it is not an accurate representation of the current unemployment rate. Has the situation improved, remained the same, or deteriorated since then?
Also, the bulletin does not state the number of people who are in make-work programmes like URP and Cepep, or who have lost well-paid full-time work, cannot find similar employment, and have settled for a fraction of the pay doing part-time work. Most likely they have been classified as "employed" when it would be more accurate to described them as underemployed. If these categories in the workforce are taken into account, the actual unemployment rate may be much higher than the CSO's statistics suggest
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