Definition: Unemployment

Category: European System of Accounts (ESA)

In accordance with the guidelines established by the International Labour Organization (13th International Conference of Labour Statisticians), further specified in the European Union context by Commission Regulation (EC) 1897/2000, the concept of unemployment comprises all persons above a specified age who during the reference period were:

(a) "without work", i.e. 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 self-employment. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/product?code=KS-02-13-269&mode=view European Union, Regulation (EU) No 549/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on the European system of national and regional accounts in the European Union, Official Journal of the European Union No L 174, 26.06.2013, p. 1 - 727
European Union, Commission Regulation (EC) No 1897/2000 of 7 September 2000 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98 on the organisation of a labour force sample survey in the Community concerning the operational definition of unemployment, Official Journal of the European Union No L 228, 8.9.2000, p. 18 - 21