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1. The Committee notes the detailed information sent by the Government in its report for the period ending in May 2002. According to the Government, there were no significant changes in the application of the Convention during the following period.

2. The Committee notes that priority has been given to foreign investment in order to encourage exports, development of free zones and improved productivity in small and medium-sized enterprises. The Government also provides information on the measures that have been implemented to contain inflation, simplify and enhance tax collection and modernize the customs system. According to the Government, slow growth in the United States and the drop in the prices of the main agricultural exports - added to the fiscal deficit and the growing public debt - have affected employment policy. Between 1998 and 2002, 326,000 new jobs were generated (increasing the economically active population by 26.5 per cent). The household poverty rate has remained stable at approximately 20 per cent. The information analysed by ECLAC in its Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2001-2002 confirms that open unemployment in 2001 stood at 6.1 per cent and total underuse at 13.7 per cent. The activities most affected were manufactures (textiles) and agricultural exports (coffee and bananas). Rural unemployment again exceeded the average (6.5 per cent). Underuse of the workforce occurs mainly in the regions where the population is poorest: Chorotega, Brunca and Pacifico Central. The Committee trusts that the Government will provide information on the situation, level and trends of employment, underemployment and unemployment, as required by the report form, indicating the extent to which they affect particular categories of workers (women and young persons in the poorest sectors of the population and workers in the rural sector and the informal economy).

3. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide information on labour market policies and programmes that have been implemented in order to match labour supply and demand so as to ensure that the categories of workers affected by structural change, such as restructuring in the public sector, remain in the labour market.

4. The Committee would also be grateful if, in its next report, the Government would include more detailed information on education and training, and in particular indicate the measures taken to coordinate these policies with prospective employment opportunities.

5. Article 3. The Committee notes with interest that the Higher Labour Council succeeded in getting the three parties to agree to a common strategic agenda, regarding migrant workers, labour flexibility, and employment policy and employment in the informal economy. In a policy statement concerning a policy on migrant labour, it was recognized that migrant workers contribute to the country’s economic and social development. Furthermore, a labour market modernization programme is planned, with updated content for the Central American countries. The Committee would like to stress the importance of securing the full cooperation of the representatives of the persons affected in the formulation of employment policy and enlisting the necessary support for its implementation. The Committee hopes that the Government will be able to continue to supply information on the consultations held in the Higher Labour Council - or other bodies - with representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations (and representatives of other sectors of the economically active population, such as workers in the rural sector and the informal economy) on employment policy.