The activity rate is calculated by dividing the active population by the population of the same age group. The active population (also called ‘labour force’) is defined as the sum of employed and unemployed persons. The inactive population consists of all persons who are classified as neither employed nor unemployed.

The indicator is a broad measure of the degree of success of the economy in engaging the population in some form of production activity. The indicator is based on data from the Labour Force Survey. 

The employment rate is calculated by dividing the number of employed persons by the population of the same age group. Employed persons are all persons who worked at least one hour for pay or profit during the reference period or were temporarily absent from such work. If a different age group is used, this should be indicated. The indicator can be used to evaluate the ability of the economy to create jobs. It can be used in conjunction with the unemployment rate for a general evaluation of the situation on the labour market. The indicator is based on data from the Labour Force Survey. This indicator is an EU headline target for 2020 in employment. 

The employment rate of recent graduates is estimated for persons aged 20–34 who fulfil the following conditions: first, being employed, according to the ILO definition; second, having attained at least upper secondary education (International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) level 3) as the highest level of education; third, not having received any education or training in the four weeks preceding the survey; and fourth, having successfully completed their highest educational attainment one, two or three years before the survey.

The indicator provides a measure of employability and transition from school to work of recent graduates. The indicator is based on data from the Labour Force Survey. If available, data should be provided by programme orientation (i.e. general/vocational).

This indicator is an EU target for 2020 in education and training.

The unemployment rate represents unemployed persons as a percentage of the labour force. The labour force is the total number of people who are employed or unemployed. Unemployed persons comprise those aged 15–64 or 15+ who were without work during the reference week; are currently available for work (were available for paid employment or self- employment before the end of the two weeks following the reference week); are actively seeking work (had taken specific steps in the four-week period ending with the reference week to seek paid employment or self-employment, or had found a job to start later (within a period of, at most, three months)). The indicator provides a measure of the overall probability of being unemployed and the associated underutilisation of skills. The indicator is based on data from the Labour Force Survey. 

The youth unemployment rate is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed persons aged 15–24 by the total active population in the same age group. The indicator is based on data from the Labour Force Survey. 

The youth unemployment ratio is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed persons aged 15–24 by the total population of the same age group. The indicator is based on data from the Labour Force Survey. 

Lifelong learning refers to persons aged 25–64 who stated that they received education or training in the four weeks preceding the survey (numerator). The denominator consists of the total population of the same age group, excluding those who did not answer the question on participation in education and training. Both the numerator and the denominator come from the Labour Force Survey.

The information collected relates to all education or training, whether or not it is relevant to the respondent’s current or possible future job. If a different reference period is used, this should be indicated. The indicator provides a measure of lifelong learning as well as of the supply of additional skills in the country.

This indicator is an EU target for 2020 in education and training. 

Tertiary attainment is defined as the percentage of the population aged 30–34 who have successfully completed tertiary studies (e.g. university, higher technical institution). Educational attainment refers to ISCED 1997 level 5–6 up to 2013 and to ISCED 2011 level 5–8 from 2014 onwards.

The indicator provides a measure of the stock of skills that are potentially available to employers and that are a key driver of economic growth. The indicator is based on data from the Labour Force Survey. This indicator is an EU headline target for 2020 in education and training. 

Low achievers are the 15-year-olds who are failing level 2 on the PISA scale for reading, mathematics and science. The indicator is based on data from the OECD. If available, data should be reported by programme orientation (i.e. general/vocational).

This indicator is an EU target for 2020 in education and training. 

Early leaving from education and training is defined as the percentage of the population aged 18–24 with at most lower secondary education who were not in further education or training during the four weeks preceding the survey. Lower secondary education refers to ISCED 1997 level 0–3C short for data up to 2013 and to ISCED 2011 level 0–2 for data from 2014 onwards. The indicator is based on data from the Labour Force Survey.

This indicator is an EU headline target for 2020 in education and training. 

The indicator provides information on young people aged 15–24 who meet the following two conditions: first, they are not employed (i.e. unemployed or inactive according to the ILO definition); and second, they have not received any education or training in the four weeks preceding the survey.

Data is expressed as a percentage of the total population of the same age group and gender, excluding the respondents who have not answered the question on participation in education and training. The indicator provides a measure of the youth population most at risk of being marginalised from the labour market and underutilising their skills.

The indicator is based on data from the Labour Force Survey. 

