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Angola strengthens labour statistics to increase capacity to measure employment and labour underutilisation
The training on measuring employment and the underutilization of the workforce aims to train Angolan executives in measuring the workforce.
4 December 2024
Angola strengthens its labour statistics capacity through a transformative training programme, which runs from 3 to 6 December 2024, aimed at aligning the country's labour data collection practices with international standards.
The training is part of the Social Security Extension Project to Support the Formalization of the Angolan Economy (ESSAFE Angola), implemented by the ILO and funded by the European Union. The training action is co-financed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
This training comes at a crucial time as Angola seeks to modernise its labour market data collection and analysis processes to meet the demands of a dynamic economy. Adhering to the standards set by the 19th, 20th and 21st International Conferences of Labour Statisticians (ICLS), the programme aims to increase the accuracy, relevance and comparability of Angola's labour statistics.
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Reliable labour statistics are crucial for understanding labour force dynamics, from employment trends to the informal economy, and for designing policies that address unemployment, in-work poverty and underutilisation of working time. While Angola's Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) has made progress in generating regular labour market indicators, the training will close critical gaps by ensuring that data meets global benchmarks and supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The training action is being facilitated by the ILO's specialist in labour statistics, Maria Payet, and will train 30 technicians from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) and the Ministry of Public Administration, Labour and Social Security (MAPTSS).
Over the course of four days, participants will develop skills to compile and analyze labor market data using global standards; review the QLFS questionnaire and align it with the 19th, 20th, and 21st ICLS Resolutions; and leverage the data for a more comprehensive analysis of the labor market.
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In an opening note, the ILO project manager in Angola, Denise Monteiro, thanked the presence of MAPTSS, INSS and INE staff at the training session, highlighting the importance of this training in increasing Angola's capacities in terms of compliance and adaptation to international standards of employment statistics. He also thanked the joint work that has been done between the ILO and UNDP in technical support to Statistics Portugal, noting the important financial support from the European Union, through the ESSAFE Angola Project.
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According to Isabel Viage, a technician from the Analysis and Prospect Office of the National Institute of Social Security (INSS), the training is an opportunity for the INSS to update knowledge and techniques on employment statistics, which go beyond unemployment indicators.
"Here in training we are learning that to talk about employment and unemployment, there are other indicators that we have to use for the data to be more accurate and the statistics to be clearer, such as measuring the underutilization of labor," he said.
Labour inspector Daniel Filipe is a technician at the General Labour Inspectorate, a body under the supervision of MAPTSS, and has the function of inspecting and verifying the degree of compliance with labour legislation by companies. For him, this training is helping to acquire knowledge that will allow him to encourage the business community to adopt the right employability policies.
"For the National Institute of Statistics, this training will bring practices much closer to international statistical standards, adopting the new concepts and methodologies already practiced in other countries," said Teresa Gonçalves, a technician at the department of social demographic statistics in the field of work, of the National Institute of Statistics (INE, in Portuguese).
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This initiative reflects Angola's commitment to producing accurate and internationally comparable labour statistics to guide evidence-based policymaking. By improving data quality, Angola aims to address pressing employment challenges, strengthen the social protection system, and create a more inclusive labor market.