Labour Statistics Concept and Definitions
Age Dependency Ratio (ADR) – an indicator of the economic burden on the working age population. It is defined as the ratio of the population in the dependent ages, i.e., those under 15 years old plus those 65 years old and over, to those in the working ages 15-64 years.
(ADR) = (Population < 15 yrs old) + (Population 65 yrs old and over) x 100
(Population 15-64 yrs old)
Currently Active Population – also referred to as the labour force. It includes all those persons who, during the specified reference period, are classified either as employed or as unemployed, i.e., who supply labour.
Dependent Ages Population – referred to population under 15 years old and those 65 years old and over.
Economic Growth – refers to the percent change of the gross domestic product over a period of time.
Economically Active Population – are all those persons who, during the specified reference period, are classified either as employed or as unemployed, i.e., who supply labour. The terms “labour force” and “currently active population” are the terms used if the reference period is short, e.g., a day or a week. If the reference period is long, e.g., a year, then the term “usually active population” may be used. Does not include students and retired persons who do not work or seek work, persons occupied solely in domestic duties in their own households, persons living entirely on their own means, and persons wholly dependent upon others. Also exclude persons living in collective households, such as prisons and convents.
Employed – comprise all persons 15 years and above who, during a specified period, either one week or one day, were either in paid employment or self-employment.
Employment Elasticity – provides a numerical measure of how employment growth varies with growth of economic output; i.e., how much employment growth is associated with 1 percentage point of economic growth.
Employment Elasticity = (Employment Growth / Economic Growth)
Employment Growth – refers to the percent change of the volume of employment over a period of time, i.e., annual, quarter.
Employment Rate – a measure of the proportion of the labour force that is employed.
Employment Rate = (Employed / Labour Force) * 100
Employment-to-Population Ratio – a measure of the proportion of a country’s working-age population that is employed. It provides information on the ability of an economy to create employment. A high ratio means that a large proportion of a country’s population is employed, while a low ratio means that a large share of the population is not involved directly in market-related activities, because they are either unemployed or (more likely) out of the labour force altogether.
Employment-to-Population Ratio = (Employed / Labour Force) * 100
Establishment – an economic unit engages, under a single ownership or control, i.e., under a single legal identity, in one or predominantly one kind of economic activity at a single fixed location.
Inactivity Rate – defined as the percentage of the population that is neither working nor seeking work (that is, not in the labour force).
Labour Force – are all those persons who, during the specified reference period, are classified either as employed or as unemployed, i.e., who supply labour. This does not include students and retired persons who do not work or seek work, persons occupied solely in domestic duties in their own households, persons living entirely on their own means, and persons wholly dependent upon others. Also excludes persons living in collective households, such as prisons and convents.
Labour Force = Employed + Unemployed
Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) – a measure of the proportion of a country’s working-age population that engages actively in the labour market, either by working or looking for work. It provides an indication of the relative size of the supply of labour available to engage in the production of goods and services.
LFPR = (Labour Force / Population 15 Years Old and Over) * 100
Labour Productivity – is the output per unit of labour input. It is estimated by dividing the annual gross domestic product by the number of employed persons.
Labour Productivity = (Gross Domestic Product) / (Employed)
Male-Female Ratio – defined as the number of males per 100 females.
Male-Female Ratio = (Male / Female) * 100
Paid Employment – persons who, during the reference period, performed some work for wage or salary, in cash or in kind, or having already worked in their present job were temporarily not at work and had a formal attachment to their job.
Paid Employment, at Work – persons who, during the reference period, performed some work for wage or salary, in cash or in kind.
Paid Employment, With a Job but Not at Work – persons who, having already worked in their present job, were temporarily not at work during the reference period and had a formal attachment to their job. This formal job attachment should be determined in the light of national circumstances, according to one or more of the following criteria: (i) the continued receipt of wage or salary; (ii) an assurance of return to work following the end of the contingency, or an agreement as to the date of return; and (iii) the elapsed duration of absence from the job which, wherever relevant, may be that duration for which workers can receive compensation benefits without obligations to accept other jobs.
Population Growth Rate – refers to the percent change of the population over a period of time.
