Lao PDR : Building an Economy That Works Again
Lao PDR is currently facing the phenomenon of jobless growth. This trend started in the early 2010s when non-farm job creation stagnated despite rapid growth in gross domestic product (GDP). The labor market suffered from weak activity in the priva...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/719671623661599215/Lao-PDR-Building-an-Economy-That-Works-Again http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35794 |
| Summary: | Lao PDR is currently facing the
phenomenon of jobless growth. This trend started in the
early 2010s when non-farm job creation stagnated despite
rapid growth in gross domestic product (GDP). The labor
market suffered from weak activity in the private sector,
with all sectors apart from hospitality losing jobs. Jobless
growth has prevented the Lao PDR economy from reaping its
demographic dividend. Reversing the decline in job creation
is essential for fostering inclusive growth in Lao PDR.
Promoting inclusive growth requires both facilitating higher
participation in the workforce along with continued
investments in skills, as well as a greater creation of
productive and rewarding jobs. This note explores the
factors associated with jobless growth in Lao PDR:
deteriorating private sector conditions as well as skills
and spatial mismatch in employment. The structure of the
note is as follows. Section 2 discusses the impact of the
deterioration in private sector conditions on job creation
and the constraints that have caused firms to downsize or
exit the market; Section 3 explores the impact of job loss
on workers of different skill levels, and in causing skills
mismatch in the labor market; Section 4 examines the
geography of jobs and the spatial dimension of employment;
and Section 5 concludes with policy recommendations,
proposing measures to revive the private sector and restart
the engine of job creation, as well as to reduce
inter-regional disparities by better matching jobs to workers. |
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