Employment is defined as follows in the Resolution concerning statistics of the economically active population, employment, unemployment and underemployment, adopted by the Thirteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians (Geneva, 1982):
(1) The "employed" comprise all persons above a specific age who during a specified brief period, either one week or one day, were in the following categories:
- (a)
- "paid employment":
(a1)
- "at work": persons who during the reference period performed some work for wage or salary, in cash or in kind;
- (a2)
- "with a job but not at work": persons who, having already worked in their present job, were temporarily not at work during the reference period and had a formal attachment to their job.
This formal job attachment should be determined in the light of national circumstances, according to one or more of the following criteria:
- (i)
- the continued receipt of wage or salary;
- (ii)
- an assurance of return to work following the end of the contingency, or an agreement as to the date of return;
- (iii)
- the elapsed duration of absence from the job which, wherever relevant, may be that duration for which workers can receive compensation benefits without obligations to accept other jobs.
- (b)
- "self-employment":
- (b1)
- "at work": persons who during the reference period performed some work for profit or family gain, in cash or in kind;
- (b2)
- "with an enterprise but not at work": persons with an enterprise, which may be a business enterprise, a farm or a service undertaking, who were temporarily not at work during the reference period for any specific reason.
(2) For operational purposes, the notion "some work" may be interpreted as work for at least one hour.
(3) Persons temporarily not at work because of illness or injury, holiday or vacation, strike or lockout, educational or training leave, maternity or parental leave, reduction in economic activity, temporary disorganization or suspension of work due to such reasons as bad weather, mechanical or electrical breakdown, or shortage of raw materials or fuels, or other temporary absence with or without leave should be considered as in paid employment provided they had a formal job attachment.
(4) Employers, own-account workers and members of producers’ cooperatives should be considered as in self-employment and classified as "at work" or "not at work", as the case may be.
(5) Unpaid family workers at work should be considered as in self-employment irrespective of the number of hours worked during the reference period. Countries which prefer for special reasons to set a minimum time criterion for the inclusion of unpaid family workers among the employed should identify and separately classify those who worked less than the prescribed time.
(6) Persons engaged in the production of economic goods and services for own and household consumption should be considered as in self-employment if such production comprises an important contribution to the total consumption of the household.
(7) Apprentices who received pay in cash or in kind should be considered in paid employment and classified as "at work" or "not at work" on the same basis as other persons in paid employment.
(8) Students, homemakers and others mainly engaged in non-economic activities during the reference period, who at the same time were in paid employment or self-employment as defined in subparagraph (1) above should be considered as employed on the same basis as other categories of employed persons and be identified separately, where possible.
(9) Members of the armed forces should be included among persons in paid employment. The armed forces should include both the regular and temporary members as specified in the most recent revision of the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO).
National definitions of employment may in a number of cases differ from the recommended international standard definition 1.
As the data in tables 2B to 2F of this newly conceived Yearbook attest to, a large and ever increasing number of countries can and do rearrange national classifications to the international standard classification schemes, including the most recent revisions. When a country has adopted the latest revision within the 10-year time series presented, the earlier and latest version of the data are presented side by side separated by a thick vertical line in between the relevant year of implementation.
The classification according to main economic activity carried out where work is performed (industry) is fundamentally different from that according to main type of duties performed (occupation). In the former, all persons working in a given establishment are classified under the same industry irrespective of their particular occupations. The latter, on the other hand, brings together individuals working in similar types of work, irrespective of where the work is performed. As indicated in the tables, most countries have supplied data on the basis of the International Standard Classification of all Economic Activities (industry) ISIC-68 or ISIC Rev.3 and Occupations, ISCO-68 or ISCO-88 (see Appendix).
Where the data are given according to national classifications, it should be borne in mind that the industrial and occupational classifications used by the different countries present many points of divergence. The actual content of industrial or occupational groups may differ from one country to another owing to variations in definitions and methods of tabulation. Classification into broad groups may also obscure fundamental differences in the industrial or occupational patterns of the various countries.
The International Classification of Status in Employment (ICSE) classifies jobs with respect to the type of explicit or implicit contract of employment the person has with other persons or organizations. The basic criteria to define groups of the classification are the type of economic risk and the type of authority over establishments and other workers which the job incumbent has or will have.
Up to 1993 the main ICSE groups were employers, own-account workers, employees, members of producers’ cooperatives, and unpaid family workers. ICSE was revised and expanded in 1993, in a way which left the titles of these main groups basically unchanged, except for the last group now called contributing family workers. The content of the group own-account workers was enlarged, however, to include persons working in a family enterprise with the same degree of commitment as the head of enterprise. These people, usually women, were formerly considered unpaid family workers in the old ICSE. The revised ICSE also makes the distinctions between groups clearer.
Experience has shown that frequently because of the way countries measure "status in employment", the content of the groups is not easily comparable. For example, in most countries managers and directors of incorporated enterprises are classified as employees, while in some others they are classified as employers. Another example is family members who regularly receive remuneration as wages, salary, commission, piece-rates or pay in kind, are mainly classified as employees, but some countries classify them as contributing family workers. Another important difference affecting the comparability of the number of contributing family workers arises from the fact that some countries are not able to measure such persons as in employment at all. Many countries cannot distinguish between own-account workers and employers in their basic observations, so only the sum of these two groups can be presented. Some countries which have few members of producers’ cooperatives may group them with employees, while others group them with own-account workers.
