The labour force and the unemployed

Definition & unit

Period & geography

Mauritian labour force, Republic of Mauritius, 1990–2025 · annual

Mauritian labour force: Annual observations · Republic of Mauritius

Notes from the API

• Coverage note, from 1983

  Republic of Mauritius, by inference. The historical series states no geographic scope. Table 1.1's note 1 names its sources: the Continuous Multi-Purpose Household Survey (CMPHS), which covers 'all private Mauritian households in the islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues', and the Survey of Employment and Earnings, whose industry tables include Rodrigues from March 1991. The Year 2025 release describes the survey's estimates as those of 'the Mauritian population aged 16 years and above in the Republic of Mauritius; foreign workers are not included'. None of the labour files names Agalega or St Brandon, so whether they are covered is not known.

  HS_Labour_Yr90-Yr25_250926.xls, Table 1.1 note 1; CMPHS Methodology_211123.pdf, item 3; LF_Emp_Unemp_Yr25_190526.pdf, paragraph 1; HS_SEE_Yr25_241125.xlsx, Tables 2.1(b)-(c) headings

• Coverage note, from 1983

  Survey estimates, subject to sampling variability. The historical series names the Continuous Multi-Purpose Household Survey (CMPHS) as the source of its employed Mauritian estimates (Table 1.1, note 1(i)) without dates, and the survey's methodology describes its samples from 1999. The 1st Quarter 2026 release's annual table of the same figures says: 'CMPHS for Mauritian labour force estimates which are subject to sampling variability'. The releases publish standard errors (SE) and coefficients of variation (CV = SE/estimate) for their main estimates, graded high reliability below 7.5%, medium 7.5-15.0% and low above 15.0%. MorisLens loads no standard error or coefficient of variation: see the releases.

  HS_Labour_Yr90-Yr25_250926.xls, Table 1.1 note 1; CMPHS Methodology_211123.pdf, items 5 and 7; LF_Emp_Unemp_1Qtr26_300626.pdf, Annex 3 note 1(i) and 'Reliability of estimates'; LF_Emp_Unemp_Yr25_190526.pdf, 'Reliability of estimates'

• Coverage note, 1990–1999

  Ages 12 and above, as printed: Tables 1.3(a) and 1.3(b) note '(c) Estimates refer to population aged 12 years and above' for 1990-1994 and 1995-1999, although Table 1.1's title says '16 years and over' for its whole span. The figures are served as published. The file states no age limit for 1983-1989 other than that title.

  HS_Labour_Yr90-Yr25_250926.xls, Tables 1.3(a)-(b) note (c) and Table 1.1 title

• Definition change note, from 2000

  Age limit. The publisher dates the change to ages 16 and over three ways: Tables 1.3(a)-(b) state 'Estimates refer to population aged 12 years and above' for 1990–1999; Tables 1.4-1.5, note 3, say 'Employment figures refer to population aged 16 years & over for years 2000 onwards'; the Year 2025 release, the 1st Quarter 2026 release and the CMPHS methodology say 'as from year 2007, labour force estimates are based on population aged 16 years and above, following the amendment to the Labour Act in December 2006'. Table 1.1's title says '16 years and over' for 1983–2025. The definition changes at 2000, the date the historical series itself prints, so 1999 and 2000 are not compared.

  HS_Labour_Yr90-Yr25_250926.xls, Tables 1.3(a)-(b) note (c), Tables 1.4-1.5 note 3 and Table 1.1 title; LF_Emp_Unemp_Yr25_190526.pdf, 'Definitions of terms' footnote 1; LF_Emp_Unemp_1Qtr26_300626.pdf, Annex 2 item 2; CMPHS Methodology_211123.pdf, 'Employment'

• Coverage note, from 2004

  Survey changes, 2004-2005. 'From 1999 to 2003, around 6,500 households were covered each year. In 2004, the sample was increased to 8,640 so that reliable quarterly estimates of labour force, employment and unemployment could be worked out. As from 2005, the sample for the year has been further increased to 11,280.' Data were collected every quarter in 2004 and monthly from 2005, and from 2005 the Relative Development Index replaced the urban, semi-urban and rural locations as the first-stage stratification.

  CMPHS Methodology_211123.pdf, items 2, 4 and 5; LF_Emp_Unemp_Yr25_190526.pdf, methodology item 2

• Coverage note, from 2006

  Reference week. 'Up to 2005, the reference period for data on labour force was the last week of the survey month. As from 2006, the reference week has been changed to the second week of the survey month.'

  LF_Emp_Unemp_Yr25_190526.pdf, methodology item 2

• Discrepancy note, from 2007

  The releases and the survey's methodology date ages 16 and over 'as from year 2007', following the amendment to the Labour Act in December 2006; the historical series dates it from 2000 (Tables 1.4-1.5, note 3). The series is served as published: comparisons across 2006 and 2007 are allowed, and the definition change is recorded at 2000.

  HS_Labour_Yr90-Yr25_250926.xls, Tables 1.4-1.5 note 3; LF_Emp_Unemp_Yr25_190526.pdf, 'Definitions of terms' footnote 1; LF_Emp_Unemp_1Qtr26_300626.pdf, Annex 2 item 2; CMPHS Methodology_211123.pdf, 'Employment'

• Discrepancy note, 2012–2021

  Not revised on the 2022 Census in this series. The Year 2025 release (19 May 2026) says: 'As from the first quarter 2025, labour force, employment and unemployment estimates are published based on population figures revised according to the 2022 population census results. Prior estimates have been revised for the period 2012 to 2024.' The historical series (25 September 2026) marks only 2022–2024 as revised on that census, and for 2012–2021 it differs from the release: the release prints 2015 employment of 534,000 (male 330,500, female 203,500), where this series' Mauritian labour force minus the unemployed gives 538,300 (333,800 and 204,500), and unemployment rates of 9.1% in 2020 and, for women, 11.0% in 2020 and 10.5% in 2021, where this series prints 9.2, 11.1 and 10.6. Every figure is served as published.

  LF_Emp_Unemp_Yr25_190526.pdf, paragraph 2 and Tables 10, 11 and 18; HS_Labour_Yr90-Yr25_250926.xls, Table 1.1 and its note 3

• Coverage note, 2020–2022

  Telephone interviews. 'Following the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, the face-to-face interviews of household members were replaced by telephone interviews. As from January 2023, face-to-face interviews have been resumed.' In 2020 the survey was carried out only in May, June, July, September, October and December.

  CMPHS Methodology_211123.pdf, items 1 and 2

• Revision note, 2022

  2022, revised between editions: the 1st Quarter 2026 release's Annex 3 (30 June 2026) prints a Mauritian labour force of 553.5 thousand and total employment of 537.8; the historical series (25 September 2026) prints 553.1 and 537.4. Both mark 2022 as revised on the 2022 Census. The later publication is served.

  LF_Emp_Unemp_1Qtr26_300626.pdf, Annex 3; HS_Labour_Yr90-Yr25_250926.xls, Table 1.1

• Coverage note, from 2023

  Survey design from 2023: the Relative Development Index strata were redrawn on the 2022 Housing and Population Census 'such that each geographical district has four even strata', and the households selected in each sampling unit in Rodrigues rose from 10 to 15, the sample size unchanged.

  CMPHS Methodology_211123.pdf, item 4

Calculations supplied by the API

provisional · T1.1 1983-2025 / Table 1.1 / both sexes / row 48 '2025 4' / column 'mauritian'

Source publications