The Framework on the Measurement of Decent Work covers ten substantive elements which are closely linked to the four strategic pillars of the Decent Work Agenda, that is, (i) International labour standards and fundamental principles and rights at work (ii) Employment creation (iii) Social protection and (iv) Social dialogue and tripartism:
- employment opportunities;
- adequate earnings and productive work;
- decent working time;
- combining work, family and personal life;
- work that should be abolished;
- stability and security of work;
- equal opportunity and treatment in employment;
- safe work environment;
- social security; and
- social dialogue, employers’ and workers’
These 10 substantive elements represent the structural dimensions of the decent work measurement framework under which both statistical and legal framework indicators on decent work are organized and classified. There is an additional substantive element related to the economic and social context for decent work. The context indicators listed under this area are denoted by a “C” to highlight the fact that they are contextual indicators that do not measure decent work per se but rather serve to provide data users information that relates to the context of decent work measurement in an economy.
The statistical indicators are quantitative indicators derived from official national data sources. The legal framework indicators are qualitative in nature primarily based on legal texts and other related textual information. While statistical indicators make up the vast majority of the indicators in the Framework on the Measurement of Decent Work, the legal framework indicators are equally important. The two sets of indicators are mutually reinforcing and thus both considered essential for monitoring progress towards decent work in a given national economy.
Table A presents the full set of statistical and legal framework indicators. The statistical indicators are divided into main indicators (denoted “M”), additional indicators (denoted “A”) and future indicators (denoted “F”, to be developed by the ILO). The legal framework indicators are denoted by an “L”.
In terms of defining a set of decent work indicators for a given economy, countries are encouraged to select from the total list of statistical and legal framework indicators and add additional indicators to reflect their national circumstances and decent work policy agenda. It is recommended that indicator selection at the national level be accomplished through a tripartite consultation process.
The decent work indicators are intended to support monitoring decent work in a given economy and should ideally be analyzed together in a holistic manner. This will allow data users to obtain a global snapshot of the decent work deficits and progress made for a given point in time, and make any necessary adjustments to decent work policy or programmes as well as periodically review the set of indicators for any necessary changes.
This Manual presents guidelines on the decent work statistical indicators and legal framework indicators presented to the 18th International Conference of Labour Statisticians. It is intended for use by national data producers and data users alike, and will also be useful for international data users.
The Manual is divided into eleven chapters which correspond to the ten substantive elements of decent work as well as to the economic and social context for decent work. Thus, each chapter contains the statistical and legal framework indicators associated with that topic area.
Table A. Measurement of decent work based on guidance received at the Tripartite Meeting of Experts on the Measurement of Decent Work (September 2008)
| Substantive element of the Decent Work Agenda | Statistical Indicators | Legal Framework Indicators |
| Numbers in parentheses in the first column below refer to ILO strategic objectives:
1. Standards and fundamental principles and rights at work; 2. Employment; 3. Social protection; 4. Social dialogue. |
Selection of relevant statistical indicators that allow monitoring progress made with regard to the substantive elements.
M – Main decent work indicators A – Additional decent work indicators F – Candidate for future inclusion / developmental work to be done by the Office C – Economic and social context for decent work (S) indicates that an indicator should be reported separately for men and women in addition to the total. |
L – Descriptive indicators providing information on rights at work and the legal framework for decent work.
Description of relevant national legislation, policies and institutions in relation to the substantive elements of the Decent Work Agenda; where relevant, information on the qualifying conditions, the benefit level and its financing; evidence of implementation effectiveness (as recorded by ILO supervisory bodies); estimates of coverage of workers in law and in practice; information on the ratification of relevant ILO Conventions. |
| Employment opportunities (1 + 2) | M – Employment-to-population ratio (S)* M – Unemployment rate (S)
M – Youth not in employment, education, or training, 15-24 years (S)* M – Informal employment rate (S)* A – Labour force participation rate (1) [to be used especially where statistics on Employment-to-population ratio and/or Unemployment rate (total) are not available] A – Youth unemployment rate,15-24 years (S) A – Unemployment by level of educational attainment (S)* A – Employment by status in employment (S) A – Proportion of own-account workers and contributing family workers in total employment (S)* [to be used especially where statistics on informal employment are not available] A – Share of wage employment in non-agricultural employment (S) F – Labour underutilization (S) Memo item: Time-related underemployment rate (S) grouped as A under “Decent Working time” |
L – Government commitment to full employment
L – Unemployment insurance |
| Adequate earnings and productive work (1 + 3) | M – Working poverty rate (S)*
M – Employees with low pay rate (below 2/3 of median hourly earnings) (S)* |
L – Statutory minimum wage* |
| A – Average hourly earnings by occupation group (S)* A – Average real wages (S)
A – Minimum wage as a percentage of median wage A – Manufacturing wage index A – Employees with recent job training (past year / past 4 weeks) (S) |
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| Decent Working Time (1 + 3)* | M – Employment in Excessive Working Time (more than 48 hours per week) (S)*
