Eric Swanson
Global Monitoring and WDI
Development Data Group
The World Bank
• Key Indicators of the Labour Market, 6th edition, contains a
broader set of employment indicators, with an analysis of
recent trends for each indicator.
• Indicators on the volume of employment, including labor force
participation and employment-to-population rates, hours of work,
underemployment, part-time employment
• Employment by status and sector
• Educational attainment
• Wage and earning indices
• Labor productivity
• The KILM also includes a section with country examples of
analysis of the MDG employment indicators, and their
linkages with other indicators.


Proportion of a country’s working-age
population actively engaging in the labour
market.
Data are available by sex according to six
standardized age groups:
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
15
15
15
25
55
65
years and older
to 24 years
to 64 years
to 54 years
to 64 years
years and older
Male
Female
90.0
80.0
Labor Force Participation Rate
70.0
60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
WORLD
Developed Central and East Asia
Economies
South
and
Eastern
European
Europe
Union
(non-EU) &
CIS
South-East South Asia
Asia and
the Pacific
Latin
Middle East North Africa
America
and the
Caribbean
SubSaharan
Africa



The proportion of labor force unemployed,
willing to work, and looking for employment.
In regions where women face stronger
employment barriers than men, the economic
downturn will exacerbate the
gender gap.
In regions with little
employment opportunity
gender gaps, male-female
unemployment rate
should converge.
Scenario 1
4.0
Upper bound
3.5
Change in unemployment rate (percentage point)
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
-0.5
Male
Female
Male
Female
Developed
Central & SouthEconomies &
Eastern Europe
European Union (non-EU) & CIS
Male
Female
East Asia
Male
Female
South Asia
Male
Female
Latin America &
the Caribbean
Male
Female
Middle East
Male
Female
North Africa

Vulnerable Employment is the sum of ownaccount and contributing family workers.
◦ Less likely to have informal employment
arrangements and have less job security and
effective social dialogue mechanisms.

The combination of a rise in vulnerable
employment and decline in labour
productivity is likely to result in an increase in
working poverty.
Male
Female
Changes in Vulnerable Employment (000')
4'000
2'000
0
WORLD
-2'000
-4'000
-6'000
-8'000
Developed Central and East Asia
Economies
South
and
Eastern
European
Europe
Union
(non-EU) &
CIS
South-East South Asia
Asia and
the Pacific
Latin
Middle East
America
and the
Caribbean
North
Africa
SubSaharan
Africa
Female labor force statistics -- 143 low- and middle-income economies
Data availability
1990-2007
20002007
Labor participation rate, female (% of female
population ages 15+)
91.6%
91.7%
Labor force participation rate, female (% of female
population ages 15-64)
91.6%
91.6%
Labor force, female (% of total labor force)
90.6%
90.3%
Total employment, female (ages 15+)
81.9%
86.7%
Female labor force statistics -- 143 low- and middle-income
economies
Data availability
1990-2007
20002007
35.7%
35.2%
Unemployment, female (% of female labor force)
Employees, agriculture, female (% of female
employment)
Employees, industry, female (% of female
employment)
Employees, services, female (% of female
employment)
Wage and salaried workers, female (% of females
employed)
30.8%
33.7%
27.0%
32.0%
27.0%
32.0%
27.0%
32.0%
26.1%
31.2%
Self-employed, female (% of females employed)
Contributing family workers, female (% of females
employed)
Vulnerable employment, female (% of female
employment)
26.0%
31.0%
24.2%
30.2%
22.2%
28.0%
Share of women employed in the nonagricultural
sector (% of total nonagricultural employment)
Female labor force statistics -- 143 low- and middle-income
economies
Data availability
1990-2007
20002007
Unemployment, youth female (% of female labor
force ages 15-24)
22.6%
25.6%
Unemployment with primary education, female (%
of female unemployment)
21.0%
25.5%
Unemployment with secondary education, female
(% of female unemployment)
19.0%
23.3%
Unemployment with tertiary education, female (%
of female unemployment)
20.9%
25.3%
Female labor force statistics -- 143 low- and middle-income
economies
Data availability
Economically active children, female (% of female
children ages 7-14)
Child employment in agriculture, female (% of
female economically active children ages 7-14)
Child employment in manufacturing, female (% of
female economically active children ages 7-14)
Child employment in services, female (% of female
economically active children ages 7-14)
Long-term unemployment, female (% of female
unemployment)
Economically active children, study and work,
female (% of female economically active children,
ages 7-14)
Economically active children, work only, female (%
of female economically active children, ages 714)
1990-2007
20002007
4.0%
7.8%
1.7%
3.1%
1.7%
3.1%
1.7%
3.1%
4.8%
2.8%
1.7%
2.7%
1.7%
2.7%
Low income economies
Coverage 1990-2007
Coverage 2000-2007
12.7%
16.7%
16.9%
16.9%
17.1%
13.0%
16.7%
16.7%
16.7%
16.7%
18.8%
16.7%
16.7%
16.9%
16.9%
16.7%
17.2%
17.2%
17.2%
17.2%
16.7%
19.4%
16.7%
32.4%
9.3%
16.7%
16.7%
17.2%
18.2%
20.8%
Afghanistan
Korea, Dem. Rep.
Comoros
Myanmar
Mozambique
Lower middle-income economies
China
Iraq
Timor-Leste
Angola
Congo, Rep.
Upper middle-income economies
Lebanon
Gabon
Libya
Suriname
Serbia
Empowering Women to
Compete in Markets
Product Market Form Women’s' business,
purchasing, and transport
association
Increase access to business
services for women
entrepreneurs
Increase access to credit and
financial services
Provide business start-up
grants
Financial Market Support Self-help groups and
ROSCAs
Provide gender sensitive
business services
Provide market-based
financial intermediation
services
Indicators
Percentage of women
belonging to
professional
associations
Percentage of
established business
owners, by gender
Percentage of women
who have access to
bank loans
Number of Countries
77
40
87
Empowering Women to
Compete in Markets
Land Market
Indicators
Number of
Countries
Conduct social marketing
of property rights
legislation
Solicit women's input into
legislative changes on
land holding and titling
Ensure women's full
participation in land
adjudication and
registration processes
Involve women and
women's groups in local
natural resource
managements'
Percentage of
women who have
access to land
87
Empowering Women to
Compete in Markets
Labor Market
Indicators
Number of
Countries
Increase women's access to
training programs
Percentage of those
who have required
knowledge and skills to
start a business, by
gender
Ensure non-discrimination in Wage equality between
labor intermediation services women and men for
similar work (ratio)
147
Provide quality day care
Number of weeks of
services and reduce their cost maternity leave
165
Maternal leave benefits
(% of wages paid in
covered period)
Provide labor intermediation
services (to migrants and
potential migrants)
40
160

Completing the picture:
◦ Estimations for labor force participation and
vulnerable employment can be estimated with
labour force survey data.


Household-survey based model
Advantages:
◦ Do not require macroeconomic model assumptions,
◦ Data can be disaggregated for youths and females,
◦ Does not require large international intervention or
support

Disadvantages:
◦ Countries lack survey instrument to capture data
◦ Bias estimates
◦ Lack of comparability over time

The ILO Employment Trends Team and The
World Bank are mining household-surveys.
◦ Identifying surveys with questions to provide
sufficient observations for estimates
◦ Identifying differences between survey variables
and international standards
◦ Producing crosstabulation of poverty
with the labour force