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VIENTIANE, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Laos' extremely low unemployment rate has been queried by economists as jobseekers and many university graduates struggling to find work.
The unemployment rate in Laos is expected to be 1.4 percent for the fourth quarter of 2016, and is predicted to rise to 1.7 percent in 2020, Lao daily Vientiane Times quoted World Bank statistics as saying on Thursday.
This figure is similar to Lao government's report regarding the jobless, saying that the majority of Lao people are employed in the agriculture sector and some help their parents to do businesses.
Meanwhile, Mana Southichak, an independent economist, told Vientiane Times that the unemployment rate recorded so far does not reflect the reality of the nation. "I think that the actual unemployment rate in Laos is higher than the figure we have now," he said, adding that the seasonal jobless rate of those working in the agriculture sector alone is already high. Many people cannot find jobs after harvesting their produce.
The unemployment rate in cities is higher than that recorded in rural areas, according to Mana who has conducted a lot of economic research for the government, international organizations and private companies.
Leeber Leebouapao, a senior economist from the National Economic Research Institute said the fact is that Laos has less skilled workers than the country needs, and has more unskilled workers than the market demands.
"We produce a lot of workforce personnel annually but many of them do not meet the requirements of the private sector. The reality is that we still need a high number of laborers as many companies advertising via the media to ask for laborers," Leeber said.
An UN-funded survey in 2010 found that new college and university graduates represent about six percent of the country's workforce, but the jobless rate in this group is very high, said the report.
This year, the new graduates from the National University of Laos alone reached almost 6,000 people and many of them are struggling to find jobs, according to Vientiane Times. Enditem
