Ethiopia to implement Labor Market Info System backed by ILO

Ethiopia is going to implement the Labor Market Information System (LMIS), a modern and organized labor data system, which has been funded by the International Labor Organization (ILO).

The identification of labor market issues critically rests on the availability of data, information and analysis.

Ethiopia’s government is planning to cover the costs of the implementation, according to Assegid Haile, State Minister of Labor and Skills.

Similar with most developing nations, Ethiopia faces challenges in collecting, managing disseminating and operationalizing data related to labor migration in a systematic way, he says.

“The current information in labor market and migration is mostly fragmented and insufficient to inform all employment relationship, job creation or policy formulation,” as Assegid puts it.

Data limitations are related in developing economies to constraints such as resource scarcity, limited analytical capacity and structural factors.

“We trust the labor statistics can play the crucial role in Ethiopia’s effort to achieve decent work for all,” he said.

 LMIS provide an essential basis for employment and labor policies, and inform the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies that are better focused and targeted, said Alexio Musindo, Director, ILO Country office for Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan.

LMIS can also contribute to a reduction in the transaction costs of labor markets as they help overcome incomplete information of labor market agents, he added.

Ministry of Labor and Skills, Information Network Security Agency (INSA), Digital ID Program and other institutions will join hands for its implementation, said Assegid in a program organized by ILO and held on Monday at Capital Hotel.

The gap between job opportunities and professionals’ access to it has been occurred in Ethiopia due to shortage of access to integrated information.

Ethiopia’s labor market is currently changing from being primarily agricultural-based to a mixed agriculture-industrial economy. These changes are reflected in the changing demands of the labor market for medium-and high-skilled workers, according to ILO’s labor market assessment.

Although the country’s economy is growing, there remains a large domestic labor market has the potential to absorb large numbers of low-and medium-sized labor, as well as an apparent growing demand for high-skilled labor.