Draft ICATUS and activities
relating to Work Activities
ILO Department of Statistics
Sophia Lawrence
ICATUS Revision
New York, (11-31 June 2012)
ILO Department of Statistics
Work-related activities
• ILO is in process of revising the 13th ICLS
international standards on employment...
• A revised framework for all Work statistics is being
proposed:
– For discussion at the 19th ICLS in October 2013
• The revised ICATUS will need to reflect the new
framework for work
ILO Department of Statistics
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Implications for revising ICATUS
• Best finalize ICATUS once revised work framework
has been adopted
• Comments by the Expert Group on Classifications
would be opportune
• Would ensure adoption or endorsement by the
Statistical Commission, if anticipated?
ILO Department of Statistics
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ILO proposed conceptual framework for
Work statistics
ILO Department of Statistics
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New framework characteristics
(building-block approach)
1. Distinguish between different forms of work based on
persons’ “main purpose”
2. Allow separate identification and exhaustive measurement
of participation in each/all form(s) of work
3. Allow exhaustive measurement of labour input into all
productive activities (volume of work) within and beyond
SNA production boundary
4. Sum of all parts = “Work” statistics
ILO Department of Statistics
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Proposed concept of Work
• Work comprises all inputs of labour by all persons for:
– Production of goods and services for payment, profit or
family gain;
– Unpaid production of goods and services for
consumption by others (ex. as a volunteer, as part of
education and training);
– Unpaid production of goods and services mainly for own
use or for consumption by members of one’s own
household (ex., subsistence production, household
management, cleaning, child care)
ILO Department of Statistics
6
Rationale in updating standards
• Employment, defined as:
– “Work whose main purpose is to generate income in the
form of wage, salary, profit or family gain, paid in cash
or in kind
• Paid employment
• Self employment in market oriented enterprises
– Including Contributing Family Workers”t
• Can further develop international guidelines for full
measurement of all work
• Can study interactions & overlaps in participation in
different forms of work
ILO Department of Statistics
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Re the nature of ICATUS structure
• Conceptual model underpinning the classification
requires clarification:
– Including entities classified,
– Similarity criteria
• Structure at top level: major divisions seem based
on purpose
• More detailed categories use nature of the activity,
but mixed at different levels
ILO Department of Statistics
9
Current boundary problems
• Boundaries regarding travel and work-related
learning based on purpose are unclear:
– Both conceptually and operationally
• Treatment at detailed classification levels is
problematic:
– Much of the time spent on either can be for multiple
purposes
• Ex. When is reading for learning or for work?
• ICATUS can aggregate totals, but beware of issues
of mutual exclusiveness, and repeated activities
ILO Department of Statistics
10
Remarks on work in draft ICATUS
• Despite discomfort perpetuating SNA predominance of
economic over social statistics in general…
• Still need to be able to distinguish SNA boundaries: Within
and Beyond production boundary, particularly for volunteer work
• In general the “Other” categories done well and consistently
• Categories are quite exhaustive – each has separate labels
• “Paid work” categories, however, cannot include activities
that are:
– Not paid and not work
ILO Department of Statistics
11
Remarks on work in draft ICATUS
• In line with the Work framework:
– ICATUS would have to delineate “production for own consumption”
from “market-oriented activity” (throughout)
– Employment activity combined with non-employment activity (other
work forms) would both be reflected
• Need to deal with (coding) multiple/secondary activities:
• Is riding a bicycle to work = commuting or exercising ?
• Formal / informal sector distinction not operational; may not
be necessary if paid work separated from unpaid
– In any case “work for corporations or for households” (in D1, and
elsewhere) does not reflect this
– If retained, every TUS would require an informal module
ILO Department of Statistics
12
Similarity criterion
• Both 'type' and 'context' of time use activities used
• Criteria still not applied consistently at different
levels of the classification
• Duplicate categories make it hard to identify the
types of nature of activity to be classified in different
parts of ICATUS
ILO Department of Statistics
13
Contextual codes
• Desire to open ICATUS up to better encompass
employment (work) activity codes brings repetition
with non-work activity codes
– Especially without appropriate contextual codes
• Use of contextual codes can alleviate problems of
repetition/overburdening the classification:
– Allows fewer activity codes
– Ancillary information replaces repetitions (places
activities in context)
ILO Department of Statistics
14
Mutual exclusivity
• However,
– Mutual exclusivity of activities: within employment; in other
work forms; and of personal activities opens a debate:
– Resolve whether activity (codes) for paid work are that
different from other activities…
• Are most jobs’ activities close to other everyday activities?
– So are contextual variables (codes) fundamental to
comprehend work- related activity (and to analyse TUS
data)…?
ILO Department of Statistics
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Suggested solutions / questions for draft
ICATUS
• (D1) “Work within SNA and related activities”:
– 11 “Paid work (employment) for corporations…. ,and
market-oriented household units
• Move work that is not paid to other groups...
• Breaks for lunch are not employment
– New 12 “Activities related to paid employment …”
– Bring 15, 16, 18 here
• Group non-employment activities of D1 into new, 2nd level
group -> would allow identification of Employment activities
according to new ILO framework (but not at 1st level)
– 18 travel: formal vs household sector inconsistent other standards
ILO Department of Statistics
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Suggestions (2)
• (D2) new division “Production of goods for own final
use”
• 22+ (old 12-14) Primary production… for own final use
•
•
•
•
Separated from market-oriented activity
Mining/quarrying with food and shelter production...?
131-132 Processing vs Making ..?
144 Acquiring inputs/supplies… ≠ own production ?
• (D3) “Unpaid household services for own final use.”
(old D2) and (old 21-28 as were)
ILO Department of Statistics
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Suggestions (3)
(D5) “Community services and work for other
households”:
• (Old 41) Separate work resulting in goods vs services; Unpaid
services to other households is beyond SNA
• (old 415) “Unpaid help in business/farm...” => within SNA
production boundary ... and “Employment” as help to other
households” => terminology
• (Old 43) Unpaid volunteer services through organizations =>
consistent with ILO Manual but requires more categories
ILO Department of Statistics
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Suggestions (4)
(D6) “Learning” (old D5)
• If a person is enrolled in a Vocational Training
Institute/University, is the training activity part of Work or
Study..?
• Boundaries between Self-study, Homework and e.g. reading
for a job...?
(D8) “Personal care and maintenance”
– 853 Reflecting... Thinking, Planning, should also be work-related
activities
ILO Department of Statistics
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TUS for work statistics
We need:
• Persons in employment:
– at least one activity to generate income
• Multiple activities:
– more than one form of work activity identified
• Working time:
sum of all periods spent on all productive activities
• Scheduling:
– location during the day and week (and stability) of hours
worked