The European Union labour force survey : methods and definitions : 2001.
Date: 2003-10-16
Institutions: Eurostat
Subjects: EU statistics, employment statistics, labour market, statistical method, working population

N
O

I
T
I

D
E

3
0
0
2

The European
Union labour
force survey

Methods and definitions – 2001

3

THEME 3
Population 
and social 
conditions

E U R O P E A N
C O M M I S S I O N

 
Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union

New freephone number:
00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11

A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet.
It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int).

Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2003

ISBN 92-894-5432-6
ISSN 1725-0056
© European Communities, 2003

Preface 

It is now more than forty years since the first attempt was made in 1960 to collect comparable data on employment and 
unemployment from all six Member States of the then European Community by means of a labour force survey. Since 
that  date,  the  number  of  Member  States  has  risen  to  fifteen,  and  the  character  of  the  European  labour  market  has 
been  transformed  by  the  changes  which  have  taken  place,  for  example  in  employment  rates,  in  the  allocation  of 
working-time, and in the distribution of employment across the various sectors of the economy. 

Throughout  this  period,  the  institutions  of  the  European  Union  have  included  the  issues  of  employment  and 
unemployment  among  their  highest  priorities.  The  demand  for  accurate  and  comparable  information  on  the  labour 
market has consequently become progressively more urgent. 

In  this  context,  the  role  of  the  EU  Labour  Force  Survey  has  gained  steadily  in  importance,  and  is  now  universally 
recognised  as  an  indispensable  tool  for  observing  labour  market  developments  and for taking the appropriate policy 
measures. The LFS is the only source of information in these areas to provide data which is truly comparable in the 
sense of being independent of the national administrative and legislative framework. Among the statistical instruments 
available in the European Union, the LFS is unique for the sample-size it covers, for the length of the time-series which 
it offers, and for the unrivalled picture it can provide of economic and social developments from the very earliest days 
of the European Community right up to the present day. 
During the lifetime of the survey, the need has also been recognised to be continually alert for any adaptations needed 
to  meet  changes  in  information  requirements.  The  general  methodology  employed,  together  with  a  host  of  details 
concerning the definitions used and the practical implementation, have therefore been subject to continual evolution. 
Eurostat,  which  is  responsible  for  the  dissemination  of  the  results  of  the  survey  at  European  Union  level,  has  been 
conscious that accurate and up-to-date information on these aspects is indispensable to interpretation of the results. 
This  information  has  therefore  been  published  on  a regular basis under the title Labour Force Survey: Methods and 
Definitions,  of  which  several  editions,  documenting  the  successive  changes  made,  have  appeared  in  1977,  1985, 
1988, 1992, 1996 and 1998. 

The  ongoing  development  of  the  European  Union  has  led  to changed  information  requirements,  which  meant that a 
revision  of  the  survey  was  necessary.  Council  Regulation  N°  577/98  was  the  outcome  of  four  years'  work  with  the 
national  experts  of  all the Member States and describes the framework for the Community Survey which took effect 
from  1998.  In  2001  the  codification  of  the  variables  adopted  in  1998  was  slightly  revised  and  the  purpose  of  this 
publication  is  to provide the necessary information for those who, from 2001 on, will organise and use the survey. It 
covers  the  main  technical  aspects  of  the  survey,  basic  concepts  and  definitions,  a  detailed  list  of  variables  and 
explanatory notes for compiling and interpreting the data.  

Eurostat wishes to thank the experts responsible for the national labour force surveys in all the states supplying data to 
the  LFS  for  their  help  in  compiling  this  methodological  information  on  the  operation  of  the  European  Union  Labour 
Force Survey. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CONTENTS 

PREFACE........................................................................................................................................................................................ 2 

LABOUR FORCE SURVEYS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION ................................................................................................... 4 

THE PURPOSE OF LABOUR FORCE SURVEYS.....................................................................................................................................4 
THE HISTORY OF LABOUR FORCE SURVEYS .....................................................................................................................................5 
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EU LABOUR FORCE SURVEY...............................................................................................................6 
THE ORGANISATION OF THE EU LABOUR FORCE SURVEY ..............................................................................................................7 
DATA COLLECTION AND DIFFUSION OF RESULTS..............................................................................................................................8 

TECHNICAL FEATURES OF THE EU LABOUR FORCE SURVEY .................................................................................. 10 

FIELD OF THE SURVEY ..................................................................................................................................................................10 
REFERENCE PERIOD ......................................................................................................................................................................10 
UNITS OF MEASUREMENT..............................................................................................................................................................10 
RELIABILITY OF THE RESULTS .......................................................................................................................................................10 
COMPARABILITY OF RESULTS BETWEEN COUNTRIES .....................................................................................................................11 
COMPARABILITY OF RESULTS BETWEEN SUCCESSIVE SURVEYS.....................................................................................................11 
BASIC CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS...............................................................................................................................................11 

EUROPEAN UNION LIST OF VARIABLES – CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT SERIES............ 15 

EUROPEAN UNION LIST OF VARIABLES – DETAILED CODIFICATION.................................................................... 19 

DERIVED VARIABLES .............................................................................................................................................................. 35 

EXPLANATORY NOTES TO THE LFS LIST OF VARIABLES........................................................................................... 38 

ANNEX I - REGIONAL CODES USED IN THE EU LABOUR FORCE SURVEY (ACCORDING TO THE 
CLASSIFICATION OF TERRITORIAL UNITS (NUTS)) ...................................................................................................... 59 

ANNEX II - STATISTICAL CLASSIFICATION OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES  
AT 2 AND 3 DIGITS (NACE REV.1) ......................................................................................................................................... 66 

