The Government of the Virgin Islands, in partnership with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Secretariat, will be conducting a labour force survey in the Virgin Islands beginning on January 19, 2015.

Director of the Central Statistics Office, Mr. Raymond Phillips stated that a labour force survey provides estimates of employment and unemployment. These he said are among the most important indicators of economic stability of any economy.

Mr. Phillips explained, “The main objectives of a labour force survey are to divide the working-age population into three mutually exclusive classifications – the employed, the unemployed, and those not in the labour force – and to provide descriptive and explanatory information on each of these classifications; especially the unemployed.”

The month long survey is funded with resources from the 10th European Development Fund (EDF), with technical assistance provided from the International Labour Organisation (ILO).  Enumerators and supervisors will be trained in preparation to conduct the exercise.

The survey data is used to produce unemployment rates, as well as other standard labour market indicators such as the employment rate. It also provides employment estimates by industry, public and private sectors, occupation as well as hours worked.

The labour force survey is a household survey, with data collected from a sample of households throughout the Territory. This sample would be drawn from the listing of households collected from the last census. 

The data will be collected through face-to-face interviews with members (or a member) of the sampled households. The data provided by these respondents will then be used to produce a picture of the economic activities of the entire population.

Additional support for this survey is being provided by the European Union under the Economic Integration and Trade of the OECS Region project.

The BVI Central Statistics Office is mandated to monitor, research, and report on the performance of the Virgin Islands’ economy in all important aspects including output, growth, income and employment, interest rates, prices; and short-term and long-term structural changes.