Prime Age Group – referred to population 25-54 years old.
Self-Employment, at Work - persons who, during the reference period, performed some work for profit or family gain, in cash or in kind.
Self-Employment With an Enterprise but Not at Work - persons with an enterprise, which may be a business enterprise, a farm or a service undertaking, who were temporarily not at work during the reference period for any specific reason.
Unemployed - comprise all persons15 years old and above who, “during” the reference period, were: without work; currently available for work; and seeking work, i.e. had taken specific steps in a specified reference period to seek paid employment or self-employment. The specific steps may include registration at a public or private employment exchange; application to employers; checking at worksites, farms, factory gates, market or other assembly places; placing or answering newspaper advertisements; seeking assistance of friends or relatives; looking for land, building, machinery or equipment to establish own enterprise; arranging for financial resources; applying for permits and licenses, etc.
Unemployment Rate – a measure of the proportion of the labour force that is seeking work.
Unemployment Rate = (Unemployed / Labour Force) * 100
Working Age Population – referred to population 15 years old and over.
Youth – referred to population 15-24 years old.
Vital Statistics Concepts and Definitions
Crude Birth Rate - the number of live births occurring in a population during a given period of time, usually a calendar year, i.e., the number of live births occurring among the population of a given geographical area during a given year, per 1,000 mid-year total population of the given geographical area during the same year.
Crude Death Rate - the number of deaths occurring in a population during a given period of time, usually a calendar year, i.e., the number of deaths occurring among the population of a given geographical area during a given year per 1,000 mid-year total population of the given geographical area during the same year.
Crude Divorce Rate - the number of divorces occurring in a population during a given period of time, usually a calendar year, i.e., the number of divorces occurring among the population of a given geographical area during a given year per 1,000 mid-year total population of the given geographical area during the same year.
Crude Marriage Rate - the number of marriages occurring in a population during a given period of time, usually a calendar year, i.e., the number of marriages occurring among the population of a given geographical area during a given year per 1,000 mid-year total population of the given geographical area during the same year.
Death - death is the permanent disappearance of all evidence of life at any time after live birth has taken place (post-natal cessation of vital functions without capability of resuscitation). This definition excludes foetal deaths (see FOETAL DEATH).
Divorce - final legal dissolution of a marriage; a separation of husband and wife that confers on the parties the right to remarriage under civil, religious and/or other provisions in accordance with the laws of the laws of the country.
Foetal Death - the death prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of conception, irrespective of the duration of the period of gestation; the death is indicated by the fact that after such separation, the foetus does not breathe or show any other evidence of life, such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord or definite movement of voluntary muscles.
Infant Deaths - deaths of live-born children under one year of age.
Infant Mortality Rate- the number of infant occurring during the same period of time, usually a calendar year, i.e., the number of deaths under one year of age occurring in a given geographical area during a given year, per 1,000 live births occurring among the population of the given geographical area during the same year.
Live Birth – a live birth is the result of the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, which after such separation breathes or shows any other evidence of life, such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord or definite movement of voluntary muscles, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is attached; each product of such a birth is considered to be live-born.
Maternal Death – a maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days after the termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes.
Maternal Mortality Rate - the number of deaths due to maternal causes relative to the number of live births occurring during a given period of time, usually a calendar year, i.e., the number of deaths to women resulting from (a) direct obstetric complications of pregnancy, labour and the puerperium, (b) from interventions, omissions or incorrect treatments or their results, or (c) from indirect obstetric causes resulting from previously existing disease or disease arising during pregnancy and which was not due to direct obstetric causes but which was aggravated by the physiological effects of the pregnancy, occurring in a given geographical area during a given year per 100,000 (or 10,000) live births occurring in the given geographical area during the same year.
Population - (1) All the inhabitants of a given country or area (province, city, metropolitan area etc.) considered together; the number of inhabitants of a country or area. (2) In sampling, the whole collection of units (persons, households, institutions, events etc.) from which a sample may be drawn.
Vital Event - the occurrence of a live birth, death, foetal death, marriage, divorce, adoption, legitimation, recognition of parenthood, annulment of marriage or legal separation.