International Standard Classification of Occupations 08

Classifications of occupations are used in national contexts for the collection and dissemination of statistics from sources such as population censuses, labour force surveys and other household surveys, employer surveys and other sources. They are also used by governments and companies in activities such as matching jobseekers with job vacancies, educational planning, reporting of industrial accidents, administration of workers’ compensation, and the management of employment-related migration.

The International Classification of Occupations (ISCO) seeks to facilitate international communication about occupations by providing statisticians with a framework to make internationally comparable occupational data available, and by allowing international occupational data to be produced in a form that can be useful for research as well as for specific decision-making and action-oriented activities, such as those connected with international migration or job placement.

The current version, known as ISCO-08, was published in 2008 and is the fourth iteration, following ISCO-58, ISCO-68 and ISCO-88. Only the latest two versions, ISCO-08 and ISCO-88, are presented below, along with the corresponding skill levels.