Recent Developments in the Labour Market Statistics

Rafael Diez de MedinaChief Statistician, Director Department of Statistics

International Labour OfficeFirst Al Khawarezmi ConferenceDoha, Qatar- 6 December 2010

Labour statistics

Historically, labour market statistics have taken a macro-perspective on an economy and focused on:

Labour supply and labour demand in an economy Employment and unemployment statistics; ICLS

1925 ... 1998) Volume of work and labour cost in an economy

Statistics of wages and hours of work (ICLS 1923, 1925 ...)

Classifications: Classification of industries and occupations (ICLS

1923, 1925 …) International Standard Classification of

Occupations (ISCO) (ICLS 1949, ..., 1988, 2008) International classification according to status in

employment (ICSE) (ICLS 1957, 1993, 1998)

The concept of Decent Work has been defined by the ILO and endorsed by the international community as

“Opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity”.

(Juan Somavia, ILO Director-General, 1999 ILC Report).

ILO concept of decent work

Decent work as a global goal Decent work dimensions have not been

adequately covered in the past system of labour statistics.

Endorsed by ECOSOC, Presidential Summits and Head of State Summits in all regions, UN system, European Union, etc.

ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization (2008) endorses Decent Work Agenda:

(i) Rights at work, (ii) Employment; (iii) Social Protection; (iv) Social Dialogue and tripartism.

Why Decent Work measures are important?

Labour market distress is rising and this trend will continue well into 2011 and further.

Unemployment which stood at over 6% early in the decade before decreasing between 2004 and 2007, has since increased dramatically to reach about 10% on average in 2010.

Relative to 2007, in 2010, there are 31 million more unemployed (209 million unemployed), the highest ever recorded.

Danger of long-term damage to job prospects and productivity of current cohort of youth.

Strain on statistical resources to address the urgent decent work deficit

Labour Statistics and Decent Work: commitments to monitor progress

towards decent work 2008 Declaration on Social Justice for a

Fair Globalization recommends that ILO Members may consider: “the establishment of appropriate indicators or

statistics, if necessary with the assistance of the ILO, to monitor and evaluate the progress made”

Monitoring of MDG Goal 1, Target 2: Achieve full and productive employment and

decent work for all, including women and young people.

Strategic partnerships with NSOs, Ministries of Labour, Social Security institutions, International organizations, development banks, Academia, workers’ and employers’ organizations, etc.

Topics which have gained prominence during the jobs

crisis Growing world labour force: need to have better estimates Informality Youth unemployment Discouraged workers Sectorial labour statistics Labour migration Wage inequality Rise of insecure forms of work (hours of work, self

employment, temporary contracts) Labour share, Productivity and Labour costs Impact of stimulus packages

How the ILO is moving forward (i) Creation of the ILO Department of Statistics

reporting to the DG (2009) New mandate: assuring quality in statistical

methods and products, promoting coordination and coherence within the different ILO units (child labour, labour market trends, social protection databases, regional information systems, etc.)

Enhancing data compilation to cope with increased demand (short-term and annual data)

Development of new user-friendly, interactive ILO statistical database and portal

Collection of Decent Work Indicators from as many countreis as possible

How the ILO is moving forward (ii) Development and application of time-series techniques at

the international level (outliers, seasonal adjustment, etc.) Strengthening ILO’s technical assistance to developing

countries, including preparation of manuals, such as “Surveys of Informal Employment and Informal Sector” (end of 2010).

”Capacity building to help constituents (NSOs, Ministries of Labour, Social Security Institutions, workers’ and employers’ organisations, etc.)

Active involvement in the G20 reporting and discussion Statistical background to IMF/ILO conference in Oslo

highlighing labour’s role in emerging from the crisis Launching of Working Groups to discuss emerging topics

for the 19th ICLS (2013): the measurement of labour underutilization and International Classification of Status in Employment (revision)

Working Group for the Advancement of Employment &

Unemployment StatistiticsPurpose

To assist the ILO Department of Statistics with the advancement of employment and unemployment statistics through developmental work on topics relevant to a possible revision or supplementation of the 13th ICLS (1982) Resolution on statistics of the economically active population, employment, unemployment and underemployment, such as the development of measures of labour underutilization to supplement the unemployment rate.

