Disaggregating demographic factors of labour change in Trinidad and Tobago

SONKARLEY T. BEAIE, BUREAU OF STATISTICS, GUYANA
Abstract: Age pattern of labour force participation for women is generally observed to be irregular in many countries; showing withdrawal and re-entry into labour force several times during the course of their active lives. In contrast to Trinidad and Tobago, the age pattern does not seem to present this undulated feature; and besides, the number of working women has tremendously increased, but there is no recent study to indicate the component parts of these changes in comparison to men. This paper attempts to investigate these changes by constructing a series of male and female labour force life tables, which are useful in studying labour force entry on account of population growth and the desire to participate as factors of labour force supply, and deaths and retirements on the other hand, as depletion factors. The findings may provide ways for policy-makers to determine appropriate estimates of work life expectancy for workers who suffer a loss of earnings due to injury or death.
Keywords: Labour force, Working life expectancy, Total life expectancy, Labour force replenishment, Labour force replacement rate, Labour force replacement ratio, Age pattern of work, Active years and Inactive years.