Data for 2019
Composite Rate of Labour Underutilisation (LU4), 2019
2019, as ILO’s 2026 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten
The unemployment rate counts only people who are actively looking for work and could start at once. This broader rate also counts people working fewer hours than they want and people who want a job but have stopped looking or cannot start yet — the International Labour Organization’s widest measure of work people want and do not have.
Composite Rate of Labour Underutilisation (LU4), 2019 covers 86 countries on 3 measures. South Africa is highest, at 41.43; Thailand is lowest, at 1.67. The middle country reads 14.04. Against 2018, 68 values changed (18 up, 50 down), 18 countries joined, 5 left.
Composite Rate of Labour Underutilisation (LU4) · Data for 2019
HighestSouth Africa
41.43
LowestThailand
1.67Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the lowest end.
01Position · derived
The table
Every country and every column of Composite Rate of Labour Underutilisation (LU4), 2019, as published. ILO ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. “=” marks a shared position.
Showing 25 of 86 countries · select a heading to sort
| derived | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South AfricaZAFSouthern Africa | 41.43 | 45.647 | 37.738 | — |
| 2 |  RwandaRWAEastern Africa | 40.77 | 47.190 | 34.069 | — |
| 3 |  SomaliaSOMEastern Africa | 34.76 | 42.752 | 30.294 | — |
| 4 |  AngolaAGOMiddle Africa | 33.28 | 34.388 | 32.096 | Break in series |
| 5 |  PalestinePSEWestern Asia | 32.98 | 55.102 | 26.112 | — |
| 6 |  LesothoLSOSouthern Africa | 31.20 | 37.340 | 25.773 | — |
| 7 |  GuyanaGUYSouth America | 30.20 | 35.421 | 26.118 | — |
| 8 |  ZimbabweZWEEastern Africa | 29.78 | 30.823 | 28.663 | Break in series |
| 9 |  NigeriaNGAWestern Africa | 28.21 | 29.420 | 27.217 | Break in series |
| 10 |  MontenegroMNESouthern Europe | 25.59 | 27.703 | 23.822 | — |
| 11 |  Costa RicaCRICentral America | 25.28 | 32.581 | 19.964 | — |
| 12 |  Bosnia and HerzegovinaBIHSouthern Europe | 25.26 | 31.008 | 21.154 | — |
| 13 |  GreeceGRCSouthern Europe | 24.73 | 30.974 | 19.561 | — |
| 14 |  ChileCHLSouth America | 24.69 | 29.029 | 21.274 | — |
| 15 |  SenegalSENWestern Africa | 24.45 | 38.664 | 12.110 | — |
| 16 |  North MacedoniaMKDSouthern Europe | 24.33 | 26.147 | 23.042 | — |
| 17 |  HondurasHNDCentral America | 24.09 | 33.848 | 17.338 | — |
| 18 |  BrazilBRASouth America | 23.99 | 29.098 | 19.773 | — |
| 19 |  SpainESPSouthern Europe | 22.96 | 28.454 | 18.012 | — |
| 20 |  New CaledoniaNCLMelanesia | 22.53 | 25.145 | 20.265 | — |
| 21 |  AlbaniaALBSouthern Europe | 22.32 | 22.908 | 21.832 | — |
| 22 |  GeorgiaGEOWestern Asia | 21.88 | 20.906 | 22.725 | — |
| 23 |  JordanJORWestern Asia | 21.83 | 32.657 | 19.681 | — |
| 24 |  ItalyITASouthern Europe | 21.61 | 25.977 | 18.133 | — |
| 25 |  Marshall IslandsMHLMicronesia | 21.12 | 24.917 | 19.202 | — |
| 26 |  SerbiaSRBSouthern Europe | 20.89 | 21.752 | 20.174 | — |
| 27 |  UruguayURYSouth America | 20.87 | 24.508 | 17.666 | Break in series |
| 28 |  Côte d’IvoireCIVWestern Africa | 19.74 | 24.823 | 15.671 | — |
| 29 |  ZambiaZMBEastern Africa | 19.57 | 20.868 | 18.391 | — |
| 30 |  VanuatuVUTMelanesia | 18.75 | 19.512 | 18.089 | — |
