Appendix - Definitions, Sources, and Methods

Public expenditures on labor market programs include the following programs, although not all countries have all programs:  public employment services and administration; training; employment recruitment and maintenance incentives; integration of the disabled; direct job creation; business start-up incentives; out-of work and income maintenance and support, including unemployment compensation; and early retirement incentives.  The data presented refer to 2005 for Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, Spain, and Sweden.  For the United Kingdom, the data refer to fiscal year 2005, which begins on April 1^st.  For the remaining countries, the data refer to fiscal year 2006, which begins on April 1st for Canada and Japan; on July 1^st for Australia and New Zealand; and on October 1^st for the United States.  GDP has been defined previously (see Gross Domestic Product section).

Source: OECD, Social Expenditures Database, <http://www.oecd.org/>.