A – Employment by weekly hours worked (hours in standardized hour bands) (S)* A – Average annual working time per employed person (S)* A – Time-related underemployment rate (S) F – Paid annual leave (developmental work to be done by the Office; additional indicator) |
L – Maximum hours of work L – Paid annual leave |
| Combining work, family and personal life (1 + 3) | F – Asocial / unusual hours (developmental work to be done by the Office)
F – Maternity protection (developmental work to be done by the Office; main indicator) |
L – Maternity leave (including weeks of leave, and rate of benefits)
L – Parental leave* |
| Work that should be abolished (1 + 3) | M – Child labour rate [as defined by ICLS resolution] (S)* A – Hazardous child labour rate (S)*
A – Rate of worst forms of child labour (WFCL) other than hazardous work (S)** A – Forced labour rate (S)** A- Forced labour rate among returned migrants (S) ** |
L – Child labour (including public policies to combat it)
L – Forced labour (including public policies to combat it) |
| Stability and security of work (1, 2 + 3) | M – Precarious employment rate ** A – Job tenure**
A – Subsistence worker rate** A – Real earnings of casual workers** (S) Memo item: Informal employment is grouped under employment opportunities. |
L – Termination of employment* (incl. notice of termination in weeks)
Memo item: ‘Unemployment insurance’ is grouped under employment opportunities; needs to be interpreted in conjunction for ‘flexicurity’. |
| Equal opportunity and treatment in employment (1, 2 + 3) | M – Occupational segregation by sex
M – Female share of employment in senior and middle management* A – Gender wage gap A – Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector A – Indicator for Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation) to be developed by the Office. A – Measure for discrimination by race / ethnicity / of indigenous people / of (recent) migrant workers / of rural workers where relevant and available at the national level to be developed by the Office. F – Measure of dispersion for sectoral / occupational distribution of (recent) migrant workers |
L – Equal opportunity and treatment*
L – Equal remuneration of men and women for work of equal value* |
| F – Measure for employment of persons with disabilities.
Memo item: Indicators under other substantive elements marked (S) indicator should be reported separately for men and women in addition to the total. |
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| Safe work environment (1 + 3) | M – Occupational injury frequency rate, fatal*
A – Occupational injury frequency rate, nonfatal* A – Time lost due to occupational injuries A – Labour inspection (inspectors per 10,000 employed persons) |
L – Employment injury benefits*
L – Occupational safety and health (OSH) labour inspection |
| Social security (1 + 3) | M – Share of population above the statutory pensionable age (or aged 65 or above) benefiting from an old-age pension (S) *
M – Public social security expenditure (percentage of GDP) A – Healthcare expenditure not financed out of pocket by private households A– Share of economically active population contributing to a pension scheme (S) * F – Share of population covered by (basic) health care provision (S) (to be developed by the Office; additional indicator) F – Public expenditure on needs based cash income support (% of GDP) F – Beneficiaries of cash income support (% of the poor) F – Sick leave (developmental work to be done by the Office; additional indicator) [Interpretation in conjunction with legal framework and labour market statistics.] |
L – Old-age social security or pension benefits (public/private)*
L – Incapacity for work due to sickness / sick leave L – Incapacity for work due to invalidity Memo item: ‘Unemployment insurance’ is grouped under employment opportunities. |
| Social dialogue, workers’ and employers’ representation (1 + 4) | M – Trade union density rate (S) *
M – Employers’ organization density rate (ED) (S)* M – Collective bargaining coverage rate (S) M/F – Indicator for Fundamental principles and rights at work (Freedom of association and collective bargaining) to be developed by the Office; main indicator A – Days not worked due to strikes and lockouts* |
L – Freedom of association and the right to organize
L – Collective bargaining right L – Tripartite consultations |
| Economic and social context for decent work | C – Children not in school (percentage by age) (S)
C – Estimated percentage of working-age population who are HIV- positive C – Labour productivity (GDP per employed person, level and growth rate) C – Income inequality (90:10 ratio) C – Inflation rate (Consumer Price Index, CPI) C – Employment by branch of economic activity |
L – Labour administration**
Developmental work to be done by the Office to reflect environment for Sustainable enterprises, incl. indicators for (i) education, training and lifelong learning, (ii) entrepreneurial culture, (iii) enabling legal and regulatory framework, (iv) fair competition, and (v) rule of law and secure property rights. Developmental work to be done by the Office |
| C – Education of adult population (adult literacy rate, adult secondary- school
graduation rate) (S) C – Labour share of Gross Value Added (GVA)* C (additional) – Real GDP per capita (level and growth rate)* C (additional) – Female share of employment by economic activity (ISIC tabulation category)* C (additional) – Wage / earnings inequality (90:10 ratio)* C (additional) – Poverty measures ** |
to reflect other institutional arrangements, such as scope of labour law and scope of labour ministry and other relevant ministries. |
Source: ILO compilation on the basis of the Discussion paper for the Tripartite Meeting of Experts on the Measurement of Decent Work (Geneva, 8 -10 September 2008).
*Wording modified by ILO in the pilot phase; **Indicator added by ILO in the pilot phase (2009-2013).
Chapter1. Employment opportunities
The substantive element Employment Opportunities, a key element of decent work, is comprised of indicators that provide insights regarding the quantity of labour demand and supply in an economy. It thus targets an important aspect of the labour market conditions faced by workers and potential workers as well as employers. It includes indicators which permit the analysis of the quality of employment measured through the lens of informal employment and other key components of total employment. It also targets indicators related to labour slack and the underutilization of labour,8 among which the unemployment rate is often used as a main indicator to signal changes in the business cycle.