| 31 |  TunisiaTUNNorthern Africa | 18.72 | 27.195 | 15.146 | — |
| 32 |  FranceFRAWestern Europe | 18.13 | 20.047 | 16.321 | — |
| 33 |  KenyaKENEastern Africa | 18.06 | 21.036 | 15.187 | — |
| 34 |  ColombiaCOLSouth America | 17.41 | 22.502 | 13.618 | — |
| 35 |  FinlandFINNorthern Europe | 16.72 | 17.137 | 16.340 | — |
| 36 |  LebanonLBNWestern Asia | 16.47 | 21.238 | 14.178 | Break in series |
| 37 |  CyprusCYPWestern Asia | 15.15 | 17.356 | 13.138 | — |
| 38 |  BruneiBRNSouth-eastern Asia | 15.10 | 19.716 | 11.939 | — |
| 39 |  Dominican RepublicDOMCaribbean | 15.01 | 20.892 | 10.511 | — |
| 40 |  BarbadosBRBCaribbean | 14.89 | 13.188 | 16.551 | — |
| 41 |  PortugalPRTSouthern Europe | 14.79 | 16.622 | 13.006 | — |
| 42 |  IrelandIRLNorthern Europe | 14.69 | 16.491 | 13.142 | — |
| 43 |  PanamaPANCentral America | 14.06 | 16.108 | 12.537 | — |
| 44 |  CroatiaHRVSouthern Europe | 14.03 | 16.526 | 11.769 | — |
| 45 |  SwedenSWENorthern Europe | 13.43 | 14.354 | 12.593 | — |
| 46 |  MongoliaMNGEastern Asia | 13.30 | 12.990 | 13.564 | Break in series |
| 47 |  El SalvadorSLVCentral America | 13.11 | 14.151 | 12.380 | — |
| 48 |  LatviaLVANorthern Europe | 12.17 | 11.347 | 12.981 | — |
| 49 |  MaldivesMDVSouthern Asia | 11.98 | 16.152 | 8.591 | — |
| 50 |  IndonesiaIDNSouth-eastern Asia | 11.93 | 13.774 | 10.670 | — |
| 51 |  LuxembourgLUXWestern Europe | 11.72 | 13.209 | 10.440 | — |
| 52 |  PhilippinesPHLSouth-eastern Asia | 11.53 | 11.333 | 11.652 | — |
| 53 |  BelgiumBELWestern Europe | 11.14 | 11.990 | 10.396 | — |
| 54 |  DenmarkDNKNorthern Europe | 10.85 | 11.859 | 9.945 | — |
| 55 |  AustriaAUTWestern Europe | 10.71 | 12.289 | 9.303 | — |
| 56 |  United KingdomGBRNorthern Europe | 10.48 | 11.940 | 9.150 | — |
| 57 |  NetherlandsNLDWestern Europe | 10.17 | 11.863 | 8.671 | — |
| 58 |  EstoniaESTNorthern Europe | 9.87 | 10.614 | 9.150 | — |
| 59 |  MauritiusMUSEastern Africa | 9.60 | 12.272 | 7.805 | — |
| 60 |  NorwayNORNorthern Europe | 9.56 | 10.406 | 8.801 | — |
| 61 |  KyrgyzstanKGZCentral Asia | 9.51 | 11.922 | 8.001 | — |
| 62 |  IcelandISLNorthern Europe | 9.06 | 9.981 | 8.266 | — |
| 63 |  Sri LankaLKASouthern Asia | 8.70 | 13.165 | 6.208 | — |
| 64 |  SloveniaSVNSouthern Europe | 8.68 | 9.665 | 7.834 | — |
| 65 |  BoliviaBOLSouth America | 8.52 | 10.261 | 7.035 | — |
| 66 |  LithuaniaLTUNorthern Europe | 8.37 | 7.766 | 8.978 | — |
| 67 |  SlovakiaSVKEastern Europe | 8.04 | 8.629 | 7.546 | — |
| 68 |  GermanyDEUWestern Europe | 7.78 | 8.538 | 7.114 | — |
| 69 |  BulgariaBGREastern Europe | 7.56 | 7.440 | 7.665 | — |
| 70 |  CanadaCANNorthern America | 7.51 | 7.354 | 7.656 | — |
| 71 |  RomaniaROUEastern Europe | 7.34 | 6.758 | 7.770 | — |
| 72 |  MaltaMLTSouthern Europe | 7.25 | 9.097 | 6.004 | — |
| 73 |  BelarusBLREastern Europe | 6.96 | 5.840 | 8.058 | — |
| 74 |  GuatemalaGTMCentral America | 6.83 | 10.217 | 5.064 | — |
| 75 |  HungaryHUNEastern Europe | 6.30 | 6.878 | 5.832 | — |
| 76 |  PolandPOLEastern Europe | 6.07 | 7.028 | 5.289 | — |
| 77 |  SeychellesSYCEastern Africa | 5.86 | 5.684 | 6.032 | — |
| 78 |  United StatesUSANorthern America | 5.17 | 5.071 | 5.248 | — |
| 79 |  United Arab EmiratesAREWestern Asia | 4.96 | 11.963 | 2.522 | — |
| 80 |  MoldovaMDAEastern Europe | 3.73 | 2.885 | 4.665 | — |
