Female unemployment contributes more to the overall unemployment of the country

Female unemployment for ages 25–29 stands at 16.3%

Total female unemployment rate is 6.4%, compared to 2.5% for males

By Huzefa Aliasger 

Female unemployment in Sri Lanka, which currently is 16.3  per cent for ages 25 to 29, contributes much higher to overall  unemployment compared to 6.8 per cent unemployment for males in the same  age group, a survey released by the Department of Census and  Statistics (DCS) on labour force in the first quarter of 2025 mentions.  

The total unemployment rate for females is 6.4 per cent, in comparison to 2.5 per cent for males.
According to the U.S. Department of Labour, among ages 25 to 54, females in the U.S. have a lower unemployment rate of 3.3 per cent than males, who have an unemployment rate of 3.4 per cent as of June 2025.

The DCS says that “Survey results further show that the  problem of unemployment is more acute in the case of educated females  than educated males, which was observed consistently over the results of  previous survey rounds as well,” highlighting that even with  qualifications, females continue to face higher unemployment.   

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in a report  beyond gender parity, says that Sri Lanka shows no improvement in  reducing inequalities between women and men despite Sri Lanka’s high  human development ranking. In fact, over the years, Sri Lanka, which had  an index of 0.720 in 2006 and a rank of 13 out of 115 countries, in  2020, slipped to the 120th position out of 156 countries and had closed  only 67.7 per cent of the gender gap.  

The UNDP said, “For decades, around 70 per cent of working  age women in Sri Lanka were not working for an income in cash or kind or  looking for work. This is despite higher growth rates, a lack of overt  discrimination, especially in the family, and women’s increasing  educational achievements. The International Monetary Fund estimates an  average loss of 20 per cent to the Sri Lankan economy due to the low  labour force participation of women.”  

The survey also notes that the economically inactive population is about8.6 million. Of this group, 27.6 per cent are males, and 72.4 per cent are females.