Population structure and change
25
4 Labour force characteristics
SUMMARY. Afghanistan’s labour market has the typical characteristics of a less developed economy: it is dominated
by the agricultural sector and performs poorly in providing productive employment and decent work. More than 90 percent of jobs can be classiied as vulnerable employment that does not secure stable
and suficient income. The relatively high labour force participation rate of 67 percent might indicate that many people are compelled to ind work for bare household survival. In the case of Afghanistan,
the fairly high employment-to-population ratio 62 percent and the modest unemployment rate 7 percent should also be interpreted in the sense that people simply cannot afford to be unemployed.
This becomes even more evident in view of the barriers for women to participate in the labour force, with the effect that the overall igures disguise an extremely high male employment-to-population ratio
and labour force participation rate of 80 and 86 percent, respectively. Closer examination of the hours worked per week and the shares of the employed and unemployed that are unable to meet the most basic
needs, indicates that the dichotomy of employment-unemployment as applied in developed economies is of very limited use in Afghanistan, and should be supplemented by measures of underemployment.
The gender disparity of the labour market is also visible in the distribution of the status in employment
– showing that 95 percent of working women are in vulnerable employment against 67 percent for men – and in average working hours 30 hours per week for women and 39 for men. Thus, Afghan
women face multiple disadvantages on the labour market: fewer work, for less hours and in less secure jobs. For all labour market indicators, the gender gap is especially large in the urban areas.
Widespread poverty and inadequate educational opportunities drive many households to send their children looking for work. In total 1.9 million Afghan children aged 6-17 21 percent are employed. According to the
formal deinition of child labour, of these children at least 1.2 million 13 percent are performing child labour, thereby jeopardising their health or development. Labour migration is another frequent coping mechanism to
escape from poverty. The importance of this strategy is indicated by the fact that 7 percent of all households have a labour in-migrant, 6 percent saw a member leave for work elsewhere and 14 percent had seasonal
labour migrants.
4.1 Introduction
The involvement in the production of goods and services is the main livelihood strategy for the vast majority of Afghan
households. In a society where pensions and social security benefits are available to only very few and where employment
opportunities are scarce, households resort to a variety of employment strategies to escape from poverty. Among others,
these include subsistence activities, involvement in low-paid and irregular jobs, child labour and labour migration.
One of the major additions to the NRVA 20078 was a number of modules on labour force characteristics. These allow insight
into employment strategies and the overall labour market structure of Afghanistan. Section 4.2 describes general labour
force characteristics, including labour force participation, employment and unemployment, and Section 4.3 briefly addresses the job characteristics of the employed population.
Subsequently, Section 4.4 deals with children engaged in jobs, and more specifically child labour, whereas the final Section 4.5 provides an analysis of labour migration.
4.2 Labour force, employment and unemployment
Due to the very large share of children, less than half of the Afghan population is in the official working age of 16 years and over. Within this working-age population of over 12 million people, one-third four million is inactive and two-thirds
Decent work
The concept of decent work is central in the work of the International Labour Organization ILO. Decent work sums
up the aspirations of people in their working lives – their aspirations for opportunity and income; rights, voice and
recognition; family stability and personal development; and fairness and gender equality. It is captured in four strategic
objectives: fundamental principles and rights at work and international labour standards; employment and income
opportunities; social protection and social security; and social dialogue and tripartism.
Labour force characteristics
26
8 million are currently actively engaged in the labour market, either by working or by looking for work. Table 4.1 gives a breakdown by activity status and by sex and age of the working-age population of Afghanistan.
