The Transition of Jamaican - International Labour Organisation ...

Table 3.4: Distribution of Not Working Youth by Number of Interviews Attended by Area,
Educational Level & Sex (per cent)
None 1–2 3– 6 7–10 11+
Area
Kgn/MoBay 59.0 30.5 7.7 1.7 1.2
Other Towns 53.5 31.0 11.2 1.7 2.6
Rural Areas 59.1 29.9 8.8 1.6 0.7
Parish Capital/Major Towns 55.2 31.5 7.3 4.2 1.8
Educational Level
Basic 66.9 25.3 5.9 1.4 0.5
Primary 45.6 37.4 12.6 2.9 1.5
Secondary 41.7 39.1 12.8 2.6 3.8
Sex
Male 59.3 30.1 8.0 2.2 0.4
Female 57.9 29.9 8.8 1.8 1.6
Average 58.6 30.0 8.4 2.0 0.9
Main Activity while looking for Work
There are a number of activities in which the youth were involved while they
were looking for work. These are shown in Table 3.5. In general, the three main
activities in which they were engaged while looking for work were “stayed at home
and was responsible for household chores”, “stayed at home and looked for a job” and
“helped out in family farm/business.” An analysis of the main activities undertaken
by Not Working Youth is presented below.
Among not working youth, 45.7 per cent of females “stayed at home and were
responsible for the household chores” compared to 18.7 per cent of males. (Table 3.5)
This may be due to the socialization in the traditional role of females as “homemakers.”
This pattern of activity was also observed among this category of youth
living in urban centres (Parish Capitals/Major Towns, (50.3 per cent) and
Kgn/MoBay dwellers (42.4 per cent).
The second major activity undertaken by the youth was “stayed at home and just
look for a job.” Males were more likely than females to simply stay at home during
THE TRANSITION OF JAMAICAN YOUTH TO THE WORLD OF WORK
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