This Working Paper presents practical guidelines for those who want to register the
characteristic (variable) "occupation" in a statistical survey or on administrative records. The
principles and procedures described are mostly based on experiences from Australia and the
United Kingdom, supplemented by discussions which the contributors have had with experts
from other countries. The text was originally intended to be part of an ILO manual on the
development and use of a national standard classification of occupations. It has, however,
proved difficult to finalise the manual, and it has therefore been decided to issue parts of it in
this form. A companion Working Paper on how to develop the structure and content of a
national standard classification of occupations has also been prepared. The two Working
Papers can be regarded as partial drafts for the manual, and the ILO Bureau of Statistics
would welcome all comments on the texts and all suggestions for their improvement.