Employment opportunities covers indicators derived on the basis of the labour force measurement framework, relying in particular on the concepts of employment, unemployment, labour force and not in labour force which are measured in relation to a broader reference variable of the population. Many of the indicators are defined in terms of disaggregations of labour force concepts, allowing data users to understand key differences in employment opportunities experienced by component groups, for example, by age group, level of educational attainment or status in employment.
Employment opportunities element encompasses the largest set of indicators within the decent work measurement framework, including eleven statistical indicators and two legal framework indicators (presented in Table 1).
Table 1: Overview of decent work indicators for employment opportunities
| Statistical Decent Work Indicators | Income concept | Coverage | Preferred data source |
| EMP-1. Employment-to-population ratio (M) | Working-age population
Employment |
Employed persons | LFS
Population census Other household surveys (with employment module) |
| EMP-2. Unemployment rate (M) | Unemployment Labour force | Unemployed persons | LFS
Other household surveys (with employment module) |
| EMP-3. Youth not in education and not in employment (M) | Youth Employment Unemployment Not in labour force Education
Training |
Youth (15-24) | LFS
Population census Other household surveys (with employment module) |
| EMP-4. Informal employment (M) | Employment
Informal employment Informal sector |
Employed persons | LFS
Other household surveys (with employment module) |
| EMP-5. Labour force participation rate (A) | Employment Unemployment | Labour force | LFS
Population census |
| Labour force
Working-age population |
Other household surveys (with employment module) | ||
| EMP-6. Youth unemployment rate (A) | Unemployment Labour force Youth | Youth labour force | LFS
Population census Other household surveys (with employment module) |
| EMP-7. Unemployment by level of education (A) | Unemployment Education | Unemployed persons | LFS
Other household surveys (with employment module) |
| EMP-8. Employment by status in employment (A) | Employment ICSE (status) | Employed persons | LFS
Other household surveys (with employment module) |
| EMP-9. Proportion of own-account and contributing family workers in total employment (A) | Employment
Own-account workers Contributing family workers |
Employed persons | LFS
Population census Other household surveys (with employment module) |
| EMP-10. Share of wage employment in non-agricultural employment (A) | Employment
Classification of economic activity (ISIC) |
Wage employees | LFS
Other household surveys Establishment surveys Administrative data |
| EMP-11. Labour underutilization (F) * | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Legal framework indicators:
L1- Government commitment to full employment L2- Unemployment insurance |
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* This indicator under development by the ILO will allow data users to analyse the levels and trends of one or more alternative measures to the unemployment rate, EMPL-2. The concept of labour underutilization was discussed during the 18th Conference of Labour Statisticians in 2008, which adopted Resolution III, concerning the development of measures of labour underutilization, and containing recommendations on the future work of the Office on this topic. Progress on the topic has been achieved by the ILO Working Group for the Advancement of Employment and Unemployment Statistics which is expected to present a standard on the measurement of labour underutilization during the 19th ICLS in 2013.
Chapter 2. Adequate earnings and productive work
In order to be consistent with the concept of decent work, work has to be productive and provide workers with adequate earnings. One of the objectives of the ILO, as set down in the Declaration of Philadelphia, is to ensure “a just share of the fruits of progress to all, and a minimum living wage to all employed and in need of such protection”. Equally, promoting adequate earnings and productive work is a central element of the Decent Work Agenda.
Eight statistical indicators are introduced in this section to help countries to monitor the progress they have made in achieving this objective. One of these indicators is also a Millennium Development Goal (MDG) indicator, namely the working poverty rate. While the MDG indicators were conceived as part of a broad development agenda targeting developing countries during the period 2000-2015, the inclusion of the working poverty rate here among the full set of decent work indicators is intended to allow countries at all levels of development to monitor working poverty levels and trends. The legal framework indicator corresponding to these statistical indicators is the statutory minimum wage. These statistical and legal framework indicators are presented in Table 2 below.
