SBR- Content.pmd - INBO

State of the Basin Report - 2003Across the LMB, women have labour force participation rates that are much higher than the averageof 51 percent for East Asia and the Pacific. 99 In general, subsistence agricultural production dependson the full participation of all adult household members. The participation rates among young womenunder the age of about 25 years are often higher than for men of the same age. 100 However, the ratedrops rapidly as women get older.Figure 8. Labour force participation (% economically active population), 2000-2001Sources: ADB 2002; ADB 2001c; NSC 1997; Alpha Research Co. 2000; UNDP 2002;UNDP-Viet Nam 2002Women account for 50-70 percent of the agriculture labour force. In Viet Nam, they represent 68percent of the workers in the aquaculture sector. 101 In addition, women are frequently self-employedin a wide range of businesses in the formal sector and, particularly, in the informal sector. In Cambodiaand Lao PDR, 90-95 percent of women are involved in market trading and running small businesses,as well as operating their own farms or working as unpaid family labour. 102 Women make up a largepart of the labour force in the service sector, particularly among women who migrate to urban areas.They are also increasingly present in theindustrial sector. For example, 90-95 percentof workers in the garment industries in theLMB are women.Unemployment and underemployment.Although data are scarce, very few peoplein rural areas are unemployed. In urban areas,unemployment is much higher. During thefinancial crisis of 1997, unskilled workers inurban areas were among the first to be laidoff in Thailand. 103 This caused many peopleto look for work in the informal sector, or toreturn home to their families in rural areas. 104Table 14. Employment/sector (%), 1997-2000Women generate household income by selling fish,fish sauce, vegetables, non-timber forest productsand handicraftsAgriculture Industry ServicesTotal Male Female Total Male Female Total Male FemaleCambodia 78 71 79 4 18 4 20Lao PDR 85 90Thailand 55 55 56 13 13 11 32 32 33Viet Nam 67 13 20Note: Information reflects available data for most recent year. Agriculture includes forestry and fisheries.Sources: ESCAP 2002; GSO 2000a; Huguet et al. 2000; Ministry of Planning, Cambodia 2000; NSO 2000a62