Working Group for the Advancement of Employment &

Unemployment Statistitics Important

The consultations that the Department has conducted confirmed that that the current labour force framework remains relevant and adequate for the production of labour force statistics.

However, there is need to render the framework more versatile (i.e. by developing new supplementary measures) and clear (through clarification of ambiguities in existing guidelines) so that it can continue to be relevant to recent labour market developments and policy priorities.

Working Group for the Advancement of Employment &

Unemployment Statistitics (Cont’d)

Main expected outputs To be submitted to the 19th ICLS for consideration

and possible adoption:

Draft international statistical standard on (a) measure(s) of labour underutilization to supplement the unemployment rate

Draft recommendations for a possible revision or supplementation of the 13th ICLS (1982) Resolution on statistics of the economically active population, employment, unemployment and underemployment

Working Group for the Advancement of Employment &

Unemployment Statististics (Cont’d)

Current WG membership Members are expert statisticians from NSO with in-

depth knowledge of/experience in labour force statistics

Chair: Statistics South Africa

45 confirmed members from 30 countries or areas

+5 observers from Afristat, Eurostat, OECD

At present, there are no representatives from the Arab countries (other than West Bank and Gaza strip)

ILO Department of Statistics

EMPSTATS online platform

Access by invitation only (WG members), requires a user id and password

Searchable and accessible only by registered WG members

Registered WG members agree to treat all content as confidential

To become a WG member, sent request to ILO Department of Statistics with name & affiliation of nominee expert labour statistician

http://papyrus.ilo.org/empstats/EMPSTATS

Enhancing data compilation to cope with increased demand: short-term indicators

Enhancing data compilation to cope with increased demand: annual data,

including Decent Work indicators Revision and restructuring of the current ILO

statistical database (LABORTSA) and

Merging of the KILM database with a new database of the Department of Statistics with relevant modifications and improvements of the former.

The ILO October Inquiry discontinued and a new product developed using the DELPHI Survey exercise integrated into the new database.

The ILO Decent Work statistical indicators database set up, covering as many countries as possible

Principles and framework for measuring decent work

Purpose: (i) to assist constituents to assess progress towards decent work (PRS, National development frameworks and DWCP) and (ii) to offer comparable information for analysis and policy development.

NO ranking of countries & NO composite index.

Needs to cover all four dimensions of Decent Work derived from various sources: household and establishment surveys, administrative records, qualitative information, among others.

New framework recommended by the 18th ICLS Model of international relevance that permits the

adaptation to national circumstances Has the potential to evolve dynamically over the years. A layered approach to indicators: Main, Additional, Context,

Future and Legal Framework indicators

Grouping of Decent Work Indicators

Grouping of indicators under 10 substantive elements of the Decent Work Agenda plus one area on economic and social context: 1. Employment opportunities (1 + 2) 2. Adequate earnings and productive work (1 + 3) 3. Decent hours (1 + 3) 4. Combining work, family and personal life (1 + 3) 5. Work that should be abolished (1 + 3) 6. Stability and security of work (1, 2 + 3) 7. Equal opportunity and treatment in employment

(1, 2 + 3) 8. Safe work environment (1 + 3) 9. Social security (1 + 3) 10. Social dialogue, workers’ and employers’ representation (1

+ 4) 11. Economic and social context for decent work

Note: (1) Rights at work (2) Employment opportunities (3) Social Protection (4) Social Dialogue

On the occasion of the World Statistics Day Celebration, the ILO Director General:

“Better measuring progress in the realization of decent work is key to the realization of the Decent Work Agenda. We are placing high priority on enhancing the empirical basis of decent work policies and providing relevant and timely data that is being requested of us.”

“The ILO is committed to constantly striving to improve its statistical capability to support national efforts. The mandate and capacity of the ILO Department of Statistics has been strengthened to meet this objective.”

“A more comprehensive set of data is indispensable to better diagnose trends shaping the world of work and ultimately the lives of women and men, families and communities. We need the skilful data producers and the sharp analysts who can relate their statistical capability to the realities of the world of work and who can communicate effectively with policy makers and all who draw on their statistics to shape a world of decent work for all. Today, we celebrate “the service, the professionalism and the integrity” of official statistics in the world.”

“The international statistical community will find in the ILO a committed ally in this journey.”

Thank you!

http://www.ilo.org/stat/lang--en/index.htm