ANNEX III - INTERNATIONAL STANDARD CLASSIFICATION OF  
OCCUPATIONS 2, 3 AND 4 DIGITS (ISCO-88 (COM))......................................................................................................... 73 

ANNEXE IV - CODIFICATION OF COUNTRIES.................................................................................................................. 85 

ANNEX V - LEVELS OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING (ISCED 1997) ............................................................................ 89 

3 

 
 
 
Labour force surveys in the European Union 

The purpose of labour force surveys 

In  general  a  labour  force  survey  is  an  enquiry  directed  towards  households,  designed  to  obtain  information  on  the 
labour  market  and  related  issues  by  means  of  personal  or  telephone  interviews.  As  it  would  clearly  involve 
considerable  expense  to  include  all  households  or  individuals  (as  in  population  censuses),  labour  force  surveys  are 
usually confined to a sample of households, the actual size of which depends primarily on the level of detail required in 
the survey estimates. 

There are a number of advantages in using an approach of this kind in collecting labour market information. In the first 
place  it  affords  the  opportunity  to  obtain  information  on  relevant  labour  market  aspects  across  all  sectors  of  the 
economy  in  a  consistent  manner.  It  also  facilitates  the  interpretation  of  the  information  in  a  wider population setting, 
since the information collected need not necessarily be confined to persons in the labour force (i.e. those employed or 
unemployed), but can involve all other persons in the households covered. This is an important additional dimension as 
analysis is increasingly concerned with those on the periphery of the labour market. 

In recent decades the borderline between the labour force and what is termed the "economically inactive" population 
has become increasingly blurred, due to the increasing incidence of part-time and temporary work and the ease with 
which  large  numbers  of  persons  (particularly  women  and  young  persons  in  the  final  stages  of  their  education) 
repeatedly enter or leave the labour force. Furthermore, unemployment and even more, long-term unemployment can 
result in individuals becoming "marginalised" in the sense that they tend to lose tangible contact with the core labour 
market. The wider coverage associated with labour force surveys also allows the possibility of assessing labour market 
effects in a household or family context. This is important if, for example, one wishes to measure the extent to which 
persons other than those directly involved (e.g. spouses, other dependants,  etc.) are affected by the circumstances of 
unemployment. 

Another  advantage  of  a  labour  force  survey  is  that  it  affords  the  opportunity  to  define  certain  labour  market 
characteristics  not  normally  available  from  other  statistical  sources.  Thus,  for  example,  it  is  possible  to  identify  the 
degree  of  employment  engaged  in  by  an  individual  in  terms  of  the  hours  worked,  or  attempt  to  conceptualise 
unemployment  in  terms  of  aspects  such  as  job  search  and  availability  for  work.  This  is  important  because  of  the 
advantages  it  confers  in  being  able  to  define  certain  labour  market  entities  in  a  more  meaningful  way.  Additionally, 
because the definitions used to measure these entities are the same for each country, comparability between Member 
States is guaranteed for certain estimates. This aspect is of considerable importance in the context of the European 
Union. 

There are, however, some limitations which apply to labour force surveys. Cost considerations place a constraint on 
the  overall  sample  size  and  the  resultant  sampling  variability  limits  the  level  of  detail  that  can  reasonably be shown. 
Thus, for example, while the labour force survey can be used to compile estimates of employment across economic 
sectors, it cannot be expected to yield reliable figures at a detailed level of regional disaggregation, nor for individual 
small  industrial  or  commercial  subsectors.  The  sampling base on which such estimates would depend would be too 
small,  and  the  degree  of  variability  correspondingly  high.  For  the  same  reason,  there  is  also  a  limit  to  what  can  be 
achieved  with  labour  force  surveys  in monitoring trends over time (in employment and unemployment, for example), 
especially if the movements involved are relatively small. 

It is appropriate at this point to refer briefly to other sources of statistical information so that the position of the labour 
force survey in an overall statistical perspective can be more clearly understood. The other principal sources of labour 
market information are :  

(a) surveys of enterprises  
(b) administrative records.  

The former source clearly has the potential for providing detailed estimates of employment for individual sectors (and 
in fact this is done in many countries). However, such a source is clearly restricted to a consideration of those with jobs 
and cannot provide any information on the unemployed, nor other persons outside the labour force but who may have 
an attachment to it. Such surveys can, however, be used to obtain information, not only in relation to employment, but 

eurostat

4 

eurostat

eurostat

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
also to output, earnings and hours worked. The simultaneous collection of consistent data on employment and output 
makes it possible to compile indicators of productivity. Indeed, the derivation of output-type information is usually the 
main  purpose  of  enterprise-based  surveys.  Many  countries,  for  example,  carry  out  detailed  quarterly  or  monthly 
inquiries  of  the  industrial  sector  which  provide  consistent  information  on  output,  earnings,  employment  and  other 
related aspects. 

Administrative records - in this case mainly social insurance records and population registers, which are widely used in 
Denmark,  Sweden  and  Finland  -  can  also  be  used  to  provide  indicators  of  the  levels  of  employment  and 
unemployment.  A  prerequisite,  however,  is  that  the  administrative  arrangements  should  specifically  cater  for  the 
extraction  of  the  relevant  statistics.  While  this  source  involves  relatively  less  expense  than  information  derived  from 
either  enterprise  or  household  surveys,  it  suffers  from  a  significant  disadvantage  in  that  the  underlying  systems  are 
based  on  social  welfare  or  other  administrative  provisions  which  do  not  necessarily  accord  with  the  accepted 
conventions  for  defining  employment  and  unemployment.  Furthermore,  if  these  arrangements  are  changed  (and 
experience  indicates  that  they  frequently  are),  discontinuity  invariably  arises  in  the  data.  A  disadvantage  of  even 
greater relevance in an international or EU context is the fact that the social insurance systems in question vary greatly 
from  country  to  country,  both  in  terms  of  their  design  and  in  the  manner  of  their  implementation.  This  renders  the 
derived  information  virtually  useless  in  the  context  of making  comparisons  between  countries,  especially  in  absolute 
terms. Such sources can, however, provide a reasonable basis for monitoring short-term (i.e. monthly, quarterly, etc.) 
trends, the most notable in this regard being the various national series on the registered unemployed. 

