As the definitions used for collecting data on economic activity, mainly through census operations, vary a great deal from country to country, it is difficult to compare labour force participation different countries. The important points of variation are:

“(a) The time reference period of the census question or economic activities. This may vary from a single day to one year, or may vaguely refer to an individual’s “usual” status;

“(b) The treatment of persons engaged both in economic and non-economic activities;

“(c) The criteria for identifying unemployed persons; and

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“(d) The distinction in farm households between members to be classified as being in the labour force and those not economically active. The measurement of the labour force is extremely difficult under conditions prevailing in the rural areas of many less developed countries, where a labour market scarcely exists.”

In addition to the problem arising out of the variations in definitions in this field, the other reason which makes comparisons between the labour force participation rates of different countries difficult is that census measures of the labour force are found to be affected by different types of errors and biases.

As problems regarding comparability caused by variations in definitions, and other errors and biases mainly affect labour force statistics for females, it is often the practice to restrict international comparisons of labour force statistics only to the male labour force.