The ILO Taxonomy was designed by the ILO Library as a tool for retrieving information from the ILO website. Its structure therefore closely reflects the work programme of the ILO and is used by ILO departments and Field Offices for describing the content of their web pages and for searching the ILO web site. It is also well suited for use as a subject classification system for arranging collections in small libraries or labour information centres.

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The ILO Taxonomy comprises 400 labour-related terms arranged into 25 subject groups. Each subject group is designated by a letter:

A work  B working conditions  C labour relations  D labour law  E social protection  F education  G economic and social development  H economy   I  finance  J economic sectors  K trade  L human rights  M international cooperation

N government and public administration  O society  P population  Q health  R environment  S technology  T management  U statistics  V research  W information resources  X countries and areas  Z ILO

Within each subject category the terms are arranged into a hierarchy by using digits:

 A.20 employment