It should be recalled that the purpose of international classification schemes is not to supersede national classifications but to provide a framework for the international comparison of national statistics. Many countries, particularly those developing classifications for the first time, or revising existing schemes, use international schemes as a central framework.
In general, employment data are obtained from four main sources, namely, household sample surveys, establishment censuses or surveys, official national estimates, or administrative records of social insurance schemes.
These four main sources of employment statistics, presented in Chapter 2, are identified in the tables by codes in parentheses to the right of the country name. These codes (BA), (DA), (E) and (FA) are described below:
Source (BA). Labour force sample surveys. These are a source of regular information on both the total labour force (employed plus unemployed) and total inactive population.
For total employment, these surveys cover all status groups, that is, not only employees (wage earners and salaried employees), including paid family workers, but also employers, own-account workers, members of producers’ cooperatives, contributing family workers and workers not classifiable by status. The data generally relate to employment during a specified brief period, either one week or one day. Usually, no distinction is made between persons employed full time and those working less than full time.
Source (DA). Establishment surveys. This source provides data on the number of workers on establishment payrolls for a specified payroll period or working day in this period. In general, there are two types of establishment statistics.
The first type covers all establishments of a given importance, e.g. those fulfilling certain conditions, such as having more than a certain number of employees, having an annual output of more than a certain value, etc. The data thus obtained may be subject to some bias owing to the exclusion of establishments which are below the minimum size fixed for the series. Moreover, a shift of employment from small to large establishments will be reflected in a rising trend in the series. Provided that this minimum is small, the scope of these series is usually very wide and they can furnish a close approximation of the fluctuations in paid employment.
The second type of statistics relates to a sample of establishments. The chief difficulty with such statistics is to ensure that the sample of establishments remains representative of the whole. For example, changes in industrial structure, the growth and decline of individual establishments, general population movements and pronounced changes in the levels of activity in some sectors of the economy tend to introduce a cumulative bias in this sample which may become appreciable after several years.
In certain countries where statistics of the first type (all establishments of a given importance) are available only at annual or longer intervals, they may be combined either by linking or by interpolation with statistics of the second type (samples of establishments) which are available more frequently.
Source (E). Official estimates. These statistics are official estimates provided by national authorities. Such estimates are usually based on combined information drawn from one or more of the other sources described here.
Source (FA). Social insurance statistics. This source covers the working population protected by sickness, accident or unemployment insurance schemes, or the like. The number of contributors or of contributions paid provides a measure of the number of insured persons in employment (unemployed persons being exempt from the obligation to pay contributions). Persons working a very short time, receiving very low pay or who are above a certain age, are sometimes excluded from these statistics. In addition to changes in the actual number of persons employed, employment statistics based on social insurance records may also reflect changes in coverage of particular industrial, occupational or status groups.
The employment series shown in this summary table cover, in principle, all major divisions of economic activity and all sectors of activity. They refer, as far as is possible, to all status categories of persons in employment. For certain series some component categories may not be fully represented. The worker coverage is indicated in the table at the centre of the page for each series as total employment, all persons engaged, and employees. The inclusion or exclusion of data on the armed forces, which varies by country, is indicated in the footnotes, where known.
This table presents absolute figures on the distribution of the employed by economic activity, according to either ISIC-68 or ISIC Rev.3, or to both versions side by side, in cases where the latest revision of this international classification has been adopted during the 10-year time series covered in the Yearbook.
This table presents absolute figures on the distribution of the employed by occupation, according to either ISCO-68 or ISCO-88, or to both versions side by side, in cases where the latest revision of this international classification has been adopted during the 10-year time series covered in the Yearbook.
This employment series covers, in principle, the total number of persons in employment for all status groups, according to the International Classification of Status in Employment 1993 (ICSE-93).
The data on employment shown in this table cover all available series of paid employment which should relate solely to employees (wage earners and salaried employees) in employment and preferably be derived from an establishment survey. However, data on paid employment can also be derived from other sources (for example a labour force survey or administrative records) and may in some cases have a different worker coverage which is indicated in the table at the centre of the page for each series.
This table presents data on paid employment in manufacturing as a whole and for all components of this category of economic activity where available, according either to the three-digit level of ISIC-68 or to the division level of ISIC Rev.3 (levels 15 to 37). Where data are available according to both revisions of this international classification within the 10-year time series covered in the Yearbook, these are presented side by side.
The number of persons in paid employment by economic activity presented in the tables of this chapter are obtained, as far as possible, from identical sources as the data given in the corresponding tables on hours of work (Chapter 4) and wages (Chapter 5).
When comparing data on employment shown in the six tables of this chapter, due regard should be given not only to differences in sources of data but also to the differences in scope and coverage of the statistics shown. Details on status groups and divisions of economic activity covered or omitted, or on geographic coverage and alternate dates of reference are given in each table and its footnotes.
Abridged versions of the International Standard Industrial Classification of all Economic Activities (ISIC-1968 and ISIC-Rev. 3), the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-1968 and ISCO-1988) and the International Classification of Status in Employment (ICSE-1993) are shown in the Appendix.
Note
1 For information on the differences in scope, definitions and methods of calculation, etc., used for the national series, see ILO: Sources and Methods: Labour Statistics (formerly Statistical Sources and Methods), Vol. 2: "Employment, wages, hours of work and labour cost (establishment surveys)", second edition (Geneva, 1995); Vol. 3 : "Economically active population, employment, unemployment and hours of work (household surveys)" third edition (Geneva, 2004); Vol. 4 : "Employment, unemployment, wages and hours of work (administrative records and related sources)" (Geneva, 2004).