Better Jobs Index: An employment conditions index for Latin America

Employment conditions are central to the wellbeing of families, through the impact of earnings on the resources they have available and through the direct impact on the utility of workers. Recognizing the key role played by employment in the lives of its people, governments view labor market outcomes and employment conditions as a major area for policy, and monitor these conditions regularly with variables such as unemployment rate or labor force participation. In response to the policy importance of employment conditions and recognizing their inherently multifaceted nature, the Labor Markets Division (LMK) of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has created a multidimensional employment conditions index for Latin America called “Better Jobs Index”. Its purpose is to allow countries in the region to monitor their employment conditions more effectively, facilitate comparisons across countries, and encourage policies that might lead to more favorable employment conditions. It is expected that the Better Jobs Index leads to improved dialogue about labor markets and the quality of employment, leading eventually to the collection of better data for policy decision-making and an improvement in the index itself. This report presents the methodology of the index which includes the data used, the indicators, and the key decomposition properties it satisfies.