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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 

Question 1 :  What is LMIA?

Labour market information is what the term suggests: information about labour markets. This includes information about employment and jobs, wages, salaries and employment conditions; skills; where people work and in which sector; how many people are looking for a job; and so on.

Labour Market Information and Analysis is more than information, as it aims to provide analyses of the labour market in its economic context. This means that labour market trends are examined, together with broader economic trends (e.g. economic growth, inflation). LMIA is an important tool to monitor the demand and supply of the labour market, investigate excess supply (e.g. in the form of unemployment and underemployment), and excess demand (e.g. in the form of unfilled vacancies). LMIA enables policies makers to develop policies which help people to find and securing a decent job.

The Ministry of Labour and Manpower in collaboration with the ILO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) initiated the development of a Labour Market Information and Analysis system, which became operational in the second half of 2006. The aim of the system is to provide up-to-date and timely Labour Market Information and Analysis that serves as an input into the formulation of decent employment and other policies.

  1. The LMIA Unit has been staffed with a team of professionals working on information system development and policy analysis in the employment and labour field. The staff of the Unit is being trained with support from the ILO and other institutions, in particular the FBS. Training activities include on-the-job training, training in general and specific software that can be used for statistical analysis and data management, as well as specialised training in labour market analysis.
  2. An Advisory Panel has been established which brings together labour market stakeholders and social partners. The Advisory Panel reviews the outputs and activities of the Unit on a regular basis and fosters linkages between data collection, analysis and policy development at the national and provincial level. In this way the Panel ensures continued policy relevance, ownership and sustainability of the Unit.

Question 2 :  Why is it needed?

Labour markets are never static. People enter and leave the labour market continuously, and even in a more or less ‘permanent’ position like a regular government job the content of the work is bound to change over time.  Important drivers of change are technological advances, globalisation and improvements in work organisation.

To ensure that the labour market develops in an efficient way and are generating decent work for all, governments formulate employment policies. Designing decent employment policies calls for a comprehensive collection, organization and analysis of labour market information. An analysis of the current situation is the basis for formulating effective policies.

Without labour market information analysis it will be difficult for policy makers and politicians to develop strategies and concrete action plans to overcome persisting labour market problems which hinder economic growth and efforts in poverty reduction.

Unfortunately, it has been very difficult until now to provide a full assessment of labour demand based on establishment surveys, but efforts are being made to close this data gap as soon as possible. The identification of labour supply and demand requires the use of a set of indicators to build a picture or diagnoses of a specific labour market phenomenon. The indicators are ideally inclusive to inform policy progresses such as formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Data analyses disaggregated by sex helps to pin point the specific labour market challenges that women and men face on the labour market so that the most appropriate policy mix can be developed to address those problem.

Question 3 : What is Objective of the LMIA?

  • To provide up-to-date and timely Labour Market Information and Analysis disaggregated by sex, age and area
  • To provide information based on internationally accepted concepts and key labour market indicators
  • To serve as an input into the formulation and monitoring of pro-poor and decent work, HRD and other policies
  • As a necessary tool to monitor labour market achievements regarding “full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people”
  • Without LMIA it will be difficult for policy makers and politicians, to develop strategies and concrete action plans to overcome persisting labour market imbalances, which hinder economic growth and efforts in poverty reduction.

Question 4 : What type of tools does LMIA use?

The LMIA uses two sets of tools, namely analytical and reporting tools.
(a) The approach that has been adopted regarding the analytical tools is to start with the development of a national LMIA database containing a limited number of key labour market indicators. These indicators have been identified, produced and stored in accordance with international standards and reflect best practice in LMIA development. Over time, this set of indicators will be expanded in response to the demand for information and the capacity of the LMIA Unit to maintain and update the database.

(b) Regarding the dissemination and reporting tools, the LMIA Unit intends to produce a series of reports on the labour market entitled Pakistan Employment Trends. These issues of Pakistan Employment Trends are based on the set of key labour market indicators. Future reports will be expanded or adapted in line with the development of the database and the demand for information and analysis, and also include new data on selected topics which will be collected in collaboration with the FBS.

Question 5 :  What has LMIA achieved so far?

