1. Making statistical systems responsive to Globalisation
Labour Mobility
Matthias Till
Directorate Social Statistics
Geneva
June 17th, 2015
Making statistical systems responsive to Globalisation

2. Labour Mobility implies coordination
Between countries
Common standard language
Comparable measurement and data production
Data exchange (e.g. mirror statistics)
Participation in ILO Working Group on Labour Migration
Accross statistical areas
National Accounts (labour input)
Trade Statistics (modes of supply)
Social Statistics (migration, labour force)
Enterprise and Tourism Statistics (business travels)
Promoting MSITS Compiler‘s Guide

3. Can NSOs answer ? Simple questions
how many workers move into the territory?
how long do they stay?
in what industries do they work?
what are their wages and working hours?
Complex questions
How do foreign workers alter productivity?
How do their remittances change Balance of Payments?
What is the labour market impact of Trade in Services?

4. From Cloud to Common Language
Work
Activity producing goods or services
Migration
Change of usual residence
Non migrant foreign workers
Business travel, seasonal/frontier work
GATS
General Agreement on Trade in Services
Mode 4 of Service Supply
Involves movement of persons, posting of workers

5. Relevant international statistical systems
SNA2008
System of National Accounts
BPM6
Balance of Payments Manual
RSIM 1998
Recommendations on Statistics of International Migration
IRTS 2008
International Recommendations for Tourism Statistics
MSITS 2010
Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services

6. Answers suffer from „Demography Bias“
Resident population
Migrants
Austria: 1/3 of migrants stay short term ( months)
(stays >3 or > 12 months)
Labour Mobility
irregular
Frontier/seasonal
Workers
Labour migrants
Non-migrant foreign workers
Supply of services

7. Illustration: ECB-construction site, 5/2012
1 main contractor (out of several)
Employed only 25 construction workers
~20 transnational service - subcontractors
~1 000 workers
~ratio: 3 posted on 1 native (source: Wagner & Lillie 2014, p410)
Employer and Employee are non resident!
How to capture in national labour/enterprise statistics?

8. Looking ahead for action
Improving international comparability and coordination
Enhancing accessability of existing information
Filling data gaps
Production of International Labour Mobility Statistics (UNECE-CES Task Force)
Complementary work on standardisation (ILO Working Group, technical seminars including users)

9. Questions for Discussion
What LM indicators are required by what users?
movements of persons in GATS mode 4 service supply (WTO)
Labour input (National Accounts) Remittances (Balance of Payments)
Decent Work (ILO)
How can LM classifications be consolidated?
What role can ILO Working Group play?
Classifications and methods for irregular labour mobility (IOM, ILO)
Harmonisation of data from coordination of social security systems
What are best practices to improve LM coverage?
Network of correspondents providing permit statistics (OECD)
Integration of migration data from different sources (UNECE-CES TF)
mirror statistics (UNECE clearinghouse) & Ex-post harmonisation (Eurostat)
How can more detailed characteristics be obtained?
industry, wages (in Business Travel Surveys)
duration in workplaces abroad (in Structure of Earnings Surveys)
employment (in migration statistics) and migration history (in LFS)
potential for sectorial approaches (e.g. agency workers, construction)

10. Thank you for your attention!
Please address queries to:
Matthias Till
Contact information:
Guglgasse 13, 1110 Vienna
phone: +43 (1)