Planning Minister announces the results of the labor force survey in Iraq

Shafaq News / Planning Minister Khaled Battal Al-Najm announced today, Tuesday, in a press conference the results of the labor force survey in Iraq.

During the press conference, held at the ministry on the occasion of conducting the first labor force survey in Iraq, Al-Battal elaborated that "This survey was conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics with the generous support of the International Labor Organization, and it is the first national survey specialized in manpower, it was implemented during the second half of 2021 by adopting the latest statistical standards established by the International Conference on Labor Statistics,” noting that “the survey provided national estimates at the governorate, rural, and produced a set of important indicators on the labor market and demographic characteristics of residents in Iraq. It will also pave the way for quick access to knowledge of the special needs that provide job opportunities for citizens, and will contribute to providing indicators that serve the preparation of long-term policies to meet the challenges of the labor market, structuring and identifying and diagnosing the deficit.”

Al-Battal added, "In light of the economic and social changes that Iraq has witnessed in the past years, and the lack of implementation of the general population census so far, the need has become urgent for indicators that cover the reality of the labor market and employment in order to develop appropriate mechanisms and formulate policies that can change the reality associated with unemployment challenges, so we were keen to implement International high-quality statistical standards in the implementation of this survey, which included all governorates, so that the solutions to address the reality will be capable of changing it positively, taking into account the number of basic tracks covered by the survey related to the demographic characteristics of the family and the individual, the status of the workforce, the main occupations, the characteristics of secondary occupations, the search for work, membership in trade unions, and social security inclusion.”

He explained: "survey indicators shown that the population aged 15 years and over constituted about 64% of the total population, and males constituted about 50% and females 50%, which is almost an equal percentage, and the youth group aged 15-24 years constituted 21% of the total population, while 25 years and over constituted 43% of the total population, and the unemployment rate reached to 16.5%.”

He explained that "There are many results and indicators of great developmental importance that resulted from the survey," calling on "interested and responsible parties inside Iraq, including ministries and civil society organizations, to elicit work-related information from this survey and not to build on false information."

(INA)