ESO begins extra labour force survey
(CNS): Researchers will be starting a second labour force survey for the year on Sunday in order to collect information about unemployment and the current situation in the labour market. The finance minister recently announced that the Economics and Statistics Office had been given extra resources, starting this fiscal year, to conduct two surveys to gather information to shape government policy. Marco Archer recently told his legislative colleagues in the Parliament that the office needed more timely and accurate data. The ESO interviewers will be conducting the research with tablets to ensure quicker results and the public is urged to cooperate with them.
“In addition, most interviews will now be conducted using tablets rather than the previously used paper questionnaires,” Archer said. “With this enhanced technology and twice-a-year survey, we can now expect more timely labour force statistics in support of employment monitoring and policy-making. The LFS is a very important survey as it directly collects data from households on their employment status.”
He added that the data is used to establish important figures such as the local unemployment rate.
Trained interviewers will visit randomly selected samples of households in the three Islands over a four-week period to conduct interviews. The ESO appealed to the public for full cooperation and to provide the necessary truthful information which will be collected under the Statistics Law (2011 Revision).
Each interviewer will work under an Oath of Secrecy, and all information collected is confidential and kept exclusively by the ESO. No information is ever entered which would allow anyone to be able to link the data with an individual respondent. All interviewers carry a photo identification which should be worn for easy visibility, and respondents are advised to request identification from any interviewer before sharing information.
For further information on any aspect of the survey, or results of previous surveys, or a sample of the LFS Questionnaire and the Interviewer’s Manual contact the Economics & Statistics Office at 949-0940 or visit www.eso.ky
Category: Local News
We will need a survey to tell us which survey we should follow!
What with all thumbs down! Does the comment hit too close to home? This comment should open the eyes of every consumer and every worker on the island! The TRUTH does HURT sometimes! Thanks UHUHUH!
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE! No more surveys. PLEASE! We don't need anymore surveys to tell us what we have known for the last three decades. Which is: That too many Caymanians are out of work or are being forced to work for wages which could never be considered a livable wage in most developed countries. We need legislation in place which demands that no worker shall be paid less than the equivalent of 10% of the salary of the highest paid civil servant, and that any business that is found in violation of these laws shall be fined a minimum of one years salary of said employees [according to law] which should have been paid for that position, and must now to be paid retroactively to the employee. PERIOD.
We cannot continue to waste our financial resources on any more of these studies, we have studied this one subject ad-infinitum for "at-least" the last three decades. Go back to those studies and you will find your answer. Which is: We have diverted our focus from the main cause of the problem we have today involving wages and working conditions. We have listened to those who are the perpetrators of these conditions which create such low wages, and enables the exploitation of cheap foreign labor. So until we [our legislators] get the intestinal fortitude "balls" to put in place a law which forces all places of work to comply with "this law" as stated in the first paragraph above, these proposed studies will only be done in futility!
What I see happening here on a daily basis is the growth of inflation! You ask me why? Well It's quite simple. The employers of this country are focused strictly on one aspect of doing business! They have developed what we refer to as tunnel vision. That's right! Tunnel vision, which causes one to look at things as though one is looking through a tunnel or pipe, which allows them to see only what's at the the very end, and nothing in the periphery. Meaning: The only thing they see is the profit margin! And by focusing too much on this one aspect of their business they fail to see the real cause of the drop in sales, and the subsequent inflation. Which means one thing! People will cut back on spending
Let's talk about disposable income: What is it and how do we maintain it! First of all, workers must have a job that pays wages or salaries that is slightly above that of inflation! Secondly those workers must in turn spend that disposable within the jurisdiction where they live so the cycle of wealth will continue to flow. Once this cycle is established one will notice that inflation will drop due to the fact that merchants and others will find that, they do not have to keep jacking up prices to maintain their profit margin. This happens because people now are earning a livable wage therefore they now have money to spend [disposable income]. These people can then afford to pay for those utilities and other services provided by public and private sector, such as CUC, Water, Medical, etc. etc. which keep the cycle turning. This then prevents Government from [taxing the people] by constantly jacking up the fees on this and on that to provide operational funds necessary to run the country.
On the other hand when those who come here and work for the kind of wages referred to as slave wages, two significant things happen! Firstly: These persons have more than likely been placed in jobs that Caymanians would normally be doing, which means that most of the money the foreign worker earns leaves the island, because they have their families back home for whom they have to provide. Secondly: This leaves them with little or no disposable income for things such as food and utilities etc. And because of this local businesses feel the pinch because their bottom line drops , and as usual they will add a few cents to this and to that trying to maintain their profit margin; And the beat goes on
So to our leaders and to our merchants and other businesses, the answer is simple. Pay a livable minimum wage which is the equivalent of 10% of the salary of the highest paid civil servant and watch inflation drop and the profit margin rise and the cost of living go down. And Caymanians get back to work
Don't waste any more money on studies. PLEASE!