Annual Report 2008 - Ministry of Finance and Planning
Annual Report 2008 - Ministry of Finance and Planning
Annual Report 2008 - Ministry of Finance and Planning
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1. Macro Economic Perspectives<br />
39<br />
Box 1.1<br />
Initiatives for Pro Poor Growth Contd.<br />
percent in <strong>2008</strong>. Accordingly, public sector employment,<br />
excluding institutional population has increased by 8<br />
percent in <strong>2008</strong>.<br />
Increased Employment<br />
The reactivation <strong>of</strong> economic growth since 2005 had a<br />
positive impact on employment. The increased inflow <strong>of</strong><br />
foreign investment, implementation <strong>of</strong> mega projects in<br />
the development <strong>of</strong> infrastructure, the special programmes<br />
carried out rural development such as “Gama Neguma”,<br />
“Maga Neguma”, “Jathika Saviya” <strong>and</strong> various small scale<br />
credit programmes introduced for self employment had the<br />
effect <strong>of</strong> increasing local employment opportunities.<br />
A significant increase in departures for foreign employment<br />
was recorded in <strong>2008</strong>. There was a notable increase in<br />
share <strong>of</strong> foreign employment placements to South Korea<br />
<strong>and</strong> Malaysia as a result <strong>of</strong> the efforts <strong>of</strong> the government<br />
to encourage skill labour migrants. Number <strong>of</strong> skill labour<br />
migrants has increased from 44,239 in 2007 to 54,644 in<br />
<strong>2008</strong>. The private remittances received from Middle East<br />
countries have also increased from Rs. 160 billion to Rs.<br />
189 billion. To bring the benefits <strong>of</strong> labour migration to the<br />
economy, society, <strong>and</strong> the migrant workers <strong>and</strong> their families<br />
a National Labour Migration Policy has been formulated in<br />
<strong>2008</strong>.<br />
Improved Labour Relations <strong>and</strong> Productivity<br />
Following the trend experienced in recent years, the overall<br />
labour productivity also continued to improve in <strong>2008</strong>. Steady<br />
decline in the number <strong>of</strong> labour strike actions was observed<br />
during the year. An increase in the number <strong>of</strong> collective<br />
agreements adopted for wage bargaining, maintenance <strong>of</strong><br />
better social dialogue at work places, <strong>and</strong> improvement <strong>of</strong><br />
the industrial harmony, were also considered as a notable<br />
achievement in the field.<br />
The quarterly survey <strong>of</strong> the labour force carried out by the<br />
Department <strong>of</strong> Census <strong>and</strong> Statistics indicates that the<br />
backlog <strong>of</strong> unemployed population declined from about<br />
420,000 2007 to about 398,000 in <strong>2008</strong>. This represents a<br />
reduction <strong>of</strong> unemployment from 6.5 percent in 2007 to 5.3<br />
<strong>Ministry</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Finance</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Planning</strong> Sri Lanka<br />
<strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong> <strong>2008</strong>
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