Labour Market Dynamics in Pakistan: Evidence from the Longitudinal Data

In: The Pakistan development review: PDR, Band 41, Heft 4II, S. 701-720

Abstract

The bulk of research on labour market conditions in Pakistan
has concentrated on the economic activity rate, the number of employed
persons, or the unemployment rate at a particular point in time. These
stock measures of labour market situation are useful from a policy
viewpoint as they give a broad indication of the dimension of the
problem. For example, the recent labour force surveys show an increase
in the level of open unemployment from 5.9 percent in 1997-98 to 7.8
percent in 1999-2000 [Pakistan (2001)]. There is also an emerging
consensus that during the 1990s poverty has increased at the national as
well as for rural and urban areas of the country [Qureshi and Arif
(2001)]. Labour market is considered as the main route for establishing
the link between macro policies, the resulting GDP growth and poverty
alleviation [Rahman (2002)]. Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
(IPRSP) and other development plans have suggested various targets of
employment creation for poverty reduction.