To summarise, therefore, the principal advantages associated with labour force surveys relate to  

(1)  the  opportunity  of  obtaining  comprehensive  information  (at  less  cost  than  a  census)  across  the  entire  economy, 
which can be assessed in a global setting embracing society as a whole;  
(2) the inherent flexibility of such surveys, which makes it possible to define or conceptualise not only employment and 
unemployment, but also the circumstances surrounding other groups outside or on the margins of the labour force.  
This latter feature (i.e. the facility to conceptualise or define) has assumed greater importance in recent years because 
of the manner in which labour markets and society have generally evolved, and in view of the growing need to view 
labour  market  phenomena  in  an  international  context.  It  must  be  recognised,  however,  that  the  sampling  aspect 
associated with labour force surveys places a limitation on the level of detail possible when analysing the results. 

The history of labour force surveys 

th

The notion of obtaining information on the work force by means of household-based inquiries is not in any sense new. 
Questions  on  the  concept  of  possessing  a  "gainful  occupation"  were  introduced  in  censuses  of  population  in  some 
 century. However, at that stage no questions were asked in regard to what is 
countries during the latter half of the 19
termed a person's "economic status", i.e. whether at work, unemployed or economically inactive. Indeed, at that stage 
such  a  notion  was  hardly  even  conceived.  However,  the  advancing  trend  of  industrialisation  and  the  resultant 
restructuring of society created a need for new approaches, and for more sophistication in measuring labour market 
phenomena. The situation became particularly urgent with the advent of mass unemployment in the 1930's following 
the  Great  Depression.  Whatever  the  uncertainties  that  may  have  previously  existed  regarding  the  need  to 
conceptualise or measure unemployment were dispelled by the sheer fact of millions in a state of enforced idleness. 
There was now a clear need to have regular information on the level and trend of employment and unemployment. The 
first  labour  force  survey  was  introduced  in  the  United  States  in  1940  (on  a  monthly  basis)  with  a  new  conceptual 
framework designed to provide information on relevant labour market characteristics. 
The movement towards the use of labour force surveys was somewhat slower in Europe. While the intervention of the 
war years contributed to this, it was also due to the existence of alternative sources of information which provided at 
least  a  partial  insight  into  aspects  of  the  labour  force.  Virtually  all  Western  European  countries  maintained 
comprehensive unemployment registers (for the purpose of dispensing unemployment compensation) which, despite 
their disadvantages, provided a rudimentary basis for monitoring unemployment trends. However, in time, as the need 
to take a more global view of the labour market became apparent, different European countries began to initiate labour 
force  surveys.  The  first  European  country  to  carry  out  a  labour  force  survey  was  France  in  1950.  Further  such 
enquiries  were  conducted  in  France  throughout  the  subsequent  decade  and  these  evolved  into  a  regular  consistent 
series in the early 1960s. After an extended period of preparation, the Federal Republic of Germany initiated an annual 
series of labour force surveys in 1957 (the Mikrozensus). Sweden conducted its first labour force survey in 1959 and, 
after further experimentation, initiated a quarterly series in 1963.  

eurostat
eurostat

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
The development of the EU Labour Force Survey 

The first attempt to carry out a labour force survey covering the then European Community was made in 1960 with the 
six original Member States (Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands). This was regarded 
largely as an experiment and was not repeated until 1968, when the first of a series of annual surveys took place. This 
ran for four years but in none of these were all six Member States covered, since Luxembourg defaulted in 1968 and 
the  Netherlands  from  1969  to  1971.  With  the  enlargement  of the European Community in 1973, a series of biennial 
surveys was initiated. The United Kingdom was the only one of the three new Member States to join the original six in 
the 1973 survey, but Ireland and Denmark also took part in 1975, 1977, 1979 and 1981. In this last year Greece took 
part as a new Member State for the first time but Luxembourg was not covered. 

The definitions used in these early surveys were necessarily somewhat imprecise, due to the lack of an internationally 
accepted terminology. This gap was filled in 1982 when the Thirteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians, 
convened  at  Geneva  by  the  International  Labour  Organisation,  passed  a  Resolution  concerning  statistics  of  the 
economically active population, employment, unemployment and underemployment, containing exact definitions of the 
various categories of the population which labour force surveys were designed to measure. The Member States of the 
then  European  Community  agreed  to  apply  these  recommendations  in  a  new  series  of  Community  Labour  Force 
Surveys which would be conducted annually. 
During the course of this series, from 1983 to 1991, a substantial and coherent collection of labour market data was 
built  up.  This  comprised  microdata  (individual  observations)  from  ten  Member  States  from  1983  onwards  (with  the 
exception of the Netherlands in 1984 and 1986), and from Spain and Portugal from 1987. The list of variables included 
remained  virtually  unchanged  during  this  period  (two  items  on  educational  attainment  being  added  from  1988 
onwards).  The  'ILO  recommendations'  contained  in  the  1982  Resolution  together  with  the  clarifications  made  at  the 
Fourteenth  International  Conference  of  Labour  Statisticians  in  1987  gained  increasing  acceptance.  The  demand  for 
international comparisons gradually raised the profile of these definitions even in Member States where other concepts 
continued to be used for national purposes. 

