Cooperation between the National Bureau for Statistics (NBS) and the ILO began in 1993 when the Moldovan experts attended a regional seminar in Odessa, Ukraine on labour market statistics in CIS countries. The first visit of an ILO expert to the National Bureau for Statistics took place in February 1994.

The International Labour Organization, including the Department of Statistics, provided assistance to the National Bureau for Statistics in the following areas.

I. Implementation of new statistical surveys or indicators in line with international standards:

• The National Bureau for Statistics implemented the Labour Force Survey" in Moldova in the fourth quarter of 1998 with the methodological assistance of the ILO and continues to provide labour force information on quarterly and annual basis ever since. Labour Force Survey is a standard household-based survey of work-related statistics, including employment and unemployment.
• Statistical measurement of employment in the informal sector and informal employment;
• Flexibility and safety in industrial enterprises of Moldova in 2000-2001;
• Labour Migration (1998, ILO Program to Eliminate Forced Labour);
• Working children: The ILO assisted Moldova in developing tools (questionnaire design etc.), collecting, processing and analysing child labour data as part of the first Children’s Activities Survey. The survey in Moldova was conducted by the National Bureau for Statistics (NBS) as a module to Labour Force Survey in 2009 and aimed at providing indicators on three main aspects of children’s lives: economic activity, school attendance and household services. The survey covered 11,526 households containing 34,157 individuals, 6,784 of whom were children between the ages of 5-17 years.
• Labour migration (2012): A pilot migration module was developed for Labour Force Survey of Moldova, which led to enhanced knowledge on the impact of migration on national skills pool under the project "Effective Governance of Labour Migration and its Skill Dimensions”.
• School-to-Work Transition Survey was implemented and conducted in March 2013 and March 2015 as an ad-hoc module to Labour Force Survey with the technical assistance of the "Work4Youth" project, The SWTS is a unique survey instrument that generates relevant labour market information on young people aged 15 to 29 years, including longitudinal information on transitions within the labour market.

II. Review of the UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) indicators in accordance with the latest international recommendations

• The current method of calculating the national MDG 3 indicator on the “Share of average salary of women in the average salary of men” by NBS was reviewed and assessed in order to give recommendations on any alternative ways of estimation of gender pay gap (Ms Adriana Mara Greenwood, 2009 and 2011).

III. Participation of Moldovan experts in several ILO Meetings of Experts on Labour Statistics to develop new standards

• Testing statistical indicators on decent work (2003-2004);
• Testing statistical indicators on informal employment - Moldova's experience in this area was presented at the 17th International Conference of Labour Statisticians in 2003 and in other international events;
• Testing statistical indicators on forced labour (2007-2008);
• Two specialists of the NBS were members of international group of experts "Development of statistics on employment and unemployment";
• Members of the Expert Group on Measuring Quality of Employment established by the UNECE / ILO / Eurostat.
• Members of the Task Force on Valuing Unpaid Household Service Work, established by the UNECE

IV. Organization of round tables and seminars familiarizing users with ILO standards and methodologies of statistical surveys, as well as publication of statistical surveys (over 10 joint events with ILO experts)

V. Training of experts of the National Bureau for Statistics at the ILO International Training Centre in Turin, Italy

VI. Assistance in the ratification of ILO Convention, No. 160 on Labour Statistics by Moldova: system assessment in relation to ILO standards, user familiarization seminar etc. (2010-2011).