LABOUR FORCE SURVEY TO BEGIN IN NOVEMBER VIA TELEPHONE

Tuesday, October 27 th 2020 –The Statistics Department of Montserrat (SDM) of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management will be conducting a Labour Force Survey– Post COVD19, via Telephone.

The survey will be conducted on 850 households and will begin on Tuesday November 3rd until Thursday, December 31st, 2020.

The Statistics Department explained that the main objective of the data collection exercise is to obtain relevant information on the Labour Force characteristics and the impact of COVID19.

This information will assist planners in the various sectors of society to more ably plan for development in Education, Health, the Environment and other socio-economic areas. Some of the key statistics and indicators that will be generated from this exercise will include: Employment, Unemployment and Labour force Participation Rates of Montserrat—all disaggregated by Gender, Age, Geographic Location, Educational Level attained and other variables, that are all extremely important in supporting evidence-based decision making.

Commencing on November 3rd, highly trained Enumerators will be contacting a random sample of 850 households via telephone in Montserrat, and will administer a questionnaire using a tablet device.

Within this sample, the SDM explained that only usual residents of Montserrat will be enumerated and all persons fifteen (15) years and older will answer Labour Force questions.

The SDM is therefore appealing to all usual residents of the country to provide their full cooperation to the Enumerators in answering truthfully and completely all questions asked.

The Department is reassuring the public that all of the field staff have taken an oath of secrecy to keep all information shared with them, in the strictest of confidence.

Failure to do so is a violation of the laws of Montserrat. Please also note that the SDM is collecting this information under the Statistics Act of 1973 of the Laws of Montserrat.

The SDM is strongly encouraging the households selected to ‘stand up and be counted’ as part of this very important survey. Individuals with questions or concerns are asked to contact the department immediately at 491-3797 or 491-3794 or via email at statistics@gov.ms.