Saturday Jul 04, 2026
Saturday Jul 04, 2026
Saturday, 4 July 2026 01:23 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Female labour force participation improves despite overall decline in workforce participation
Services sector accounts for more than half of total employment
Sri Lanka’s unemployment rate edged down to 3.7% in the first quarter of 2026 from 3.8% a year earlier, while the labour force participation rate eased to 49.2% from 49.7%, according to the latest Labour Force Survey released by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS).
The survey estimated Sri Lanka’s labour force at 8.41 million, comprising 5.40 million men and 3.01 million women, while the economically inactive population stood at 8.67 million, of which women accounted for 72.2%.
The overall labour force participation rate declined by 0.5 percentage points from the corresponding quarter of 2025. Male participation fell to 69.1% from 70.1%, while female participation increased to 32.5% from 32.0%.
The DCS estimated the number of employed persons at 8.10 million during the quarter. The services sector remained the largest employer, accounting for 50.4% of total employment, followed by industry at 25.9% and agriculture at 23.7%. Agricultural employment rose marginally from the corresponding quarter a year earlier.
Private sector employees accounted for the largest share of employment, followed by own-account workers. Overall, 76.3% of employed persons worked in non-agricultural activities.
The number of unemployed persons was estimated at 311,495, with the unemployment rate for women at 6.1%, more than double the 2.4% recorded for men.
Youth unemployment remained elevated. Among those aged 15 to 24 years, the unemployment rate stood at 16.1%, including 19.2% for women and 14.4% for men. For those aged 25 to 29 years, unemployment was 11.8%, with the rate reaching 20.5% for women compared with 5.7% for men.
The survey also showed unemployment remained highest among those with GCE Advanced Level qualifications and above, at 6.5%. The corresponding rates were 9.7% for women and 3.2% for men, with the DCS noting that unemployment continued to be more acute among educated women than educated men.