A new series of surveys was introduced in 1992. The survey continued to be conducted annually, but for the first time a 
criterion  of  statistical  reliability  at  regional  level  was  introduced.  The  list  of  variables  covered  was  revised,  so  as  to 
include  topics  relevant to the Single Market (such as labour mobility across national boundaries), innovative working 
patterns (working at home, second jobs or other economic activity outside the traditional forty-hour week) and recent 
developments in the area of education and vocational training. The questions relating to job-search were revised so as 
to underpin the commitment to the ILO recommendations, particularly by implementing the distinction between active 
and  non-active  methods  of  seeking  work.  The  continued  commitment  to  the  ILO  recommendations  ensured  a  high 
degree of comparability between the results obtained from this series and those from the surveys between 1983 and 
1991. 

Since  1995  the  survey  has  covered  fifteen  Member  States.  Austria,  Sweden  and  Finland  all  possessed  well-
established labour force surveys before their entry into the European Union (embedded in the national Mikrozensus in 
the case of Austria), but in each of these three cases some adjustments were necessary in order to maintain the level 
of comparability which had already been achieved between the other Member States. Norway and Iceland have also 
supplied data since 1995 and Switzerland since 1996. 

In the mid-1990's a number of concurrent developments became apparent and new statistical requirements emerged.  

There was a need for:  
-  More recent and more frequent data on employment trends for choosing employment policies 
-  Annual estimates of average employment which take account of seasonal trends in employment 
-  A measurement of the annual volume of work which takes account of trends in part-time work 
-  Better  knowledge  of  the  relations  between  earnings  and  certain  forms  of  employment  and  of  situations  mid-way 

between employment and unemployment (particularly visible underemployment) 

-  Better knowledge of the relations between household composition and participation in working life.  

A number of Member States themselves felt the need for these improvements and looked into ways of reforming their 
surveys  by  possibly  conducting  them  at  more  frequent  intervals.  However,  it  was  likely  that  these  national  initiatives 
would not always be taken in the same direction or at the same time. The problem could only be solved by laying down 
a common reference framework. 

eurostat

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Thus,  after  four  years  of  negotiations  with  the  Member  States,  a  new  regulation  was  adopted.  This  regulation  lays 
down  a  target  structure  for  a  continuous  survey,  but  Member  States  which  are  unable  to  implement  a  continuous 
survey may carry out an annual survey only, to take place in the spring. 

The main changes introduced by this regulation concern the following:  
-  Frequency  of  the  survey:  a  continuous  survey  providing  quarterly  and  annual  results  was  introduced,  between 
1998  and  2003,  in  all  the  Member  States  except  Germany  (2005).    Each  quarter  comprises  13  weeks,  starting 
, 1997. (Germany, France, Ireland and Luxembourg have continued to provide just yearly 
from the December 29
data up to 2002).  

th

-  Variables: a number of variables have been introduced in order to obtain a better picture of the composition of a 

household.  
All the variables in the previous Regulation were not sufficient to measure visible under-employment, so two new 
variables have been introduced ("wish to work more than the current number of hours" and "number of hours of 
work  wished  for").  The  structure  of  the  filters  has  also  been  changed  in  order  to  test  whether  potentially  under-
employed persons are available to take an extra job. The variable "main labour status" has been introduced to give 
the respondent's own view of his main labour status. The purpose of this variable is different from the international 
definitions of employment status. It makes it possible, for example, to identify students with jobs involving only a 
few hours' work, who would be more likely to classify themselves as economically inactive students rather than as 
persons in employment. 

-  The education and training module has been completely re-structured in order to cover new requirements and to 
provide  better  coverage  of  the type of education or training received during the past four weeks. A new variable 
has been added concerning the year in which the highest educational or training qualification was achieved. 

-  A new module on income has been introduced in order to obtain a better picture of the relations between level of 

income and type of employment. 

-  A  programme  of  ad  hoc  modules  on  specific  subjects:  the  questionnaire  has a modular structure comprising 13 
modules, two of which are optional (income and main labour status). The new Regulation lays down that ad hoc 
modules (on subjects concerning the labour market) may be added to the main questionnaire in an agreed quarter. 

The  description  and  the  codification  of  the  variables  used  between  1998  and  2000  can  be  found  in  annex  IV  of  the 
Commission Regulation N° 1571/98.  

In 2001, this codification was revised to include: 
- more detail in the provision of information on the activity or the occupation,   
- information on compensation leave  
- information on those who are working part-time to look after children or incapacitated adults, 
- the possibility of applying the new definition of unemployment, 
- a simplification of some of the variables in the module education received during the last 4 weeks and 
- a change in the codification of the highest level of education attained.  
This revised codification is presented in this publication. 

The organisation of the EU Labour Force Survey 

o 

577/98).  

The earliest Community Labour Force Surveys were not official, but, from 1973 onwards, a Regulation was passed by 
the Council of Ministers governing the operation of the survey. Each Regulation applied only to a single year's survey, 
o
 3044/89) to remain 
until the surveys of 1990 and 1991 were included in one Regulation (Council Regulation (EEC) N
in force until explicitly replaced by new legislation. In 1998 a new Regulation was adopted (Council Regulation (EEC) 
N
The above Regulations stipulate the agreements reached by the Member States and Eurostat on the implementation 
of  the  survey.  The  technical  aspects  of  the  survey  are  discussed  by  Eurostat  and  representatives  of  the  respective 
national statistical offices and employment ministries, meeting regularly (between one and three times a year) at the 
Employment Statistics Working Party held in Luxembourg. This Working Party determines the content of the survey, 
the EU list of questions and the common coding of individual replies, as well as the principal definitions to be applied 
for the analyses of the results.  

