Labor market issues in Timor Leste : current state, prospects and challenges

Among the different developmental priorities in Timor?Leste a policy focus on the jobs agenda for improving living standards and social stability is crucial. Currently, over 44 percentage of the population below is 15 years of age. This has two critical consequences for the country. Firstly, it implies a high dependency ratio; currently, there are 96 people outside the working?age range for every 100 people in the working?age range. This places tremendous burden on formal and informal safety nets. Secondly, this means that 470,000 individuals will be ready to enter the labor market anytime over the next 4 to 18 years. This represents a huge demographic opportunity, and a serious challenge in terms of building the requisite capacity to absorb all these future workers into productive employment. This labor market issues note takes a broad descriptive stock of labor demand and supply challenges, sources of growth and government's agenda in Timor?Leste. It suggests three major policy priority areas: A) current status of human capital in the country and prospects for building skilled and healthy workforce B) wage structure and policies and C) agriculture as the key sector for employment growth.