LECTURE PRESENTATION ON ANALYSIS OF
EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATION IN
LIBERIA
LIBERIA NATIONAL SEMINAR ON CENSUS DATA
ANALYSIS, MONROVIA, LIBERIA, 12-14 DECEMBER 2011
E. O. TAWIAH
PRESENTATION OUTLINE
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9.
Introduction
Data Sources
Method of Analysis
Assessment of Data Quality
Definition of Concepts
Research Methodology
Level of Analysis
Discussion of Results
Summary and Conclusion
1. INTRODUCTION
A. Information is vital part of any system and of decision making
 Individual level
 Household/community level
 National level
B.
Census data are indispensable for:
 Policy making, planning and administrative purposes
 Research purposes
 Business, industry and labour
 Electoral boundary delimitation
 Sampling frame for surveys
(United Nations, 2008)
C.
Importance of employment and education information
 Developing employment and manpower programmes
 Restructuring and refocusing on education
 Human resource development is sine qua non for sustainable
socio-economic development
 Education is key to socio-economic development, MDG 2,
“Achieve universal primary education”. Basic education is a
human right and is fundamental to reducing and achieving other
MDGs
D. Objective of lecture presentation
 To provide an outline for writing thematic report on employment
and education based mainly on 2008 Liberia population and
housing census and other data sets
2. DATA SOURCES
2008
Liberia Population and Housing Census
2006/2007 Liberia Demographic and Health
Survey
2007Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire
Survey (CWIQ)
Ministry of Education
 Other relevant international publications
Coverage of 2008 Liberia Population and
Housing Census was nationwide
2008 Population and Housing Census of Liberia
collected data on 10 thematic areas:
 Geographic
and internal migration
 International migration
 Household and family characteristics
 Demographic and social characteristics
 Fertility and mortality
 Educational characteristics
 Economic characteristics
 Disability characteristics
 Housing characteristics
 Agriculture
3 questions on literacy and education restricted
to persons 5 years and over
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Literacy:
“can you read and write in any language?”
School attendance:
“has ..... ever attended school?”
Highest level attended:
“what is the highest level that ..... attained?
4 questions on type of activity (6 years and over)
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Economic activity:
“what was ..... doing mainly during past one year (12
months)”?
Occupation:
“what type of work did ..... do?”
Industry:
“what kind of business or industry did ..... work in?”
Work status:
“what work status did ..... have at the work place?”
2010 Ghana census asked three questions on full
time education (3 years and older)
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“Has (name) ever attended school or is (name)
attending school now?”
“What is the highest level of schooling (name) is
attending now/attended in the past?”
“What is the highest grade (form/class/level) (name)
has completed at that level of schooling?”
Economic Activity questions (Ghana 2010 census)
8 questions on economic activity (5 years or older)
 During the 7 days before census night did (name) engage in any activity for pay
(cash or kind) or profit or family gain for at least one hour?
 If no in above question, How was (name) mainly engaged?
 Why did (name) not seek work? (Not economically active)
Occupation:
 What kind of work did (name) mainly do?
 What is the name and physical location of the establishment where (name)
currently works/previously worked?
Industry:
 What is the main product or services of the establishment where (name)
works/worked?
Employment status:
 What was (name’s) employment status in that establishment/ industry?
Employment sector:
 In what sector was (name) mainly working?
