Economy, Labor

The country’s labor force totaled 25.1 million people in 2000. Some 26 percent of workers are employed in industry, 17 percent in the service sector, and 26 percent in agriculture. Unemployment is rising steadily, especially in the form of hidden unemployment, which includes people who have been kept on payrolls but have not been paid salaries. Although official data reported an unemployment rate of only 1.6 percent in 1996, the minister of labor acknowledged an actual rate of more than 11 percent. Trade union membership is strong, reaching nearly 100 percent of the workforce. The miners’ unions are especially active.