Other relevant regulations are : 
- Definition of reference quarters – Commission regulation n° 1571/98 
- Programme 1999-2001 of ad hoc modules - Commission regulation n° 1571/98 
- Detailed information on the 1999 ad hoc module on “Accidents at work and work related health problems” - 
Commission regulation n° 1571/98 
- Codification to be used for data transmission for the years 1998-99 - Commission regulation n° 1571/98 

eurostat
eurostat

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
- Programme 2000-2002 of ad hoc modules - Commission regulation n° 1924/99 
- Detailed information on the 2000 ad hoc module on “Transition from school to work”  - Commission regulation n° 
1925/99 
- Codification to be used for data transmission for the years 2001 onwards - Commission regulation n° 1575/2000 
- Detailed information on the 2001 ad hoc module on length and patterns of working time - Commission regulation n° 
1578/2000 
- Programme 2001-2004 of ad hoc modules - Commission regulation n° 1626/2000 
- Operational definition of unemployment - Commission regulation n° 1897/2000 
- Detailed information on the 2002 ad hoc module on employment of disabled people - Commission regulation n° 
1566/2001 

The national statistical institutes are responsible for selecting the sample, preparing the questionnaires, conducting the 
direct  interviews  among  households,  and  forwarding  the  results  to  Eurostat  in  accordance  with  the  common  coding 
scheme.  Eurostat  devises  the  programme  for  analysing  the  results  and  is  responsible  for  processing  and 
disseminating the information sent by the national statistical institutes. 

The questionnaires are drawn up by each Member State in the national language or languages, taking into account the 
stipulations  made  in  the  Regulation.  For  every  survey  characteristic  listed  in  the  Regulation,  a  question  or  series  of 
questions exists in each questionnaire to permit this information to be supplied to Eurostat. Otherwise the information 
is  imputed  from  other  sources  such  as  population  registers.  The  questionnaires  may  also  contain  other  questions 
which do not relate to the list of characteristics in the Regulation, but rather reflect an interest in the topic concerned at 
national level. Based on the sample design the figures obtained from the sample survey are expanded to population 
levels, usually on the basis of grossing-up factors derived from the most recent census of population, suitably adjusted 
to take account of recent changes which may have occurred since that census. 

The design of the sample is subject to certain constraints imposed in the Regulation concerning the required level of 
statistical reliability and representativity both at NUTS II regional level and regarding changes between two consecutive 
quarters. Within these constraints each Member State draws up its own sample design and carries out the interviews. 
In countries with a federal structure, such as Germany, regional statistical offices may exercise a considerable amount 
of  autonomy  in  the  data  collection.  The  number  of  the  reference  week  in  which  each  household  or  individual  is 
interviewed is among the information collected, thus permitting seasonal adjustment to be carried out. 

Data collection and diffusion of results 

As soon as each Member State has completed its data collection and verification, the part pertaining to the EU Labour 
Force Survey is, if necessary, transcoded to Eurostat requirements and transmitted by Stadium to Eurostat. Eurostat 
then checks the data for errors according to its own programme of controls. When the data are considered to be error-
free  they  are  converted  into  a  SAS  dataset,  which  can  be  easily  accessed  to  produce  reports.  For  reasons  of 
confidentiality these datasets may only be accessed by accredited Eurostat personnel. 

Most Member States produce regular publications setting out the results of their national surveys. The yearly report at 
EU level contains some specific organisational and methodological notes, but, in the interests of rapid diffusion of the 
results, no attempt is made to analyse the data. 

Detailed studies of labour market developments in the European Union may be found in the annual Commission report 
Employment  in  Europe  and,  in  the  wider  context  of  the  highly-developed  countries,  in  the  OECD's  Employment 
Outlook. Data are supplied from the EU LFS datasets for these publications as well as for a plethora of other studies 
and reports at national and international level.  

Within  Eurostat,  the  richness  of  the  EU  Labour  Force  Survey,  including  its  household  dimension,  causes  it  to  be 
frequently  used  for  general  publications.  The  EU  LFS  datasets  are  also  occasionally  used  by  other  Eurostat 
departments to provide data for the publication of Statistics in Focus . Among more specialised applications is the use 
of  the  datasets  to  produce  comparable  annual,  quarterly  and  monthly  estimates  of  unemployment  which,  when 
combined  with  monthly  national  administrative  data,  provide  comparable  unemployment  rates.  Additionally,  the 
preparation of policy actions in the field of EU social and regional policy through the operation of the Structural Funds 
relies upon the availability of a solid base of comparable data from the EU Labour Force Survey.  
The  survey  results  are  completely  integrated  into  the  Eurostat  statistical  system,  so  that  they  may  be  consulted  for 
example  through  the  NewCronos  database.  Users  with  specific  requirements  which  are  not  met  by  the  existing 
publications  and  databases  may  also  ask  for  customised  tables  to  be  produced  for  a  fee.  Several  hundred  such 

eurostat

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
requests  are  received  each  year  from  public  and  private  bodies,  research  institutes,  universities,  etc.  They  may  be 
addressed to the network of Eurostat Data Shops in every Member State. 

eurostat
eurostat

9 

 
 
Technical features of the EU Labour Force Survey 

Field of the Survey 

The survey is intended to cover the whole of the resident population, i.e. all persons whose usual place of residence is 
in the territory of the Member States of the European Union. For technical and methodological reasons, however, it is 
not  possible  in  all  countries  to  include  the  population  living  in  collective  households,  i.e.  persons  living  in  homes, 
boarding schools, hospitals, religious institutions, workers' hostels, etc. 
Consequently,  for  the  purpose  of  harmonising  the  field  of  survey,  results  are  compiled  for  the  population  of  private 
households only. This comprises all persons living in the households surveyed during the reference week, and those 
persons absent from the household for short periods due to studies, holidays, illness, business trips, etc. 