Table 2: Overview of decent work indicators for adequate earnings, employment-related income and productive work
| Statistical Decent Work Indicators | Income concept | Coverage | Measure of central tendency | Preferred data source |
| EARN-1.Working poverty rate, two indicators: (1) Working poverty Rate of employed persons (WPR- E)– (M); (2) Working poverty rate of the labour force (WPR-LF)—(M) | Total household income / consumption | (1) Total employed population; and
(2) Total economically active population or labour force |
Mean equivalized per capita household income | (1) Household Income and expenditure Survey (HIES) or Living Standard Measurement Survey (LSMS), each with an employment module
(2) Labour Force Survey (LFS) with household income module |
| EARN-2. Employees with Low Pay Rate (ELPR) – (M) | Gross earnings | All employees | Low-pay threshold based on median hourly earnings | (1) Labour Force Survey (LFS) with earnings module
(2) Establishment survey on employment and earnings |
| EARN-3. Mean Hourly Earnings in Selected Occupations (MHE) – (A) | Gross earnings | All employees | Mean, per hour | (1) Labour Force Survey (LFS) with earnings module
(2) Establishment survey on occupational earnings |
| EARN-4. Mean Real Earnings– (A) | Gross earnings | All employees | Mean, per month | (1) Labour Force Survey (LFS) with earnings module
(2) Establishment survey on employment and earnings |
| EARN-5. Minimum Wage as a Percentage of the Median Wage – (A) | Gross earnings | All employees | Median monthly wage as the denominator | (1) Labour Force Survey (LFS) with earnings module, |
| (2) Establishment surveys on employment and earnings | ||||
| (3) Wage orders for minimum wage rates | ||||
| EARN-6. Manufacturing Wage Index – (A) | n/a (Index of wage rates) | All employees in manufacturing | n/a (Index of wage rates) | Establishment survey on wage rates by economic activity (manufacturing) |
| EARN-7. Employees with Recent Job Training – (A) | n/a | All employees | n/a | Labour Force Survey (LFS) with module on job training |
| Legal Framework Indicator: L3- Statutory Minimum Wage | ||||
Earnings: The concept of earnings, as applied in wages statistics, relates to gross remuneration in cash and in kind paid to employees, as a rule at regular intervals, for time worked or work done together with remuneration for time not worked, such as annual vacation, other types of paid leave or holidays. Gross remuneration implies the total before any deductions are made by the employer in respect of taxes, contributions of employees to social security and pension schemes, life insurance premiums, union dues and other obligations of employees. Earnings should include: direct wages and salaries, remuneration for time not worked (excluding severance and termination pay), bonuses and gratuities and housing and family allowances paid by the employer directly to this employee. Earnings exclude employers’ contributions in respect of their employees paid to social security and pension schemes and also the benefits received by employees under these schemes. They also exclude severance and termination pay. 39 Earnings estimates for the purposes of the indicators in this chapter should be calculated in real terms, that is, deflated for inflation except the indicator, “EARN-5, Minimum Wage as a Percentage of the Median Wage” which uses nominal values and also a median monthly wage in the denominator. The concept is relevant for decent work indicators EARN-2, EARN-3, EARN-4 and EARN-5.
Working time concepts40: Different working time concepts may be applied, depending on the source of data. If a household or labour force survey is used, it would be preferable to use the concept of hours actually worked, the key concept of working time defined for statistical purposes applicable to all jobs and to all working persons. Hours actually worked is the time spent in a job for the performance of activities that contribute to the production of goods and/or services during a specified short or long reference period. Hours actually worked measured within the SNA production boundary includes time spent directly on, and in relation to, productive activities; down time; and resting time.
Chapter 3. Decent working time
Adequate working time arrangements constitute an essential part of Decent Work. The Decent Working Time substantive element covers indicators that are related to employment and working time, that is, the time associated with activities within the System of National Accounts production boundary and the arrangement of this time.
Under decent working time, five statistical indicators and two legal framework indicators are included. There are two types of statistical indicators: (1) those that provide information on employment by working time band(s) or according to a lack of work relative to a working time threshold and (2) those that focus on measures of time worked by employed persons, that is, the hours worked. Such measures complement each other, offering information on the number of employed persons working long or short hours and the actual hours worked per employed person. The statistical and legal framework indicators are presented in Table 3 below.
Table 3: Overview of decent work indicators for decent working time indicators
| Statistical Decent Work Indicators | Concepts | Coverage | Preferred data source |
| TIME-1. Employment in excessive working time (more than 48 hours per week) − (M) | Employment Working time | Employed persons | LFS, household survey with employment module, establishment survey |
| TIME-2. Employment by weekly hours worked − (A) | Employment Working time | Employed persons | LFS, household survey with employment module, establishment survey |
| TIME-3. Average annual working time per employed person − (A) | Employment Working time | Employed persons | LFS, household survey with employment module, establishment survey |
| TIME-4. Time-related underemployment rate − (A) | Employment Working time
Time-related underemployed persons |
Employed persons | LFS, household survey with employment module, administrative records |
| TIME-5. Paid annual leave − (F)* | Under development | Employees | LFS, household survey with employment module, administrative records |
| Legal Framework Indicators:
L5- Maximum hours of work L6- Paid annual leave |
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* Classified as a future statistical indicator (“F”) within the Decent Working Time substantive element, paid annual leave is an indicator under development by the ILO. It is an indicator that will seek to quantify the incidence (and perhaps also key provisions) of paid annual leave among employees.
Employment in excessive working time and time-related underemployment rate, which fall under the first type of indicator described above, can reveal deficits in the quality of employment as regards the dimension of working time. Excessive working time interferes with the balance between work and family life and personal life, increases injury hazard risks, may signal an inadequate hourly pay and, in the long term, represents a threat to workers’ physical and mental capacity to work. Working excessive hours on a regular basis can also reduce marginal productivity. Time-related
underemployment (that is, employed persons who want and are available to work more hours vis-à- vis a specified time threshold) is an indicator of labour underutilization64 in the dimension of working time and is often accompanied by inadequate employment-related income or earnings. Average annual hours worked per employed person measures the volume of time worked and serves as a more refined indicator of labour input for a given year as compared with total average annual employment.
The interpretation of the indicators is best carried out through a joint analysis with other related decent work indicators, both qualitative (e.g., normal hours of work defined in national legislation and paid annual leave) and quantitative indicators (e.g., the unemployment rate and employment-related income or earnings) as well as context indicators such as GDP growth. Additional topics suggested for joint analysis include combining work, family and personal life; working time of child labour65; stability and security of work (including precarious employment and working time) and labour productivity defined using a working time variable for labour input.
