The document summarizes labour force statistics from Belize for April 2014. It finds that Belize's total labour force was 151,317 persons, with the highest participation rates in the Belize and Cayo districts. The unemployment rate was 11.1%, with youth and Creole populations experiencing higher rates. The number of employed persons grew by 3,059 since the previous report, mainly in construction, agriculture, and manufacturing. However, some sectors like transportation and wholesale/retail saw job losses.

1. APRIL, 2014
LABOUR FORCE
STATISTICS
June 25, 2014
Statistical Institute of Belize

2. I: Introduction
II: The Labour Force
III: The Unemployed
IV: The Employed
V: The Underemployed
CONTENTS

3. LABOUR FORCE SURVEY
Conducted twice each year (April and
September)
Data collected from about 2,753 randomly
selected households
Survey included about 6,500 persons of
working age (14 years +)
1

4. BELIZE’S LABOUR FORCE, APRIL 2014
Labour force: 151,317 persons
PERSONS 14 YEARS OR OLDER:
EITHER WORKING
OR AVAILABLE FOR WORK
Males: 93,411 (61.7%)
Females: 57,906 (38.3%)
2

5. BELIZE’S LABOUR FORCE, APRIL 2014
Labour force:
Belize District : 35.0 percent
Cayo District : 22.5 percent
Orange Walk :12.7 percent
Corozal : 12.6 percent
Stann Creek : 10.1 percent
Toledo : 7.0 percent
3

6. BELIZE’S LABOUR FORCE, APRIL 2014
Labour force participation rate:
Total: 63.8 percent
PERCENT OF PERSONS 14 YEARS OR OLDER
WHO ARE IN THE LABOUR FORCE
Males: 79.1 percent
Females: 48.6 Percent
4

7. LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION 5

8. THE UNEMPLOYED, APRIL, 2014
Unemployed: 16,730 persons
PERSONS 14 YEARS OR OLDER:
WITHOUT A JOB
LOOKING FOR WORK
AVAILABLE FOR WORK
Males: 5,485 (32.8%)
Females: 11,244 (67.2%)
6

9. UNEMPLOYMENT RATES
Unemployment rate 11.1%
Highest unemployment rate in Belize14.3%
Lowest in Toledo 4.1%
Urban 11.7%
Rural 10.5%
7

10. UNEMPLOYMENT RATE BY SEX
Unemployment rate for women: 19.4%
Unemployment rate for men: 5.9%
8

11. UNEMPLOYMENT RATES, WORKING
GROUPS
Youth 14 to 24 Years : 20.4%
Creoles : 16.3%
Garifuna : 18.0%
Mestizo : 9.1%
Maya : 4.5%
9

12. LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYED
Long-term unemployed: UNEMPLOYED PERSONS
JOBLESS FOR 27 WEEKS OR MORE
Total: 10,605 persons
Down 10.5% from April 2013
63.4 % of unemployed labour force
10

13. BELIZE’S EMPLOYED, APRIL 2014
Employed: 134,587 persons
PERSONS 14 YEARS OR OLDER:
FULL TIME OR PART TIME WORKERS
KETCH AND KILL
Males: 87,926 (65.3%)
Females: 46,662 (34.7%)
median monthly income: BZ$895
11

14. EMPLOYED PERSONS
Up by about 3,059 in April 2014
Most gains in Belize and Cayo Districts
Most gains in the private sector
12

15. EMPLOYED PERSONS - ECONOMIC SECTOR
13
Private
Sector
61.0%
Self-
Employed
27.1%
Government
2.4%
Unpaid
Family
Workers
3.5%
Employed Persons by Category of Employer;
April 2014

16. EMPLOYED PERSONS - JOBS 14
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishery : + 3,183 Construction : + 3,115
Manufacture : + 1,363 Admin and Support: + 829
Water Supply : + 668 Education : + 480
GAIN : 10,377 JOBS
Accommodation and Food : - 1,318 Wholesale and Retail : -1,074
Other Services : - 764 Human Health and Social Work: - 653
Transport and Storage : - 602 Public Administration, Defence: - 544
LOSS : 7,318 JOBS
NET GAIN : 3,059 JOBS

17. EMPLOYED PERSONS - EDUCATION 15
Employed persons by highest level of education and sex
Education Level Males Females Total F/M Ratio
None 18,656 7,164 25,820 0.095
Primary 36,872 15,428 52,300 0.418
Secondary 18,349 10,238 28,587 0.558
Tertiary 12,134 13,158 25,292 1.084__

18. UNDEREMPLOYED, APRIL 2014
Underemployed: 20,219 persons
(15% of employed persons)
EMPLOYED PERSONS WORKING LESS THAN 35
HOURS PER WEEK
Males: 9,373 (46.4%)
Females: 10,847 (53.6%)
median hourly work week: 20 Hours/Week
16

19. THE END
Thank you
17

20. II: LABOUR FORCE DEFINITIONS
Working Age Population: 14 + years
Employed Population Unemployed Population Not in Labour Force
Labour Force
Unemployed Population
Unemployment Rate = 100 x ----------------------------------
Labour Force
Labour Force Population
Labour Force Participation Rate = 100 x -----------------------------------
Working Age Population

21. Sector
Q1-2014
Growth
Comments
20.6%
• Except for Q3-2013, Fishing has
performed well since mid 2012.
• Shrimp farming responsible for growth
49.8%
• Sharp decline in electricity generation
in first half of last year
• Recovery in Q1-2014
13.1%
• Double-digit growth in both cruise and
overnight visitors
6.7%
• Boosted by public sector construction
•Most consecutive quarterly increases
(11)

22. Sector
Q1-2014
Growth Comments
-9.8%
• Declines in sugarcane, citrus and bananas
• Fifth consecutive decline
• Fall in Q1-2013 was almost twice as large
-23.1%
• Oil production has been declining steadily
• Production at lowest level ever
• Export earnings down $18 million at end of
April 2014
17.0%
• Consistent with crop production, sugar and
citrus processing were weaker in quarter.
•Beer production up almost 7% while soft
drink and flour production remained fixed
-2.7%
• First quarterly decline since Q1-2012
• Very strong increase in Q1-2013
Agriculture
Oil
Manufacturing
Wholesale & Retail Trade