Unemployment hits 5.8% in 3Q despite economic rebound

The unemployment rate in Sri Lanka touched a high of 5.8 percent in the third quarter ended in September even though the economy showed a quick rebound with 1.5 percent growth in the same quarter. 

According to the latest Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) data, this was an increase from the 5.6 percent in June 2020 and 4.8 percent in December 2019. 

However, the combined forecast of DCS and Central Bank showed an unemployed population of 451,000 by the end 2020, which comes to 5.3 percent of the labour force and lower than the 5.6 percent or 471,000 people who were unemployed by June end. 

By the end of 2020, the two institutions forecasted the total labour force in Sri Lanka or the economically active population at 8.54 million, up from 8.47 million by end June. Out of the total labour force, 8.089 million people
are employed. 

Meanwhile, the labour force participation rate or the ratio of the labour force to the working age population was forecasted to have increased slightly to 50.9 percent by the year end from 50.6 percent by the end of the first half of the year. 

This is due to the expansion of the number of people in the labour force.