El Salvador launches Labor Market Information System (LMIS) with support from IOM and ILO

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) together with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MTPS) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), presented the Labor Market Information System of El Salvador (SIMEL) on December 1, 2021. This is a virtual tool that allows the production, storage, dissemination and use of information on this market and contributes to the knowledge of labour migration indicators, as well as to the formulation of evidence-based policies and strategies.

The presentation event was attended by 158 participants, including representatives of the government cabinet, the diplomatic corps, trade organizations, academia and other sectors of society, who experienced first-hand access to the web platforms. This system arose in response to the need to have labour market information and statistics in a systematized and accessible manner. 

"The implementation of LMIS will allow the country to have a homologated and centralized system to follow up on market dynamics and to know labour migration indicators, improving the availability and flexibility of routes for regular migration. It will also facilitate the analysis and transparency of the real employment situation, through key indicators and will allow closing information gaps through tools and methodologies to respond to the existing demand for information," explained Nicola Graviano, IOM Chief of Mission for El Salvador.

IOM, together with ILO, provided support and technical assistance for the Ministry of Labour to install the system, using the LMIS.Stat tool for the storage and dissemination of labour market indicators. Currently, this tool is one of the most advanced information systems platforms used by the statistical community, which is made available to the countries by the ILO.

With the creation and installation of LMIS, El Salvador has positioned itself as the first country in Central America to have a unified repository of labour market information validated by ILO and is the second country in Latin America to adopt this commitment.  This platform will be useful for a wide range of actors at the country level. 

It should be noted that this progress is part of the first objective of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, which speaks of collecting and using accurate and disaggregated data as a basis for the creation of public policies that contribute to progressively improving those gaps identified and strengthen the areas that report better results. Without neglecting the need for information on the labour situation in El Salvador, this activity will make it possible to diagnose the labour situation and identify the progress already made in terms of public policy.

This initiative is supported by IOM under the Western Hemisphere Program, funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.