Visualization tool on the impact of latest statistical standards

The Resolution concerning statistics of work, employment and labour underutilization adopted by the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) in 2013 laid the foundation for improved statistical labour standards, by introducing the first international statistical definition of work and a forms-of-work framework distinguishing five forms of work (based on the intended destination of the work and the nature of the transaction): own-use production work, employment, unpaid trainee work, volunteer work, and other work activities. Enabling and promoting the separate measurement of these various forms of work, the 19th ICLS resolution restricts the definition of employment to work done for pay or profit (thus excluding various types of unpaid work that were previously considered employment). The 19th ICLS resolution also refines and expands the measurement of labour underutilization and fosters the analysis of labour market attachment. 

The standards adopted by subsequent ICLS have built  on this core resolution to revise and update the classification of status in employment (20th ICLS in 2018) and to improve and refine the measurement of the informal economy (21st ICLS in 2023).

The implementation of these latest standards greatly increases the analytical relevance of work statistics, enabling a much more detailed and comprehensive view of the world of work. However, the impact of this implementation, especially on some key long-standing labour market indicators, is not always easily understood.

Our interactive visualization tool intends to ease the understanding of the impact of latest statistical standards across a range of work-related topics. It shows the increased analytical value of statistics based on latest standards and visualizes the differences in some key indicators according to old and new standards for a range of countries with different labour market conditions and local contexts. The tool uses data from the Work Statistics – 19th ICLS (WORK) database and the ILO Harmonized Microdata Repository.

This didactic tool was designed for educational purposes, to cast light on the impact of the new standards. It is not meant as a data source. For data access, visit the comprehensive and frequently updated databases from the Data page.