Timor-Leste Labour Force Survey 2021 - Summary Report
▶Timor-Leste Labour Force Survey 2021 - Summary Report
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retail trade, with men earning more than women in all three sectors. Conversely, in public administration,
women's pay was on average 14.4 per cent higher than wages of men.
Labour underutilization
Labour underutilization - which encompasses persons in time-related underemployment, unemployment
and the potential labour force - totalled 94.9 thousand in 2021. The composite labour underutilization rate
was 28.9 per cent overall, albeit higher for women (33.3 per cent) than for men (25.8 per cent). Three of
the five regions recorded a composite labour underutilization rate that exceeded the national average,
namely Region 2 (39.1 per cent), Region 3 (34 per cent) and Region 5 (43.9 per cent).
Figure 3. Unemployment rate by sex, age and region, 2021 (per cent)
10
8
6
4
2
Total
Male Female 15-24 25-64 65+ 1 2 3
Sex
Age (years)
Source: Timor-Leste Labour Force Survey 2021.
4 5
Region
The results of the LFS show that unemployment in 2021 totalled 12.7 thousand, reflecting a general
unemployment rate of 5.1 per cent. However, unemployment varied sharply by sex, age and region
(see Figure 3). Unemployment among female jobseekers (5.9 per cent) exceeded that of their male
counterparts (4.6 per cent).
For young people aged 15-24 years, the unemployment rate was significantly higher at 9.6 per cent
compared to unemployment of 4.7 per cent among adults aged 25-64 years and 2.3 per cent for elderly
adults aged 65 years and above. Furthermore, the gender gap in the youth unemployment rate was
sizeable at 5.1 percentage points to the disadvantage of young women, suggesting their disproportionate
challenges in finding employment in the labour market.
By region, the unemployment rate at 9 per cent was demonstrably highest in Region 3, followed by 6.7
per cent in Region 2. On the other hand, the unemployment rate was merely 0.6 per cent in Region 1
and 1.4 per cent in Region 4.View entire presentation