Table 4.1 Working-age population, by residence, sex, and by activity status, age in thousands
Activity status, age
Residence, sex Urban
Rural Kuchi
National Male
Female Both
sexes Male
Female Both
sexes Male
Female Both
sexes Male
Female Both
sexes
Employed
16-17 45
14 58
239 134
372 21
13 34
304 160
464 18-24
223 44
267 803
426 1,229
21 41
115 1,100
510 1,610
25-39 337
75 412
1,344 947
2,291 113
85 198
1,795 1,107
2,901 40-64
308 67
375 1,113
617 1,730
85 51
136 1,506
736 2,242
65+ 40
4 45
150 32
182 11
4 15
201 40
241
Total 953
203 1,156
3,649 2,155
5,804 304
194 498
4,906 2,553
7,458 Unemployed
16-17 8
7 15
29 34
63 2
1 3
39 42
81 18-24
39 19
59 74
56 130
3 3
6 116
78 194
25-39 22
12 34
70 26
96 3
2 5
95 40
136 40-64
18 5
22 62
26 88
3 2
5 83
33 116
65+ 5
1 6
22 9
31 2
2 4
29 12
41
Total 93
44 136
256 152
408 14
10 24
363 205
568 Inactive
16-17 78
119 197
112 163
275 4
8 12
193 290
484 18-24
105 262
367 157
511 668
3 26
29 265
799 1,065
25-39 17
309 325
56 651
708 3
39 42
76 999
1,075 40-64
28 300
327 102
541 643
7 32
39 136
873 1,009
65+ 56
50 106
140 129
269 13
10 23
209 189
398
Total 283
1,040 1,322
567 1,996
2,563 29
116 145
879 3,151
4,030 Total working-age population
16-17 131
139 270
379 331
710 27
22 49
536 492
1,028 18-24
368 325
693 1,034
992 2,027
80 70
150 1,482
1,388 2,869
25-39 375
396 771
1,471 1,624
3,095 119
127 246
1,965 2,146
4,112 40-64
353 371
725 1,277
1,185 2,462
96 85
180 1,726
1,641 3,367
65+ 101
55 156
312 170
482 26
16 42
439 242
680
Total 1,328
1,287 2,615
4,472 4,302
8,775 347
320 666
6,148 5,909
12,057
4.2.1 Labour force participation
Afghanistan’s labour force – all persons in the working age of 16 and over who are currently active by being either employed or unemployed – amounts to over 8 million people, 5.3 million males and 2.8 million females. The labour force participation
rate – the share of the working-age population that is currently employed or unemployed
1
– is a key indicator in the analysis of the human resources available for the production of goods and services and for the projections of labour
supply. Comparison of labour force participation for both sexes combined – see Figure 4.1 – show high rates in rural areas and among Kuchi’s respectively 71 and 78 percent. This is typical for less developed economies, in which educational
opportunities are few, where most people are engaged in labour-intensive agricultural activities, and where wage earning opportunities are scarce, so that many household members need to work to provide sufficient income. In urban areas, the
overall labour force participation is significantly lower 49 percent, indicating opportunities other than employment, such as school attendance see Section 7.3 and perhaps less necessity to work due to lower poverty see Chapter 6. Compared
to the region of South Asia and the world at large, the overall labour force participation in Afghanistan is high.
_________________________________________________________ 1
For definitions of employed and unemployed, refer to the glossary at the end of this report.
Figure 4.1 Labour force participation rate, by residence and by sex
Source for South Asia data: ILO 2007
The overall labour force participation rate of 67 percent in Afghanistan conceals large differences by sex and age. Although generally labour force participation is lower for females than for males, in the Afghan economy this gender
gap is large. Less than half 47 percent of the working-age females is currently active on the labour market, against 86 percent of males, a gap of 39 percent points. The gap is relatively small in the rural and Kuchi populations respectively
34 and 28 percent points, due to female engagement in agricultural and pastoral activities. However, in urban areas it is as large as 60 percent points because of a very low female labour force participation of 21 percent.
The low female participation rates indicate that women are still a significant untapped potential in the country. Underlying causes are a variety of competing demands and barriers for women, such as their care-taking responsibility for children,
elderly and the disabled, high fertility, household chores, low educational attainment and restricted mobility.
Labour force participation by age group shows a typical inverted U-shape with a peak in the prime working-age spans of 25-39 and 40-64 see Figure 4.2. The pattern for males is more pronounced and at a higher level and than for females.
The largest gender gap of 45 percent points is found in the age group 40-64.
Figure 4.2 Labour force participation rate, by sex and age
Labour force characteristics
27
