1. ISCO-08
1 December 2018

2. Introduction
The updated International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08) was adopted by a Tripartite Meeting of Experts in Labour Statistics in December 2007.
ISCO-08 was endorsed by the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization in March 2008
The idea is that the updated classification, or national adaptations of it, should be available for use in the 2010 round of national population censuses.
It is time for coordination!
1 December 2018

3. Why ISCO was updated? Update of ISIC ISCO-88 was 20 years old!
ISCO-88 was not perfect but we have learned meantime
World has changed in the last 20 years
ISCO-88 needed to be updated for a number of reasons. One relates to its relation with the United Nations’ International Standard Industrial Classification of all economic activities (ISIC). Revisions of ISCO have since the 1958 version followed a similar cycle of revisions as ISIC. A new version of ISIC is ongoing and should be finalised in time to be taken into account for the 2010 round of population censuses. In accordance, the United Nations Statistical Commission requested in March 2003 that a revised ISCO should also be available at that time.
Another reason for updating ISCO-88 relates to its age. Almost 20 years have passed since the 14th ICLS adopted ISCO-88 and there have been a number of developments in the economies of countries all over the world, most notably of ICT. It can be expected that changes of some type are necessary in ISCO-88 to reflect them.
A third reason is related to the experience gained in applying ISCO-88 in countries. Most national classifications of occupations in the world are in fact adaptations of ISCO-88 and because ISCO-88 is an international classification, there are inevitably problems of adaptation. Some of these problems are common in many countries and an updated ISCO tries to tackle them.
A final reason relates to the recommendation made by the 17th ICLS, which adopted a resolution endorsing the updating and overall improvement of ISCO-88 to reflect the important changes that have taken place in the world of work. ISCO-88 has now been updated to take into account the developments in the economies of countries all over the world. The updating has not affected the basic principles and structure of ISCO-88 but took the form of new occupational groups in some areas and improved descriptions in others.
1 December 2018

4. How ILO has proceeded?
34th session of the UN Statistical Commission 3/2003
First round of questionnaires
Set up of Technical Expert Group for updating ISCO (TEG/ISCO) – 3/2005
1st meeting (TEG/ISCO) – 11/2005
Starting point: the ILO timetable for the revision of ISCO should meet the needs of the next Census round (34th session of the UN Statistical Commission in March 2003).
At the 35th session of the Commission, held in March 2004, the ILO made a commitment to complete the work by 2007.
Two questionnaires that were sent to all countries through their Ministry of Labour, National Statistical Institute, Employment Services, Vocational Training Institutes, and Employers’ and Workers’ Organisations
The ILO also consulted with a range of specialised agencies, workers’ and employers’ organisations, and stakeholders with an interest in those occupational groups where most updating is needed.
The TEG/ISCO has worked in collaboration with ILO to:
develop proposals for the boundaries of the updating process,
organize collection and review of proposals for updates of ISCO,
decide on draft proposals for updates of ISCO,
elaborate rulings on interpretation of the current ISCO, prepare the draft structure and discussion documents to be submitted to the UN Expert Group on International Economic and Social Classifications and the ILO Tripartite Meeting of Experts on Labour Statistics
2nd meeting (TEG/ISCO) – 7/2006
Second round of questionnaires (9-2006)
3rd meeting (TEG/ISCO) – 12/2006
4th meeting (TEG/ISCO) – 4/2007
Adopted by a Tripartite Meeting of Experts in Labour Statistics
Endorsement to the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization 3/2008
1 December 2018

5. What have changed with ISCO-08?
Major group
Sub-major Groups
Minor groups
Unit groups
1 Managers, senior officials and legislators
4 (3)
11(8)
30 (33)
2 Professionals
6 (4)
27(18)
92 (55)
3 Technicians and associate professionals
5 (4) 21
84 (73)
4 Clerks
4 (2)
8 (7)
29 (23)
5 Service and sales workers
13 (9)
40 (23)
6 Skilled agricultural, fishery, and forestry workers 2
6 (6)
15 (17)
7 Craft and related trades workers
14 (16)
66 (70)
8 Plant and machine operators, and assemblers 3
14 (20)
44 (70)
9 Elementary occupations
6 (3)
11 (10)
33 (25)
0 Armed forces occupations
3 (1)
Total ISCO-08 (ISCO-88)
42 (28)
128 (116)
436 (390)
1 December 2018

