Methodology

This section contains detailed explanations of variable construction, estimation of statistics, and particularities of the countries, surveys and time periods in the LABLAC database.

The Methodological Guide describes the tables in each section of the database, and discusses the main methodological decisions taken to arrive at these estimates.

In this section you may find answer to frequently asked questions (FAQ) concerning the LABLAC database, the estimation methodology, and the countries and periods covered.

What is the LABLAC database?

LABLAC is a database containing labor statistics from 13 Latin American countries. All estimates are computed from household survey microdata with available employment information. The statistics are updated in quarterly, in accordance to the data from each specific country.

LABLAC is a complementary source of information to the SEDLAC database, which allows users to monitor trends in labor variables with the highest frequency information available for each country. The database is made available through Excel tables for all included countries and time periods.

LABLAC is an ongoing project, hence all statistics in this site are preliminary. A next step of this project is extending the database to cover more countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. We are open and grateful to comments and suggestions to improve the database.

Which countries/years are covered by LABLAC?

At this moment the database includes information from over 450 household surveys carried out in 13 Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.

The database contains quarterly information for Argentina (from 2003), Brazil (from 2005), Chile (from 2005), Colombia (from 2008), Costa Rica (from 2010), Ecuador (from 2006), El Salvador (from 2005), Guatemala (from 2010), Mexico (from 2005), Nicaragua (from 2010), Paraguay (from 2010), Peru (from 2005) and Uruguay (from 2006).

How should I cite information downloaded from this site?

Information downloaded from this database should be cited as “Source: LABLAC (CEDLAS and The World Bank)” or “Source:  Labor Database for Latin America and The Caribbean – LABLAC (CEDLAS and The World Bank)”. We advise making reference to the date of consultation, since statistics are prone to change.

In this section you may send us questions, suggestions or messages. We will respond to your feedback as soon as possible.

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