2021 Labour Market Statistics & Analysis Academy

Developing strong statistical systems for producing, collecting and disseminating reliable, comprehensive and timely labour market information remains critical for evidence-based policy making which promotes “full and productive employment and decent work for all”. The demand for quality statistical data is particularly urgent in countries where existing systems do not allow for regular production of timely, reliable and relevant work and labour market statistics. Moreover, rapid changes in the world of work, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, have added pressure on existing statistical systems to innovate and produce new and better indicators to measure emerging labour market realities. The innovative statistical standards set by the 19th and 20th ICLSs on work statistics and statistics on work relationships are crucial for the overarching goal of achieving decent work for all. Their relevance for the efficient monitoring of labor markets during normal times and crises has been proven in many countries across the world already. Knowledge and experience accumulated since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly useful in this regard. The resolutions and guidelines adopted by the 20th ICLS on topics such as labour migration, the measurement of compliance with labour rights, the measurement of the existence of an employment strategy for youth and forced labour statistics will greatly contribute to monitoring progress towards the achievement of the SDG, as they are closely related to several SDG indicators. With these recent developments in mind, the ILO Department of Statistics and the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITCILO) were proud to offer the 2021 Labour Statistics and Analysis e-Learning Academy for data producers and users. The online Academy offered a great opportunity to reflect on the ongoing challenges facing statistical systems globally and to learn about the latest most up-to-date international statistical standards that are crucial for decent work promotion, post-pandemic recovery and pro-employment macro-economic growth. OBJECTIVES The main objective of the Academy was to better equip and situate national and international stakeholders in the new SDG statistical monitoring system. The Academy was designed to enhance institutional capacities to identify, collect, analyze and disseminate labour market information and other indicators related to decent work. Moreover, the academy emphasized the latest ICLSs resolution on statistics of work relationships as an important pillar to measure progress towards the 2030 agenda, particularly Goal 8 on promoting inclusive and sustainable growth, employment and decent work for all. Furthermore, the academy aimed to highlight the COVID-19 response experience, which could support the modernization of labour market data collection systems around the world in an effort to try to identify solutions that would enable data producers to continue doing their work in line with international statistical standards and best practices during times of crises. CONTENT • International Statistical Standards / Labour Statistics Conventions • Work, employment and labour underutilization (19th ICLS) • Measuring Employment and labour underutilization in LFSs • Measurement of unpaid work in LFSs • Measuring Informal employment • Qualifications and Skills Mismatches • Sample design • Survey Planning • Good practices in survey processing • Questionnaire design for Informality • Weighting and non-response -Data quality • Working with LFS microdata & weights • Deriving main labour force indicators • Deriving indicators on Informality • Measuring decent work in the SDG global indicator framework • Child Labour Statistics – Forced Labour Statistics • Labour Migration Statistics • Work relationships (20th ICLS) • Labour Market Information Systems