Fewer Nepalis are unemploymed

According to the labour survey a decade ago, around 85.8 per cent of Nepalis were employed. "A total of 90.2 per cent of males were employed and so were 81.9 per cent of females," said the decade-old report published by the Central Bureau of Statics (CBS).
The picture won't be much different, when by the end of March the preliminary report of the second Nepal Labour Force Survey (NLFS) will be published.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) says that if a person is engaged at least one hour in any economic activity, such a person is called employed. From the standard definition given by ILO, 85.8 per cent of Nepalis are employed as they are engaged in economic activities like animal husbandry and farm work even in the rural areas. But the stark reality is that their economic activities do not diminish their poverty.
At a time when the government is under tremendous pressure to mitigate the crisis that is forcing Nepali migrant workers to return home en masse, the Central Bureau of Statics (CBS) is finalising the second domestic labour survey report to ascertain the present state of the domestic labour force.
"It is a kind of a nationwide household survey -- done over a year-long time period to mitigate seasonal effect -- that categorises employed, under-employed and unemployed," said Tung S Bastola, director general of the CBS -- the national databank.
Done in 73 districts except Dolpa and Manang because of chances of selection or Possibility Proportion to Size (PPS) -- due to less population in these districts -- the data of the second Nepal Labour Force Survey (NLFS), is being processed. "The editing of the data will be over by the end of February, and by March end the preliminary report will be published," said Anil Sharma, statistical officer at the CBS.
The second domestic labour force survey was done in 800 Primary Sample Units (PSUs) in 16,000 families. The survey started in December 2007 and ended on December 31, 2008. However, power-cuts have made it difficult for the officials to complete the task on time. "Still, we are trying to complete it within the schedule," Sharma added.
The first Nepal Labour Force Survey was done in 1998-99. The government formulated its labour policy based on a decade-old report. The present survey, which is at least expected to bring forth some changes in terms of unemployment, employment and under-employment rates, is likely to be helpful in formulating the new policy. It is also expected to help update the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs).
The earlier Labour and Employment Policy-2062 addresses the issues of internal labour management. Since not enough employment opportunities have been generated in the domestic labour market, some 2.5 million workers are estimated to have gone to various countries for employment.
The Three-Year Interim Plan (2007-2010) -- a national priority set by the government -- stresses on undertaking additional efforts to ensure secure, decent and productive employment opportunities for female and male workers by effectively managing the domestic and foreign employment sectors. However, even till the end of half of the Three Year Interim Plan period, the government has not been able to create a single employment opportunity.