3. METHOD OF ANALYSIS
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Desk review of existing data sources
Descriptive analysis of findings contained in
selected employment and education tables
4. ASSESSMENT OF DATA QUALITY
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Evaluation of age–sex distribution
 Detecting
age misreporting
 Digit
preference
 Age ratio analysis
 Sex ratio analysis
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Adjustment of age distribution
5. DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS
Type of activity: Information relates to all persons 6 years and
over who worked during the past year (12 months)
 Economically active population consists of all persons of either
sex who provide supply of labour during a specified time
reference period as employed or as unemployed for the
production of economic goods and services
 Two concepts of economically active population can be
distinguished:
 The usually active population measured in relation to a long
reference period such as a year
 The currently active population (labour force) measured in
relation to a short reference period such as one week or one
day
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Non-economic active population (persons not in the labour
force) comprises all persons who were neither employed nor
unemployed during the short reference period used to
measure current activity, including persons below the
minimum age specified for measurement of the economically
active population
Economically inactive population are classified according to
reason for not being currently active:
Attending an educational institution
 Performing household duties
 Retiring on pension or capital income
 Other reasons e.g. children not attending school, those receiving
public aid or private support and persons with disabilities
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Definition of economically active population limits the
coverage of production to those performing within:
A
specific time frame or reference period
 Individuals meeting an age-specific criterion
Two types of reference period
 Short reference period of a week or a day
(represents current economic activity, labour force
concept, e.g. 1984, 2000 and 2010 Ghana censuses)
 Long reference period of one year referred to as
usual economic activity (e.g. 2008 Liberia Population
and Housing census)
Age cut-offs used to exclude segments of the
population that are:
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Too young
Too old
Age at which the level of economic activity is deemed
to be very low
Most countries use 14 or 15 years of age as cut-offs
Unemployment
The category of unemployed comprises all persons above
a specified age who during the reference period were:
 Without work, that is, were in neither paid employment
nor self-employed
 Currently available for work, whether paid employment
or self-employed
 Seeking work, that is, had taken specific steps in a
specified recent period to seek paid employment or
self-employment
United Nations, 2010
Occupation refers to the type of work done
during the time reference period by the person
employed (or the type of work done previously,
if unemployed ) irrespective of where (the
industry) or under what economic status (the
status in employment) the work is being done
Professional, technical and related workers
 Administrative and managerial workers
 Clerical and related workers
 Sales workers
 Service workers
 Agric, animal husbandry, fishermen and hunters
 Production, transport operators and related
workers
 Other workers
 New workers
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Industry refers to the activity of the establishment in
which an employed person worked during the time
reference period established for data on economic
characteristics
 Describes what the establishment does, not what the
individual does when working for that establishment
e.g. an accountant, a security guard working at a
university
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Agric, hunting, forestry, fishing
Mining and quarrying
Manufacturing
Electricity, water and gas
Construction
Wholesale and retail trade
Hotel and restaurants
Transport, storage and communication
Finance, insurance and real estate
Community, social and personal services
Public administration and defence
Education
Health and social work
Employment status refers to the status of an
economically active person with respect to his or her
employment
The International Classification of Status in Employment
specifies six broad groups:
 Employees
(including apprentices)
 Employers
 Own-account
workers
 Members of producers’ cooperatives
 Contributing family workers
 Workers not classified by status
2010 Ghana Population and Housing Census
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Employee
Self employed without employees
Self employed with employees
Casual worker
Contributing family worker
Apprentice
Domestic employee (househelp)
Others
Employment sector refers to the institutional sector of
employment
 Public (Government)
 Private (formal)
 Private (informal)
 Semi-public/parastatal
 NGO (local and international)
 International organisation
School attendance is defined as
“regular attendance at any regular accredited educational
institution or programme, public or private for organized
learning at any level of education at the time of the census
or if the census is taken during the vacation period at the end
of the school year or during the last school year”.
According to the International Standard Classification of
Education (ISCE), education is taken to comprise all
deliberate and systematic activities designed to meet
learning needs. Instruction in particular skills which is not
part of the country is not normally considered “school
attendance” for census purposes.
United Nations, 2010
Educational attainment is defined as the
highest grade completed within the most
advanced level attended in the educational
system of the country where the education
was received
United Nations, 2010
6. RELEVANT LITERATURE REVIEW OF
PREVIOUS STUDIES RELATED TO
EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATION
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Why literature review
Previous studies on employment and education in
Liberia and elsewhere
7. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY TO ANALYSE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMPLOYMENT AND
EDUCATION
Cross-tabulation of educational attainment (15 years and
older) by:
Major occupation
 Industry
 Employment status
 Sample for analysis (15 years and over who have
completed their schooling (out of school)
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Calculation of percentages
Presentation of findings/results
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Tables, graphs, charts
Description of tables
Marginals
 Cells
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8. LEVEL OF ANALYSIS
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National
County (15)
Sex (2)
Rural – urban residence (2)
9. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
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Ensuring a balanced and objective analysis of the
topic
Interpretation of results devoid of subjectivity or
personal judgement/bias
10. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
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Summary of main findings
Interpretation of main issues raised
Relating findings to similar studies in Liberia and
elsewhere
Policy implications
Policy interventions to address main issues raised
Conclusion
THANK YOU