ILO/NBS Workshop on Labour Statistics

In March 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of truthful data during the National People's Congress and the Chinese Political Consultative Conference (NPC & CPPCC). Comprehensive and up-to-date data is essential for the Government to formulate development plans, including shaping labour market policies, since sound policy advice needs strong statistical evidence.

The National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBS) carries out a regular labour force survey (LFS) twice a year since November 2005, as well as a monthly LFS covering 31 capital cities since 2009, with the coverage extended to 65 cities since April 2013. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) is responsible for statistics in terms of labour, such as registered unemployment, reemployment, social security, etc.. In 2013, a new Resolution Concerning Statistics of Work, Employment and Labour Underutilization was adopted at the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS). There is a need to update the concepts, definitions, and thus, questions used in the LFS questionnaire of China.

Starting in 2017, countries around the world are implementing Resolution 1 in national labour statistical systems. This will contribute to the standardization of the statistical measurements of work, employment and labour underutilization and hence in support of country report on progress towards sustainable development goals, specifically on Goal 8 and the indicators under the ILO’s custodian. The ILO is continuing its technical assistance to the NBS and the MOHRSS in aligning China’s labour force survey, specifically, and labour statistics, generally, with relevant international statistical standards.

The workshop will serve as a platform for technical discussions on the following topics:

• 19th ICLS overview and main implications
• LFS questionnaire
• Labour Force sampling
• LFS field organization
• Unemployment rate
• Employment accounting
• Labour market statistics

At the end of the workshop, ILO provides to NBS detailed advice and international standards and good practices on labour force survey for NBS to use in improving China’s labour force survey with respect to the questionnaire, sampling framework, employment accounting, labour force survey field organization, analysis, estimation and adjustments to achieve high quality and reliable employment and unemployment rates.

Officials of NBS from national and provincial bureaus and MOHRSS representatives are attending the workshop.