2. You were given the task to improve your country’s labour market.
Imagine…
You were given the task to improve your country’s labour market.

3. What does it mean? What do you do? Where do you start?
Labour Statistics

4. Contents What are labour statistics? Uses of labour statistics
Main sources of labour statistics
International standards on labour statistics

5. What are labour statistics?
A body of official statistics dealing with productive activities and their characteristics, from many perspectives and covering many dimensions.

6. What are labour statistics?
Labour statistics are official statistics
etymology: “statistic” - science dealing with facts of a state (derived from the New Latin “statisticus” - “concerning state affairs”
Labour statistics produced as public interest

7. What are labour statistics?
Labour statistics are only a part of official national statistics
The national statistical system includes
Labour statistics
Education statistics
National accounts
Demographic statistics
Industrial production statistics
Agricultural statistics
Health statistics
Etc.
Labour statistics concepts & methods need to be related & consistent with other official statistics

8. What are labour statistics?
Labour statistics deal with productive activities
From two perspectives: demand and supply sides
Including all forms of work
Statistics about labour demand
Statistics about labour supply
Enterprises
Vacancies
Jobs
Employed
Unemployed
Not in labour force
Statistics about work for pay/profit
Statistics about work not for pay/profit
Employed
Own-use production work
Unpaid trainee work
Volunteer work

9. What are labour statistics?
Scope of labour market statistics:
Enterprises
- Ownership
- Size
- Economic activity
- Location
- Establishments
- Occupational injuries
- Unionization
- Collective bargaining
- Strikes
- …
Working-age population
- Sex/gender
- Age
- Educational level
- Education attendance
- Nationals/migrants
- Disability status
- Rural/urban areas
- …
Employed persons
- Status in employment
- Occupation
- Economic activity
- Private/public sector
- Hours of work (hours actually worked, hours usually worked)
- Earnings
- Informal employment
- Occupational injuries and diseases
- Unionization
- Collective bargaining
- Strikes
- …
Persons outside the labour force
- Reasons for being outside the labour force
- Desire to work
- Availability
- Job search
- Qualifications
- Previous work experience
- Receipt of benefits such as pensions
- …
Vacancies
- Skills required
- Economic activity
- Occupation
- …
Unemployed persons
- Job search methods
- Duration of unemployment
- Qualifications
- Previous work experience
- Previous occupation
- Previous economic activity
- Receipt of unemployment benefits
- …
National output and income
- Gross Domestic Product
- Gross Value Added
- Labour productivity
- Labour income share
- …
Jobs
- Pay
- Labour costs
- Hours paid for
- …
Employment creation,
productivity
Employment creation, working conditions, skills needed
Characteristics of employment,
working conditions
Pressures on the labour market, access to the labour market
Labour market
attachment
Labour demand
Labour supply
Potential labour supply
Country
Enterprises
Individuals
Macro
Micro
ILO Department of Statistics 9

10. Their value lies in their use
Uses of labour statistics
Labour statistics are meant to be used, they are not a goal in themselves.
Their value lies in their use

11. Uses of labour statistics
Macro-economic monitoring
Identification of issues
Formulation and implementation of policies and programmes
Evaluation of policies and programmes
Monitoring of progress towards attainment of goals
Etc.

12. Main sources of labour statistics
Population and housing census
Household surveys
Labour force surveys
Household income and expenditure surveys
Etc.
Establishment censuses & surveys
Administrative records
Unique objectives; different coverage, periodicity, measurement units, etc.

