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Syria LABOR FORCE
Historically, agriculture was the most important source of
employment in the economy. However, the share of the labor force
engaged in agriculture declined significantly from 1965 to 1984.
According to the World Bank, the percentage of the work force
engaged in agriculture fell from 53 percent in 1965 to 48 percent
in 1976 and to 30 percent in 1984 (See table Estimated Labor
Force and Employment by Sector, 1970, 1975, 1983 in Appendix).
Manufacturing, construction, trade, and services were the other
major sources of employment, providing opportunities for
advancement and economic security for unskilled workers migrating
from underdeveloped rural areas to the larger cities. From 1965
to 1981, the industrial labor force expanded from 20 to 31
percent. The service sector continued to be the largest employer
in the 1980s, employing about 35 percent of the labor force. The
government, including public sector enterprises but excluding
defense, employed 473,000 workers in 1983, about 21 percent of
the employed labor force and 32 percent of nonfarm workers. These
figures represented a substantial increase in the number of
workers employed by the government--up from the 1975 figure of
280,000, which was about 16 percent of the work force. Although
Syria did not guarantee all college graduate jobs, the government
absorbed many new graduates into the state bureaucracy.
Government organizations were thus overstaffed, reducing
profitability and efficiency in public sector enterprises and
causing bureaucratic delays. In addition, new graduates and
unskilled workers frequently took jobs with the government to
gain experience and training, but subsequently switched to higher
paying jobs in the private sector. Moreover, surveys suggested
that many government employees worked outside their area of
expertise. Government workers also took second jobs in business
and services to supplement their incomes.
The economy suffered a lack of skilled workers and trained
professionals in a wide variety of fields. In 1983,
professionals, technical staff, administrators, and managers made
up only 10 percent of the work force, although their number was
double the percentage in 1970. Both the shortage of skilled labor
and the low wage policy in the public sector constrained the mid1970s investment boom. Skilled workers and professionals headed
to the oil-rich, labor-poor states of the Arabian Peninsula for
higher wages. Although the government adopted various measures to
curtail the "brain drain" from both the public and private
sectors, Syrians continued to migrate. In the 1980s, following
the collapse of world oil prices and the subsequent economic
downturn of the oil-producing states, many Syrian workers began
returning home and their industrial management skills and
expertise therefore became available to the state.
In the 1970s, planners and government organizations gave
greater attention to increasing the skills of the labor force.
Vocational schools and specialized training facilities, including
one for administrators and managers, became more active, and new
industrial plants and other projects often included job training
by foreign suppliers. The government made greater efforts to
identify and plan for the economy's manpower needs. As a result,
public sector employees received wage increases, but it was not
clear that the raises were sufficient to make public sector
employment more attractive than private enterprise. How fast the
level of the work force would rise and how the low level of
skilled manpower would affect economic development were still
uncertain.
Officially, unemployment remained a relatively minor problem
into the 1980s. In 1983 registered unemployed totaled 5 percent.
However, actual unemployment may have been higher because much of
the population depended on seasonal agricultural employment. Many
urban workers were also underemployed, further complicating
employment statistics. United States government observers
estimate that in 1984 unemployment may actually have reached 20
percent. Although government programs to stimulate cottage
industry and local processing in rural areas helped provide
additional income for seasonal workers, the dramatic increase in
the number of beggars appearing in large cities in the mid-1980s
indicated a sharp decline in the urban standard of living.
As of 1983 about 15 percent of nonfarm labor was unionized
(222,203 members in 179 unions). Union membership was largest
among government, construction, textile, and land transportation
workers. The government encouraged and supported labor
organizations but closely supervised their activities, restricted
their political influence and economic power, and minimized labor
disputes. Labor achieved a voice in management of public
enterprises through the participation of workers' representatives
in committees at each plant, but the managers headed the
committees. In an effort to increase production and productivity,
in the late 1970s public businesses established production
councils consisting of the business manager and representatives
of the Baath (Arab Socialist Resurrection) Party, the union, and
plant workers.
Data as of April 1987
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