Tanzania Strengthens Labour Market and Migration Statistics Capacity

A five-day technical training workshop was held from 1 to 5 July 2025 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to enhance the capacity of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Office of the Chief Government Statistician (OCGS) of Zanzibar in analysing labour market and labour migration indicators. The workshop was organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO) through the Pretoria DWT and the Better Regional Migration Management (BRMM) Programme, responding to the need for more reliable, timely, and internationally comparable labour statistics.

The training focused on applying the 19th, 20th, and 21st International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) standards, which provide guidance on classifying work, employment, labour underutilization, work relationships, informality, and labour migration. Participants reviewed the statistical revisions introduced under these resolutions and worked through practical exercises using data from the 2024 Integrated Labour Force Survey.

Objectives and Participants:

• Improve understanding of labour migration concepts.
• Strengthen capacity to generate indicators from household surveys and administrative systems.
• Identify gaps in current data sources.
• Prepare a prototype questionnaire for migration-related modules.

Participants represented NBS, OCGS Zanzibar, PMO-LYED, and the ILO.

Technical Sessions:

• 19th ICLS: Revised forms-of-work framework, expanded labour force classification, new measures of labour underutilization.
• 20th ICLS: Updated International Classification of Status in Employment (ICSE), restructuring categories of paid and self-employment and providing clearer criteria for assessing vulnerability and employment relationships.
• Informality Module: Statistical distinctions between informal sector employment and informal jobs based on the 15th, 17th, and 21st ICLS standards.
• 21st ICLS – International Labour Migration: Updated definitions covering labour attachment, country-of-birth and citizenship criteria, temporary mobility, and priority indicators.

Participants applied concepts through exercises to generate a range of indicators, including employment, unemployment, extended labour force categories, underemployment, informal employment, youth indicators, and migration-related statistics. Exercises demonstrated how the revised standards influence computation and classification outcomes and allowed comparisons of different approaches to indicator construction.

Key Discussions and Outcomes:

• Relevance of revised international standards to Tanzania’s statistical needs.
• Gaps in administrative data and need for improved coordination among institutions.
• Importance of updating national survey tools to integrate labour migration modules.
• Commitment to consistent application of ICLS standards for regional and international comparability.

The closing session emphasized the transition from outdated statistical frameworks to modern, ICLS-aligned systems. NBS confirmed its commitment to applying revised concepts in the ongoing 2024 Integrated Labour Force Survey, and the ILO reaffirmed its technical support for capacity strengthening.

The workshop provided participants with practical skills and a clearer understanding of international standards, supporting Tanzania’s efforts to improve data quality, strengthen policy formulation, and meet national, regional, and global reporting obligations.