| 81 |  VietnamVNMSouth-eastern Asia | 3.29 | 3.312 | 3.266 | — |
| 82 |  CzechiaCZEEastern Europe | 3.07 | 3.842 | 2.454 | — |
| 83 |  Cook IslandsCOKPolynesia | 2.76 | 2.866 | 2.672 | Break in series |
| 84 |  MyanmarMMRSouth-eastern Asia | 2.20 | 2.562 | 1.940 | — |
| 85 |  CambodiaKHMSouth-eastern Asia | 1.83 | 1.813 | 1.848 | Break in series |
| 86 | ThailandTHASouth-eastern Asia | 1.67 | 1.548 | 1.765 | — |
02In 2019
At either end
The 5 countries at each end of the headline, then the highest and lowest on each other measure.
Highest
- 1South Africa41.43
- 2Rwanda40.77
- 3Somalia34.76
- 4Angola33.28
- 5Palestine32.98
Lowest
- 86Thailand1.67
- 85Cambodia1.83
- 84Myanmar2.20
- 83Cook Islands2.76
- 82Czechia3.07
A higher value is the worse result. The middle country reads 14.04. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.
Each measure’s ends
Women (%)
Highest
Palestine55.102Lowest
Thailand1.548Middle country: 16.130
Men (%)
Highest
South Africa37.738Lowest
Thailand1.765Middle country: 12.459
032018 → 2019
Since 2018
- +18 / −5countries joined / left
- 68values changed, of 68 in both
- 18 · 50rose · fell
- 0unchanged
Rose most
- Rwanda38.53 → 40.77+2.24
- Panama11.93 → 14.06+2.13
- Colombia15.86 → 17.41+1.55
- Uruguay19.44 → 20.87+1.43
- South Africa40.04 → 41.43+1.39
Fell most
- Honduras29.60 → 24.09−5.51
- Vietnam8.31 → 3.29−5.02
- Guyana34.99 → 30.20−4.79
- Bosnia and Herzegovina29.67 → 25.26−4.41
- Albania26.36 → 22.32−4.05
+ Angola+ Côte d’Ivoire+ Cook Islands+ Georgia+ Kenya+ Cambodia+ Lebanon+ Lesotho+ Maldives+ Marshall Islands+ Mongolia+ Nigeria+ Senegal+ Somalia+ Seychelles+ Tunisia+ Vanuatu+ Zimbabwe
− Antigua and Barbuda
− Burkina Faso
− Grenada
− Sierra Leone
− Tonga04Caveats
Read before you use
One year of the 2026 release
Every year in this series comes from ILO’s 2026 release, recalculated on one method, so a change from one year to the next is not a revision. It can differ from what was first published for 2019.
78 empty cells
An empty cell means the publisher gave no figure. It is never a zero.
Some readings carry a flag
ILO marks readings it considers estimates or provisional. The flags in this file: Break in series.
05The files
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Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download labour-underutilisation-2019-nations-inquiry.csv - ↗
The publisher’s original
ILO’s own file, on its own site.
https://rplumber.ilo.org/data/indicator/?id=LUU_XLU4_SEX_RT&format=.csv&channel=ilostat
What this site changed: Reshaped to one row per country, with its ISO code; no value recalculated, rescaled or rounded. In full
Licence: CC BY 4.0 · what it allows, in plain words
Cite this edition
International Labour Organization (ILO) (2019). Composite Rate of Labour Underutilisation (LU4), 2019 [data set], describing 2019. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/labour-underutilisation/2019
0611 held
Other years
‹ The year before
Composite Rate of Labour Underutilisation (LU4), 201873 countries
The year after ›
Composite Rate of Labour Underutilisation (LU4), 202069 countries
All of them
Composite Rate of Labour Underutilisation (LU4): every year11 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country