Workshop on Labor Market Information and Analysis in ASEAN Countries

A three-day workshop on Labor Market Information and Analysis was held in Brunei from 2–4 March 2010. The global economic crisis and its impacts on the labor markets have highlighted the importance of countries’ capacities to collect reliable, timely and consistent labor statistics, to produce up-to-date and comprehensive labor market information and analysis, and to design appropriate policy responses and benchmark progress.

In recognition of this , ASEAN Member Countries have committed in their Socio-Cultural Blueprint to “enhance capacity of governments to monitor labor markets and human resource indicators, and design social impact policies”. ASEAN Heads of Statistical Offices Meeting (AHSOM) then decided to include labor statistics, along with the system of national accounts, in the framework of cooperation in economic statistics in the region. Against this background, this workshop was organized with the objective of discussing and assessing LMI issues which help monitoring and analyzing economic, employment and social policies.

The workshop was organized in partnership with the ASEAN Secretariat and the International Labour Organisation, and was hosted by the Brunei Government. In attendance were representatives from the national statistical offices, and labor and economic planning ministries from the ASEAN member countries.

The first session set the scene for the whole event with a presentation of the main economic indicators which are critical for the effective analysis of labor markets (e.g. GDP, productivity, industrial production, manufacturing and trade statistics, prices etc), as well as a presentation on ASEAN initiatives in the development of regional economic indicators, and in the harmonization of economic statistics in the region.

Labor market information was the topic of the second session. Participants were provided with an overview of decent work indicators and key labor market indicators, their concepts, definitions and methods of collecting data underpinning them (such as household surveys and other data sources), as well as the ILO’s framework in the Asia-Pacific region for monitoring and assessing progress on decent work and current initiatives in the region. In addition, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, and the Philippines shared their experiences in the collection and production of labor market information, including challenges confronted and how they have been overcome.

The third session dealt with labor market analysis issues. One presentation provided an overview of how labor market information were analyzed in some individual ASEAN Member Countries and for ASEAN as a whole in the ILO’s Labor and Social Trends reports, and how these reports can be used for policy design, implementation and monitoring. Another presentation covered issues related to employment targets, which advanced as well as developing countries are establishing as part of their development plans. Such targets are often motivated by the fact that most emerging and developing economies are not creating enough jobs for new entrants in the labor force. Indonesia, Viet Nam, Lao PDR, and Myanmar further shared their experiences in formulating their national development plans based on the analysis of economic and labor market information.

The topic of trade, migration and labor markets was addressed in the fourth session. In particular, it examined the issues of trade liberalization and the freer movement of labor across ASEAN, appropriate methodologies of assessing their impacts on national economies and domestic labor markets, and policy implications. It drew on OECD comparative analysis of the trends and policies experience of the European Union and NAFTA. Challenges related to management of labor migration, demography, and brain drain in ASEAN were presented (by Cambodia, Singapore and Thailand) and discussed.

The workshop concluded by exploring options for strengthening economic indicators, labor market information and the analysis of labor markets.