Panama

1.Series

Title:

Registered unemployment.

Starting year:

1990.

2.Agency making the initial registrations of unemployed persons

Name of the agency:

Departamento de Mano de Obra, Direccion General de Empleo (Department of Manpower, General Directorate of Employment).

Type of agency:

Public service of the General Directorate of Employment, Ministry of Labour and Labour Development (MITRADEL).

Location of the local offices making the registrations:

In all the regional departments of the Ministry of Labour and Labour Development.

Type of services provided/administered by the agency:

  • Assisting job-seekers to find jobs;
  • Assisting job-seekers to establish their own business;
  • Assisting employers to find workers;
  • Vocational guidance;
  • Job-related training;
  • Other: cooperation with the employment, training and self management of companies programme.

    Percentage of job seekers seeking work through the agency:

    2.3% (in 1999).

    3.The following information is registered about a person:

  • Name;
  • Sex;
  • Identity card number;
  • Social security number (or similar identification number also used by other agencies);
  • Address of usual residence;
  • Date of birth;
  • Citizenship (according to the province of birth);
  • Nationality;
  • Educational/vocational attainment, level the person has reached. Links to ISCED have not been established;
  • Current/past activity status, with seven categories distinguished taking into consideration all past experience;
  • Type of work of past or present job with seven categories distinguished. Links to ISCO-88 have been established. The experience and the title(s) are mentioned in the first, second, third and fourth professions;
  • Type of work of job sought, with seven categories distinguished. Links to ISCO-88 have been established;
  • Name and address of present or previous employer or work place;
  • Type of business (industry) of present/previous employer/workplace, with five categories distinguished. Links to ISIC have not been established;
  • Previous registrations with the agency/service;
  • Other: marital status; dependents (ages); driving licence; whether car owner; mobility; preferred working schedule; principal occupation and other occupational options.

    4.Criteria used for inclusion of a person in the registers (R) and/or the statistics of unemployed persons (S):

  • Being without work (R) et (S);
  • Seeking work (R);
  • Availability for work (R);
  • Age (lower limit: 18 years; no upper limit) (R) and (S);
  • Citizenship (province of residence) (R) and (S);
  • Previously employed (R);
  • Desired duration of employment and/or number of hours of work sought (occasional or permanent) (R) and (S).

    5.Criteria used for exclusion of a person from the registers (R) and/or the statistics of unemployed persons (S):

  • Death (R);
  • Taking up residency abroad (R);
  • Commencement of a (new) job (R);
  • Participation in an employment promotion scheme, public works programme, etc, (R);
  • Studying or undergoing training (R);
  • Failure to contact the agency/service (the registration is valid for one year; after this period, the job seeker is required to update his/her file) (R);
  • Refusal of two suitable job offers (R);
  • Receipt of a pension (in case of sickness) (R);
  • Inability to work (R);
  • Other: if it has been proved that the beneficiary has committed an offence in the company where he/she has been placed (R).

    6.Definition of unemployed persons used for the statistics

    Persons aged 18 years and over available for work, who have no occupation or work, but who have previously worked and who have been looking for employment.

    Also persons who have not been looking for employment because they had found one and were expecting to start work at a later date, as well as those who have never worked and who are seeking their first employment (first job seekers), and those who have not been looking for employment because they had been looking for one earlier and were waiting for news.

    Finally, persons of working age employed or underemployed but looking for employment.

    7.Updating of the registers

    The registers are updated monthly; however, the publication is annual.

    8.Unemployment rates

    Statistics from the registers are used to obtain unemployment rates.

    9.Type of statistics of unemployed persons produced

    Reference period:

    Year.

    Frequency of production:

    Yearly.

    Descriptive variables used:

  • Sex;
  • Age;
  • Educational level;
  • Occupation;
  • Industry;
  • Regions of work;
  • Citizenship (nationals/non nationals);
  • Duration of unemployment;
  • Other: placement in selective jobs only (persons with handicap); worker’s status (employed, dismissed or new worker); seamen; auto-management of the company; regional departments of work (employment).

    Form of publication:

    On paper, for public and private institutions, other bodies and for public consultation.

    Agency responsible for publication:

    MITRADEL, General Directorate of Employment.

    Title and periodicity of the publication:

    Informe Anual de Trabajo de la Dirección General de Empleo (Annual Report of the General Directorate of Employment).

    10.Methodological information about the statistics

    Form of release:

    On paper, for general audience.

    Agency responsible for the release:

    General Directorate of Employment (Department of Research on Employment).

    11.Comparisons with unemployment statistics from other sources

    Comparisons have not been made with Unemployment statistics from other sources.

    The published information is for basic use; it is not used for comparative analyses with other sources.

    12.Major changes since the start of the statistics

    There have been no major changes in legislation, capacity of the agency and/or administrative procedures, which had a significant influence on the statistics.