International Conference of Labour Statisticians
Also called: ICLS, 19th ICLS · Topic: Economic Data: Census, NSS, Surveys and Statistical Tools · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) is a meeting of labour statisticians from many countries, called by the International Labour Organization (ILO). It sets the world standards for labour data, meaning how to define and measure work, employment and unemployment. Countries follow these standards so that their job numbers can be compared with each other's. At the 19th ICLS (2013), employment was narrowed to work done for pay or profit. Producing goods mainly for your own family's use was moved into a separate form of work called own-use production. It still counts as work, but not as employment.
Example
Under the 19th ICLS rule, a farmer who grows grain mainly to feed the family is not "employed", but a farmer who sells most of the crop is. When countries switched to this rule, the average employment-to-population ratio across 39 countries fell from 53.0% to 44.3%. India's PLFS still uses a broader rule. In Jul–Sep 2026, 56.7% of rural workers were in agriculture, so the gap between the two rules matters most in rural India.
Don't confuse with
- International Labour Organization (ILO): the UN agency that calls the conference. The ICLS is the ILO's expert meeting that sets standards for labour statistics.
- Current weekly status (CWS): PLFS's Indian rule, where one hour of work in the past 7 days counts as employed, and unpaid family helpers count too. The 19th ICLS asks a different question: whether the work is done for pay or profit.