Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698144832466.pdf (Mauritius)
Labour force, Employment and Unemployment – Year 2021 Introduction 1.

This thirteenth issue of the Economic and Social Indicators presents a set of estimates of labour force, employment and unemployment for the year 2021, based on the results of the Continuous Multi-Purpose Household Survey (CMPHS).

The estimates refer to the Mauritian population aged 16 years and above in the Republic of Mauritius; foreign workers are not included.

2.
2.

The estimates in this publication are subject to sampling variability as they are based on information from a sample of households rather than from all households.

Margin of error associated with estimates of the main labour force indicators are given in Table 1.

Key figures 1 The net change in employment level in the above table is equal to “Employment creations minus employment losses” during the period under reference.
2 Potential labour force refers to persons not in employment and who were not actively looking but were available for work, and those who were actively looking but were not available for work.

3 Employment-to-population ratio refers to the ratio of total employment to the working age population in contrast to the activity rate which is the ratio of the labour force (employed + unemployed) to the working age population.
1 20202021Change 2020 - 2021Population (aged 16+)1,001,700 1,008,400+6,700Labour Force (Economically active)570,100532,800-37,300Of which Employment 517,900484,400-33,5001 Unemployment 52,20048,400-3,800Outside Labour Force (Economically inactive)431,600475,600+44,000 Of which Potential Labour Force242,000 14,900-27,100Activity rate (%)56.952.8-4.1Employment-to-population ratio351.748.0-3.7Unemployment rate (%)9.29.1-0.1Youth unemployment 17,20016,000-1,200Youth unemployment rate (%)26.127.7+1.6 Key points 3.
Labour Force, Employment and Unemployment, 2021 a.

The employed population comprised 293,000 (60.5%) males and 191,400 (39.5%) females.

b.

Among the total of 48,400 unemployed, women outnumbered men (25,800 men compared to 22,600 women).

The unemployed youth aged 16 to 24 years numbered 16,000. c. The labour force (employed + unemployed) comprised 318,800 (59.8%) males and 214,000 (40.2%) females.

4.

Change in Labour Force, Employment and Unemployment, 2020 to 2021 Male a.
Male employment and unemployment decreased by 17,300 and 500 respectively and hence male labour force decreased by 17,800. b.

Male unemployment rate (number of unemployed/labour force) rose from 7.8% in 2020 to 8.1% in 2021. c. Male activity rate (labour force/population aged 16 years and above) declined from 69.3% in 2020 to 65.3% in 2021 as a result of a decrease of 17,800 in the male labour force compared to an increase of 2,100 in the male population aged 16 years and above.
Female d. Female employment decreased by 16,200 and unemployment by 3,300 and hence female labour force declined by 19,500. e. Female unemployment rate (number of unemployed/labour force) decreased from 11.1% in 2020 to 10.6% in 2021. f. Female activity rate (labour force/population aged 16 years and above) decreased from 45.3% in 2020 to 41.1% in 2021 as a result of a decrease of 19,500 in the female labour force compared to an increase of 4,600 in the female population aged 16 years and above.
Both sexes g. Employment and unemployment decreased by 33,500 and 3,800 respectively and hence the labour force declined by 37,300. h. Unemployment rate (number of unemployed/labour force) went down from 9.2% in 2020 to 9.1% in 2021. i.

The overall activity rate (labour force/population aged 16 years and above) decreased from 56.9% in 2020 to 52.8% in 2021 as a result of a drop of 37,300 in the labour force compared to an increase of 6,700 in the population aged 16 years and above.

2 Youth j.
2 Youth j.

Youth employment decreased by 7,000 from 48,700 in 2020 to 41,700 in 2021 and unemployment decreased by 1,200 from 17,200 to 16,000. k. Youth unemployment rate therefore increased by 1.6 percentage points from 26.1% to 27.7%.

5.

Evolution from 2011 to 2021 a.

Both men and women were less economically active in 2021, compared to 2011 (Table 2).

b.

Male employment was some 33,000 less than its 2011 level while female employment was higher (+11,500) (Table 10).
c. Employment in the primary and secondary sectors declined over the ten-year period, while that of the tertiary sector showed an increase (Table 10).

d. The unemployment rate reached 9.1% in 2021 compared to 7.8% in 2011 (Table 18).

e. From a rate of 22.2% in 2011, youth unemployment rose to 27.7% in 2021 (Table 14).
Labour market overview, 2021 Chart 1 - The Labour Market, 2021 3 Male: 488,100Male: 318,800Female: 214,000Male: 169,300Female: 306,300Male: 293,000Female: 191,400Male: 25,800Female: 22,600Male: 7,500Female: 7,400Male: 161,800Female: 298,900Both sexes: 532,800Both sexes: 475,600Population aged 16 years and overBoth sexes: 1,008,400Female: 520,300Labour ForceOutside Labour ForceBoth sexes: 14,900Both sexes: 460,700EmploymentUnemploymentPotential Labour Force(Seeking, not available;Not seeking, available)Other 'Outside Labour Force'(Not seeking and not available)Both sexes: 484,400Both sexes: 48,400 Chart 2 – Population structure by age, sex and economic activity, 2021 Labour Force 6.
The population of working age (aged 16 years and over) numbered 1,008,400, of whom 532,800 consisted of the labour force (or were economically active) resulting in an activity rate of 52.8% (Table1).

7.

Out of the 532,800 persons in the labour force, 484,400 (90.9%) were employed and 48,400 (9.1%) were unemployed.

a.

The number of persons outside the labour force was significantly higher among women than among men at all ages, except for age group 16 - 19 years (Chart 2).

b.
b.

There were fewer women than men among the employed at all ages.

c. As from age group 20-24 years, the number of unemployed generally decreased with age.

Population outside Labour Force 8.

The number of persons aged 16 years and over not forming part of labour force stood at 475,600 (169,300 males and 306,300 females) (Table 19).

9.

Some 14,900 (7,500 males and 7,400 females) of the population outside labour force were classified as forming part of the potential labour force (i.e.
persons not in employment and who were not actively looking but were available for work and those who were actively looking but were not available for work).

Those persons have not been classified as unemployed since they did not satisfy all the three criteria for unemployment i.e.

not working, actively looking for work and available for work.
About 66% of the persons outside the labour force did not look for work because either they believed that suitable jobs were not available or did not know where to look for work.

10.

The population outside labour force comprised 32% homemakers, 17% students, 32% retired or old persons and 8% sick or disabled persons.
4 -100-5005010016 - 1920 - 2425 - 2930 - 3435 - 3940 - 4445 - 4950 - 5455 - 5960 - 6465+Number (000s)Age group (years)EmployedUnemployedOutside Labour ForceMaleFemale Labour underutilization 11.

In 2021, labour underutilization worked out to be 204,300, comprising: • Unemployed (48,400).

• Potential labour force (14,900), i.e persons not in employment and who were not actively looking but were available for work or those who were actively looking but were not available for work.
• Skills-related underemployed (48,000), i.e those who were in employment and having tertiary qualifications and were engaged in occupations such as clerical support workers, service and sales workers, skilled agricultural workers, plant and machine operators and elementary occupations.

• Time-related underemployed (93,000), i.e those who were in employment and were available for extra work.
Note: persons holding tertiary qualifications and available for extra work are included in skills-related underemployed and excluded in the time-related underemployed.

Employment 12.

Total employment stood at 484,400 (293,000 or 60% males and 191,400 or 40% females) in 2021.

The employment to population ratio was around 48% (60% for males and 37% for females).

Men comprise 60% of the workforce 13.


Out of every 100 persons in the workforce, 60 were men and the mean age of a worker was 42.2 years for men and 39.6 years for women.

The proportion of self-employed among women is still low compared to men 14.

Some 80.6% of the employed were employees while around 18.4% were self-employed (own account workers or employers) and the remaining 1.0% were contributing family workers.
The female workforce as compared to the male workforce comprised a higher proportion of employees (87.9% against 75.9% among males) and contributing family workers (1.7% against 0.5%) but a lower proportion of self-employed (10.4% against 23.6% among males) (Table 4).

Male employees work longer hours and earn more than their female counterparts 15.

On average, an employee worked 40.7 hours per week.
A male employee worked 42.1 hours per week on average compared to 38.9 hours per week for a female employee (Table 5).

16.
Employees in the secondary sector (covering manufacturing, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply and water supply, sewerage waste management and remediation activities and construction) had the longest hours of work (41.8 hours per week), compared to 40.6 hours to those in the tertiary sector (covering wholesale and retail trade, accommodation and food service activities, transportation and storage and all the other service industries) and 36.9 hours in the primary sector (covering agriculture, forestry and fishing and mining & quarrying) (Table 6).
5 17.

Average monthly income for an employee amounted to Rs 22,800 (Rs 25,000 for males and Rs 20,000 for females) (Table 7) 18.

Average monthly income for employees was highest in the tertiary sector (Rs 23,900), followed by the secondary sector (Rs 19,700) and the primary sector (Rs 17,600) (Table 7).

Chart 3 – Average monthly income of employees by industrial sector and sex, 2021 Median income of employees 19.
The median monthly income of employees (comprising basic pay, allowances and overtime) was around Rs 16,000; i.e.

50% of employees earned less than Rs 16,000 while the other 50% earned more than it (Table 8).

20.

Chief executives, senior officials and legislators; professionals; technicians and associate professionals earned the highest monthly income (Rs 39,800), followed by clerical and support workers (Rs 20,900).
The lowest income was drawn by those engaged in elementary occupations (Rs 12,700) (Table 9).

The tertiary sector provides jobs to 7 out of every 10 workers and gave the highest pay 21.

Out of every 100 workers, 72 were employed in the tertiary sector, 22 in the secondary sector and 6 in the primary sector (Table 10).

1 out of 5 employed persons engaged as managers, professionals or technicians 22.
Around 22% of the employed was engaged in the highest occupational groups (ISCO group 1-3) which comprised chief executives, senior officials and legislators; professionals; technicians and associate professionals.

Clerical and support workers (ISCO group 4) made up 11% of the workforce; service and sales workers (ISCO group 5) 22%.

Another 28% were skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers; craft and related trade workers; plant and machine operators and assemblers (ISCO group 6-8).
Those engaged in elementary occupations (ISCO group 9) made up 17% of the workforce (Table 11).

6 051015202530PrimarySecondaryTertiaryIncome (Rs000)MaleFemaleBoth sexes Unemployment 23.

In 2021, unemployed persons numbered 48,400, comprising 25,800 men and 22,600 women.

The unemployment rate was 9.1% (8.1% among men and 10.6% among women) (Table 1).

Number of unemployed women almost same as unemployed men 24.
The shape of the pyramid in Chart 4 indicates a more or less similar pattern between male and female among the unemployed at almost all age-groups in 2021.

Chart 4 – Age-sex structure of the unemployed population, 2021 25.

The mean age of an unemployed male was 32.7 years and that of unemployed female was 30.7 years.

Unemployment rate is highest among young persons 26.

Unemployment rate was highest at the lowest age groups and decreased progressively with increasing age.
It was 27.7% among those below 25 years and 3.0% among those aged 50 years and above (Table 13).

27.

The disparity between male and female unemployment rate was highest in the lowest age group of 16 - 24 years; the difference being 5.6 percentage points.

50% of unemployed women are ever-married while unemployed men are mostly single 28.

About 43% of the unemployed were ever-married, i.e.

currently married, widowed, divorced or separated.

Most of the unemployed men were single (62%).


50% of the unemployed women were ever-married (Table 15).

More than half of the unemployed do not hold the School Certificate 29.

Around 55% of the unemployed, representing 26,800 persons, did not hold a Cambridge School Certificate (SC): 17% had not attained the Primary School Achievement Certificate (PSAC)/Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) level, 5% held the PSAC/CPE certificate, and a further 34% attended secondary school but did not pass the SC.
The proportion having SC was 7 -10-5051016 - 1920 - 2425 - 2930 - 3435 - 3940 - 4445 - 4950 - 5455 - 5960+Number (000)Age group (years)MaleFemale 14% and Higher School Certificate (HSC) was 9%.

Unemployed having studied up to the tertiary level numbered some 10,100 and represented 21% of the total unemployed (Table 16).

Chart 5 – Unemployed population by education attainment and sex, 2021 Unemployed women are generally more qualified than unemployed men 30.
Unemployed women were generally more qualified than their male counterparts; around 51% of them possessed at least a School Certificate against 39% among males.

Women remain in unemployment around four months more than men 31.

The proportion of persons in unemployment for a duration of less than six months is higher among males (36%) compared to females (25%) while the proportion of those who are unemployed for more than twenty four months is higher among females (25%) against 19% among males (Chart 6).
32.

On average, an unemployed person had been without a job for 21 months.

Average duration of unemployment for males was 19 months compared to 23 months for females.

Chart 6 – Duration of unemployment by sex, 2021 8 0102030405060708090100MaleFemaleTotalPercentage(%)Without SCPassed SCPassed HSCTertiaryMaleFemaleBoth sexesPercentage(%)Up to 5 mths6-12 mths13-24 mths25+ mths The unemployed is predominantly made up of persons with work experience 33.

Around 68% of the unemployed had worked in the past.
More than two third (67%) had worked previously in the tertiary sector, mainly ‘Wholesale & retail trade’ (16%) followed by ‘Accommodation and food service activities’ (14%).

Another 31% had worked previously in the secondary sector, mainly in ‘Construction’ (19%) followed by ‘Manufacturing’(12%).

The remaining 2% previously worked in the agricultural sector.

Nearly two out of 5 unemployed who worked before leave their job because of closure of establishment and reduction in workforce due to COVID-19.
34.

Some 22% of the unemployed lost their job following completion of their contract or temporary job.

Another 12% left their job due to dissatisfaction with job while around 12% left due closure of establishment/reduction for another reasons.

Closure of establishment and reduction in workforce due to COVID-19 accounted for 42% of the job losses.

Almost half of the unemployed are not registered at the Employment Service.

35.

The unemployed usually had recourse to more than one method of job search.
The most common method was ‘applied to prospective employers’(59%) followed by ‘checked at factories,worksites, etc’ (53%).

Around 48% were registered at the Employment Service (Table 17).

Evolution from 2011 to 2021 Male activity rate is higher than that of females but the gap is decreasing over time 36.

During the period 2011 to 2021, male activity rate was consistently higher than female activity rate (Chart 7).
However, the gap between male and female activity rates is decreasing over time (Table 2).

Chart 7 – Activity rate by sex, 2011 – 2021 9 303540455055606570758020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021Percentage (%)YearMaleFemaleMaleFemale 37.

Male age-specific activity rate in 2021 was lower than those of 2011 for all age groups between 16 and 54 years.

On the other hand, female age-specific activity rate in 2021 was higher than those of 2011 for all age groups between 25 and 59 years.
Chart 8 – Activity rate by age and sex – 2011 & 2021 The tertiary sector is becoming increasingly important in terms of employment 38.

Over time, the tertiary sector has become increasingly important in terms of employment.

From 2011 to 2021, employment in this sector rose from 324,400 to 350,500; its share over total employment also increased from 64% to 72%.

In the primary sector, employment went down from 40,100 in 2011 to 26,600 in 2021 mainly due to a decline in the agricultural sector.
In the secondary sector, employment dropped from 141,400 to 107,300 mainly due to a decreasing workforce in the manufacturing sector (Table 10).

Chart 9 – Employed population by industrial sector, 2011 & 2021 10 020406080100Percentage (%)Age (years)Male 2011Female 2011Male 2021Female 2021050100150200250300350400PrimarySecondaryTertiaryNumber (000)20112021 Mauritian workforce is moving up the occupation ladder 39.
The share of employment in the higher occupational groups (ISCO group 1-3) comprising legislators, senior officials and managers; professionals; technicians and associate professionals increased from 19.9% in 2011 to 22.5% in 2021, while the share of employment in the lowest occupational group (ISCO group 9) representing elementary jobs decreased from 17.7% to 16.7%.
Chart 10 – Employed population by occupational group, 2011 – 2021 Female unemployment rate remains higher but gender gap is decreasing Chart 11 – Unemployment rate by sex, 2011 – 2021 40.

From 2011 to 2015, the overall unemployment rate oscillated around 8.0%.

However, for the period 2016 to 2019 it remained around 7.0% and thereafter it picked up to reach 9.2% and 9.1% in 2020 and 2021 respectively (Table 18).
11 051015202530351 - 3456 - 89Percentage (%)Major occupational group201120210246810121420112012201320142015201620172018201920202021Unemployment rate (%)YearMaleFemaleB.

SexesFemaleBoth sexesMale 41.

Male unemployment rate increased steadily during the period 2011 to 2015, from 5.0% to 5.5%; then declined gradually to reach 4.4% in 2019.

However, the rate increased significantly to 7.8% and 8.1 % in 2020 and 2021 respectively.

42.
42.

Female unemployment rate which stood at 12.4% in 2011 declined to 10.2% in 2019; thereafter it increased to 11.1% in 2020 followed by a decrease to reach 10.6% in 2021.

However, the gender gap with regards to unemployment rate decreased from 2011 to 2021.

Trend in youth unemployment, 2011 to 2021 43.

From a rate of around 22.2% in 2011, youth unemployment rate followed an increasing trend to peak at 26.3% in 2015.
It then went down to 22.8% in 2019 and gradually increased to 27.7% in 2021 (Table 14).

44.

Unemployed young persons in 2021 numbered 16,000 of whom 8,000 were male and 8,000 female compared to 7,500 and 8,700 respectively in 2011.

Chart 12 – Youth (16-24 yrs) unemployment rate, 2011 – 2021 Statistics Mauritius Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development Port Louis 18 May 2022 12 0510152025303520112012201320142015201620172018201920202021Youth Unemployment rate (%)YearMaleFemaleB.
SexesFemaleBoth sexesMaleContact persons:(1)Ms. B. D. Sookram (Statistician)Email: bsookram@govmu.org(2)Ms. U.Allyjane (Senior Statistical Officer)Email: mallyjane@govmu.org(3)Ms. H.Pursun (Senior Statistical Officer)Email: hpursun@govmu.orgStatistics MauritiusLIC Centre, Port LouisTel: +230 208 1800 Fax: +230 211 4150 List of tables ANNEX Table 1 - Estimated labour force, employment, unemployment and population outside the labour force by sex, 2020 & 2021 Table 2 - Age specific activity rate (%) by sex - 2011 & 2021 Table 3 - Labour force, employment and unemployment by age group and sex - 2021 Table 4 - Employed population by employment status and sex - 2021 Table 5 - Mean hours of work per week by employment status and sex - 2021 Table 6 - Mean hours of work of employees by industrial sector and sex - 2021 Table 7 - Average monthly income (Rs) of employees by industrial sector and sex - 2021 Table 8 - Percentage distribution of employees by income range - 2021 Table 9 - Average monthly income (Rs) of employees by occupational group and sex - 2021 Table 10 - Employed population by industrial sector and sex – 2011 & 2021 Table 11 - Employed population by occupational group and sex – 2011 & 2021 Table 12 - Employed population with tertiary qualification by occupational group and sex - 2021 Table 13 - Unemployment rate (%) by age group and sex - 2021 Table 14 - Youth (16-24 years) unemployed and unemployment rate (%) by sex, 2011 - 2021 Table 15 - Unemployed population by marital status and sex - 2021 Table 16 - Unemployed population by educational attainment and sex - 2021 Table 17 - Unemployed population by method of job search and sex - 2021 Table 18 - Unemployment rate (%) by sex, 2011 - 2021 Table 19 - Population outside labour force by inactivity status and sex - 2021 i ii Table 1 - Estimated labour force, employment, unemployment and population outside the labour force by sex, 2020 & 2021EstimatesStandard Error Coefficient of Variation (%)EstimatesStandard ErrorCoefficient of Variation (%)PopulationBoth
 Sexes1,001,70016,9001.7 1,008,40012,6001.2Male486,0009,1001.9 488,1006,9001.4Female515,7009,4001.8 520,3007,1001.4 Labour ForceBoth Sexes570,10013,2002.3 532,8008,7001.6Male336,6008,1002.4 318,8005,7001.8Female233,5006,8002.9 214,0004,4002.1 EmploymentBoth Sexes517,90012,2002.4 484,4008,1001.7Male310,3007,5002.4 293,0005,4001.8Female207,6006,4003.1 191,4004,1002.1 UnemploymentBoth Sexes52,2002,8005.4 48,4002,0004.1Male26,3001,8006.8 25,8001,4005.4Female25,9001,7006.6 22,6001,3005.8Inactive PopulationBoth Sexes431,6006,4001.5 475,6007,2001.5Male149,4002,6001.7 169,3003,8002.2Female282,2005,1001.8 306,3005,2001.7Activity rate (%)Both Sexes56.90.61.1 52.80.50.9Male69.30.60.9 65.30.71.1Female45.30.92.0 41.10.61.5Unemployment rate (%)Both Sexes9.20.44.3 9.10.44.4Male7.80.56.4 8.10.44.9Female11.10.76.3 10.60.65.7 Youth unemploymentBoth Sexes17,2001,4008.1 16,0001,1006.9Male8,40090010.7 8,0007008.8Female8,8001,00011.4 8,00080010.0Youth unemployment rate (%)Both Sexes26.11.86.9 27.71.55.4Male23.22.08.6 25.22.07.9Female29.63.110.5 30.82.58.1Reliability of estimatesHigh reliabilityMedium reliabilityLow reliability20202021Less than 7.57.5 - 15.0Greater than 15.0 iii Table 2 - Age specific activity rate (%) by sex - 2011 & 2021MaleFemaleBoth SexesMaleFemaleBoth Sexes16 - 1923.715.319.510.29.49.820 - 2472.155.563.960.748.954.825 - 2993.063.078.087.968.978.130 - 3495.761.378.690.873.381.935 - 3996.564.980.791.868.179.840 - 4496.164.180.292.763.177.945 - 4994.550.772.691.257.374.350 - 5492.142.567.286.245.966.055 - 5980.636.057.883.736.659.660 - 6442.816.628.941.914.827.865+14.92.97.98.32.34.9All Ages74.842.958.565.341.152.8Age group (years)20112021Table 3 – Labour force, employment, unemployment by age group and sex - 2021MaleFemaleBoth sexesMaleFemaleBoth sexesMaleFemaleBoth sexes16 - 193,9003,5007,4002,8001,7004,5001,1001,8002,90020 - 2427,80022,50050,30020,90016,30037,2006,9006,20013,10025 - 2937,10031,00068,10032,40026,60059,0004,7004,4009,10030 -
- 3436,70030,80067,50033,50027,40060,9003,2003,4006,60035 - 3937,10028,20065,30034,10026,20060,3003,0002,0005,00040 - 4444,40030,10074,50041,80028,00069,80045 - 4937,40023,50060,90035,80022,20058,00050 - 5435,70019,20054,90034,60018,30052,90055 - 5937,40017,10054,50036,20016,60052,80060 - 6415,6006,00021,60015,3006,00021,30065 & over5,7002,1007,8005,6002,1007,700Total318,800214,000532,800293,000191,400484,40025,80022,60048,400Age groupLabour ForceEmploymentUnemployment6,9004,80011,700 iv Table 4 - Employed population by employment status and sex - 2021Employment statusMaleFemaleBoth SexesEmployer12,3003,20015,500Own Account worker56,80016,70073,500Employee222,500168,200390,700Contributing family worker1,4003,3004,700All employment states293,000191,400484,400Table 5 - Mean hours of work per week by employment status and sex - 2021Employment statusMaleFemaleBoth SexesEmployer40.335.839.4Own Account worker36.029.934.6Employee42.138.940.7Contributing family worker38.836.537.2All employment states40.938.139.8Table 6 - Mean hours of work of employees by industrial sector and sex - 2021MaleFemaleBoth SexesPrimary38.431.436.9Secondary41.841.741.8Tertiary42.638.640.6All sectors42.138.940.7Industrial sectorMean hours of work per week v Table 7 - Average monthly income (Rs) of employees by industrial sector and sex - 2021MaleFemaleBoth SexesPrimary18,70013,30017,600Secondary21,30014,70019,700Tertiary26,90020,80023,900All sectors25,00020,00022,800Industrial sectorAverage monthly income (Rs)Table 8 - Percentage distribution of employees by income range - 2021%Cumulative %%Cumulative %Up to 5,0005.65.60.90.95,001 - 10,00012.317.94.75.610,001 - 15,00030.948.817.423.015,001 - 20,00015.964.712.835.820,001 - 25,0009.974.610.246.025,001 - 50,00018.392.928.774.750,001 - 75,0004.497.311.886.575,001 and Over2.7100.013.5100.0Total100.0100.0Income rangeRupees per monthEmployeesIncomeTable 9 - Average monthly income (Rs) of employees by occupational group and sex - 2021MaleFemaleBoth Sexes4Clerical support
 workers22,30020,20020,9005Service and sales workers23,60013,30019,1009Elementary occupations16,3009,70012,700All occupational groups25,00020,00022,800* International Standard Classification of Occupations1 - 3Managers; Professionals; Technicians and associate professionals44,60034,80039,8006 - 8Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers; Craft and related trade workers; Plant and machine operators and assemblers16,90011,700ISCO* major occupational groupOccupational groupAverage monthly income (Rs)16,400 vi Table 10 - Employed population by industrial sector and sex - 2011 & 2021MaleFemaleBoth SexesMaleFemaleBoth SexesPrimary28,60011,50040,10020,6006,00026,600Secondary 103,80037,600141,40083,50023,800107,300 of which Manufacturing48,30035,70084,00033,10020,70053,800 Construction49,4001,50050,90045,2001,70046,900Tertiary193,600130,800324,400188,900161,600350,500 of whichWholesale and retail trade47,00032,70079,70038,10032,80070,900Accommodation and foodservice activitiesTransportation and storage26,8002,60029,40027,5005,10032,600Public administration and defence 31,5009,20040,70030,60013,10043,700Education and Human Health & social work activities326,000179,900505,900293,000191,400484,400All Sectors19,40027,30046,70019,300Industrial Sector2011202135,60054,90022,00012,10034,10023,60016,60040,200Table 11 - Employed population by occupational group and sex - 2011 & 2021MaleFemaleBoth SexesMaleFemaleBoth Sexes4Clerical support workers19,20028,20047,40017,90034,10052,0005Service and sales workers65,70042,100107,80058,90047,200106,1009Elementary occupations47,80041,60089,40037,00043,80080,800All occupational groups326,000179,900505,900293,000191,400484,400* International Standard Classification of Occupations120,90015,200136,1006 - 8Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers; Craft and related trade workers; Plant and machine operators and assemblers132,60027,800160,400ISCO* major occupational groupOccupational group201120211 - 3Managers; Professionals;
 Technicians and associate professionals60,70040,200100,90058,30051,100109,400 vii Table 12 - Employed population with tertiary qualification by occupational group and sex - 20211Managers6,5004,20010,7002Professionals18,80018,10036,9003Technicians and associate professionals14,60013,00027,6004Clerical support workers5,80013,00018,8005Service and sales workers10,2006,60016,8006-8Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers; Craft and related trade workers; Plant and machine operators and assemblers8,0009008,9009Elementary occupations2,0001,5003,500All occupational groups65,90057,300123,200* International Standard Classification of OccupationsISCO* major occupational groupOccupational groupMaleFemaleBoth SexesTable 13 - Unemployment rate (%) by age group and sex - 2021Age group (years)MaleFemaleBoth Sexes16 - 2425.2 30.8 27.7 25 - 2912.7 14.2 13.4 30 - 398.4 9.2 8.7 40 - 495.1 6.3 5.6 50 and over2.9 3.2 3.0 All ages8.1 10.6 9.1 Table 14 - Youth (16-24 yrs) unemployed and unemployment rate (%) by sex , 2011 - 2021MaleFemaleBoth sexesMaleFemaleBoth sexes20117,5008,70016,20017.828.222.220128,40010,10018,50019.432.024.720137,9009,70017,60017.631.223.220149,00010,50019,50019.733.325.320159,90011,30021,20021.632.726.320168,20010,70018,90018.331.223.920178,50010,80019,30019.531.924.920189,40010,30019,70021.729.325.120197,6009,50017,10017.829.422.820208,4008,80017,20023.229.626.120218,0008,00016,00025.230.827.7Year Unemployment Unemployment rate viii Table 15 - Unemployed population by marital status and sex – 2021Marital statusMaleFemaleBoth SexesEver Married9,70011,20020,900Single16,10011,40027,500Total25,80022,60048,400Table 16 - Unemployed population by educational attainment and sex - 2021Educational attainmentMaleFemaleBoth SexesPrimary6,3004,30010,600 Below PSAC/CPE4,8003,2008,000 Passed PSAC/CPE1,5001,1002,600Secondary14,40013,30027,700 Form I - V but not passed SC9,5006,70016,200 Passed SC3,1003,9007,000 Passed
 HSC1,8002,7004,500Tertiary5,1005,00010,100Total25,80022,60048,400Table 17 - Unemployed population by method of job search and sex – 2021Method of job searchMaleFemaleBoth SexesApplied to prospective employers15,50013,20028,700Checked at factories, worksites etc13,30012,20025,500Registered at Employment Service *11,10011,90023,000Placed or answered advertisements5,3004,2009,500Sought assistance and advices **7,0006,10013,100All Unemployed25,80022,60048,400*Estimates refer to cases reported in the survey and differ from figures of registered unemployed from Employment Service**to obtain a paid job or start own business ix Table 18 - Unemployment rate (%) by sex - 2011 - 2021MaleFemaleBoth Sexes20115.012.47.820125.212.78.020135.312.28.020145.511.47.820155.511.67.920164.811.27.320174.810.77.120184.710.16.920194.410.26.720207.811.19.220218.110.69.1Year Unemployment Rate (%) Table 19 - Population outside labour force by inactivity status and sex – 2021Inactivity statusMaleFemaleBoth SexesStudents38,30041,40079,700Retired or old persons81,90071,500153,400Sick or disabled21,80014,50036,300Homemakers154,400154,600Other24,50051,600Total169,300306,300475,60027,300 Methodology of the Continuous Multi-Purpose Household Survey 1.
Data collection: Following the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, the face-to-face interviews of household members have been replaced by telephone interviews until further notice.

2.

Frequency of data collection: Monthly except in 2004 when data collection was carried out every quarter.

Up to 2005, the reference period for data on labour force was the last week of the survey month.
As from 2006, the reference week has been changed to the second week of the survey month so that estimates can be published within one quarter of the reference period, as required by the IMF Special Data Dissemination System (SDDS) to which the country graduated in February 2012.

3.

Scope and coverage of collection: Mauritian households in the islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues.

4.

Sampling methodology: A Stratified two-stage sampling design is used.
At the first stage, Primary Sampling Units (PSUs) are selected in proportion to square root of the total number of households in the geographical district and at the second stage a fixed number of households is selected from each selected PSU.

Prior to 2005, the first stage stratification factors were urban, semi urban and rural geographical locations.

As from 2005, the Relative Development Index (RDI) is used as the spatial stratification factor.
This index is based on 12 variables encompassing housing and living conditions, literacy and education, and employment derived from the 2011 Housing and Population Census to rank PSUs.

A set of RDIs for administrative regions has been published in the series "Economic and Social Indicators" - Issue No.

977.

The second stage stratification criteria are community, household size and average monthly expenditure of the household.

5.
5.

Sample size: From 1999 to 2003, around 6,500 households were covered each year.

In 2004, the sample was increased to 8,640 so that reliable quarterly estimates of labour force, employment and unemployment could be worked out.