It does not cover persons who, although having links with the household under survey: 

(a) usually live in another household; 
(b)  live  in  collective  households  (in  particular,  persons  doing  compulsory  military  service  are  excluded  from  the 
population  of  private  households  and  regarded  as  members  of  collective  households,  even  if  during  the  reference 
week they are present in the private household to which they belong); 
(c) have emigrated. 

Reference period 

The labour force characteristics of each person interviewed refer to their situation in a particular week. The reference 
weeks used in the various Member States are shown in the publications containing the survey results. 

Units of measurement 

The  main  units  of measurement for which results are obtained from the survey are individuals and households. The 
definition of a household varies somewhat from country to country but these differences are unlikely in the majority of 
cases to have a significant effect on the comparability of the results. 

Reliability of the results 

As  with  any  sample  survey,  the  results  of  the  Labour  Force  Survey  are  subject  to  sampling  errors.  In  addition,  the 
results of any sample survey are affected by non-sampling errors, i.e. the whole variety of errors other then those due 
to  sampling.  These  can  be  due  to  many  factors  such  as  inability  or  unwillingness  of  respondents  to  provide  correct 
answers  or  even  any  answer  at  all  (non-response),  mistakes  by  interviewers  when  filling  in  survey  documents, 
miscoding,  etc.  Methods  exist  to  assess  the  influence  of  these  non-sampling  errors  on  the  accuracy  of  the  survey 
results, but being often costly, are not generally applied. 

Experience  shows  that  at  national  level  the  survey  information  provides  sufficiently  accurate  estimates  for  the levels 
and structures of the various aggregates into which the labour force is divided, provided that analyses of this type are 
confined  to  levels  of  a  certain  size.  Survey  results  at  regional  level  may,  however,  be  affected  by  considerable 
sampling errors, even for relatively large groups of the population. Reliability of the results is assured by the size of the 
samples and the sampling methods used, in addition to careful and thorough planning of the various survey operations 
and rigorous administration of all phases of the survey. 

eurostat

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Comparability of results between countries 

Perfect comparability among countries is difficult to achieve, even were it to be by means of a single direct survey, i.e. 
a survey carried out at the same time, using the same questionnaire and a single method of recording. 

Nevertheless,  the  degree  of  comparability  of the EU Labour Force Survey results is considerably higher than that of 
any other existing set of statistics on employment or unemployment available for Member States. This is due to: 

(a) the recording of the same set of characteristics in each country; 

(b) a close correspondence between the EU list of questions and the national questionnaires; 

(c) the use of the same definitions for all countries; 

(d) the use of common classifications (e.g. NACE for economic activity); 

(e) the data being centrally processed by Eurostat. 

The EU Labour Force Survey, although subject to the constraints of the EU's statistical requirements, is a joint effort by 
Member  States  to  coordinate  their  national  employment  surveys,  which  must  serve  their  own  national  requirements. 
Therefore,  in  spite  of  the  close  coordination  between  the  national  statistical  institutes  and  Eurostat,  there  inevitably 
remain some differences in the survey from country to country. 

Comparability of results between successive surveys 

Since  1983  improved  comparability  between  results  of  successive  surveys  has  been  achieved,  mainly  due  to  the 
greater stability of content and the higher frequency of surveys. However, the following factors may somewhat detract 
from perfect comparability: 

(a)  the  population  figures  used  for  the  population adjustment are revised at intervals on the basis of new population 
censuses; 

(b) the reference period may not remain the same for a given country; 

(c) in order to improve the quality of results, some countries may change the content or order of their questionnaire; 

(d) countries may modify their sample designs; 

(e) the manner in which certain questions are answered may be influenced by the political or social circumstances at 
the time of interview. 

As  far  as  they  are  known,  Eurostat  indicates  the  main  factors  affecting  the  comparability  of  the  data  for  successive 
surveys in the publications containing the results. 

Basic concepts and definitions 

The  main  statistical  objectives  of  the  Labour  Force  Survey  is  to  divide  the  population  of  working  age  (15  years  and 
above)  into  three  mutually  exclusive  and  exhaustive  groups  -  persons  in  employment,  unemployed  persons  and 
inactive  persons  -  and  to  provide  descriptive  and  explanatory  data  on  each  of  these  categories.  Respondents  are 
assigned to one of these groups on the basis of the most objective information possible obtained through the survey 
questionnaire, which principally relates to their actual activity within a particular reference week. 

The section 'EU list of questions' together with the explanatory notes show how the survey questioning is organised. 
Most  questions  apply  to  selected  groups  only.  A  filter  based  on  information  already  obtained  specifies  who  should 
answer a particular question. 

The  definitions  of  employment  and  unemployment  used in the Community Labour Force Survey closely follow those 
adopted by the 13th International Conference of Labour Statisticians. 

eurostat
eurostat

11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Employment 

A person is considered as having an employment if he or she did any work for pay or profit during the reference week 
"Work" means any work for pay or profit during the reference week, even for as little as one hour. Pay includes cash 
payments or "payment in kind" (payment in goods or services rather than money), whether payment was received in 
the  week  the  work  was  done  or  not.  Also  counted  as  working  is  anyone  who  receives  wages  for  on-the-job  training 
which  involves  the  production  of  goods  or  services  (ESA  11.13  f).  Self-employed  persons  with  a  business,  farm  or 
professional practice are also considered to be working if one of the following applies : 

(1)  A person works in his own business, professional practice or farm for the purpose of earning a profit, even if the 

enterprise is failing to make a profit. 