Chapter 4. Combining work, family and personal life
The substantive element Combining Work, Family and Personal Life covers a small set of decent work indicators related to standards and fundamental principles and rights at work and social protection. Two statistical indicators have been identified in this grouping, both of which are established as future indicators where developmental work is to be done by the Office: (1) Asocial/unusual hours and (2) Maternity protection. The Legal Framework Indicators corresponding to the statistical indicators are:
(1) Maternity leave (including weeks of leave, and rate of benefits) and (2) Parental leave.
Some pilot experiences at the national level provide inputs for initial discussion and analysis of potential statistical indicators.78
1. Brazil
In Brazil, the following statistical indicators have been tested:
- Home-to-work commuting time, given as a percent by time band (S)79
- Average weekly hours spent on housework and in the main job (S)
This country has also identified four additional statistical indicators which are being further developed:
- Access to childcare facilities:
- Percent of employed women aged 16 years and over with children up to 3 years old as a percent of total employed women and by frequency of childcare use80
- Administrative record data on maternity leave (social insurance) and corroboration with household survey data on fertility and the labour market:
- Maternity leave beneficiaries granted job leave as a percent of employed women in childbearing age who had children over the past
- Family arrangements:
- ercent distribution of families by type of family living arrangements
- Family care (restriction of activities):
- Percent of persons that have difficulties to carry out basic activities (eating, walking, etc.) due to health problems81
2. Tanzania
In Tanzania, time-use survey data were used to calculate the distribution of time devoted to key categories of daily activities, disaggregated by sex.82 The categories used are:
- Employment
- Primary production
- Service for income
- Household maintenance
- Care of family
- Community service
- Learning
- Mass media use
- Social and cultural
- Personal care
3. Ukraine
In Ukraine, the following statistical indicators have been used to measure the Combining Work, Family and Personal Life dimension of decent work:
- Relative number of workers on leave to care for a child until attainment of a statutory age, in percent of the registered number of employees
- Relative number of women on maternity leave, in percent of the registered number of employees
- Share of economically inactive population performing household (family) duties, caring for children, sick and other family members, in percent
- Share of children enrolled in pre-school education, in percent
- Total fertility rate (per woman)
4. Indonesia
In Indonesia, various statistical indicators have been used from different sources:
- Coverage of workers by maternity leave benefits (number of men and women having enjoyed the benefit of paternity/ maternity leave, and their proportion in per cent of informal workers and formal workers) from specific surveys at provincial level
- Informal and casual employment rates and the proportion of workers with excessive working hours, given the direct implications for the allocation of family and private life time
- The female labour force participation rate
- Commuting times between home and work, given their impact on the time allocated to family and personal life (proportion of workers having less than 30 minutes, between 31 and 60 minutes and more than 60 minutes, by sex and marriage status) from a specific study on metropolitan areas in
5. Philippines
In Philippines, three statistical indicators have been used from labour force surveys:
- Economic inactivity rate due to household/family duties (percent of working age population, by sex and age bands)
- The proportion of the employed who are married (percent of employed, by sex and age bands)
- The proportion of the employed who are household heads (percent of employed, by sex and age bands).
The first indicator aims to measure the segment of the working age population who are outside of the labour force, voluntarily or involuntarily, due to household/family duties, e.g., taking care of young children or the elderly.
The other two indicators indicate the proportion of the employed that are doubly burdened as workers and as family members, and who have to strike a balance between potentially competing demands on their time and attention.
Another source has been used (establishments surveys) to measure the proportion of establishments implementing various programs to help workers balance their work and family responsibilities: flexible work schedule, compressed workweeks, work and family programs and conducting seminars on balancing work as well as non-statutory leave arrangements allowed by employers (use of leave benefits to attend to urgent family concerns, extended maternity leave with pay and without pay, extended paternity leave with pay and without pay, flexible holiday schedule, time off in lieu of extra hours worked, career break, study leave).
6. Cambodia
In Cambodia, despite the absence of data on the extent to which working men and women benefit from the work-life balance provisions of the labour law, the following statistical indicators have been used:
- Factory compliance rates (compliance rates: % of factories complying with maternity leave) in the garment sector, to assess whether or not employers pay their staff for maternity leave
- Excessive working hours, that can be damaging since they not only infringe on the ability to balance work-family responsibilities, but they may also have a negative effect on individual and family health and wellbeing
- Commuting patterns in Cambodia since nine in every ten employed workers worked outside the home
- The share of employed persons working at home by
Chapter 5. Work that should be abolished
International Conventions and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work require that certain types of work, such as child and forced labour, should be abolished.
With this goal in mind, measurement of work that should be abolished is essential in order to gauge its incidence, distribution and characteristics and thus ultimately inform action and monitor progress towards its elimination. For the purpose of statistical measurement, national legislation, where available, and guidelines provided by international labour standards, international statistical standards and other international instruments should be used as the starting point for developing statistical concepts and definitions of child labour and forced labour. Therefore, in accordance with relevant international standards, this section presents the concepts, definitions, and statistical measurement of child labour and forced labour.
Five statistical indicators are presented and two legal framework indicators on Child labour and Forced labour (Table 5).
