LU4: Composite rate of labour underutilization (current ILO definition - ICLS19) (15+) by country
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series includes only countries for which the 19th ICLS definitions are applied. LU4 represents the share of the...
What the numbers show
LU4: Composite rate of labour underutilization (current ILO definition - ICLS19) (15+) is currently reported for 56 countries. The highest value is 48.54 in Rwanda; the lowest is 4 in Poland.
The median across all reporting countries is 12.29, and the mean is 14.31.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 12.
Over the past decade 10 countries rose and 42 fell. The largest increase was in Cambodia (up 98.6%), and the largest decrease in Cyprus (down 68.8%).
LU4: Composite rate of labour underutilization (current ILO): full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rwanda | 48.54 | 2025 | down 6.9% | falling |
| 2 | Zimbabwe | 47.17 | 2024 | down 13.6% | falling |
| 3 | Zambia | 43.86 | 2024 | down 3.3% | flat |
| 4 | Angola | 29.76 | 2025 | down 20.7% | falling |
| 5 | Georgia | 26.02 | 2025 | down 28.1% | falling |
| 6 | Chile | 22.58 | 2025 | down 7.4% | falling |
| 7 | Guyana | 22.54 | 2024 | down 37.6% | falling |
| 8 | Finland | 22.16 | 2025 | up 9.9% | flat |
| 9 | Jordan | 20.17 | 2024 | down 17.7% | falling |
| 10 | Sweden | 18.76 | 2025 | up 29.6% | rising |
| 11 | Spain | 18.65 | 2025 | down 42.7% | falling |
| 12 | France | 18.55 | 2025 | down 14.6% | falling |
| 13 | Uruguay | 18.1 | 2025 | down 13.6% | falling |
| 14 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 15.94 | 2025 | — | falling |
| 15 | Ireland | 15.91 | 2025 | down 8.0% | falling |
| 16 | Luxembourg | 14.93 | 2025 | down 5.1% | flat |
| 17 | Italy | 14.9 | 2025 | down 42.9% | falling |
| 18 | Belgium | 14.87 | 2025 | up 1.1% | falling |
| 19 | Brazil | 14.23 | 2025 | down 15.1% | falling |
| 20 | Australia | 13.68 | 2021 | down 22.6% | falling |
| 21 | Denmark | 13.67 | 2025 | up 28.3% | falling |
| 22 | Greece | 13.58 | 2025 | down 58.6% | falling |
| 23 | Panama | 13.54 | 2025 | up 42.6% | rising |
| 24 | Estonia | 13.06 | 2025 | up 12.1% | flat |
| 25 | Switzerland | 12.99 | 2025 | up 10.6% | rising |
| 26 | New Zealand | 12.78 | 2025 | up 19.2% | rising |
| 27 | Barbados | 12.58 | 2024 | down 14.8% | flat |
| 28 | Netherlands | 12.33 | 2025 | down 29.4% | falling |
| 29 | Portugal | 12.24 | 2025 | down 48.3% | falling |
| 30 | United Kingdom | 12.04 | 2025 | down 15.4% | falling |
| 31 | Latvia | 11.69 | 2025 | down 34.4% | falling |
| 32 | Norway | 11.56 | 2025 | up 10.2% | rising |
| 33 | Costa Rica | 11.23 | 2025 | down 58.9% | falling |
| 34 | Austria | 10.94 | 2025 | down 22.1% | falling |
| 35 | Iceland | 10.66 | 2025 | down 17.5% | falling |
| 36 | Moldova | 10.48 | 2025 | down 9.7% | falling |
| 37 | Lithuania | 9.84 | 2025 | down 19.2% | falling |
| 38 | Cyprus | 9.55 | 2025 | down 68.8% | falling |
| 39 | Romania | 9.26 | 2025 | down 30.3% | falling |
| 40 | Croatia | 8.87 | 2025 | down 66.1% | falling |
| 41 | Canada | 8.85 | 2025 | down 3.8% | falling |
| 42 | South Korea | 8.23 | 2025 | down 24.5% | falling |
| 43 | Germany | 7.95 | 2025 | down 25.4% | falling |
| 44 | Mongolia | 7.58 | 2025 | down 49.1% | falling |
| 45 | Slovenia | 7.53 | 2025 | down 57.3% | falling |
| 46 | El Salvador | 7.51 | 2025 | down 37.3% | falling |
| 47 | Cambodia | 7.1 | 2025 | up 98.6% | volatile |
| 48 | Singapore | 7.01 | 2025 | — | falling |
| 49 | Slovakia | 6.71 | 2025 | down 54.9% | falling |
| 50 | Malta | 6.54 | 2025 | down 33.8% | falling |
| 51 | Hungary | 6.32 | 2025 | down 45.0% | falling |
| 52 | Czechia | 6.31 | 2025 | down 6.1% | falling |
| 53 | United States | 5.99 | 2025 | down 16.5% | falling |
| 54 | Bulgaria | 5.53 | 2025 | down 64.8% | falling |
| 55 | Vietnam | 4.05 | 2024 | — | falling |
| 56 | Poland | 4 | 2025 | — | falling |
About this data
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series includes only countries for which the 19th ICLS definitions are applied. LU4 represents the share of the extended labour force that are in unemployment, time-related underemployment or the potential labour force. For more information, refer to the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database description.