Comparability and methodological adjustments of labor statistics: The case of the unemployment rate for Ecuador

Abstract

The national statistical institutes face permanently the need to reform and
update the statistical criteria and instruments for labor market analysis, as well as to adapt international recommendations for measurement. These processes
pose important challenges regarding the comparability of information, necessary
to analyze the labor market dynamics. This study presents a consistent
methodological approach for the splicing of labor market aggregates based
on microeconomic information from household surveys. We analyze the case of
the national unemployment rate for Ecuador; assess the potential alternatives
for simulation and define a consistent selection criterion for the prognosis and
splicing of the series.