The Performance of the Labour Market in Guyana

Bibliographic Data

ID11401686
AuthorsJohn Gafar (corresponding author)
Year2004
Volume25
Issue4
Pages663-685
Publication date2004-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCanadian Journal of Development Studies/Revue canadienne d études du développement (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0225-5189 • E-ISSN: 2158-9100
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02255189.2004.9669008
OpenAlexW2196642684
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited11

This paper examines the state of the labour market in Guyana. The paper shows that economic reforms led to robust economic growth in the 1990s, but the labour force participation rates and total employment fell during 1993–99. Reductions in public sector employment were largely responsible for the decline in total employment. The agricultural sector is the largest employer of labour, accounting for nearly 30% of total employment and 29% of GDP. Nearly 42% of the employed labour force ekes out an existence in the informal sector, and around 57% of the poor is engaged in low productivity informal sector type activities. This suggests that there is a lack of good-quality jobs and insufficient job opportunities in Guyana. Estimates of labour productivity show substantial disparities in productivity levels across various sectors of the economy, thereby providing evidence to support the theory of economic dualism and the existence of dual or segmented labour markets in Guyana. The evidence also shows that there exists a positive relationship between education attainment and employment

Agriculture · Dual economy · Dualism · Economic growth · Economic sector · Economics · Economy · Geography · Informal sector · Labour economics · Market economy · Productivity · Public sector · Quality (philosophy · Caribbean history, culture, and politics · Economic Theory and Policy · Taxation and Compliance Studies

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