The standards adopted in 1982 (13th ICLS) have played an important role in enabling the expansion of availability of labour statistics. However, limitations have emerged over time, such as a lack of separate recognition of various types of unpaid work, inconsistent application of concepts across countries, and an insufficient range of indicators to describe the labour market and its evolution. The revised standards seek to address these limitations, while retaining and supplementing core indicators on employment and unemployment.
Among other objectives, an important goal is to address significant gender data gaps (see for example this report by Data2x), such as a deficit of information on unpaid work, predominantly performed by women.