The Labour Force in the Commonwealth Caribbean, a Statistical Analysis

Abdulah, Norma, The Labour Force in the Commonwealth Caribbean, a Statistical Analysis, St. Augustine: Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of the West Indies, 1977.

From the Preface:

The paper is divided into three parts. In the first, the concepts used in attempting to measure that segment of the population which is ‘economically active’: the employed, the unemployed and the underemployed are defined. Census data are used to calculate some of the more usual rates and indices used in describing the labour force, and these areused as a basis for effecting comparisons between the countries, and to measure changes in the 1960 – 1970 intercensal decade. Since, however, not all the labour force data relating to the Caribbean Region have emanated from the Population Censuses, other sources of relevant data are examined in Part II. Part III consists of an assessment of the data and concepts used in their collection, and points to certain areas in which present attempts at measurement appear unsuitable or inadequate in the context of Caribbean society. A select bibliography and a statistical appendix are provided.