Table 5: Overview of decent work indicators for work that should be abolished
| Statistical Decent Work Indicators | Concepts | Coverage | Preferred data source |
| ABOL-1. Child labour rate – (M) | Child labour | Children 5-17 years | Household-based child labour survey
Labour force surveys with child labour module Establishment surveys administered at children’s workplace Population census Other household survey with employment module |
| ABOL-2. Hazardous child labour rate – (A) | Child labour
Hazardous work by children |
Children 5-17 years | |
| ABOL-3. Rate of worst forms of child labour (WFCL) other than hazardous work – (A) | Child labour
Hazardous work by children |
Children 5-17 years | Sector-specific surveys |
| ABOL-4. Forced labour rate – (A) | Forced labour | Employed persons | Dedicated surveys
Forced labour modules in household income and expenditure surveys, labour force surveys and child labour surveys Establishment surveys |
| ABOL-5. Forced labour rate among returned migrants – (A) | Forced labour Trafficking in persons | Employed persons | Household survey (migration, labour force or household income and |
| expenditure surveys) with a module on forced labour
Administrative records |
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| Legal Framework Indicators:
L9. Child Labour L10. Forced Labour |
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Chapter 6. Stability and security of work
Stability and security of work is a dimension that allows the differentiation of workers into those whose jobs are characterized by a degree of relative permanence and soundness in terms of the absence of subsistence working conditions from others. The indicators are given in terms of the share of employment falling into the particular unstable or insecure worker category.
Stability and security of work covers three statistical indicators and one legal framework indicator within the decent work measurement framework (see Table 6).
Table 6: Overview of decent work indicators for stability and security of work
| Statistical Decent Work Indicators* | Concepts | Coverage | Preferred data source |
| STAB-1. Precarious employment rate (M) | Employed persons
Works in precarious employment |
Employed persons | LFS, other household surveys |
| STAB-2. Job tenure (A) | Employed persons Job tenure | Employed persons | LFS, other household surveys |
| STAB-3. Subsistence worker rate (A) | Employed persons Self-employed Subsistence workers | Employed persons | LFS, other household surveys with employment module |
| STAB-4. Real earnings of casual workers (A) | Employment Earning
Hours actually worked CPI |
Employed persons | LFS (with information by job contract duration)
Other household surveys (with employment, earnings and hours data) |
| Legal Framework Indicator: L11- Termination of employment | |||
*At the time of the Expert Group Meeting in September 2008, only one main statistical indicator had been identified for this substantive element: “Stability and security of work” (M), for which developmental work was to be done by the Office. The three new indicators listed above have replaced this main indicator (of which only one is a main indicator, M), and “number of casual workers” has been modified and incorporated as a complementary indicator to the new indicator, “Precarious employment rate”.
Concepts and definitions used throughout the chapter
The concept of employment concerns the supply of labour for the production of economic goods and services (that is, it refers to productive activity within the production boundary) as defined by the United Nations systems of national accounts and balances during a specified time-reference period.
The employed comprise all persons of working age who during a specified brief period, such as one week or one day, were in the following categories: a) paid employment (whether at work or with a job but not at work); or b) self-employment (whether at work or with an enterprise but not at work). Temporary absence from work includes reasons such as illness, maternity and parental leave, holiday, training, and industrial disputes.100
The concept at work refers to persons who during the reference period performed some work for wage or salary, in cash or in kind (for paid employment), or persons who during the reference period performed some work for profit or family gain, in cash or in kind (for self-employment). For operational purposes, the notion “some work” may be interpreted as work for at least one hour. Employed persons include those persons of working age who worked for at least one hour during the reference period as contributing family workers (formerly referred to as unpaid family workers) working in a family business.
Chapter 7. Equal opportunity and treatment in employment
Promoting equal opportunity and treatment in employment is a central element of the Decent Work Agenda. The 2008 ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization indicates that gender equality and non-discrimination must be considered to be cross-cutting issues in the strategic objectives of decent work. This aim is also closely aligned with one of the key Millennium Development Goals, namely to promote gender equality and empower women.
While the main focus of this chapter is on equal opportunity and treatment in employment as regards gender, it is also intended to cover these topics as regards other population groups which may suffer discrimination including groups differentiated by race, ethnicity or indigenous group and also rural workers, migrant workers and persons with disabilities.
The indicators introduced in this section can help countries to monitor the progress they have made in achieving the objective of promoting equal opportunity and treatment in employment. Four statistical indicators have been developed and four others are to be developed by the ILO. One of these indicators is also a Millennium Development Goal (MDG) indicator, namely the Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector. While the MDG indicators were conceived as part of a broad development agenda targeting developing countries during the period 2000-2015, the inclusion of this indicator here among the full set of decent work indicators is intended to allow countries at all levels of development to monitor working poverty levels and trends. The Legal Framework Indicators corresponding to these statistical indicators are: Equal remuneration of men and women for work of equal value and Equal opportunity and treatment (Table 7).
