- The leading source of labour statistics
Employment statistics
The importance of employment as a pathway to economic development, social inclusion and well-being has long been recognised. As well as being at the heart of the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda, employment is a central element in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which places emphasis on promoting productive employment and decent work for all (Goal 8).
In this context, statistics on employment are crucial to monitor progress towards many national and international policy goals. These statistics must not just quantify work and people in employment but also provide meaningful information on the types of jobs people are doing.
The international statistical standards relating to employment have undergone significant changes over time, designed to improve their relevance and depth for policy makers. The most significant of these changes came at the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians in 2013 when the international community adopted the first statistical definition of work alongside a forms of work framework. Within the new framework, employment is defined as work performed in return for pay or profit. This is narrower than the scope of the previous definition which included some unpaid activities such as subsistence work.Â
Table of Contents
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Where are the jobs?
This brief casts light on the trends in employment by sector and occupation, by focusing first on the broad sectors and occupations at the global level before moving on to analysing regional patterns.
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Methods
Defining and measuring remote work, telework, work at home and home-based work
Working from a distance and working at home are not new phenomena but the relevance of their measurement has increased, not least due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This notes provide guidance to data producers on how the four different concepts of remote work, telework, work at home and home-based work should be statistically understood, how they relate to each other, and how they can be measured through a household survey.
Capturing impacts on employment and unpaid work using Rapid Surveys
Lack of data on how households and workers are being impacted by the pandemic can severely affect the formulation of programmes and policies aimed to help those most in need. In times of crisis, rapid surveys may be an alternative source of information where official household surveys such as LFS have been halted or postponed. This note provides modules for rapid surveys to shed light on the COVID-19 impacts on paid and unpaid work.
Resolution concerning statistics on work relationships
Adopted by the 20th ICLS (2018), the standards set by this resolution guide countries in updating, harmonizing and further developing their statistical programmes that include information on work relationships. Statistics on work relationships are concerned with: (a) the authority relationships between persons who work and the economic units in which or for which the work is performed; and (b) the economic risks that follow from the contractual or other conditions under which the work is performed. These statistics can relate to all forms of work, including own-use production work, employment, unpaid trainee work, volunteer work and other forms of work.
Resolution concerning the methodology of the SDG indicator 8.b.1 on youth employment
Adopted by the 20th ICLS (2018), this resolution sets an internationally agreed methodology to measure indicator SDG 8.b.1 on national youth employment strategies consistent with the Resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (A/RES/71/313).
Decent Work and the Sustainable Development Goals: A Guidebook on SDG Labour Market Indicators
This Guidebook provides a detailed overview of the labour market indicators included in the Sustainable Development Goals Global Indicator Framework. It is intended to serve as a manual of best practices for calculating and interpreting the SDG labour market indicators, with a view to monitoring progress made at the national and international levels towards the achievement of the SDGs.
- Resolution concerning statistics on work relationships
- Resolution concerning the International Classification of Status in Employment (ICSE)
- Resolution concerning statistics of work, employment and labour underutilization
- Resolution concerning statistics of the economically active population, employment, unemployment and underemployment*
- Resolution concerning the measurement of underemployment and inadequate employment situations
- Indicator description: Employment-to-population ratio
- Indicator description: Employment by status
- Indicator description: Employment by economic activity
- Indicator description: Employment by occupation
- ILO modelled estimates methodology
*Replaced by the Resolution concerning statistics of work, employment and labour underutilization