The production and presentation of statistics of unemployment: comparability issues

The United Nations publishes unemployment statistics for 123 countries. Most of these statistics are based on International Labour Office (ILO) criteria for the definition of unemployment. Many countries also produce unemployment statistics based on insurance records and on the basis of registered unemployment. This paper aims to compare the main features of the different methods. The dimensions compared include the conceptual basis for the definition of unemployment, boundaries of employment and inactivity, entry statistics and duration of unemployment, use of denominators for production of unemployment rates, and the cultural influence of the statistics. The paper identifies conflicts between achieving international comparability and national needs. Survey statistics that underpin international comparisons do not support geographically detailed analysis within countries. The value of unemployment statistics based on ILO criteria is limited by a failure to recognise the concept of entry to unemployment and the difficulties of integration with administrative unemployment statistics. The standard labour force survey (LFS) questionnaire should be modified to support the production of statistics for entrants to unemployment. The sampling frame should be modified to ensure consistency with nationally produced unemployment statistics derived from administrative records. Introduction – Three Conceptual Bases of Unemployment Statistics Three types of systems – insured unemployment, registered unemployment, and unemployment measured by sample social surveys – provide the basis for most unemployment statistics. The first statistical series started in 1886 when the Board of Trade asked the trade unions to provide monthly statistics of the number of their members who were not in employment (Garside, 1980). This series led to the idea of insured unemployment. The UK and many other countries have offices that help people find work or pay benefits to those without work. Such systems provided the basis for statistics of registered unemployment. In the United States, concern about mass unemployment in the