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Labour Force Survey - Annual Report 2015

Sri Lanka
Labour Force Survey
Annual Report - 2015
(With Provincial and District level data)

Department of Census and Statistics
Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs

Labour Force Survey - Annual Report 2015

Labour Force Survey - Annual Report 2015

Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey
Annual Report - 2015
(With Provincial and District level data)

Department of Census and Statistics

Ministry of National Policies & Economic Affairs

Labour Force Survey - Annual Report 2015

ISBN 978-955-577-997-5

Labour Force Survey - Annual Report 2015

Preface
In the past, information on labour force characteristics, employment and unemployment etc. were collected through
labour force and socio - economic surveys conducted at five yearly time intervals. However, the employment and
unemployment data are required at very short intervals to monitor the programs implemented in the employment
generating policies of the government. Therefore, to satisfy this need, the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS)
designed a labour force survey (LFS) on a quarterly basis, to measure the levels and trends of employment,
unemployment and labour force in Sri Lanka on a continuous basis. This survey was commenced from the first quarter of
1990 and is being continued by the DCS.
Though certain changes were made over the years to improve the accuracy and usefulness of the data, most of the survey
concepts and methods are very similar to those introduced at the beginning of the survey in 1990.
Beginning in January 2006, some significant improvements were made to the labour force survey schedule focusing on
literacy, household economic activities, informal sector employment and underemployment etc. This revised version had
been continued until 2012. In 2013, new improvements were done for the structure of this survey schedule. Some
conceptual and classification changes were also incorporated. For example aged 15 and above population is considered as
working age population. Also for the first time a re-weighting is applied to LFS data series from 2011 onward. This was
done in order to adjust the estimated population figures with 2012 Census of Population & Housing and mid- year
population estimates of Register General‟s Office. This report consists with reweighted statistics.
Field work of the survey was carried out from January to December 2015, for 12 months period in all districts. This
report is based on a sample of 25,000 housing units and provides national, provincial and district level estimates with a
stipulated standard errors of labour force characteristics as reported in the relevant reference period.

A.J. Satharasinghe
Director General
Department of Census and Statistics
Department of Census and Statistics,
„Sankyana Mandiraya‟
No.306/71
Polduwa Road,
Battaramulla.
17 / 11 / 2016.

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Labour Force Survey - Annual Report 2015

Acknowledgements
This “Annual Report of the Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey, 2015” with provincial and district level data is
based on the total annual sample of 25,000 housing units, covering all districts of the country.
Planning and execution of the survey was done by staff of the Sample Survey Division under the direction of
Mr. H.R.Dias, Director, Sample Surveys Division and Mr. M.D. Sunil Senanayake Deputy Director, Sample
Surveys Division.
The survey activities were organized and supervised by Mrs. W.A.C.Wijebandara, Mr. K.S.R.L.Senadeera,
Mrs. M.D.D.D.Deepawansa, Mrs. C.Jayawickrama, Mr. A.K.D.C.N.S.Karunarathna, Mr. K.Weerasiri, Mrs.
U.S.Dilrukshi, Mr. M.L.K.P.Kumara, Ms. M.W.L.C.M. Chandrarathne Statisticians & Senior Statistician,
of the sample surveys division.
The computer data processing and final tabulations were done by Mrs. W.A.S.M.P. Gunasekara, Mr.
A.M.A.E.Atapattu, Statistical Officers and Mrs. A.N. Ekanayake, Statistical Assistant of the Sample Surveys
Division, under the supervision of Mrs. W.A.C.Wijebandara, Statistician. The statistical officers, statistical
assistants, Information and Communication Technology assistants, Data Entry Officers/Coding clerks and
development officers (iii), of the sample survey division are acknowledged for their valuable contribution
during the whole survey process.
The Information & Communication Technology Division, under the direction of Mr. S.A.S. Bandulasena,
Additional Director General (ICT) and under the supervision of Mr. P.M.R.Fernando, Deputy Director
(ICT) and Mr. W.H.P.N. Weerasiri Deputy Director (ICT), was responsible for the survey data entry and
preparation of data entry and computer edits programmes. Data entry was decentralized and manual editing,
coding & data entry were done by responsible officers at district secretariats in all districts. Developing of
sample selection programme and its related computer software was done by Mr. K.M.R. Wickramasinghe,
Deputy Director (ICT).
This publication was organized and prepared by Mrs. W.A.C. Wijebandara Statistician, Sample Surveys
Division, assisted by Mrs. W.A.S.M.P. Gunasekara, Mr. A.M.A.E.Atapattu, Statistical officers & Mrs.
Asanthi Ekanayaka, Statistical Assistant. Mr. H.L.R Perera, Statistical officer prepared the thematic maps of
the report.
District staff of the Department who worked on the survey deserves a special word of thanks, The Deputy
Directors/ Senior Statisticians/ Statisticians supervised the survey and field Statistical Officers, worked hard
at the data collection stage, to make this survey a success. Printing of the report was done at the staff of
Printing Division, under the supervision of Mr. M.J.M Fernando, Statistician.
Finally, I wish to express my appreciation to all the respondents of the survey for their valuable cooperation.

