People are asking...

BLS does not produce the international data I need. Where could I look for data on:

• Demographics?
• Employment by occupation?
• Family and children?
• Financial statistics?
• H1B visas?
• Hours of work?
• Household income and employment surveys (harmonized)?
• Laws relating to labor, social security, and related human rights?
• Living costs abroad?
• Minimum wages?
• NAFTA, impact of?
• Wages by occupation?
• World development indicators?

The sources cited below are provided for your convenience; they are not exhaustive and are not maintained or controlled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (with the exception of the Employee Benefits Survey).  

Demographics:

U.S. Census Bureau--International Data Base (IDB) contains statistical tables of demographic, and socio-economic data for 227 countries and areas of the world
United Nations--Demographics Statistics from the UN Statistics Division ranging from population to social indicators

Employment by occupation:

International Labour Office (ILO) LABORSTA--Statistics on employment, unemployment, hours of work, wages, labor cost, consumer price indices, occupational injuries, strikes and lockouts, and occupational wages and hours

Family and children:

Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics--Statistics on the well-being of children in the U.S. compared  with those in other countries (From the home page choose "International Comparisons")

Financial statistics:

Federal Reserve--Annual foreign exchange rate information
International Monetary Fund--Financial statistics worldwide, including an online World Economic Outlook database

H1B visas:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)--Information on foreign nationals who enter or attempt to enter the United States for temporary or permanent residence through a variety of status categories, as well as subsequent USCIS actions such as apprehension, removal, or naturalization.

Hours of Work:

(A) Average hours worked

Yearbook of Labour Statistics, published by the International Labour Office (ILO), includes statistics on hours worked or hours paid by economic sector for almost every country which collects such data. The statistics are not adjusted for comparability; differences from the ILO norm are indicated in table notations. The data published in the Yearbook are also contained in LABORSTA, the ILO Labour Statistics Database. Selected data from LABORSTA are available on the Internet, including hours of work by economic activity.

Key Indicators of the Labour Market (KILM), published by the International Labour Office (ILO), includes an indicator on hours of work. Statistics published include annual number of hours worked per person and percentage working less than 20 hours or more than 40 hours per week. About 45 countries are covered. The statistics come from different survey sources, and are not adjusted for comparability; differences from the ILO norm are indicated in table notations.

Employment Outlook, published annually by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), contains a regular table on average annual hours worked in 29 member countries. These data are similar to the ILO figures in that they are not adjusted for comparability. In the notes to the table, the OECD states that the data are not suitable for comparing the levels of average annual hours of work for a given year among countries because of differences in their sources. If Employment Outlook is not available at a local library, purchasing information can be obtained from the OECD online bookshop.

The OECD Labour Market and Social Policy Occasional Paper, Trends in Working Hours in OECD Countries, presents an overview of hours worked trends, and also discusses the comparability problems of the average annual hours worked series published in the Employment Outlook. This paper can be downloaded in PDF format from the OECD website.

For Europe, Labour force survey, published annually by the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat), contains data on average usual weekly hours of work for 15 European Union member countries. The statistics come from their harmonized survey. Unfortunately, these statistics are not available on the Internet or on New Cronos, Eurostat's official database. If the Labour force survey is not available at a local library, purchasing information can be obtained from the Eurostat web site.

(B) Standard hours worked, annual leave (vacations), and public holidays

Working Time Around the World (Conditions of Work Digest, volume 14, 1995), published by the International Labour Office (ILO). It contains information for 150 countries on normal hours of work, paid annual leave and public holidays; overtime regulations, premium pay and compensatory rest; rest periods during the working day, between days, and between weeks; and special types of leave. If you cannot find the publication at a local library, purchasing information can be obtained from the ILO online bookshop.

For Europe only, the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) publishes an annual report on working time developments, including collectively agreed and statutory maximum weekly hours worked and collectively agreed and statutory annual leave (vacation days and personal leave days).

For Japan, data on annual scheduled hours worked, legal holidays, and vacation days granted and vacation days actually taken are published by the Japanese Institute of Labour in Tables 54, 57, and 58 of Japanese Working Life Profile-Labour Statistics. (To reach those tables, choose English; then Labour Situation in Japan; then Japanese Working Life Profile-Labour Statistics; then Wages, Working Hours, Other Working Conditions.)

For the United States, data on scheduled hours of work and holiday and vacation entitlements are collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Employee Benefits Survey. Data are collected separately for medium and large private establishments, small private establishments, and state and local governments.

Household income and employment surveys (harmonized):

Luxembourg Income and Employment (LIS) Study--Demographic, income and expenditure information on three different levels: household, person and child for 25 member countries from Europe, America, Asia, and Oceania

Laws relating to labor, social security, and related human rights:

International Labour Office (ILO) Natlex--Information regarding national laws on labor, social security, and related human rights

Living costs abroad:

U.S. Department of State--Quarterly report indexes of living costs abroad, housing allowances, hardship differentials, and danger pay allowances

Minimum wages:

U.S. Department of State--Country reports on human rights practices provide information on the status of individual, civil, political, and worker rights (Minimum wage practices are covered in the worker rights section on acceptable conditions of work)

NAFTA, impact of:

U.S. International Trade Commission--Study on the actual impact of the first 3 years of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on the U.S. economy as a whole, and on industries particularly affected by the Agreement
U.S. Trade Representative--General information on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

Wages by occupation:

International Labour Office (ILO) LABORSTA-- Statistics on employment, unemployment, hours of work, wages, labor cost, consumer price indices, occupational injuries, strikes and lockouts, and occupational wages and hours

International Labour Office (ILO) Key Indicators of the Labour Market (KILM)--20 labor market indicators worldwide, one of which, KILM16, is an occupational wage indicator covering six selected occupations: (1) laborer in construction (2) welder in metal manufacturing (3) professional nurse (4) first-level teacher (5) computer programmer in the insurance sector (6) accountant in the banking sector

World development indicators:

World Bank's World Development Indicators--800 indicators worldwide, including poverty, GDP per capita, employment, unemployment, education, prices, wages, minimum wages, and hours of work
United Nations--Assessment of development indicators used by the United Nations (Choose "Development Indicators" listed under "Social Statistics Methods")

What are other major sources of international labor statistics?

Three important sources of international labor statistics are the International Labour Office (ILO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the Statistical Office of the European Communities (EUROSTAT). The ILO's Yearbook of Labour Statistics and Key Indicators of the Labour Market (KILM) provide a variety of data for the largest number of countries. The OECD provides data primarily for the developed countries, while most EUROSTAT data are limited to the countries of the European Union. All of these organizations prepare special studies on a wide variety of labor-related topics. Use the search engine at each of the respective sites to see if there are studies of interest to you.

Where can I find summary information about the economic variables available from specific countries?

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board

Last Modified Date: October 19, 2004

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