Free and open access to labour statistics​​
Containing more than 100 million data points, the ILOSTAT portal is truly a gold mine for seasoned data scientists, but it can be challenging to use for those with less experience. Here we explain five typical rookie mistakes so you can avoid them.
The Excel summary files contain selected annual data for 2010 onward and selected short-term data for 2018 onward.Â
The ILOSTAT add-in provides free access to data series covering a wide range of labour topics (e.g., employment, unemployment, industrial relations, informality) directly via Microsoft Excel. So if your preferred data management tool is Excel, install this add-in to significantly reduce the amount of time you spend downloading ILOSTAT data.
| Database | Acronym | Description | Update schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| COVID Monitor | COVID | COVID-related indicators from the ILO's COVID Monitor, including working-hour losses | With release of COVID Monitor; next update scheduled for Fall 2021 |
| Labour market-related SDG indicators | ILOSDG | Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) labour market-related indicators on working poverty, social protection, informal employment, unemployment, women in management, earnings, occupational injuries and child labour | February for social protection and child labour and continuous for all other indicators |
| ILO modelled estimates and projections | ILOEST | Global, regional, and country-level modelled estimates of the labour force, employment (by economic activity, by status in employment and by occupation), unemployment, wage growth, and labour productivity | January with launch of WESO report -- 2021 edition exceptionally scheduled for May |
| Labour force statistics | LFS | Labour force statistics from national household surveys including indicators on employment, unemployment, measures of labour underutilization, working time, and monthly earnings | Continuous |
| Short term labour force statistics | STLFS | Monthly and quarterly labour force statistics from national household surveys including indicators on employment, unemployment, working time, and monthly earnings | Continuous |
| Youth labour market indicators | YouthSTATS | Selected labour market indicators (employment, unemployment, labour underutilization, and working time) with detailed breakdowns focused on youth ages 15 to 29 | Continuous |
| Education and skills mismatch | SKILLS | Labour market indicators broken down by education including cross-tabulations by occupation to assess mismatches | Continuous |
| Gender equality and non-discrimination at work statistics | GEND | Gender-related indicators including breakdowns by marital status and household type (note this is a subset of data available by sex) and labour force status of disabled persons | Continuous |
| Rural and urban labour market statistics | RURBAN | Labour market indicators broken down by rural and urban areas | Continuous |
| Industrial relations data | IRdata | Trade union membership, collective bargaining and industrial disputes (strikes and lockouts) | Every 2 years; next update scheduled for Fall 2021 |
| Working conditions | COND | Working time and arrangements (hours, part-time and temporary employment), earnings, minimum wages and occupational safety and health statistics (fatalities and non-fatal injuries at work, days lost due to occupational injuries and labour inspection) | Continuous |
| Statistics on unpaid work | UNPAID | Currently only covers volunteer work (levels and rates of participation) | Ad hoc; no updates planned |
| International labour migration statistics | ILMS | Labour migrant stocks, inflows and outflows | December |
| Competitiveness indicators | COMP | Indicators on labour productivity, hourly labour cost, and inflation | Continuous |
Continuously updated databases are updated for the public once a week, every Sunday at 10:00 pm (Europe/Paris time zone). The updating procedure only involves tables for which there is new data or that have undergone a modification or a structural change.
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Use the search feature to enter key words. On the data page, you can also filter the database and select a frequency to find monthly, quarterly, or annual indicators. While all indicators are available for annual periods, only a subset are available as monthly or quarterly.Â
Data available in the Excel summary files are for indicators only (not available for countries or regions) for selected classification items for 2010 onward for annual data and 2018 onward for short-term indicators. For historical data or additional classifications, either use the Data Explorer or download the CSV file.
Download a zipped CSV file (gzip) to get data in bulk. These files contain only codes. Download the dictionary with labels here.Â
There are other options to access data in the data tools section.Â
The option provides an intuitive interface to filter the selection, including for all available breakdowns (e.g., sex and age), and export the data into various formats.
ILOSTAT data are free to use and should be cited as follows regardless of the data tool used to access the data.
MLA doesn’t have specific guidance for citing data. Since ILO’s data are available online through ILOSTAT, follow the formatting guidance for electronic sources generally.
International Labour Organization. “Employment by sex and age — ILO modelled estimates.” ILOSTAT database, https://ilostat.ilo.org/data. Accessed 14-02-2020.
International Labour Organization. (2020). ILOSTAT database [database]. Available from https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/.
International Labour Organization. “Employment by sex and age — ILO modelled estimates.” ILOSTAT. Accessed 14-02-2020. https://ilostat.ilo.org/data.
When using footnotes or endnotes in Chicago Style, separate the elements of the citation with commas instead of periods.
International Labour Organization, “Employment by sex and age — ILO modelled estimates,” ILOSTAT, Accessed 14-02-2020, https://ilostat.ilo.org/data.
