ILO Thesaurus

The ILO Thesaurus is a compilation of more than 4000 terms relating to the world of work. Every term is presented in English, French, and Spanish. Many of the terms are followed by definitions or explanatory notes.

The ILO Thesaurus, 6th edition, 2008 is available in electronic format in English, French and Spanish. Copies of the KWOC (Keyword Out of Context) Index (Rotated Index) and the systematic display of descriptions grouped into facets (Classified Index) can be downloaded from this page. Both index are accessible in Word and HTML.

Subject coverage of the ILO Thesaurus

The ILO Thesaurus contains terms on a wide variety of topics related to economic and social development. Areas of major interest to the ILO are treated in detail. These include labour and employment policy, labour standards, labour administration, labour relations, vocational training, social protection, working conditions, wages, occupational safety and health, small enterprise, the informal sector and human rights in the workplace.

Structure of the ILO Thesaurus

Subjects covered by the thesaurus are grouped into 19 main subject categories or facets:

• 01 International relations
• 02 Social policy, social protection and social security
• 03 Economic development
• 04 Law, human rights, government and politics
• 05 Social sciences, culture, humanities and art
• 06 Education and training
• 07 Rural development, agriculture, forestry and fishing
• 08 Economic activities
• 09 Trade
• 10 Transport
• 11 Financing
• 12 Management
• 13 Labour and employment
• 14 Population, race relations and migration
• 15 Health and safety
• 16 Environmental sciences
• 17 Earth sciences
• 18 Research and science
• 19 Information and information science