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Referring to its observation, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would include information on the following points in its next detailed report on the application of the Convention.

1. The Committee notes that most of the data on employment sent by the Government in its report concerns the Central Department and the metropolitan area of Asunción. Furthermore, the unemployment rate estimated from the study carried out by the Department of Social and Economic Research of the Faculty of Economy is only 8.6 per cent compared with 14.4 per cent estimated by PREALC on the basis of econometric projections. The Committee refers to the report form for Article 2 of the Convention which calls for indications on the measures taken to collect and analyse statistical and other data concerning the size and distribution of the labour force, the nature and extent of unemployment and underemployment and trends therein. Given that the collection and analysis of statistical information must serve as the basis for adopting measures on employment policy, the Committee trusts that the Government will make every effort in its power to provide this information on employment which is required in order to formulate and implement an employment policy within the meaning of the Convention.

2. The Committee notes that an aggressive agrarian reform policy is being carried out through the Institute for Rural Welfare which grants and regularizes land holding in the rural sector. Small rural holdings are also being financed. The Government is requested to include complete data on this matter enabling the Committee to assess the manner in which application of the Convention in the rural sector and with respect to indigenous peoples is promoted.

3. The Government indicates that, like other Latin American countries, the trend already observed more than a decade ago is accentuating: micro-enterprises in the informal sector and small and medium-sized enterprises in the formal sector absorb the greater part of the labour force. The Government adds that the role of the small enterprise as a generator of income and a source of employment for the labour force is both important and traditional. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to supply data on the participation of the informal sector in the generation of productive and lasting employment and the results achieved in integrating independent and self-employed workers in the modern sector of the economy.