Table 7: Overview of decent work indicators for equal opportunity and treatment in employment
| Statistical Decent Work Indicators | Concepts | Coverage | Preferred data source |
| Indicators developed | |||
| EQUA-1. Occupational segregation by sex – (M) | Employment | Employed persons | LFS, other household surveys with an employment module
Establishment surveys Administrative records |
| EQUA-2. Female share of employment in senior and middle management – (M) | Employment ISIC | Employed persons | |
| EQUA-3. Gender wage gap -(A) | Employees Earnings | Employees | LFS, other household surveys with an employment module including earnings data
Establishment surveys Administrative data |
| EQUA-4. Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector – (A) | Employees ISIC | Employees | |
| Indicators to be developed by the ILO | |||
| EQUA-5 (A) Indicator for Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (Elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation) | |||
| EQUA -6 (A) Measure of discrimination by race/ethnicity/of indigenous people/of (recent) migrant workers/of rural workers where relevant and available at the national level * | |||
| EQUA -7 (F) Measure of dispersion for sectoral/occupational distribution of (recent) migrant workers | |||
| EQUA -8 (F) Measure for employment of persons with disabilities * | |||
| Legal framework indicators :
L12- Equal opportunity and treatment |
|||
| L13- Equal remuneration of men and women for work of equal value |
* These indicators can comprise a set of indicators disaggregated by ethnicity in order to give a profile of discrimination in the country: Employment-to-population ratio (EPR), Labour force participation ratio (LFPR), Unemployment rate, Average real wages, etc. Ethnicity is a recommended level of disaggregation for key indicators.
Employees are all those workers who hold “paid employment jobs”. These are jobs where the incumbents hold explicit (written or oral) or implicit employment contracts which give them a basic remuneration that is not directly dependent upon the revenue of the unit for which they work (this unit can be a corporation, a non-profit institution, a government unit or a household). Some or all of the tools, capital equipment, information systems and/or premises used by the incumbents may be owned by others, and the incumbents may work under direct supervision of, or according to strict guidelines set by the owner(s) or persons in the owners’ employment. Persons in “paid employment jobs” are typically remunerated by wages and salaries, but may be paid by commission from sales, by piece-rates, bonuses or in-kind payments such as food, housing or training. 115
Chapter 8. Safe work environment
Occupational safety and health at work are vital components of decent work. The extent to which workers are protected from work-related hazards and risks is captured, assessed and monitored through four statistical indicators: (i) Occupational injury frequency rate, fatal; (ii) Occupational injury frequency rate, non-fatal; (iii) Time lost per occupational injury; (iv) Labour inspection (Inspectors per 10,000 employed persons). The legal framework indicators corresponding to these statistical indicators are: OSH labour inspection and Employment injury benefits (Table 8).
Table 8: Overview of decent work indicators for safe work environment
| Statistical Decent Work Indicators | Concepts | Coverage | Preferred data source |
| SAFE-1. Occupational injury frequency rate, fatal – (M) | Occupational injury Occupational accident
Fatal and non-fatal occupational injury Days lost by cases of temporary incapacity |
Workers in the reference group | National systems for the notification of occupational injuries
Administrative data Household surveys Establishment surveys |
| SAFE-2. Occupational injury frequency rate, non-fatal – (A) | |||
| SAFE-3. Time lost per occupational injury – (A) | |||
| SAFE-4. Labour inspection (Inspectors per 10,000 employed persons) – (A) | Employment Labour inspection | Employed persons | |
| Legal Framework Indicators
L 14- Employment injury benefits L 15- Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) labour inspection |
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Since many of the indicators share common concepts and definitions (See Table 8) this introduction provides some of the key concepts and definitions.
Occupational injury: any personal injury, disease or death resulting from an occupational accident.120 An occupational injury is different from an occupational disease, which comes as a result of an exposure over a period of time to risk factors linked to the work activity. Diseases are included only in cases where the disease arose as a direct result of an accident.
Occupational accident: an unexpected and unplanned occurrence, including acts of violence, arising out of or in connection with work which results in one or more workers incurring a personal injury, disease or death.121 Occupational accidents are to be considered travel, transport or road traffic accidents in which workers are injured and which arise out of or in the course of work; that is, while engaged in an economic activity, or at work, or carrying out the business of the employer.
Workers in the reference group: workers in the reference group refer to the average number of workers in the particular group under consideration and who are covered by the source of the statistics of occupational injuries (for example, those of a specific sex or in a specific economic activity,
Chapter 9. Social security
.Social security covers all measures that provide benefits, whether in cash or in kind, to secure protection, inter alia, from (a) lack of work-related income (or insufficient income) caused by sickness, disability, maternity, employment injury, unemployment, old age, or death of a family member; (b) lack of access or unaffordable access to health care; (c) insufficient family support, particularly for children and adult dependants; and (d) general poverty and social exclusion. 129
Ten statistical indicators are introduced in this section, to monitor the progress made at the national level in achieving this objective and some of them are yet to be developed by the ILO. Three legal framework indicators correspond to these statistical indicators: Old-age social security or pension benefits (public/private), Incapacity for work due to sickness/sick leave (income replacement in case of sickness / sick leave) and Incapacity for work due to invalidity (income replacement in case of non- occupational invalidity) (Table 9).
