Sri Lanka records rise in number of employed persons 

The number of employed persons in Sri Lanka rose to 8.2 million during the first quarter of 2019 with the services and industry sectors witnessing the highest increase in employment numbers.

About 47 percent of the employed workforce was reported to be engaged in the services sector while the remaining 28 percent and 25 percent were employed in the industry and agriculture sector respectively.

It is also observed that a majority of Sri Lanka’s workforce are private sector employees. ‘Own account’ workers or self-employed individuals form the next highest category of employed persons.

On the other hand, the overall unemployment rate for the first quarter of 2019 was recorded at 4.7 percent, representing a slight increase from 4.5 percent in 2018. Despite this, 221,000 new jobs are said to have been created over the past 12 months.