WILLEMSTAD - Today, the Central Statistics Bureau of Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands and Sint Maarten, united in the Dutch Caribbean Statistical System (DCSS), publish for the first time the results of a comparative survey of the supply side of the labor market on the Dutch Caribbean islands.

The report presents the labor market situation for the residents of Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St. Eustatius and Sint Maarten in the age group of 15 to 74 years. It shows labor participation based on gender, age and level of education on the six islands.

Most of the population aged 15 to 74 on the Dutch Caribbean islands has paid work. The labor participation rate is highest on Bonaire (70 percent) and the lowest on Curaçao (53 percent). The group of 25 to 54 year-olds has the highest proportion of working people. Labor participation is much lower among young people and people aged 55 and older: young people are still in training while older people are often retired. More than 80 percent of working people work 35 hours or more per week. Most of them are employees with a permanent contract, but the proportion of temporary employees is also relatively high, except in Aruba. Tourism-related economic activities such as accommodation and food supply and trade, and to a lesser extent construction, play an important role on the islands. Another important source of employment on all Dutch Caribbean islands is public administration.

To provide context for the published figures, they are often compared with the average of all OECD countries (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development) or, if this is not available, with the relevant figures for (European) Netherlands, the United States and the European Union.

The document will be available on the website of CBS Curaçao www.cbs.cw.