The present Volume 2 of Sources and Methods: Labour Statistics presents methodological descriptions of establishment surveys from which are obtained the statistics of employment, wages, hours of work and labour cost published by the ILO in the 1995 edition of the Yearbook of Labour Statistics. It is a revised, enlarged and updated version of the first edition issued in 1987 and, for the first time, includes methodological information on labour cost statistics. This second edition contains 127 descriptions in respect of 71 countries, areas and territories.

The purpose of this volume is twofold: first, to provide basic methodological information on the sources and methods used in each country in compiling these statistics, and, second, to illustrate the differences between the various national series with respect to the concepts and methodologies used by countries. The descriptions are presented under standard headings which allow for easy comparison of the different characteristics.