  1. Publications
  2. Establishment of LMI database
  3. Initiating a pilot survey in Faisalabad (first district level LFS)
  4. Expansion of pilot LFS into four districts (Karachi, Hyderabad, Sialkot and Faisalabad)
  5. Improvements of the LFS due to technical feedback of the LMIA unit
  6. Capacity building of the MOLP and the FBS
  7. Establishment of provincial LMIA cells
  8. Development of a LMIA internet portal

Question 6 :  Who is driving LMIA in Pakistan?

The Labour Market Information and Analysis (LMIA) project is an initiative of Ministry of Labour Manpower Pakistanis, Government of Pakistan with the active assistance of United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) to provide financial/technical assistance and initial funding for building and enhancing the capacity for the production and use of labour market information.

Question 7 : What does LMIA intend to do in future?

  • Distribution of LMIA reports “Pakistan employment trends”
  • Improvement and upgrading of database
  • Expansion of pilot LFS into other districts
  • Exploring data sources on labour/skill demand
  • Technical feedback to the FBS on a frequent basis
  • Establishment of provincial LMIA cells
  • Capacity building for the provincial LMIA cells
  • Improving and upgrading of the internet portal

Question 8 : Who will be benefitted from LMIA?

In general the wide variety of users of LMIA, including individual employers, employers' and workers' organizations, Government planners, training institutions, international organizations and academics will be benefitted.

Question 9 : What information do repots entitled Pakistan Employment Trends provide?

Pakistan’s Employment Trends reports, which are produced by the Labour Market Information and Analysis unit, provide policy makers, training providers and new entrants to the labour force with information about:

  1. who enters the labour market,
  2. what occupations and skills are available,
  3. in which economic sectors can they be found,
  4. what people earn,
  5. how many hours they work,

And many of other useful information regarding labour markets.

Question 10 : What is decent work?

It is work that gives people the opportunity to earn enough for themselves and their families to escape poverty, not just temporarily but permanently. But the concept is not limited to the income component. A decent job provides social security and ensures protection by labour laws, and a voice at work through freely chosen workers’ organizations. It gives the job a human face and makes sure that people can work in dignity and freedom.

Question 11: How is LMIA linked to decent work?

The LMIA unit with its institutional arrangements uses analytical and reporting tools as inputs into the production of Labour Market Information and Analysis. LMIA, together with other inputs from the political, social and economic environment, is used to formulate decent employment policies which in turn are expected to contribute to the achievement of decent employment objectives in Pakistan.

Question 12 : What are the dimensions of decent work?

  • Opportunities for work:

The need for all persons who want work to be able to find work

  • Work in conditions of freedom:

Work should be freely chosen and certain forms of work are not acceptable

  • Productive work:

Is essential for workers to have acceptable livelihoods for themselves and   their families

  • Equity in work:

Workers’ need to enjoy fair and equitable treatment and opportunity in work

  • Security at work:

The need to safeguard health, pensions and livelihoods

  • Dignity at work:

Workers be treated with respect at work, and that they be able to voice their concerns and participate in decision-making about their own working conditions.

Question 13: What are decent work indicators?

The ILO has developed decent Work Indicators for Asia and the Pacific which are as follows:

Rights at work
1. Child labour
1a. Economically active children aged 10-14
1b. Child school non-enrolment rate 5-14 years (from UNESCO)

2. Women in the workplace
2a. Female share of employment by 1-digit ISCO
2b. Female share of employment by 1-digit ISIC
2c. Gap between female and male labour force participation rates

3. Complaints/cases brought to labour courts or ILO

Employment
4. Labour force participation rate

5. Employment-to-population ratio

6. The working poor

7. Wages
7a. Number and wages of casual/daily workers
7b. Manufacturing wage indices

8. Unemployment
8a. Total unemployment rate
8b. Unemployment by level of education

9. Youth unemployment
9a. Youth inactivity rate
9b. Youth not in education and not in employment

10. Time-related underemployment

11. Employment by status of employment and branch of economic activity

12. Labour productivity

13. Real per capita earnings (from national accounts)

Social protection
14. Informality and social protection
14a. Informal employment
14b. Social security coverage (for wages and salary earners)

15. Rates of occupational injuries (fatal/non-fatal)

16. Hours of work
16a. Usual hours of work (in standardized hour bands)
16b. Annual hours worked per person

Social dialogue
17. Trade union membership rate

18. Number of enterprises belonging to employer organizations

19. Collective bargaining coverage rate

20. Strikes and lockouts: Rates of days not worked

Copyrights @ Mansoor Zaib Khan, System Analyst, LMIA Unit, Ministry of Labour Pakistan