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Labour Force Survey - Annual Report 2015

SUMMARY STATISTICS
Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey - 2015
Summary Statistics on Labour Force Characteristics
All districts are included

15 years & over population
Indicator

Total

Male

Female

Urban

Rural

15,281,945

7,036,945

8,245,001

2,578,460

12,703,486

Labour force in this age group

8,214,473

5,255,593

2,958,880

1,253,519

6,960,954

Labour force participation rate

53.8

74.7

35.9

48.6

54.8

7,830,976

5,097,798

2,733,178

1,196,449

6,634,527

95.3

97.0

92.4

95.4

95.3

383,496

157,795

225,702

57,070

326,427

4.7

3.0

7.6

4.6

4.7

7,067,473

1,781,352

5,286,121

1,324,940

5,742,532

Total

Male

Female

Urban

Rural

13,745,751

6,262,880

7,482,871

2,327,767

11,417,985

Labour force in this age group

7,983,680

5,103,139

2,880,542

1,221,809

6,761,871

Labour force participation rate

58.1

81.5

38.5

52.5

59.2

7,655,740

4,979,641

2,676,099

1,170,002

6,485,739

95.9

97.6

92.9

95.8

95.9

327,940

123,498

204,442

51,807

276,132

4.1

2.4

7.1

4.2

4.1

5,762,071

1,159,741

4,602,330

1,105,958

4,656,113

Population (15 years & over)

Employed population

Employment rate
Unemployed population
Unemployment rate
Not in labour force
20 years & over population

Indicator
Population (20 years & over)

Employed population
Employment rate
Unemployed population
Unemployment rate
Not in labour force

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Labour Force Survey - Annual Report 2015

