Question

Report the international definition of unemployment adopted by the ILO or the EuroStat. The definition must specify (i) the working age group; (ii) maximum number of hours per week beyond which the person will no longer be consider unemployed; (iii) reference period (number of weeks or days) for looking for job; and (iv) working hours reference period for availability to start a job.

Please also provide an accurate answer and the link where the definition is taken from.

Answer 1

Unemployed persons are defined as all those of working age (usually aged 15 and above) who were not in
employment, carried out activities to seek employment during a specified recent period and were
currently available to take up employment given a job opportunity, where: (a) “not in employment” is
assessed with respect to the short reference period for the measurement of employment; (b) to “seek
employment” refers to any activity when carried out, during a specified recent period comprising the last
four weeks or one month, for the purpose of finding a job or setting up a business or agricultural
undertaking; (c) the point when the enterprise starts to exist should be used to distinguish between
search activities aimed at setting up a business and the work activity itself, as evidenced by the
enterprise’s registration to operate or by when financial resources become available, the necessary
infrastructure or materials are in place or the first client or order is received, depending on the context;
(d) “currently available” serves as a test of readiness to start a job in the present, assessed with respect
to a short reference period comprising that used to measure employment (depending on national
circumstances, the reference period may be extended to include a short subsequent period not
exceeding two weeks in total, so as to ensure adequate coverage of unemployment situations among
different population groups).

Persons in employment are defined as all those of working age (usually aged 15 and above) who, during a
short reference period such as one week or one day, were engaged in any activity to produce goods or
provide services for pay or profit.

Persons seeking work but not immediately available are the sum of persons aged 15-74 neither employed nor unemployed who:
- Are actively seeking work during the last 4 weeks but not available for work
in the next 2 weeks;
- Found a job to start in less than 3 months and are not available for work in
the next 2 weeks;
- Found a job to start in 3 months or more

Are passively seeking work during the last 4 weeks and are available for
work in the next 2 weeks. Passive job search includes, for example, waiting
for the results of a job interview.

Link:

https://www.ilo.org/stat/Publications/WCMS_647109/lang--
en/index.htm

(https://ilostat.ilo.org/)