13. Main sources of labour statistics
Strengths
Limitations
Population censuses
Comprehensive enumeration, coverage of the whole population
Allows for the production of reliable information on small groups
Very costly
Short questionnaires prevent from getting detailed information on specific topics
Household surveys
Comprehensive coverage of population
Detailed questioning permits precise measurement of statistical concepts for short reference periods
Sampling prevents reliable estimates for small groups
Lower quality of data on “sensitive”, income-, and employer-related topics
Cannot provide estimates of vacancies, training needs, etc.
Establishment surveys
Comprehensive coverage of larger businesses
Payroll records provide consistent and reliable data for income and employment by industry
Only source for data on vacancies, training needs, etc.
Typically poor coverage of very small and unregistered businesses
Requires constant updating of registers (births and deaths)
Difficult identification of small or informal units
High non-response rates
Data items are limited by the information in establishment’s registers
Administrative records
Total count allows maximum detail
Inexpensive to compile statistics
Often poor coverage
Often not up to date
Data quality may be questionable

14. Main sources of labour statistics
No single data can meet all needs
All sources contribute to an overall system of national labour statistics
Recognize relative strengths, limitations and complementarities
For instance:
Census data: benchmarking and sample frames for surveys
Population/business registers: sample frames for surveys
Survey data: intercensal estimates and monitor short-term trends
Administrative data: complement survey/census data
Survey data: gauge under-registration in administrative sources
Census and administrative data: small areas/groups estimates

15. Labour statistics framework and standards
Main sources of labour statistics
But this requires coherence between sources
Concepts
Definitions
Classifications
Reference periods
Methods
Labour statistics framework and standards

16. International standards on labour statistics
Two main types of international standards on labour statistics:
Conventions and Recommendations adopted by the International Labour Conference (ILC)
Resolutions and Guidelines adopted by the International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS)
ICLS Resolutions:
Non-binding instruments which provide detailed guidelines on conceptual frameworks, operational definitions and measurement methodologies to produce and disseminate the various labour statistics.
Their purpose is to provide necessary guidance to countries wishing to develop or revise their national labour statistics programmes as well as to enhance international comparability.
ICLS Guidelines:
Provide more general guidance relating to particular areas of interest.

17. International standards on labour statistics
1. Conventions and Recommendations adopted by the International Labour Conference (ILC)
They are part of the international Labour Code
Lay out the basic framework for the progressive elaboration of national labour statistics programmes
(Potentially) apply to all countries, regardless of their level of development
Adopted by tripartite ILO constituents (workers and employers are consulted)
Conventions are legally binding in countries having ratified it
Recommendations are non binding
ICLS Resolutions:
Non-binding instruments which provide detailed guidelines on conceptual frameworks, operational definitions and measurement methodologies to produce and disseminate the various labour statistics.
Their purpose is to provide necessary guidance to countries wishing to develop or revise their national labour statistics programmes as well as to enhance international comparability.
ICLS Guidelines:
Provide more general guidance relating to particular areas of interest.

18. International standards on labour statistics
Labour Statistics Convention, 1985 (Convention n°160)
Replaces Convention concerning Statistics of Wages and Hours of Work, 1938 (No. 63)
Countries ratifying it undertake to regularly collect, compile and disseminate basic labour statistics on:
Countries can ratify selected articles only (i.e. ratification pertaining to some topics only)
Labour force, employment, unemployment
Household expenditure and, if possible, household income
and time-related underemployment
Average earnings and hours of work
Occupational injuries and, if possible, occupational diseases
Wage structure and distribution
Labour cost
Industrial disputes
Consumer price indices
ICLS Resolutions:
Non-binding instruments which provide detailed guidelines on conceptual frameworks, operational definitions and measurement methodologies to produce and disseminate the various labour statistics.
Their purpose is to provide necessary guidance to countries wishing to develop or revise their national labour statistics programmes as well as to enhance international comparability.
ICLS Guidelines:
Provide more general guidance relating to particular areas of interest.

19. International standards on labour statistics
Labour Statistics Recommendation, (Recommendation n° 170)
Does not require ratification (non-binding guidelines)
Complements Convention n°160
While Convention n°160 sets the general framework for a national statistical system, Recommendation n°170 provides specifications on:
Frequency of data collection and dissemination
Recommended and desired disaggregations
Appropriate national statistical infrastructure
ICLS Resolutions:
Non-binding instruments which provide detailed guidelines on conceptual frameworks, operational definitions and measurement methodologies to produce and disseminate the various labour statistics.
Their purpose is to provide necessary guidance to countries wishing to develop or revise their national labour statistics programmes as well as to enhance international comparability.
ICLS Guidelines:
Provide more general guidance relating to particular areas of interest.

