ABSTRACT
Within developed market economies it is the labour market bringing together buyers and sellers of labour services, which allocates labour among different kinds of employment and, since it constitutes an important source of income for most of the population, also determines the distribution of labour earnings and conditions of employment. There has been a good deal of criticism concerning the adequacy and measurement methods of particular labour-force statistics. Given the differences between the definitions, scope, and coverage of the data, the methods used for compiling them and the ways in which the data are presented, further problems are encountered when utilizing national statistics in an attempt to assess international comparative performance, in order to examine the position of one country relative to that of another. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
