African Regional Meeting on Labour Statistics concludes in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Dar es Salaam (ILO News) The ILO in collaboration with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA), organized a workshop, from 29 to 30 May 2017, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, aimed at strengthening the capacity of representatives from 36 African countries to produce labour market statistics. Such statistics are useful for the formulation and implementation of labour policies in support of the goal of decent work for all within the context of the 17 SDGs.

“…This workshop was very resourceful as it engaged stakeholders including countries and Regional bodies towards improvement in the compilation of labour and employment statistics so as to monitor progress in the implementation of the SDGs at national and global level and also in combating poverty…” Mr. Deepchandsingh Jagai from the SADC Secretariat commented.

Discussions were focused mainly on the latest international statistical standards adopted during the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) of 2013, concerning statistics of work, employment, unemployment and labour underutilization and related guidelines. Most of the participants felt to have gained skills especially in production of national statistics.

Mr. Johnson Owusu Kagya, Assistant Chief Statistician, Ghana Statistical Service, had this to say,

“…the training has deepened my understanding of statistics of work and employment based on the 19th ICLS framework; the skills and knowledge gained will support in the production of national labour statistics and in making better policy decisions in our respective countries …also in enhancing comparability of data with other countries…”

The delegates, among others, emphasised on harmonised approach in data production, analysis and dissemination in order to foster coherence in statistical methodologies and practices in the region.

The capacity building workshop was followed by a consultative Regional Meeting for Africa (31 May – 2 June 2017), in preparation for the 20th ICLS to be held in Geneva in October 2018 targeted at ensuring that the continent’s views on the labour markets and labour force data priorities of countries in the region are adequately reflected in the proposed international standards for statistics on work relationships. The meeting dwelt mainly on:

• the review process in preparation for the 20th ICLS
• the current proposals for new international standards for statistics on work relationships – feedback and new ideas
• national experiences with statistics on work relationships and
• available potential opportunities for testing of the proposals

Commenting on the outcomes of the consultative Regional Meeting, Ms. Monica D. Castillo, Chief, Standards and Methods Unit, Department of Statistics, ILO Geneva, said,

“…This was an opportunity for the statistical experts to share their experiences and provide feedback on a suite of standards on the work relationship expected to be adopted during the 20th ICLS in 2018…the new standards will be relevant for countries worldwide in supporting evidence-based policy in the world of work…” . She further invited countries to work with the ILO to support testing of the new proposals in their labour force surveys.