6. Where to find the final version of ISCO 08?
The text of the resolution adopting the new ISCO-08, including the classification structure, is now available on the ISCO Website in English, French and Spanish:
Explanatory notes and correspondence tables will be available before the end of the year
It is anticipated that full documentation for the classification, including definitions of categories, will be available in English on the Website in months time and published in book form as soon as possible thereafter. French and Spanish versions will be available once translation of the definitions has been completed. 
1 December 2018

7. First data transmission of data according to ISCO - 08
Same first reference year for the data transmission of ISCO 08 in all statistical domains concerned:
Labour Force Survey
EU-SILC
Household Budget Survey
Adult Education Survey
ICT usage in households and by individuals
Annual Job vacancy statistics
European Health Interview Survey
Time Use Survey
Census
Structure of Earnings Survey
Average annual gross earnings
Accidents at work (ESAW)
Occupational diseases ( EODS)
Unit DDG 02 in collaboration with unit F2 will organize a workshop on data collection of occupational data (28/11). The transition to ISCO 2008 will raise technical and methodological issues. This workshop will be mainly the opportunity of a methodological exchange of views to improve geographical comparability, to provide recommendations and proposals with regard to the production, exchange and dissemination of occupational information, to improve communication and the exchange of best practices within Europe.
Furthermore the development of the European socio economic classification (ESEC) needs to rely on comparable data on occupations therefore the 2 projects are strongly linked.
1 December 2018

8. First data transmission of data according to ISCO - 08
Structure of Earning Survey – 2010
All other statistical domains
Unit DDG 02 in collaboration with unit F2 will organize a workshop on data collection of occupational data (28/11). The transition to ISCO 2008 will raise technical and methodological issues. This workshop will be mainly the opportunity of a methodological exchange of views to improve geographical comparability, to provide recommendations and proposals with regard to the production, exchange and dissemination of occupational information, to improve communication and the exchange of best practices within Europe.
Furthermore the development of the European socio economic classification (ESEC) needs to rely on comparable data on occupations therefore the 2 projects are strongly linked.
1 December 2018

9. ISCO legal framework
No 1983/2003 EU-SILC (list of target primary variables)
No 1738/2005 structure of earnings
Commission regulation, amending the previously mentioned 4 regulations by just replacing "ISCO 88 (COM)" by "ISCO 08".
Until now, data on occupations according to ISCO was provided in a gentleman's agreement basis. There are nevertheless four Commission regulations which mention, for the provision of occupational data, the use of the classification ISCO 88 (COM):
No 698/2006 quality evaluation of structural statistics on labour costs and earnings
No 377/2008 of labour force sample survey -codification
1 December 2018

10. ISCO legal framework Commission regulation
Draft proposal and internal consultation – October 2008
Presentation and discussion in the Working Groups concerned (LAMAS and Living conditions) – June 2009
Inter-service consultation – July 2009
Presentation to SPC (for vote) – November 2009
Send legislative draft to EP (right of scrutiny) – November 2009
Adoption by the Commission – Beginning of 2010
1 December 2018

11. ISCO legal framework Recommendation
Taking into account the importance of having comparable data on occupations not only at EU but also at worldwide level, Eurostat will prepare a recommendation on the use of the ISCO classification.
1 December 2018

12. ISCO legal framework Recommendation
Draft proposal and internal consultation – October 2008
Written consultation of the DSS – November 2009
Inter-service consultation – January 2009
Presentation to SPC (for vote) – May 2009
Adoption by the Commission – Mid 2009
1 December 2018

13. Informations Workshop on data collection of occupational data (28/11).
A questionnaire will be sent to all members of the ISCO network, in the beginning of October, in order to compile information on how data on occupations is collected in the different Member States. The results of this inquiry will be presented and discussed in the workshop.
The upgrade of the ISCO classification at National level is a costly operation but nevertheless essential for the improvement of the relevance and comparability of the data on occupations in the ESS. Therefore Eurostat has foreseen a budget for grants and during 2009 all Member States will receive a call for proposals on this area.
A workshop on data collection on occupations is going to take place in Luxembourg on the 28/11/2008. The aim of this workshop is to share best practices on data collection on occupations and discuss specific problems related to derivation of ISCO data at national level. A special section of the workshop will be dedicated to the presentation of the first results of tests concerning the current prototype of the European Socio Economic Classification (ESEC), which is a classification strongly based on ISCO.
Several Member States have already proposed presentations but there is still room for other national experiences. Therefore the DSS is invited to propose contributions on relevant national experiences not latter than the 3rd of October
1 December 2018

14. 1 December 2018