Nepal’s unemployment rate has been estimated at 11.4 percent, according to Nepal Labour Force Survey 2018-19 unveiled by the Central Bureau of Statistics on Friday.

Based on a study sample of 18,000 households, the bureau has estimated the country’s workforce—the population in the age group of 15 years and above—at 20.74 million.

Of them, 7.08 million are in the job market. The third edition of the labour survey has estimated that around 908,000 people are completely jobless.

Presenting a paper at a programme, Prithvi Vijaya Raj Sijapati, an officer of the bureau, said the unemployment rate was computed on the basis of the number of individuals looking for a job in the last 30 days and who would be available to work for the next 15 days.

Of the total unemployed population, 511,000 are males and 397,000 are females.

The jobless rate for males is 10.3 percent and 13.1 percent for females. The total participation rate out of the total labour force is 38.5 percent, out of which males make up 53.8 percent and females 26.3 percent.

The participation rate shows the number of individuals who have completed their study and are ready for fulltime jobs.

According to the bureau, self-employed individuals too were included in the labour force in previous surveys. “This time, self-employed people have not been counted,” said Nebin Lal Shrestha, deputy director general of the bureau. The survey shows the unemployment rate to be 11.6 percent in urban areas and 10.9 percent in

rural areas.

Of the employed labour force, 39.3 percent is underemployed. Labour underutilisation refers to those who

work less than 40 hours per week and are willing to work for more time hours. The male and female underemployment rates are 32 percent and 48.8 percent respectively. This shows that more women are working in part-time jobs.

The survey also unveiled the discrepancy that stills prevails in the wages earned by men and women. The average wage of a man is Rs17,809 per month while it is Rs13,630 per month for a woman. This shows that a male worker earns Rs5,834 per month (30 percent) more compared to a female worker.

Most of the employment opportunities are generated

in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and retail and wholesale businesses.

Automobile workshops, manufacturing, construction and education are among the other sectors that provide a large number of job opportunities.

Women’s participation in high-level jobs is very low, according to the survey.

Males account for 86.8 percent of the managerial level positions and females account for 13.2 percent.

This is the third labour force survey that the bureau has conducted. It carried out similar studies in 1998

and 2008 in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation.