3 for those 16 to 25 years of age. In 1988, the unemployment rate for males aged 16 to 20 stood at 8.4%, while . at for males 21 to 25 was _5.3%,_ as compared to an average male unemployment rate of 3.4%. Similarly, for women aged 16 to 20, the unemployment rate in 1988 stood at 14%, and for those aged 21 to 25 percent it stood at 8.9%, while the female average was 6.3%. By educational attainment categories, the highest rates for males correepond to those with either incomplete or complete low secondary (7-9 yrs of schooling). For women, the highest rates correspond to those with either complete low secondary (9 yrs) or higher secondary (10-12 yrs) levels of education.

The above 4.-mrnployment figures are oased upon a strict definition of unemployment that defines an individLsi as unemployed only if he/she is actively searching for a job. However, research on other countries suggests that the distinction between "unemployment" and "not in the labor force" based on intensity of search is often very weak.y For examp!e, in their study of U.S. unemployment, Clark and Summers (1979) find that repeated spells of unemployment interrupted only by brief spells outside the labor force are very comnmon. They find that approximately 50% of all unempioyment spells for males aged 16 to 20 end in withdrawal from the labor farce. About 8G% of those, however, return to employment within 2 months. Although less pronounced, the patterns are similar for individuais 20 and over. These findings, and those for other countries, underscore the importance of looking beyond the official definition of unemployment to transitions in and out cf the labor force in understanding unemployment patterns.

-. ible 3 presents some characteristics of labor force withdrawal and reentry based on data from the 1990-1991 ENEUs. As discussed above, the ENEU uses a quarterly rotation system such that each rotation group (of households) remains in the survey for five consecutive quarters, and then leaves the sarnple. We obtained panel data for the rotation group that remained in the survey trom the third quarter of 1990 to the third quarter of 1991, matched individual survey responses in the successive quarters, and used these data to estimate flows between labor force states.

Table 3 shows that 25% of all unemployment spells for men and 53% of all unemployment spells for females, end in withdrawal from the labor force. As is the case in the U.S., these fractions are hig,a2r for those under 20 years of age: 37% of unemployment spells for mnales aged 16 to 20 end in withdrawal from the labor force, while the comparable figure for women is _55%._ A large fraction of those who withdraw (55% of males and 41% of females), reenter the labor force within 3 months. This suggests that at any point in time the disticntion between unemployed" and "out of the labor force" is quite fuzzy for certain groups of workers and implies that the official definition of unemployment, which includes only those individuals who report to be actively searching for a job, will tend to underestimate the true number of people wr., are in fact jobless.

Our analyses of the individual survey responses from the ENE and the ENEU reveal a large fraction of men who report to be idle -- these individuals are out of work, able to work, not studying, and not taking care of the household. The panel structure of the ENEU allows us to follow them over time, revealing that many of them subsequently find employment, and often do so without going through a spell of what is officially defined as unemployment -ie. without reporting to have been actively searching for a job. This raises a question: how should one treat these apparently idle workers? As out of the labor force? As discouraged unemployed workers who have given up searching actively but will nevertheless take a job if the opportunitv arises?

4/ See Clark and Summers, 1979 for an analysis of unemployment and labor force transitions in the U.S..