Table 5-1

Economic activity by sex, 1995
Latin America and the Caribbean


Country or area                   Adult (15+) economic   Women's share
                                  activity rate (%)      of the adult
                                                         labour force (%)
                                      w           m

Antigua and Barbuda                  ...         ...         ...
Argentina                             32          77          31
Bahamas                               66          81          47
Barbados                              60          76          47
Belize                                26          84          23
Bolivia                               47          83          37
Brazil                                44          85          35
Chile                                 35          78          32
Colombia                              46          80          37
Costa Rica                            35          82          30
Cuba                                  47          77          38
Dominica                              43 a        75 a        42 a
Dominican Republic                    37          86          30
Ecuador                               30          85          26
El Salvador                           41          84          35
French Guiana                         52 b        75 b        38 b
Grenada                               57 c        71 c        49 c
Guadeloupe                            55          73          45
Guatemala                             32          88          27
Guyana                                40          85          33
Haiti                                 57          82          43
Honduras                              37          86          30
Jamaica                               69          81          46
Martinique                            56          70          47
Mexico                                37          83          32
Netherlands Antilles                  50          74          43
Nicaragua                             44          86          35
Panama                                41          79          34
Paraguay                              35          87          29
Peru                                  32          79          29
Puerto Rico                           33          66          36
Saint Kitts and Nevis                ...         ...         ...
Saint Lucia                           49 d        79 d        40 d
St. Vincent and the Grenadines        44 d        81 d        36 d
Suriname                              35          76          32
Trinidad and Tobago                   42          76          33
US Virgin Islands                     60 b        72 b        48 b
Uruguay                               46          73          41
Venezuela                             40          81          33

Sources:
Prepared by the Statistics Division of the United Nations Secretariat from the International Labour Office, Economically Active Population, 1950-2010, fourth edition, STAT Working Papers Nos. 1996-1, 1996-2, 1996-3, 1996-4 and 1996-5 (Geneva, 1996) and Year Book of Labour Statistics (Geneva, various years up to 1996), and national statistics reports.

a   Data refer to 1989.
b   Data refer to 1990.
c   Data refer to 1988.
d   Data refer to 1991.

Technical notes:
Indicators concerning the total economically active population aged 15 years and over have been compiled mainly from estimates and projections prepared by the International Labour Office.
Concepts and issues concerning statistics on women economically active are discussed in the special section "Counting economically active women" in The World's Women, 1970-1995: Trends and Statistics (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.90.XVII.3). As explained there, the standard concept of economically active population is defined to comprise all employed and unemployed persons, including those seeking work for the first time. It covers employers operating unincorporated enterprises, persons working on their own account, employees, unpaid family workers, members of producers cooperatives and members of the armed forces. In the internationally-recommended definition, production of primary products such as foodstuffs for own consumption and certain other non-monetary activities are considered economic activity and persons engaged in such production are to be considered economically active. In principle, any such work need only be for as little as one hour a week for a person to be considered economically active.
Specific elements of the standard concepts may, however, differ substantially from country to country and many of these differences may affect the measurement of women's participation in economic activity, such as the choice of time-reference period and the determination of minimum hours of work and unpaid family work, including production for own consumption. Moreover, the economic activity of women is often substantially understated because stereotypes held by census and survey interviewers and respondents lead to errors in the reporting and recording of the economic activity and because, in many countries, women account for the major portion of persons engaged in those economic activities that are the most difficult to measure.

Statistical symbols and conventions used in the tables