Ethiopia KILM

Employment-to-population ratio KILM 2
Employment-to-population ratios provide a limited measure for decent work that encompasses the
quality as well as the quantity of jobs including aspects of employment related to rights, protection
and dialogue. For this reason, it is useful to supplement this indicator with other measures such as
earnings, hours of work, unemployment and underemployment, formal and informal employment
and conditions of work.
Trends
As it can be seen from table 5 below, the trend of employment-to-population ratio in Ethiopia was
fluctuating. The ratio has been decreasing from the year 1994 to 1999, increasing from the year 1999
to 2005 and showed a tendency to decline from the year 2005 to 2007 for youth and adult population.
This was largely a result of the decline in the participation rate especially for females, as seen in the
previous indicator. When one looks at the ratio in terms of sex, the ratio is higher for male than for
their female counterparts.
Table 5: Employment-to-population ratios, 1994–2007
AGE GROUP
Year
15+ 15-24 25+
M F M+F M F M+F M F M+F
1994 86.9 64.3 75.5 76.1 62.1 69.1 92.8 65.6 79.0
1999 85.1 62.8 73.9 77.4 61.0 68.9 89.2 63.8 76.6
2005 88.3 72.3 80.0 78.6 67.6 72.8 93.3 74.9 83.8
2007 78.8 64.2 71.5 62.6 58.4 60.5 88.5 67.6 78.0
Source: CSA, Calculated based on 1999 &2005 Labour force survey and 1994 & 2007 Census.
The long-run decline in the employment-to-population ratio throughout the period was greater for
men (from 86.9% in 1914 to 78.8% in 2007) than for women (from 64.3% in 1994 to 64.2% in 2005).
When one examines employment-to-population ratios by age chorots, it appears from figure 6 below
that, the ratios are relatively less for the young (in the age group 15-24) and the older (aged 65 + )
people.
It can also be seen from the same figure that, the employment-to- population ratio for male is higher
than for their female counterparts in all age groups.
10