Selected Labour Force Indicators …
Year

Indicator

20061

20071

20082

20092

20102

20113

20123

20133

20143

20153

Labour force participation rate
By Gender
Total

57.1

55.5

55.1

54.1

53.4

52.9

52.5

53.7

53.2

53.8

Male

76.7

76.2

76.1

74.7

75.0

74.0

74.9

74.9

74.6

74.7

Female

39.5

37.0

36.6

36.2

34.4

34.3

32.9

35.4

34.6

35.9

Total

57.1

55.5

55.1

54.1

53.4

52.9

52.5

53.7

53.2

53.8

Urban

50.5

50.0

50.8

48.4

46.8

47.8

48.3

47.7

48.7

48.6

Rural

58.1

56.3

55.7

54.9

54.4

53.8

53.4

54.9

54.1

54.8

Total

6.5

6.0

5.4

5.9

4.9

4.2

4.0

4.4

4.3

4.7

Male

4.7

4.3

3.7

4.3

3.5

2.7

2.8

3.2

3.1

3.0

Female

9.7

9.0

8.4

8.6

7.7

7.1

6.3

6.6

6.5

7.6

By residential sector

Unemployment Rate
By Gender

By selected age Group (Year)
20 – 29

15.9

15.0

13.7

15.4

13.8

12.4

11.3

13.1

13.6

14.2

20 – 24

21.0

21.1

18.1

21.4

19.1

17.7

16.7

19.3

19.9

19.7

25 – 29

11.0

9.4

9.5

10.3

9.2

7.7

6.6

7.6

8.2

9.4

By selected educational level
A/L & above
Total

11.6

11.8

10.5

11.2

11.6

9.1

7.6

8.7

8.2

9.2

Male

6.9

6.6

6.0

7.0

7.8

5.4

4.6

5.7

5.4

4.7

16.8

17.5

15.3

15.5

15.8

13.2

10.8

11.8

11.1

13.5

Female

Employed population
By Gender
Total

7,084,346

7,026,733

7,628,683

7,579,835

7,696,142

7,591,591

7,488,704

7,681,279

7,700,489

7,830,976

Male

4,596,634

4,643,931

5,018,954

4,949,825

5,125,763

5,061,214

5,046,057

5,024,340

5,075,426

5,097,798

Female

2,487,711

2,382,801

2,609,729

2,630,010

2,570,379

2,530,377

2,442,647

2,656,938

2,625,064

2,733,178

7,026,733

7,628,683

7,579,835

7,696,142

7,591,591

7,488,704

7,681,279

7,700,489

7,830,976

By industry (Percentage)
Total

7,084,346

%
Agriculture
%
Industry
%
Services
%

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

2,269,752

2,192,739

2,474,446

2,459,824

2,512,546

2,511,266

2,333,342

2,321,215

2,222,859

2,244,547

32.0

31.2

32.4

32.5

32.6

33.1

31.2

30.2

28.9

28.7

1,887,984

1,870,971

2,002,805

1,904,722

1,864,538

1,819,608

1,940,615

1,996,730

2,027,426

2,018,171

26.7

26.6

26.3

25.1

24.2

24.0

25.9

26

26.3

25.8

2,926,609

2,963,022

3,151,432

3,215,289

3,319,059

3,260,717

3,214,746

3,363,334

3,450,205

3,568,259

41.3

42.2

41.3

42.4

43.1

43.0

42.9

43.8

44.8

45.6

By no. of hours worked per week (percentage)
Total
0#
1–9

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

6.7

6.5

7.2

7.9

6.0

5.2

4.5

5.2

5.2

5.5

1.8

1.5

2.1

2.2

1.7

1.7

1.1

1.8

1.3

1.7

10 – 39

28.5

28.3

28.9

28.8

28.4

29.9

26.1

27.5

27.6

27.2

40 & above

63.0

63.8

61.8

61.2

63.9

63.2

68.3

65.5

65.9

65.7

1
3

Excluding Northern & Eastern Provinces
All Island

2

4

Excluding Northern Province

Labour Force Survey - Annual Report 2015

Selected Labour Force Indicators …
(Excluding Northern & Eastern provinces)
Year

Indicator

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Labour force participation rate
By Gender
Total

57.1

55.5

55.7

54.5

53.8

48.9

48.2

54.9

54.2

54.9

Male

76.7

76.2

76.1

74.6

75.0

66.7

67.2

75.1

74.7

75.1

Female

39.5

37.0

37.8

37.1

35.3

32.9

31.3

37.6

36.3

37.7

Total

57.1

55.5

55.7

54.5

53.8

48.9

48.2

54.9

54.2

54.9

Urban

50.5

50.0

51.0

48.7

47.2

44.7

44.5

48.4

49.5

49.5

Rural

58.1

56.3

56.3

55.2

54.8

49.5

49.0

56.2

55.1

56.0

Total

6.5

6.0

5.2

5.7

4.9

4.0

3.8

4.4

4.2

4.6

Male

4.7

4.3

3.6

4.3

3.5

2.7

2.8

3.2

3.2

3.0

Female

9.7

9.0

8.0

8.2

7.5

6.3

5.8

6.3

6.2

7.2

By residential sector

Unemployment Rate
By Gender

By selected age Group (Year)
20 – 29

15.9

15.0

13.2

15.1

13.7

11.9

10.8

13.1

13.6

14.0

20 – 24

21.0

21.1

17.8

21.0

18.9

17.5

15.9

19.6

20.3

19.7

25 – 29

11.0

9.4

9.0

10.1

9.1

7.1

6.3

7.5

8.0

9.2

11.8

9.9

10.8

11.3

8.4

7.0

8.3

7.9

8.9

By selected educational level
A/L & above
Total

11.6

Male

6.9

6.6

5.6

6.6

7.5

5.1

3.9

5.4

4.9

4.4

16.8

17.5

14.4

15.1

15.6

12.1

10.2

11.3

10.8

13.0

Total

7,084,346

7,026,733

7,157,478

7,117,721

7,225,421

6,804,823

6,689,285

6,881,240

6,872,019

7,008,828

Male

4,596,634

4,643,931

4,650,504

4,596,392

4,764,384

4,441,645

4,432,723

4,405,682

4,453,376

4,481,712

Female

2,487,711

2,382,801

2,506,974

2,521,329

2,461,037

2,363,178

2,256,562

2,475,558

2,418,643

2,527,116

7,084,346

7,026,733

7,157,478

7,117,721

7,225,421

6,804,823

6,689,285

6,881,240

6,872,019

7,008,828

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

2,269,752

2,192,739

2,330,632

2,303,069

2,346,469

2,242,022

2,063,666

2,057,029

1,968,559

1,991,001

32.0

31.2

32.6

32.4

32.5

32.9

30.9

29.9

28.6

28.4

1,887,984

1,870,971

1,886,612

1,817,306

1,774,935

1,680,282

1,773,970

1,824,111

1,847,708

1,842,086

26.7

26.6

26.4

25.5

24.6

24.7

26.5

26.5

26.9

26.3

2,926,609

2,963,022

2,940,235

2,997,345

3,104,017

2,882,519

2,851,649

3,000,100

3,055,752

3,175,740

41.3

42.2

41.1

42.1

43.0

42.4

42.6

43.6

44.5

45.3

Female
Employed population
By Gender

By industry (Percentage)
Total
%
Agriculture
%
Industry
%
Services
%

By no. of hours worked per week (percentage)
100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

6.7

6.5

7.4

7.9

6.1

5.2

4.6

10.0

5.3

5.7

1.8

1.5

2.2

2.3

1.7

1.8

1.2

20.0

1.4

1.7

10 – 39

28.5

28.3

29.2

28.9

28.6

30.0

25.8

30.0

27.4

27.0

40 & above

63.0

63.8

61.3

60.9

63.6

63.0

68.5

40.0

65.9

65.5

Total
0

#

1–9

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