Definition: Unemployed
ILO terminology
The "unemployed" comprise all persons above a specified age who during the reference period were:
(a) "without work", i.e. were not in paid employment or self-employment;
(b) "currently available for work", i.e. were available for paid employment or self-employment during the reference period; and
(c) "seeking work", i.e. had taken specific steps in a specified recent period to seek paid employment or selfemployment. 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 licences, etc.
Source:
International Labour Organisation (ILO) Resolution Concerning Statistics of the Economically Active Population, Employment, Unemployment and Underemployment Adopted by the 13th International Conference of Labour Statisticians, October 1982
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