75 years of International Labour Statistics

This article celebrates three-quarters of a century of work by the ILO Bureau of Statistics
in the field of labour statistics. During that time, the world's population has almost tripled and
its labour force has to support an ever-increasing proportion of that population. The world of
work has changed considerably: new industries and occupations have emerged while others have
become less important or even disappeared. Technological developments unimaginable 75 years
ago have not just created new types of activity, but have changed the face of production and trade,
with a consequent impact on the worldwide distribution of employment. Conditions of work have
evolved, with better social security coverage and increased leisure time, at least for some workers.
Others have had to turn away from the search for increasingly rare paid employment jobs to create
their own income-generating activities. The challenge for the Bureau of Statistics has been to
collect and publish relevant information about employment and conditions of work and life in the
face of all these changes, and to assist ILO constituents in their efforts in this regard. This article
outlines the ways in which the Bureau of Statistics has endeavoured to meet this challenge.