20. International standards on labour statistics
2. Resolutions and Guidelines adopted by the International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS)
ICLS
At the heart of the labour statistics standard-setting process
≈ every 5 years (since 1923) – Last one just finished (October 2018)
Tripartite structure: experts from governments (mostly national statistical offices), employer’s and worker’s organizations
Observers: regional and international organizations, interest groups, etc.
Makes recommendations on selected topics of labour statistics in the form of resolutions and guidelines, to be approved by the Governing Body of the ILO before becoming part of the set of international standards on labour statistics
Favours international comparability of labour statistics
Favours methodological consistency across topics and sources
ICLS Resolutions:
Non-binding instruments which provide detailed guidelines on conceptual frameworks, operational definitions and measurement methodologies to produce and disseminate the various labour statistics.
Their purpose is to provide necessary guidance to countries wishing to develop or revise their national labour statistics programmes as well as to enhance international comparability.
ICLS Guidelines:
Provide more general guidance relating to particular areas of interest.

21. International standards on labour statistics
2. Resolutions and Guidelines adopted by the International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS)
Resolutions
Non binding
Present conceptual frameworks, operational definitions, and evaluation methods to produce and publish labour statistics
Guidelines
Provide detailed instructions on very specific topics
ICLS Resolutions:
Non-binding instruments which provide detailed guidelines on conceptual frameworks, operational definitions and measurement methodologies to produce and disseminate the various labour statistics.
Their purpose is to provide necessary guidance to countries wishing to develop or revise their national labour statistics programmes as well as to enhance international comparability.
ICLS Guidelines:
Provide more general guidance relating to particular areas of interest.

22. International standards on labour statistics
2. Resolutions and Guidelines adopted by the International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS)
19th ICLS, October 2013
Resolution concerning statistics of work, employment and labour underutilization
Resolution concerning further work on statistics of forced labour
Resolution concerning further work on statistics of cooperatives
Resolution concerning further work on labour migration statistics
Guidelines concerning a statistical definition of employment in the environmental sector
ICLS Resolutions:
Non-binding instruments which provide detailed guidelines on conceptual frameworks, operational definitions and measurement methodologies to produce and disseminate the various labour statistics.
Their purpose is to provide necessary guidance to countries wishing to develop or revise their national labour statistics programmes as well as to enhance international comparability.
ICLS Guidelines:
Provide more general guidance relating to particular areas of interest.

23. International standards on labour statistics
2. Resolutions and Guidelines adopted by the International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS)
20th ICLS, October 2018 (just finished !)
Resolution concerning statistics on work relationships
Resolution concerning statistics of child labour aligned with the 19th ICLS
Guidelines concerning measurement of qualifications and skills mismatches of persons in employment
Guidelines concerning the measurement of forced labour
Guidelines concerning statistics on international labour migration
Guidelines concerning statistics on cooperatives
ICLS Resolutions:
Non-binding instruments which provide detailed guidelines on conceptual frameworks, operational definitions and measurement methodologies to produce and disseminate the various labour statistics.
Their purpose is to provide necessary guidance to countries wishing to develop or revise their national labour statistics programmes as well as to enhance international comparability.
ICLS Guidelines:
Provide more general guidance relating to particular areas of interest.

24. References ILOSTAT database: www.ilo.org/ilostat
Manual on Decent Work Indicators
Labour Statistics Convention, 1985 (No. 160)
Labour Statistics Recommendation, 1985 (No. 170)
List of countries having ratified Convention n°160
Resolutions adopted by International Conferences of Labour statisticians
conferences-of-labour-statisticians/lang--en/index.htm
Resolution concerning statistics of work, employment and labour underutilization (19th ICLS)
conferences-of-labour-statisticians/WCMS_230304/lang--en/index.htm
Resolution concerning statistics on work relationships (20th ICLS)