International Standard Classification of Occupations 1988 (ISCO-88)

The International Standard Classification of Occupations from 1988 classifies occupations according to skill level and skill specialization. The ISCO-88 consists of four levels: the major (10), sub-major (28), minor (116) and unit groups (390) (cf. International Labour Organisation).

Origin/Creator:	International Labour Organisation (ILO)
Method/Structure:	The ten major groups comprise the occupational main groups. Within these, a differentiation is made according to skill level (exceptions are the major groups military and manager, which do not distinguish any skill level). According to the ISCED (International Standard Classification of Education) four skill levels are differentiated. The first skill level comprises the first ISCED level, the second the levels two and three, the third the level five and finally the fourth skill level the ISCED levels six and seven (the fourth ISCED level was not considered). In addition, the main occupational groups distinguish occupations on the basis of the knowledge as well as the tools, equipment and materials that are needed to produce goods and provide services. This distinction refers to the skill specialization In the sub-major (i.e., occupational groups) and minor groups (i.e., occupational subgroups) there is a further differentiation according to skill specialization. The unit groups (i.e., occupational types) contain the individual occupations (usually more than one). (cf. International Labour Organisation).
Development/implementation for Germany:	The ISCO-88 is the follow-up version of the ISCO-68 and resembles it in its rough structure. In addition to the general ISCO-88, there are three regional variants of this occupational classification. At the European level, Eurostat has coded ISCO-88(COM) (cf. International Labour Organisation). This contains some occupational codes not assigned to ISCO-88 (e.g., 247 'Public service administrative professionals'). The ISCO-88(COM) coded by Eurostat at European level classifies occupations at four levels according to tasks and occupational requirements.

Related classifications:

German Classification of Occupations 1992 (KldB 92)

International Standard Classification of Occupations 2008 (ISCO-08)

International Socio-Economic Index of Occupational Status (ISEI)

Standard International Occupational Prestige Scale (SIOPS)

European Socio-economic Classification (ESeC)

Keywords

occupational groups, tasks, occupational main groups, occupational sub-groups, occupational types, skill level, skill specialization, occupational requirements

International Standard Classification of Occupations 1988 (ISCO-88)

Label
label_isco88_spss.txt
label_isco88_stata.txt

Recodes
Umsteiger_ISCO88_in_ISCO08_spss.txt
Umsteiger_ISCO88_in_ISCO08_stata.txt

Fundamental literature: International Labour Organization (ILO), ISCO-88.
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/stat/isco/isco88/index.htm, Stand: 14.03.2013.