© Marcel Crozet/ ILO
© Marcel Crozet/ ILO

Statistics on unemployment and labour underutilization

Table of Contents

See also

Introduction

The unemployment rate is probably the best-known labour market measure and is certainly one of the most widely quoted by the media. The unemployment rate is a useful measure of the underutilization of the labour supply. It reflects the inability of an economy to generate employment for those persons who want to work but are not doing so, even though they are available for employment and actively seeking work.

Other measures of labour underutilization recognized in the international statistical standards are time-related underemployment and the potential labour force.

Data catalogue

Featured publication

Methods

Related pages

ILO Modelled Estimates (ILOEST database)

Discover the methods behind the ILO’s modelled estimates on labour force statistics (including the working poor), labour productivity, wage growth and labour migration.

Publications

Many publications are available in English only. Click on the + sign for other languages, if available, and additional information. 

Scroll to Top

Need Help?

Here are the basics to use the catalogues

For more info, visit our Get started page!

Or feel free to contact us, and we will be more than happy to answer all of your questions.

Use the search box and filters above the table

Use the search box to enter key words; use quotes around your term for better results. Available filters differ depending on the catalogue. Selecting a frequency allows users to find monthly, quarterly, or annual indicators. While all indicators are available for annual periods, only a subset are available as monthly or quarterly. 

Options to access data

Data Explorer

This tool provides an intuitive interface to filter the selection, pivot the table, calculate distributions and growth rates, and export data into various formats.

Excel summary

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. 

Country profiles

Available in the country catalogue only, this option takes users to the country profiles page with the selected country pre-filtered in the table. Highlighting the latest year available for key indicators, this is a subset of the available data for a given country.

Zipped csv (gz)

Download a zipped CSV file (gzip) to get data in bulk. These files contain only codes. Download the dictionary with labels here. 

There are other options to access data in the data tools section. 

Skip to content