This refers to students enrolled in vocational programmes in upper secondary education expressed as a percentage of the total number of students enrolled in all programmes (vocational and general) at upper secondary education level (ISCED level 3). Vocational education is designed for learners to acquire the knowledge, skills and competences specific to a particular occupation or trade, or class of occupations or trades. Vocational education may have work-based components (e.g. apprenticeships). Successful completion of such programmes leads to labour-market-relevant vocational qualifications acknowledged as occupationally oriented by the relevant national authorities and/or the labour market.

The indicator is based on data from the joint UNESCO-UIS/OECD/Eurostat (UOE) data collection. 

A vocational programme is classified as combined work- and school-based if 25% or more of the curriculum is presented outside the school environment; otherwise it is classified as school-based. Programmes in which the work-based component accounts for 90% or more of the curriculum are excluded. The indicator is based on administrative data (e.g. from ministries or agencies) or data from the joint UOE data collection. 

The active population (also called ‘labour force’) is defined as the sum of employed and unemployed persons. This indicator is usually measured with respect to the highest educational programme successfully completed that is typically certified by a recognised qualification. Recognised intermediate qualifications are classified at a lower level than the programme itself. Please provide data using national classification of educational programmes.

The indicator provides a measure of the stock of skills (as proxied by educational attainment) that are potentially available to employers and that are a key driver of economic growth. The indicator is based on data from the Labour Force Survey.

Public expenditure on education (expressed as a percentage of GDP or as a percentage of total public expenditure). Generally, the public sector funds education either by directly bearing the current and capital expenses of educational institutions, or by supporting students and their families with scholarships and public loans as well as by transferring public subsidies for educational activities to private firms or non-profit organisations. Both types of transaction together are reported as total public expenditure on education. The indicator provides a measure of public investment in human capital relative to the total resources available in the economy. Data may come from national sources (annual financial reports by the Ministry of Finance and/ or the Ministry of Education, and/or national accounts) or from the joint UOE data collection.

Continuing professional development means formal and non-formal professional development activities which may, for example, include subject-based and pedagogical training. In certain cases, these activities may lead to supplementary qualifications. The indicator is expressed as a percentage of total teaching staff or of the teaching staff at a particular level of education (to be indicated).

The indicator is based on administrative data (e.g. from ministries or agencies), data from the joint UOE data collection or data from the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS).

The total population is estimated as the number of persons having their usual residence in a country on 1 January of the respective year. When information on the usually resident population is not available, countries may report legal or registered residents. Data sources are censuses or United Nations Population Division estimates. 

This is the ratio of the youth population (aged 15–24) to the working-age population (usually aged 15–64 or 15–74). The indicator provides a measure of the size of the potential group of new entrants to the labour market relative to the whole working-age population and the scale of the challenge facing each country’s education and training system to provide young people with appropriate skills.

Data sources are censuses or United Nations Population Division estimates. 

The SME Policy Index is an EU benchmarking tool designed to regularly assess SME policy frameworks in transition and emerging economies, and to monitor progress in policy implementation over time. It has been developed along the principles of the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA) by the European Commission, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the ETF and the OECD. The SME Policy Index identifies strengths and weaknesses in policy design and implementation, allows for comparison across countries, and measures convergence towards good practices and relevant policy standards. It supports governments in setting targets for SME policy development and helps to identify strategic priorities for improving the business environment. The SME Policy Index has two dimensions supporting the development of entrepreneurial human capital in line with the SBA principles 1 and 8: 

Dimension 1. Entrepreneurial learning and women’s entrepreneurship

Dimension 8.a. Enterprise skills. In the framework of the Torino Process assessment, the following three indicators are used:

TRP16.19.a. SME Policy Index – Entrepreneurial learning

TRP16.19.b. SME Policy Index – Women’s entrepreneurship training

TRP16.19.c. SME Policy Index – Enterprise skills. The data source is OECD/EU/EBRD/ETF, SME Policy Index: Eastern Partner Countries 2016: Assessing the Implementation of the Small Business Act for Europe, OECD Publishing, Paris, 2015.

This is self-employment as a proportion of total employment. Self-employment includes employers, own-account workers, members of producers’ cooperatives and contributing family workers. The indicator provides a measure of the need for entrepreneurial skills.

The indicator is based on data from the Labour Force Survey. 

This is the percentage of firms identifying an inadequately educated workforce as a major constraint. The calculation of the indicator is based on the rating of the obstacle as a potential constraint to the current operations of the establishment. It provides an indication of skill gaps or unmet demand for skills, although it could also show that firms are not offering the going wage or not offering adequate training.

Data is based on the World Bank Enterprise Surveys.