Between 27 and 30 September, a seminar on underemployment took place on the Azores, which was organised jointly by the Public Employment Service of the Azores and the International Network of Social Statisticians of Countries with Portuguese as the Official Language (RIESLOP).
The ILO also participated, given that the seminar was also held in preparation for the 16th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (CIET), to be held in October 1998 in Geneva.
The following topics were discussed:
- the underemployment situation in general,
- underemployment in Portugal,
- underemployment in the African countries with Portuguese as the official language (PALOP) and Macao,
- recommendations for the 16th CIET discussion and analysis,
- application of the new concept of underemployment in labour force surveys.
The participants arrived at the following results, which take account of the differing socio-economic situations in the participating countries:
- In the developed countries, underemployment may indicate a failure to fully utilise potential labour supply or that the quality of employment is inappropriate; in a number of the newly industrialising countries, by contrast, it may be conceived of as a way to offer people a chance of subsistence.
- Information on the extent of underemployment must be obtained by means of surveys and the available statistical sources.
- In the ILO decision for the 16th CIET, the existing definition of underemployment was specified more precisely, although it remains to be determined to what extent it can be applied in countries whose statistical systems are less developed.
- In each country, the extent of underemployment must be evaluated with respect to the criterion of international compatibility.
- The basis for data collation are surveys on employment within families, although supplementary surveys may also be conducted.
- In order to evaluate the labour market situation, it is vital to obtain information on the incidence of employment relations that do not match the employee's skills, as this figure is more telling than that of underemployment.
- An information system must be obtained with which underemployment can be studied under various aspects and by area of activity.
- The question of international compatibility must be dealt with carefully and with respect to the specific conditions prevailing in each country.
- Employment office files must be altered in such a way that they reveal which jobseekers are underemployed.
- National labour market statistics must include new indicators, alongside the usual indicators (employment and unemployment rates), in order to determine the extent of underemployment and the discouraged-worker effect.
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