Volume 1 Cedric - revised luca Final - RUIG-GIAN

Unemployment (15 years of age and above)• In October 2003, the unemployment rate amounted to 28.1 per cent;• unemployment figures among men rose to 30.2 per cent whereas 16.0 per cent ofactive women interviewed were unemployed;• urban and rural areas registered 30.0 and 25.4 per cent unemployed respectively;• the Thi Qar governorate registered the highest unemployment rate in Iraq, reaching46.2 per cent. This could be attributed to the seasonality of agricultural sector activitiesand to the discharge of the Iraqi army by the CPA (Thi Qar was traditionally animportant recruitment point). The regional supply of soldiers is also characteristic ofsome other governorates, such as Anbar, Baghdad, Diala and Mesan, whereunemployment rates reached 33.3, 33.0, 31.2 and 30.5 per cent respectively;• governorates that registered the lowest unemployment rates were Karbala, Basrah andWasit, indicating 14.0, 15.5 and 16.0 per cent, respectively. This may be attributed to astable economic setting in these areas at the time.Underemployment (by hours worked: wage-earners andself-employed working for less than 35 hours a week)• The overall underemployment rate reached 23.5 per cent for Iraq for both men andwomen;• the highest rates were registered in Babil (56.0 per cent), followed by Thi Qar,Qadisiah and Muthana indicating 34.2, 33.9 and 33.2 per cent respectively;• the lowest underemployment rate was registered in Baghdad (13.7 per cent), followedby Ninava and Basrah with 16.6 and 19.5 per cent;• the overall underemployment rate for women was 40.2 per cent, while among men therate was at 19.4 per cent. Average underemployment rates in urban areas reached 15.7per cent, compared with 36.3 per cent in rural areas.Underemployment (by income)• The overall rate of underemployment, under this category, was 21.2 per cent for thecountry as a whole, excluding Kurdistan. The result among women reached 29.2 percent; in contrast, among men the rate was 17.6 per cent;• underemployment in this category registered 13.3 per cent in urban areas, and morethan double this level in rural areas (32.8 per cent);• Babil registered the highest underemployment rate (43.0 per cent), followed by Wasitand Muthana with 37.1 and 36.5 per cent, respectively;• the lowest rates were registered in Basrah, Baghdad and Anbar, registering 12.1, 12.7and 12.9 per cent, respectively.58