Starting from the general meaning of labour statistics, the author analyses various ways of measuring unemployment and its outcomes. Labour statistics are, as a rule, obtained from the following sources: regular periodical censuses (usually every 10 or sometimes every 5 years), by way of surveys of labour forces on a sample of households and administrative sources. The measuring of unemployment is carried out on the basis of three main sources: surveys of labour forces on the sample of households, the statistics of social security services an Employment Agency records. Official assessments of unemployment are usually based on combined data form a single of from several of the above-mentioned sources. However, the most reliable statistics of unemployment are obtained by a survey of the labour force on a sample of households. This procedure is internationally comparable because it is based on internationally adopted definitions and procedures. For several years, our country, like many other countries with developed market economies, as well as most transitional countries, has been publishing unemployment data based on two kinds of measurements and two different sources: labour force surveys and records kept by Employment Agencies. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages.

Polazeći od općeg značenja statistike rada, autorica analizira različite načine mjerenja nezaposlenosti i rezultate koje oni daju. Statistika rada se, u pravilu, prikuplja iz sljedećih izvora: kroz redovite periodične popise stanovništva (obično svakih 10 ili, rjeđe, 5 godina), putem ankete radne snage na uzorku kućanstava i iz administrativnih izvora. Mjerenje nezaposlenosti se provodi na temelju triju izvora: ankete radne snage na uzorku kućanstava, statistike službi socijalnog osiguranja i evidencija službi za zapošljavanje. Službene procjene nezaposlenosti se, obično, temelje na kombiniranim podacima iz jednog ili više spomenutih izvora. No, ipak se anketom radne snage na uzorku kućanstava dobiva najpouzdanija statistika nezaposlenosti, koja je međunarodno usporediva, jer se temelji na međunarodno prihvaćenim definicijama i postupcima. Unazad nekoliko godina i naša zemlja, poput mnogih zemalja razvijenog tržišnog gospodarstva, a i većine tranzicijskih zemalja, objavljuje podatke o nezaposlenosti na temelju dvaju načina mjerenja, odnosno dvaju izvora: ankete radne snage i evidencija službi za zapošljavanje. Svaki od ovih načina ima svojih prednosti, ali i nedostataka.