Publications by subject

Estimates and indicators

1. Integration of data from different sources: Unemployment

   01 March 1998

   This article presents the first product of the ILO study: a table containing unemployment data collected from two types of sources - labour force surveys (LFSs) and administrative records (ARs) - in thirty-six countries.

2. Decent work statistical indicators: strikes and lockouts statistics in the international context

   01 June 2003

   Based on the analysis of the three major international programmes which aim at the regular publication of international labour disputes statistics, the author argues that currently the measure which best reconciles the number of days lost due to industrial action with the varying sizes of countries’ employed population and provides a reasonable basis for international comparisons is the rate of days not worked due to strikes and lockouts (per 1.000 employees).

3. Global and Regional Estimates of Consumer Price Inflation

   01 March 2006

   Presents global and regional estimates of consumer price inflation as produced by ILO Bureau of Statistics in collaboration with the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

Gender

1. The First UN Millennium Development Goal: A Cause for Celebration?

   01 February 2005

2. Incorporating gender issues in labour statistics

   01 February 1999

   Gender issues relate to the differences and similarities that exist between men and women in relation to their contributions, their conditions of work and life, and their needs, constraints and opportunities. In labour statistics, these aspects need to be reflected in definitions, measurement methods and presentation of results in order to improve the description of the labour market and provide a solid basis for promoting equality between men and women in the world of work.

3. Producing Labour Statistics that are useful for addressing gender concerns

   01 March 2003

   This paper identifies areas where national labour statistics as commonly produced could be improved in order to make them more complete and increase their quality and usefulness for revealing distinctions between men and women in the labour market, as well as the particularities of the work of men and women.

4. Labour statistics which are useful for gender concerns

   01 January 1999

General

1. 75 years of International Labour Statistics

   01 January 1994

   Article from the Bulleting of Labour Statistics celebrates three-quarters of a century of work by the ILO Bureau of Statistics in the field of labour statistics.

2. On measuring place of work

   01 January 2002

   The report examine why and how the issue of "place of work" was raised, discussed and tackled in various statistical fora. Then, in a second section, several countries’ experiences reviewed for this project are analysed. Third section tries to elaborate a conceptual framework for statistics on “place of work” and their use.

3. Labour Accounts: A Step Forward to a Coherent and Timely Description of the Labour Market

   01 March 2002

   Provide an overview of the characteristic features of Labour Accounts and present the framework used for implementation in Denmark, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, and the possible policy implications for the future.

4. Statistics in the ILO: Roles and responsibilities

   01 January 2003

5. Annexes to the Manual

   23 March 2011

   1. Survey Module Coding Book 2. Tools for Classification of Volunteer Work 3. Additional Data Elements 4. The Treatment of Volunteer Work by the ILO and the SNA 5. References

6. Manual on the Measurement of Volunteer Work

   23 March 2011

   This Manual on the Measurement of Volunteer Work is intended to guide countries in generating systematic and comparable data on volunteer work via regular supplements to labour force or other household surveys. The objective is to make available comparative cross-national data on a significant form of work that is growing in importance but that is often ignored or rarely captured in traditional economic statistics. Doing so will help to fulfill the United Nations Secretary General’s recommendations in his follow-up to the implementation of the International Year of Volunteers report (United Nations, 2005) that governments “vigorously” pursue “actions to build up a knowledge base” about volunteer work and to “establish the economic value of volunteering.”

7. Beyond the measurement of unemployment and underemployment

   11 March 2011

   The report of the ILO Working Group on Labour Underutilization entitled “Beyond Unemployment: Measurement of Other Forms of Labour Underutilization” (ILO 2008) revisits the appropriateness of the current international standards concerning the statistical measurement of employment and unemployment. It suggests that the standard indicator of unemployment is maintained, while at the same time it calls for the introduction of supplementary indicators of various dimensions of underemployment.

8. Informal employment in Namibia 2008

   11 March 2011

   This paper reports on analysis of data from Namibia’s 2008 Labour Force Survey (LFS) so as to describe and compare informal and formal employment in the country. The paper is based on an understanding of informal employment which goes beyond the traditional concept of “informal sector”.

9. International training compendium on labour statistics

   09 February 2012

   The training material in Module 1 is the result of work done by the ILO Bureau of Statistics to assist countries worldwide to develop their statistics of the economically active population. The material presented here is based on work published by the International Labour Office. Jaime Pujol, ILO International Training Centre provided pedagogical guidance. From the Bureau of Statistics persons who contributed are: Ralf Hussmanns, Adriana Mata-Greenwood and Farhad Mehran, former Bureau director. Sophia Lawrence was responsible for the production of the module.

10. 

    Occupational injuries statistics from household surveys and establishment surveys

    13 February 2012

    The manual provides valuable advice to those involved in the production of statistics on occupational injuries, using sources other than the traditional notification systems. Its extensive chapters on concepts and definitions, as well as types of data and classifications, will serve as a reference to both producers and users of these statistics. While aimed at the collection of data through household surveys and establishment surveys, the manual will also be useful to those responsible for the systems for the notification of occupational injuries. It may serve to improve some of the elements of the data compiled through these systems. The training materials at the end will also be useful for training labour statisticians and users of the statistics.

11. Measuring informality: a Statistical Manual on the informal sector and informal employment

    31 October 2012

    The present Statistical Manual on Measuring Informality is intended as a guide for national statistical offices and other producers of statistics on the informal sector and informal employment in countries.

12. Decent Work Indicators - Concepts and definitions

    21 June 2012

    Decent work is central to sustainable poverty reduction and is a means for achieving equitable, inclusive and sustainable development. The 2008 ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization recommends the establishment of appropriate indicators to monitor and evaluate the progress made in the implementation of the ILO Decent Work Agenda. The ILO is supporting member States through technical assistance and capacity building at national, sub-regional and regional levels. In this regard, the contribution of the EU project on Measuring and Assessing Progress on Decent Work (MAP) plays an important role.

13. Decent Work Indicators in Africa - A first assessment based on national sources

    04 June 2012

    The 2008 ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization recommends the establishment of appropriate indicators, if necessary with assistance of the ILO, to monitor the progress made in the implementation of the ILO Decent Work Agenda. The 17-point “Decent Work Agenda in Africa 2007-15”, calls for improved information for better policy making, aiming that at least half of the African member States have mechanisms in place to produce statistics and labour market information in a timely fashion. The ILO is supporting member States through technical assistance and capacity building at national, sub-regional and regional levels