As from 2005, the sample for the year has been further increased to 11,280.
Furthermore, in order to measure quarterly changes, 50% of the households sampled in a quarter are re-interviewed in the following quarter; for example, 50% of the households sampled in the first quarter of 2005 have been re-interviewed in the second quarter of 2005.

6.
6.

Questionnaire: The CMPHS questionnaire comprises three modules: (a) a basic module common to all rounds of the survey covering the general characteristics of the population (b) a second module covering labour force with in-depth investigation and a core set of questions which are kept constant at all rounds of the survey and (c) a third module grouping other topics of interest but investigated in less details.

x 7.
x 7.

Estimation and reliability of estimates: Estimates worked out from household survey data are inevitably subject to sampling variability since they are based on information collected from only a sample of households rather than from all households.

The Standard Error (S.E) and the Coefficient of Variation (CV), which are measures of this variability have been computed and are given in table 1.

8.
8.

Implementation of revised classifications: Statistics Mauritius is using, as from 2012, adapted versions of the following revised classifications: a.

International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities, Rev.

4 of 2007; b.

International Standard Classification of Occupations, 2008.

For comparison purposes, employment estimates for previous years have been worked out using the revised classifications.
There are changes in the employment estimates at industrial group level; hence they are not strictly comparable.

The overall employment estimates are however not affected.

xi Definition of terms 1.

Household: A household is defined as either a person living on his/her own or a group of two or more persons, who may or may not be related, but who live together and make common provision for food and other essentials for living.

2.
2.

Employment: Employed population consists of Mauritians aged 161 years and above who have worked for pay, profit or family gain for at least one hour during the reference week of a month.

It includes those who are temporarily absent from work for reasons such as leave with pay, leave without pay and temporary disorganisation of work (bad weather, break down of equipment, lack of order, etc.).

3.
3.

Unemployment: Unemployed population comprises all Mauritians aged 16 years and above who are not working but who are actively looking for work and are available for work during the reference period.

4.

Labour force: Labour force or active population is made up of employed and unemployed population.

5.

Activity rate: Activity rate is the ratio (%) of labour force to population aged 16 years and above.

6.

Unemployment rate: Unemployment rate is the ratio (%) of unemployment to labour force.

7.
7.

Outside the labour force (previously known as the Inactive population): Outside the labour force population includes all Mauritians aged 16 years and above, not forming part of the labour force for reasons such as attendance at educational institutions, engagement in household duties, retirement, old age and infirmity/disablement.

8.

Employer: An Employer is a person who operates his/her own business or trade and hires one or more employees.

9.
9.

Own account worker: An own account worker is a person who operates his/her own business or trade but does not hire employees.

He/She may be working alone or with the help of contributing family workers.

10.

Employee: An Employee is a person who works for pay for someone else, even in a temporary capacity.

11.

Apprentice: An Apprentice is a person being trained for a job or trade and does not receive pay or may just receive some pocket money; a paid apprentice is considered as an employee.

12.
12.

Contributing family worker: A Contributing family worker is a person who works without pay in an enterprise operated by a family member.

xii 13.

Educational attainment Primary: comprises persons who have studied from Grade 1 (Standard 1) to Grade 6 (Standard 6) or to Primary School Achievement Certificate (PSAC)/Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) or equivalent.
Secondary: comprises persons who have studied from Grade 7 (Form 1) to Grade 13 (Form 6) or to Higher School Certificate (HSC) or equivalent.

Tertiary: comprises persons who in addition to their secondary educational certificates (SC and HSC or equivalent) also possess either a certificate/diploma (which is above the HSC but below a first degree) or a degree.

14.

Income from employment Paid employee: income refers to gross pay, i.e., before tax and other deductions.
Gross pay includes all basic pay, allowances and overtime payments.

Basic pay comprises all emoluments, including yearly compensation and increment but excluding allowances such as bonus and overtime, i.e Gross pay, including yearly compensation and increment, minus allowances such as bonus and overtime payments.

Employer and own account worker: income refers to the net income obtained after deductions of expenses.

15.
15.

Labour underutilisation Labour underutilisation refers to mismatches between labour supply and demand, which translate into an unmet need for employment among the population.

It comprises those who were in employment and were available for extra work, i.e.

time-related underemployment, the unemployed and the potential labour force.

16.
16.

Potential labour force Potential labour force refers to persons not in employment who express an interest in work but for whom existing conditions limit their active job search and/or their availability.

1 As from year 2007, labour force estimates are based on population aged 16 years and above, following the amendment to the Labour Act in December 2006 whereby the minimum legal working age is 16 years, and the subsequent recommendation by the ILO to be in line with the amended Labour Act xiii