Investigating Socio-Economic Determinants Contributing to Child Labor in District Faisalabad

Abstract

Child labor remains a pressing social issue in contemporary society, particularly in developing countries such as Pakistan. In Pakistan there is a large number of children who are still employed in places such as hotels, tea stalls, factories, and brick kilns where they are often forced to work to support their family. The aim of the present study was to investigate the socio-economic reasons that led to child labor. The selected population was the owners of businesses located in urban and suburban areas of the Faisalabad district including those who operated hotels, workshops, fabric and brick kilns. A multi-stage sampling technique was used. The random selection of the district that was selected in the first stage was Faisalabad district in Punjab. In the second stage, specific urban areas within the district were chosen. In the third step, the sample of 200 respondents, including owners of the chosen business-was selected in the areas. The structured interview schedule was used to collect data and later analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS). The results indicated that almost half of the parents of working children were illiterate and most of them were occupied in low skilled labor occupations. These were identified to be highly influential to the work of children. The paper finds that low levels of educational achievement and the occupational structure of parents is a major contributor to child labour across generations.