8 September 2008

Data on economically inactive population are attracting increasing attention in many countries, because this group represents a potential source of labour supply.

The propensity to stay out of work varies according to age and sex. In the working-age population, women are much more frequently inactive than men in most ECE countries. Only in Finland is the share of inactive women and men almost equal. In Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Spain and Ireland, women represent more than two thirds of the inactive population.

The charts also show the reasons to be economically inactive, including study, home-making, retirement, and illness or disability (included in “other reasons”). People in the first two groups are more likely to move into work in the short or longer term.

Differences across countries and between men and women are mainly due to the proportion of home-making women. In Finland, Lithuania, Russia and Slovakia, they represent 10% or less of all economically inactive persons. This proportion is much higher in Turkey (52%), Spain (43%) and Ireland (39%).

Source:UNECE Gender Statistics Database (www.unece.org/stats/data)

Note: The economically inactive population includes all the persons who are not part of the labour force, i.e. are neither working nor seeking a job.