§ Baroness Williams of Crosbyasked Her Majesty's Government:
How the current estimated rate of unemployment in Iraq compares with the rate one year previously. [HL1243]
§ Baroness AmosNo official figures of the Iraqi labour force exist, so only broad estimates of unemployment are possible. Current estimates suggest neither a significant rise nor fall in unemployment over the last year. The United Nations and World Bank social and economic needs assessments on Iraq last year estimated that the unemployment rate before the 2003 war was around 30 per cent. Unofficial estimates of the current unemployment rate are in the range of 20 to 30 per cent.
In addition to the numbers unemployed, a significant proportion of Iraq's workforce is underemployed. We estimate that the total of both unemployed and underemployed is currently in the region of 50 per cent. Figures for underemployment before the conflict do not exist.