Status of work on the International Classification of Status in Employment

David HunterILO Department of Statistics

ILO Department of Statistics

Meeting of the Expert Group on International Statistical ClassificationsNew York, 13-5 May 2013

International Classification of Status in Employment (ICSE-93)

• Adopted at the Fifteenth ICLS in 1993• Allows identification of:

– Employees (paid employment jobs)– Self-employed (income depends solely on profits)

• Employers• Own-account workers• Members of producers’ cooperatives• Contributing family workers

• A critical variable to understand structure and functioning of labour market

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Main uses of statistics classified by status in employment

• Analysis of the nature of the economic risk and authority that the employed population experiences at work;

• Strength of attachment of the employed population to the employer and to the job, as a potential indicator of precarious employment situations.

• The production of statistics on the socio-economic status of persons and households;• Studying the relationship between economic cycles and employment in higher risk,

less secure, or precarious working situations• Extent to which persons who lose jobs in paid employment engage in various forms

of self employment– Contributing family workers as hidden unemployed

• The impact of self-employment and entrepreneurialism on employment and economic growth

– consequences for government policies related to economic development and job creation.• The provision of data as an input national accounts

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Optional groups that may be separately identified according to ICSE-93

• Owner-managers of incorporated enterprises; • Employees with fixed-term contracts; • Workers in casual, short term and seasonal employment;• Outworkers• ‘Contractors’; • Workers engaged by labour hire companies• Work gang members• Franchisees• Sharecroppers• Communal resource workers• Subsistence workers• ….as sub-categories of the five groups listed above, or as groups that cut across two or more of the

substantive groups

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Revision of ICSE-93• 18th ICLS identified a number of topics as priorities for the

future methodological work of the ILO in labour statistics:– changing structure of the labour force, including a revision of the

International Classification of Status in Employment (ICSE-93) – possible revision of the current international standards on

statistics of the economically active population• Revision of ICSE-93 cannot be finalized prior to 19th ICLS

Resolution concerning statistics of work and the labour force

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Process for revision of ICSE-93• Release discussion paper in advance of the 19th ICLS

– Summary of known problems with and range of national practices – Identification of possible modifications to ICSE-93 , and/or new standard

classifications and variables– Options for the revision of ICSE-93 will reflect possible outcomes from

resolution on labour force and work statistics

• Guidance from ILO Working Group for the Advancement of Employment and Unemployment Statistics

• Discussion on revising ICSE-93 during the 19th ICLS – to seek guidance on the proposed options and how to progress work rapidly – within the context of the new revised standards for labour force and work

statistics– possibly seeking a mandate for ILO to develop a revision of ICSE to be

adopted by a Tripartite Meeting of Experts

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ICSE-93 – issues and problems

Proposals for revision of ICSE are considering the following issues:– Scope of the classification– Fixed-term, casual, short term and seasonal employment– Apprentices, trainees and interns– Blurring of the boundary between self-employment and employees– Owner-managers of incorporated enterprises– ‘Contractors’– The treatment of contributing family workers– Members of producers’ cooperatives– Domestic workers

Paper on updating ICSE to be discussed at 19th ICLS in 2013

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ICSE – possible options for revision• Definitively include contractors and/or owner managers of

incorporated enterprises– EITHER as self-employed– OR as employees in paid employment

• While providing sufficient detail for SNA purposes

• OR - Abandon the dichotomy between self-employment and paid employment

• Under any of the above scenarios– Create additional categories at second or third level for

• Regular, short-term/casual/seasonal employment• Apprentices , trainees and interns• Domestic employees

• Deal with other issues as separate variables

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Option 1: Include contractors and/or owner managers of incorporated enterprises as self-employed

• Self-employed– Employer

• In own incorporated enterprise• In own unincorporated enterprise

– Own account worker• In own incorporated enterprise• In unincorporated enterprise• Independent contractor (in a third party enterprise)• Contributing family worker

• Employee– Regular employee– Casual, short-term or seasonal employee– Apprentice, trainee or intern– Domestic employee

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Option 2: Include contractors and/or owner managers of incorporated enterprises as employees

• Self-employed– Employer in unincorporated enterprise– Own account worker in own unincorporated enterprise– Contributing family worker

• Employees– In own incorporated enterprise

• With employees• Without employees

– Regular employee– Casual, short-term or seasonal employee– Apprentice, trainee or intern– Independent contractor (employed in a third party enterprise)

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Option 3: Abandon dichotomy between paid employment and self-employment

• Employer– In own incorporated enterprise– In own unincorporated enterprise

• Own account worker– In own incorporated enterprise– In own unincorporated enterprise

• Independent contractor• Contributing family worker• Employee

– Regular employee– Casual, short-term or seasonal employee– Apprentice, trainee or intern– Domestic employee

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Option 4: Proposal inspired by analysis of current national practices

• Employees– Permanent employee– Temporary employee

• Fixed-term • Seasonal • Casual• On-call • Apprentice, trainee or intern

– Workers on oral agreement– Domestic employee

• Self-employed– With employees

• In incorporated enterprise• in unincorporated enterprise

– Without employees• In incorporated enterprise• in unincorporated enterprise

– Contractors

• Others forms of employment– Contributing family worker– Member of producers’

cooperatives– Other forms of employment not

elsewhere classified

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Possible points for discussion

• Reaction to proposed options?• What is the appropriate degree of involvement of

the Expert Group?

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