Summary
PUNTLAND LABOUR FORCE SURVEY 2019
The overall labour force participation rate for Puntland State of Somalia was 22.9 percent with male and female rates of 33.6 and 14.8 percent respectively. The urban and rural rates were just about equal at about 23 percent. Among the working age group, about 22.9 percent were in the labour force i.e., either employed or unemployed while the rest, about 77.1 percent were outside the labour force. With respect to sex, 66.4 percent of the males were outside the labour force relative to 85.2 percent of the females. The proportion of the working age group outside the labour force in urban and rural areas was about 77 percent for each.
The unemployment rate was 11.7 percent and males had a lower rate of 10.7 percent while females had a rate of 13.5 percent. The youth (aged 15 to 24 years) unemployment rate was 31.7 percent and is higher for female youth (32.4 percent) than the male youth (31.2 percent).
With respect to branches of economic activity, services were the single most frequent activity contributing 56 percent to all employment. This was followed by agriculture (26 percent ) and industry (18 percent). The occupation categories with the highest occupational share were service and sales workers (37.5 percent) and professionals (at 24.9 percent) – which was mainly composed of teachers and health professionals.
The proportions suggest that achievement of universal primary education is still a major challenge in Puntland State of Somalia. Even though 31 percent of individuals aged 15 years and over are currently studying, the level of educational attainment is relatively low. About 35 percent of the working age group had not attained any educational qualification and/or attended school while about 3.5 percent have a university education. Whereas 24.2 percent of males had not completed any level of education, the corresponding proportion of females was 43.8 percent.
An equivalent of 5.2 percent of the population aged 15 and over had acquired (or were pursing) one form of technical training or another. The proportions by sex were just about equal at 5.1 percent and 5.2 percent for males and females respectively. The most popular form of training was Tailoring, Electrical and Plumbing accounting for more than 64 percent of all trade/technical training. About 28.4 percent were sponsored by the government while another 21.4 percent and 20.1 percent were respectively self- sponsored or sponsored by an international non-governmental organization.
The labour force indicators for women and youth mostly lag behind that of men. Women had a labour force participation rate of 14.8 percent relative to 33.6 percent for males. The employment to population ratio for women was 12.8 percent relative to 30.0 percent for the men. A larger share of women is neither at work nor school/training – as suggested by their higher NEET rate.
Migration is less common a phenomenon in Puntland State of Somalia and on average 5.7 percent of the respondents had moved in the last 5 years. Bari region had the largest percentage of respondents who reported moving at 8.3 percent while the populations in Ayn, Sool and Mudug regions were relatively static with less than 1 percent reporting that they had moved. Natural disaster/insecurity was the most prevalent reason for migration – accounting for nearly a third of all migration episodes.
The proportion of households receiving remittances was 17 percent – with most remittances being monthly. This proportion varied by region with the highest proportion being 30.7 percent for Ayn region and the lowest was for Bari region at 7.3 percent.
The unemployment rate was 11.7 percent and males had a lower rate of 10.7 percent while females had a rate of 13.5 percent. The youth (aged 15 to 24 years) unemployment rate was 31.7 percent and is higher for female youth (32.4 percent) than the male youth (31.2 percent).
With respect to branches of economic activity, services were the single most frequent activity contributing 56 percent to all employment. This was followed by agriculture (26 percent ) and industry (18 percent). The occupation categories with the highest occupational share were service and sales workers (37.5 percent) and professionals (at 24.9 percent) – which was mainly composed of teachers and health professionals.
The proportions suggest that achievement of universal primary education is still a major challenge in Puntland State of Somalia. Even though 31 percent of individuals aged 15 years and over are currently studying, the level of educational attainment is relatively low. About 35 percent of the working age group had not attained any educational qualification and/or attended school while about 3.5 percent have a university education. Whereas 24.2 percent of males had not completed any level of education, the corresponding proportion of females was 43.8 percent.
An equivalent of 5.2 percent of the population aged 15 and over had acquired (or were pursing) one form of technical training or another. The proportions by sex were just about equal at 5.1 percent and 5.2 percent for males and females respectively. The most popular form of training was Tailoring, Electrical and Plumbing accounting for more than 64 percent of all trade/technical training. About 28.4 percent were sponsored by the government while another 21.4 percent and 20.1 percent were respectively self- sponsored or sponsored by an international non-governmental organization.
The labour force indicators for women and youth mostly lag behind that of men. Women had a labour force participation rate of 14.8 percent relative to 33.6 percent for males. The employment to population ratio for women was 12.8 percent relative to 30.0 percent for the men. A larger share of women is neither at work nor school/training – as suggested by their higher NEET rate.
Migration is less common a phenomenon in Puntland State of Somalia and on average 5.7 percent of the respondents had moved in the last 5 years. Bari region had the largest percentage of respondents who reported moving at 8.3 percent while the populations in Ayn, Sool and Mudug regions were relatively static with less than 1 percent reporting that they had moved. Natural disaster/insecurity was the most prevalent reason for migration – accounting for nearly a third of all migration episodes.
The proportion of households receiving remittances was 17 percent – with most remittances being monthly. This proportion varied by region with the highest proportion being 30.7 percent for Ayn region and the lowest was for Bari region at 7.3 percent.