Wages in Zanzibar -February 2014
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Abstract:
Wages in Zanzibar
This WageIndicator Data Report presents the results of the face-to-face WageIndicator survey in Zanzibar, conducted between the 10th of December 2013 and the 9th of January 2014. The sample for the survey was drawn from establishment registers. Hence, this report details the characteristics of workers in the formal sector. Subsistence labour is not included. Yet, even though the establishment is formal, the workers can be either formally or informally employed. Nevertheless, findings would have been different if all workers had been included, suggesting that a relatively high-skilled selection of workers enters into formal employment. In total 1,360 persons were interviewed; 68% were men, 32% women and 36% were under 30 years of age. The workers in the survey live in households with on average 4 members, including themselves. Six in ten men and almost six in ten women live with both a partner and one or more children. Just 7% of workers followed no formal education, 26% finished elementary education, 31% had lower secondary education, whereas the remaining groups had more years of education. Rating satisfaction with life-as-a-whole on a scale from 1=dissatisfied to 10=satisfied, respondents score a 5.5 on average.
The biggest groups of interviewees work in manufacturing (17%), in the wholesale and retail trade (17%) and in restaurant, hotels & catering (14%). More than one in ten works in education (11%). Less than a tenth (9%) worked in human health and social work activities and slightly less in agriculture, forestry and fishery activities (7%). More than one in four workers in the sample is employed as service and sales workers (28%). Another two in ten are employed as professionals (16%). This group includes among others teachers, doctors and engineers. Sizeable groups of male respondents are craft and related trades workers (16%) or plant and machine operators (17%), while few women work in these occupations. Female workers are more likely to work as clerical support workers (14%) or in elementary, unskilled occupations (11%).
One in four workers is self-employed (25%). Almost one in four is in waged employment with a permanent contract (22%). Almost five in ten workers are employees with a fixed-term contract (45%), whereas almost one in ten have no contract at all (8%). The average usual working week of respondents is more than 50 hours in 5.9 days per week. The employees without contracts and the self-employed work the longest hours and those on permanent contracts work the shortest. Only 69% of the workers report receiving their wage on time and seven in ten workers receive their wage cash in hand. The survey included questions asking about entitlement to and contributions to social benefits. Both entitlement and contributions are relatively low: 21% of all workers are entitled to paid annual leave, another 13% is entitled to paid sick leave, 17% is entitled to a pension. Contributions to pension are reported by 23%, whereas contributions to other social security funds were reported by less than one in ten. On an 11-point informality-scale, ranging from 0=very informal to 10=very formal, the average score on the index is very low, notably 1.09. The majority of workers are in the lowest category in the index (68%), whereas a small minority is in the highest one (1%).
One in four people in the sample work on their own (25%), almost six in ten work in an organization with 1-10 employees (57%), one in ten work in businesses of more than 10 employees and 8% work for businesses employing over a 50 people. The less educated workers are, the more likely they are to work for small firms.
The median net hourly wage of the total sample is 1250 Tanzanian Shilling (TZS). Employees with permanent contracts have by far the highest earnings (2012 TZS), whereas workers without a labour contract have the lowest earnings (496 TZS). Workers in firms consisting only of themselves earn the lowest wages (1120 TZS), whereas employees in firms between 51 and 100 employees earn the highest wages (1866 TZS). The lower on the informality-scale, the lower the net hourly wages. Median wages increase with every level of education. Workers without formal or with primary education earn on average 833 TZS, whereas those with tertiary education earn 2500 TZS per hour. The lowest paid workers are the service and sales workers (816 TZS), followed by the elementary occupations (729 TZS). By industry, the graph shows that the highest wages are earned in the public sector, health care, and education (1875 TZS), and the lowest wages in trade, transport, and hospitality (989 TZS).