Key
Indicators
of the Labour
Market
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L
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2001-2002 Key Indicators of the Labour Market
http://www.ilo.org/kilm
Globalization and Technological Advances
As we enter a new millennium, it is increasingly clear that we are
affected as much by global events and developments as by
what occurs within our own communities.
2001-2002 Key Indicators of the Labour Market
http://www.ilo.org/kilm
Globalization and rapid technological advances are giving rise to
increasing labour mobility and expanding business and
employment opportunities. As a result, individuals are becoming
more and more uncertain about their employment situations.
Thus, globalization is particularly relevant to the world of work.
2001-2002 Key Indicators of the Labour Market
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What is the KILM?
2001-2002 Key Indicators of the Labour Market
http://www.ilo.org/kilm
Timely and focused information on the world’s labour
markets is essential. We need information that can help to
answer such questions as:
 What types of economic activities are people engaged in?
 What is the size and composition of the labour force?
 How many hours do people work and how much do they earn for
this work?
 How many people are without work and looking for work?
 What types of inequalities exist, for example in terms of earnings
and employment situation?
 Are earnings keeping pace with the cost of living?
 How are youth and women faring in the labour market?
2001-2002 Key Indicators of the Labour Market
http://www.ilo.org/kilm
 At the national level statistical information on labour
markets are generally developed and analysed by
statistical services and labour ministries.
At the global level, the International Labour Office
(ILO) plays a vital role in assembling, analysing and
disseminating such information to the world community
through projects such as the Key Indicators of the
Labour Market (KILM).
2001-2002 Key Indicators of the Labour Market
http://www.ilo.org/kilm
In 1996, the Employment Policies Committee of the
International Labour Conference, recognizing the need of
governments and the social partners for timely and accurate
information on labour market developments, requested that the
ILO:
 Develop a set of labour market indicators
 Widen the availability of labour market indicators
in order to monitor employment trends
The 1999 KILM was the first product developed to meet
these objectives.
2001-2002 Key Indicators of the Labour Market
http://www.ilo.org/kilm
What does the KILM contain?
2001-2002 Key Indicators of the Labour Market
http://www.ilo.org/kilm
The selection of the indicators was a
collaborative effort among the ILO, OECD
and national offices.
Criteria for selection of the indicators:
 The indicator is conceptually relevant.
 Data are available for the indicator.
 The indicator is comparable across countries and
regions.
2001-2002 Key Indicators of the Labour Market
http://www.ilo.org/kilm
When developing indicators, one
must strike a balance between:
Coverage
Maximize scope
of coverage, i.e.,
provide the
greatest number
of data points for
the greatest
number of
countries
2001-2002 Key Indicators of the Labour Market
Comparability
Harmonize the
indicators across
countries and time
(same type of
sources, sampling
procedures,
methodologies and
definitions)
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Key Indicators of the Labour Market
• Labour force participation rate
• Employment-to-population ratio
• Status in employment
• Employment by sector
• Part-time workers
• Hours of work
• Informal sector employment
• Unemployment
• Youth unemployment
• Long-term unemployment
 Unemployment by educational attainment
 Time-related underemployment
 Inactivity rate
 Educational attainment and illiteracy
 Manufacturing wage indices
 Occupational wages and earnings indices
 Hourly compensation costs
 Productivity and unit labour cost
 Labour market flows
 Poverty and income distribution
2001-2002 Key Indicators of the Labour Market
http://www.ilo.org/kilm
Data Providers
Initial efforts in developing the KILM concentrated on
harvesting information directly from international data
repositories. In other words, the KILM Team did not
focus on contacting national sources, but rather the
team took advantage of existing compilations of data
held by various international organizations.
2001-2002 Key Indicators of the Labour Market
http://www.ilo.org/kilm
Information Repositories
2001-2002 Key Indicators of the Labour Market
http://www.ilo.org/kilm
KILM Publication Groupings
Developed (industrialized) countries
Latin America and the Caribbean
Transition economies
Sub-Saharan Africa
Asia and the Pacific
Middle East and North Africa
2001-2002 Key Indicators of the Labour Market
http://www.ilo.org/kilm
KILM Products
Research Articles
Publication
KILMnet
New
Web Site
2001-2002 Key Indicators of the Labour Market
CD-ROM
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