Jobless rate in Sri Lanka eased slightly in Q3, 2018

Sri Lanka’s unemployment rate declined slightly in the third quarter of 2018 year-on-year, according to a Census and Statistics Department report.

The country’s jobless rate went down to 4.1% from 4.2% a year earlier, dropping to the second lowest levels in half a decade.

Female participation in the workforce was at 34%, down from 37% year earlier.

However, among women aged 15 to 24, the decline in joblessness fell from 32% to 26%.

The size of the country’s labour force as a whole also decreased by 1.5% from a year earlier, to 8 million people in the third quarter of last year.

Employment in both the industrial and services sectors fell by 2.8% year on year for Q3, whereas jobs in agriculture increased by 2.7%.