(2)  A person spends time on the operation of a business, professional practice or farm even if no sales were made, 
no professional services were rendered, or nothing was actually produced (for example, a farmer who engages in 
farm  maintenance  activities;  an  architect  who  spends  time  waiting  for  clients  in  his/her  office;  a  fisherman  who 
repairs his boat or nets for future operations; a person who attends a convention or seminar). 

(3)   A  person  is  in  the  process  of  setting  up  a  business,  farm  or  professional  practice;  this  includes  the  buying  or 
installing  of  equipment,  and  ordering  of  supplies  in  preparation  for  opening  a  new  business.  An  unpaid  family 
worker is said to be working if the work contributes directly to a business, farm or professional practice owned or 
operated by a related member of the same household. 

Self-employed persons 

If self-employed persons are absent from work, then they are regarded as in employment only if they can be said to 
have a business, farm or professional practice. This is the case if one or more of the following conditions are met: 

(i)  Machinery  or  equipment  of  significant  value,  in  which  the  person  has  invested  money,  is  used  by  him  or  his 
employees in conducting his business, an office, store, farm or other place of business is maintained. 

(ii)   There has been some advertisement of the business or profession by listing the business in the telephone book, 

displaying a sign, distributing cards or leaflets, etc.  

Person who works on their own small agriculture farm, who do not sell their products, but produce only for their own 
consumption 

The  classification  as  employment  of  persons  who  works  on  their  own  small  agriculture  farm,  who  do  not  sell  their 
products,  but  produce  only  for  their  own  consumption  depends  on  whether  it  falls  within  the  production  boundaries. 
When this production is included in national accounts, underlying employment must be identified. This depends on the 
relative  quantitative  importance  of  the production of agricultural products for own consumption in relation to the total 
supply of these products in a country (ESA 3.08) 

Conscripts  

Conscripts  who  performed  some  work  for  pay  or  profit  during  the  reference  week  should  not  be  considered  in 
employment. 

Seasonal workers  

During  the  off-season,  seasonal  workers  cannot  be  considered  as  having  a  formal  attachment  to  their  high-season 
job—  because  they  do  not  continue  to  receive  a  wage  or  salary  from  their  employer  although  they  may  have  an 
assurance of return to work.  

Maternity and paternity leave 

Maternity  leave  is  first  given  to  the  mother  (but  may  include  the  leave  of  the  father  in  the  case  of  a  transfer  of  the 
entitlements)  and  corresponds  to  the  compulsory  period  of  the  leave  stipulated  by  national  legislation  to  ensure  that 
mothers  before  and  after  childbirth  have  sufficient  rest,  or  for  a  period  to  be  specified  according  to  national 
circumstances. People in maternity leave should always be considered in employment. 

eurostat

12 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Parental leave 

Parental leave can be taken either by the mother or the father and is the interruption of work in case of childbirth or to 
bring up a child of young age. It corresponds to the period when parents receive “parental leave benefit”. People in full-
time parental leave should be treated as a case of long term absence from work. 

Unpaid family workers 

The unpaid family worker can be said to have a job but not be at work if there is a definite commitment by the employer 
(a related household member) to accept his/her return to work and the total absence does not exceed a  period of 3 
months. In this point Eurostat diverges from the ILO recommendation. 

Lay-offs 

A person on lay-off is one whose written or unwritten contract of employment, or activity, has been suspended by the 
employer  for  a  specified  or  unspecified  period  at  the  end  of  which  the  person  concerned  has  a  recognized  right  or 
recognized expectation to recover employment with that employer.  
Lay–offs  are  classified  as  employed  if  they  receive  ≥  50%  of  their  wage  or  salary  from  their  employer  or  have  an 
assurance of return to work within a period of 3 months. 

Long-term absence from work.  

If  the  total  absence  from  work  (measured  from  the  last  day  of  work  to  the  day  on  which the paid worker will return) 
exceeds three months then a person is considered to have a job only if he/she continues to receive ≥ 50% of the wage 
or salary from their employer (ESA 11.14a).  

Unemployment 

1 - In accordance with the ILO standards adopted by the 13th and 14th International Conference of Labour Statisticians 
(ICLS), for the purposes of the Community labour force sample survey, unemployed persons comprise persons aged 
15 to 74 who were: 
(a)  without  work  during  the  reference  week,  i.e.  neither  had  a  job  nor  were  at  work  (for  one  hour  or  more)  in  paid 
employment or self-employment; 
(b) currently available for work, i.e. were available for paid employment or self-employment before the end of the two 
weeks following the reference week; 
(c) actively seeking work, i.e. had taken specific steps in the four week period ending with the reference week to seek 
paid employment or self-employment or who found a job to start later, i.e. within a period of at most three months. 
For the purposes of point 1(c), the following are considered as specific steps: 
— having been in contact with a public employment office to find work, whoever took the initiative (renewing 
registration for administrative reasons only is not an active step), 
— having been in contact with a private agency (temporary work agency, firm specialising in recruitment, etc.) to find 
work, 
— applying to employers directly, 
— asking among friends, relatives, unions, etc., to find work, 
— placing or answering job advertisements, 
— studying job advertisements, 
— taking a recruitment test or examination or being interviewed, 
— looking for land, premises or equipment, 
— applying for permits, licences or financial resources. 

2. Education and training are considered as ways of improving employability but not as methods of seeking work. 
Persons without work and in education or training will only be classified as unemployed if they are ‘currently available 
for work’ and ‘seeking work’, as defined in points 1(b) and (c). 

