Preliminary results from the most recent Labour Force Survey (LFS) done by the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB) reveal that, for the month of September 2020, the national unemployment rate was 13.7%. For this round of the survey, there were revisions for the definition of a number of words including “employed”, “unemployed”, and “underemployed”. These revisions, according to the SIB, were done in accordance with a resolution of the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS). As a result, the September 2020 LFS will now serve as a benchmark for future LFSs. Having been conducted during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this round of the LFS also measured the impact of the pandemic on the labour force.
As of September 2020, the labour force was estimated at 168,630. This estimate is notably lower than the figures derived from the last September round in 2019, when the labour force was estimated to be 190,307. This shift can be attributed to the revisions of the definitions for the subgroups of the labour force. According to these new definitions, employed persons are persons who worked for pay or profit for at least one hour in the reference week or had a job but were not at work during the reference week. The main change in the definition used to classify persons as employed is that persons who produce goods mainly or exclusively for family consumption, volunteer workers and unpaid trainees and interns are no longer considered as employed. Three criteria are now required to classify persons as unemployed: persons who were without work, carried out activities to look for work within the last four weeks, and were available to start working within the next two weeks. The definition previously used made reference to two of these criteria only: persons without work and available to work. The criterion “looking for work” was not a requirement in the previous definition. Underemployed persons are a subgroup of the employed. In addition to the criterion of working less than 35 hours in the reference week, underemployed persons must also want to work and be available to start working additional hours within the next two weeks.
About 55.1% of working age persons participated in the labour force in September 2020, compared to an estimated 70.1% in September 2019, when the previous definition was used. This is as a result of an increase in the number of persons now classified as being out of the labour force based on the revised definitions. Among working age males, 68.7% were in the labour force compared to 42.4% of their female counterparts. The highest labour force participation level was observed in the Corozal district at 60.1%, and the lowest was seen in Toledo at 37.9%. As a result of the updated concepts and definitions, the estimated labour force participation rates across all districts were lower than previously published estimates. The Toledo district, which has the highest proportion of the country’s subsistence farmers, was most impacted by these changes, as many persons who engage in farming mostly for their own household’s consumption were no longer classified as employed.
The results of the September 2020 LFS showed that approximately 13.7% of the labour force was unemployed. In previous rounds of the survey, females were usually twice as likely to be unemployed as males. This has changed, however, in September 2020, with women registering a rate of 17.0% and males experiencing unemployment levels of 11.6%. The narrowing of this gap can be partially attributed to males losing jobs at a higher rate than females. In addition, many females who recently lost jobs were not classified as unemployed since they were not looking for work. Many reported that they were assuming the roles of caretakers of elderly persons or children at home, while others were awaiting to be called back to their former jobs.
Across the districts, Belize registered the highest unemployment rate at 15.1%. Within this district, the largest share of jobs lost was in ‘Administrative and Support Service Activities’, ‘Accommodation and Food Service Activities’ and ‘Wholesale and Retail Trade and Motor Vehicle Repairs’. In contrast, the lowest level of unemployment was seen in the Orange Walk district at 11.1%. In previous rounds of the survey, the Toledo district most often had the lowest estimated rates of unemployment. However, a decline in the employment count for this district due to the revised definitions, has resulted in an estimated unemployment rate of 12.2%, notably higher than previously published estimates. Overall, one out of every five unemployed persons who were previously employed lost jobs in the ‘Accommodation and Food Services’ industry. In addition, the September 2020 results show that about 63.1% of unemployed persons were jobless for a duration of 6 months or less which was consistent with the period in which Belize was affected by the pandemic prior to September 2020.
An estimated 145,455 persons were employed in September 2020, of which 61.8% were males and 38.2% were females. Similar to trends from past labour force surveys, persons aged 25- 34 years represented the largest group, or 27.1%, of employed persons. For the September 2020 round of the LFS, the highest share, or 24.0%, of jobs held was in ‘Elementary Occupations’, followed by ‘Services and Sales Workers’ at 22.7%. A closer look by sex reveals that the largest proportion of males worked in ‘Elementary Occupations’ such as yard cleaners, crop farm laborers and construction laborers. About one third of employed females held jobs as ‘Services and Sales Workers’ in occupations such as cooks, cashiers and call center salespersons.
The total number of underemployed persons in September 2020 was estimated at 34,307. This represented 23.6% of all employed persons. Both males and females experienced the same levels of underemployment at 23%. This was not the case in previous rounds of the survey, in which women were estimated to be much more likely to be underemployed, a difference attributable to the revised definition of underemployment, which now requires that persons be available to work additional hours. Females who usually work less than 35 hours a week reported that they were unavailable to work more hours due to child-caring and home duty activities in their households. It was also observed that just over one third of underemployed women held jobs as ‘Services and Sales Workers’, while about 41.5% of underemployed males had jobs in ‘Elementary Occupations’. Overall, underemployed persons usually worked an average of 16.5 hours per week. Across the districts, Corozal experienced the highest levels of underemployment at 34.0%. In this district, most underemployed persons worked in ‘Elementary Occupations’. Although Orange Walk experienced the lowest levels of joblessness, it registered the second largest underemployment levels, where one out of every four employed persons were underemployed.
Aside from the revision of definitions, another factor which played part in major changes was the impact of COVID-19. During the period March to August 2020, there were approximately 38,909 persons without work (unemployed or out of the labour force) who lost their previous jobs or businesses due to COVID-19. One out of every three of these persons previously worked in the ‘Tourism’ industry, while about 15% worked in ‘Wholesale and Retail Trade and Motor Vehicle Repairs’, and 12% in ‘Community, Social and Personal Services’. The largest proportion or 28.2% of these persons were between 25 to 34 years old. In terms of financial support, about 77% of these persons were either sustained by a parent, spouse, or child, or depended on their own savings. It is important to note that not all persons without work who lost their job due to COVID-19 were classified as unemployed. About two thirds of these persons did not meet the criterion of “looking for work” and were classified as out of the labour force. Most of these persons expressed that they were not looking for work since they were hopeful to return to their previous job in the near future. Among employed persons, one out of every four persons reported that they received reduced or partial wages. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, persons worked an average of 43.8 hours per week; this figure saw a reduction to 37.1 hours per week in the period following March 2020. Among employed persons who had lost jobs during the period from March to August 2020, more than one-fourth had lost jobs in the ‘Tourism’ industry. About one fifth of these persons were now working in the ‘Manufacturing’ industry. Some examples of jobs in this industry are making and selling of bread, pastries and clothing items. Overall, about 64.4% of the employed population who lost a previous job due to the pandemic were males.
