The basic indicator of unemployment used here is the unemployment rate – the proportion of people out of work among the active population of working age (15 to 64). The data presented in this section are gathered through labour force surveys of member countries. According to the standardised ILO definition that is used in these surveys, unemployed individuals are those who did not work for at least one hour, either as an employee or self-employed, in the reference week of the survey; that are currently available for work; and that have taken specific steps to seek employment in the four weeks preceding the survey. Thus, for example, people who cannot work because of physical impairment, who are not actively seeking a job because they have little hope to find one, or are in full-time education, are not considered as unemployed. Various breakdowns are presented below: by age (15-24, 25-54 and 55-64), gender and educational attainment of the individual, and by duration of the unemployment spell.