Human resources in a South Pacific community : the Western Samoan labour force, 1951-1981

Human resources, the only abundant resource in Western Samoa, is the main focus of this study which tries to explore the nature of the numbers involved through the labour force approach. This approach has only been utilized in the 1971 Western Samoan census and has encountered difficulties mainly in the area of data comparability with earlier censuses which had used the gainful worker approach. Apart from this, there have been some cases of blind application of some labour force concepts without regard for the local conditions. TWo facts are clearly revealed in this study concerning the labour force in Western Samoa. Firstly, is the fact that the majority of the labour force members are semi-skilled or without skills. Secondly, is the massive brain drain to overseas countries especially New Zealand, of young members who can be said to have the needed skills