Table 9: Overview of decent work indicators for social security
| Statistical Decent Work Indicators | Concepts | Coverage | Preferred data source |
| Indicators developed | |||
| SECU-1. Share of population above the statutory pensionable age (or aged 65 or above) benefiting from an old-age pension – (M) | Old-age pension Beneficiary | Population above the statutory pensionable age or aged 65 + | Administrative records Household surveys Population Census |
| SECU-2. Public social security expenditure (percentage of GDP) – (M) | Annual public social security expenditure | n/a | National accounts Social security scheme |
| SECU-3. Health expenditure not financed out of pocket by private households – (A) | Healthcare costs
Out-of-pocket spending by private households |
All Households | National health account
Demographic health survey |
| SECU-4. Share of economically active population contributing to a pension scheme – (A) | Protected persons or Affiliated persons Active contributors
Contributory schemes Basic schemes Labour force |
Employed and unemployed persons | Administrative data Household surveys |
| Indicators to be developed by the ILO (future indicators) | |||
| SECU-5 (F) Share of eligible population covered by (basic) health care provision | |||
| SECU-6 (F) Public expenditure on needs-based cash income support (% of GDP) | |||
| SECU-7 (F) Beneficiaries of cash income support (% of the poor) |
| SECU-8 (F) Sick leave |
| SECU-9 (F) Share of unemployed receiving regular periodic social security unemployment benefits |
| SECU-10 (F) Ratio of average old-age pension received to minimum wage |
| Legal Framework Indicators
L16- Old-age social security or pension benefits (public/private) L17- Incapacity for work due to sickness / sick leave (Income replacement in case of sickness / sick leave) L18- Incapacity for work due to invalidity (Income replacement in case of non-occupational invalidity) |
Chapter 10. Social dialogue, workers’ and employers’ representation
Social dialogue covers all types of negotiation, consultation and exchange of information between representatives of governments, employers and workers on issues of common interest. It covers both tripartite processes and institutions of social dialogue, such as social and economic councils; institutions, such as trade unions and employers’ organizations; and processes, such as collective bargaining.
The main goal of social dialogue itself is to build consensus among actors in the world of work. Successful social dialogue structures and processes have the potential to resolve important economic and social issues, encourage good governance, advance social and industrial peace and stability, as well as to boost economic progress.
Hence, social dialogue plays a key role in achieving the ILO’s objective of promoting opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equality, security and human dignity. Social dialogue indicators are an important element in measuring progress of Decent Work. The extent to which the rights to social dialogue are exercised effectively is reflected in, among others, four statistical indicators (Table 10).
These statistical indicators are complemented by three legal framework indicators: Tripartite consultations, Collective bargaining right and Freedom of association and the right to organize (Table 10).
Table 10: Overview of decent work indicators for social dialogue
| Statistical Decent Work Indicators | Concepts | Coverage | Preferred data source |
| DIAL-1. Trade union density rate – (M) | Trade union Employees
Own-account workers Employment |
Employed persons
(Total employment) |
LFS with data on union membership
Administrative data Establishment surveys |
| DIAL-2. Employers’ organization density
rate- (M) |
Employers’ organization | Employers | Business registers Establishment surveys |
| DIAL-3.Collective bargaining coverage rate
– (M) |
Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining agreement Own-account workers Employees Employment |
Employed persons
(Total employment) |
LFS Administrative data Establishment surveys |
| DIAL-4. Days not worked due to strikes and lockouts – (A) | Strikes Lockouts | Employed persons | |
| Legal Framework Indicators
L 19- Freedom of association and the right to organize |
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| L 20- Collective bargaining right
L 21- Tripartite consultations |
Since many of the indicators share common concepts, this introduction provides some of the key concepts and definitions.
Persons of working age are classified as employed if, during a short reference period such as a day or a week, (i) they did some work (even for just one hour) for pay, profit or family gain, in cash or in kind; or (ii) they were attached to a job or had an enterprise from which they were ‘temporarily’ absent during this period (for such reasons as illness, maternity, parental leave, holiday, training, industrial dispute). Employed persons include those persons of working age who worked for at least one hour during the reference period as contributing family workers (formerly referred to as unpaid family workers) working in a family business.145
It should be noted that the concept of employment does not include household members engaged in the provision of unpaid services for own family use, such as cooking at home or caring for own children as well as volunteers providing services to households for own final use. These activities are not included within the production boundaries of the System of National Accounts.146 However, persons engaged in the production of economic goods and services for own and household consumption should be considered as in self-employment if such production comprises an important contribution to the total consumption of the household (see Chapter 2).147
Employees refer to wage and salaried workers as defined by the International Classification of Status in Employment (ICSE-93). Employees are all those workers who hold “paid employment jobs”. These are jobs where the incumbents hold explicit (written or oral) or implicit employment contracts which give them a basic remuneration that is not directly dependent upon the revenue of the unit for which they work (this unit can be a corporation, a non-profit institution, a government unit or a household). Some or all of the tools, capital equipment, information systems and/or premises used by the incumbents may be owned by others, and the incumbents may work under direct supervision of, or according to strict guidelines set by the owner(s) or persons in the owners’ employment. Persons in “paid employment jobs” are typically remunerated by wages and salaries, but may be paid by commission from sales, by piece-rates, bonuses or in-kind payments, such as food, housing or training.148
Own-account workers are defined by the International Classification of Status in Employment (ICSE-93) as those workers who, working on their own account or with one or more partners, hold the type of job defined as “a self-employment job” and have not engaged on a continuous basis any employees to work for them during the reference period. It should be noted that during the reference period the members of this group may have engaged employees, provided that this is on a non-continuous basis. (The partners may or may not be members of the same family or household.)