3.  Lay-offs  are  classified  as  unemployed  if  they  do  not  receive  any  significant  wage  or  salary  (significant  is  set  at 
= 50%) from their employer and if they are ‘currently available for work’ and ‘seeking work’. Lay-offs are treated as a 
case  of  unpaid  leave  initiated  by  the  employer  —  including  leave  paid  out  of  government  budget  or  by  funds  (16th 
ICLS). In this case, lay-offs are classified as employed if they have an agreed date of return to work and if this date 
falls within a period of three months. 

eurostat
eurostat

13 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. During the off-season, seasonal workers cannot be considered as having a formal attachment to their high-season 
job  because  they  do  not  continue  to  receive  a  wage  or  salary  from  their  employer  although  they  may  have  an 
assurance of return to work. If they are not at work during the off-season, they are classified as unemployed only if they 
are ‘currently available for work’ and ‘seeking work’, as defined in points 1(b) and (c). 

eurostat

14 

 
 
European Union list of variables – correspondence between the different series 

This list shows the correspondence between the LFS variables and the column numbers of the current series, those of 
the series 1983 to 1991, 1992 to 1997 and 1998 to 2000. The asterisks in the list 1983 to 1991, 1992 to 1997 or 1998 
to 2000 denote that, although there is a correspondence between the questions in the 4 series, some changes have 
been made in the conventions for coding the data. 

Description 

Demographic background 

Sequence number in the household  
Relationship to reference person in the household 
Sequence number of spouse or cohabiting partner 
Sequence number of father 
Sequence number of mother 
Sex 
Year of birth 
Date of birth in relation to the end of reference period 
Marital status 
Nationality 
Years of residence in this Member State 
Country of birth 
Nature of participation in the survey 

Labour status 

Column 
2001 

Column 
1998-00 

Column 
1992-97 

Column 
1983-91 

1/2 
3 
4/5 
6/7 
8/9 
10 
11/14 
15 
16 
17/18 
19/20 
21/22 
23 

1/2 
3 
4/5 
6/7 
8/9 
10 
11/14 
15 
16 
17/18 
19/20 
21/22 
23 

- 
1 
- 
- 
- 
2 
3/4* 
5 
6 
7/8 
9/10 
11/12 
113 

- 
17 
- 
- 
- 
18 
19/20* 
21 
22 
23/24* 
- 
- 
67 

Labour status during the reference week 
Reason for not having worked at all though having a job 

24 
25 

24 
25 

13 
14* 

25 
26* 

Employment characteristics of the main job 

Professional status 
Economic activity of the local unit 
Occupation 
Number of persons working at the local unit  
Country of place of work 
Region of place of work 
Year in which person started working for this employer or as 
self-employed 
Month in which person started working for this employer or as 
self-employed 
Full-time / Part-time distinction 
Permanency of the job 
Total duration of temporary job or work contract of limited 
duration 

Hours worked 

26 
27/29 
30/33 
34/35 
36/37 
38/39 
40/43 

26 
27/28* 
29/31* 
32/33 
34/35 
36/37 
38/41 

15 
16/17* 
18/20* 
21/22 
23/24 
25/26 
27/28* 

44/45 

42/43 

29/30 

46 
47 
48 

44* 
45 
46 

31* 
32 
33 

34 
35/36* 
37/38* 
- 
- 
- 
- 

- 

39* 
40 
- 

Number of hours per week usually worked 
Number of hours actually worked during the reference week 

49/50 
51/52 

47/48 
49/50 

34/35 
36/37 

28/29 
30/31 

eurostat
eurostat

15 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
Main reason for hours actually worked during the reference 
week being different from the person's usual hours 
Wish to work usually more than the current number of hours 
Number of hours  that the person would like to work in total 
Working at home 
Looking for another job and reasons for doing so 

Second job 

Existence of more than one job or business 
Professional status (in the second job) 
Economic activity of the local unit (in the second job) 
Number of hours actually worked during the reference week in 
the second job 

Previous work experience of person not in employment 

Existence of previous employment experience 
Year in which person last worked 
Month in which person last worked 
Main reason for leaving last job or business 
Professional status in last job 
Economic activity of the local unit in which person last worked 
Occupation of last job 

Search for employment 

53/54 

51/52 

38/39* 

32/33* 

55 
56/57 
58 
59 

60 
61 
62/63 
64/65 

66 
67/70 
71/72 
73 
74 
75/76 
77/79 

53 
54/55 
56 
57 

- 
- 
45 
46* 

58 
59 
 60/61 
 62/63 

47 
48 
49/50 
54/55 

- 
- 
- 
41* 

27 
- 
- 
- 

64 
 65/68 
 69/70 
71 
72 
 73/74 
 75/77 

57 
58/59* 
60/61 
62* 
63* 
64/65* 
66/68* 

42* 
- 
- 
43* 
44* 
45/46* 
47/48* 

Seeking employment during previous four weeks 
Type of employment sought 
Duration of search for employment 

80/81 
82 
83 

 78/79* 
80 
81 

69/70* 
71 
72 

49* 
50 
52* 

Methods used during previous four weeks to find work 

Contacted public employment office to find work 
Contacted private employment agency to find work 
Applied to employers directly 
Asked friends, relatives, trade unions, etc. 
Inserted or answered advertisements in newspapers or journals 
Studied advertisements in newspapers or journals 
Took a test, interview or examination 
Looked for land, premises or equipment 
Looked for permits, licences, financial resources 
Awaiting the results of an application for a job 
Waiting for a call from a public employment office 
Awaiting the results of a competition for recruitment to the 
public sector 
Other method used 
Willingness to work for person not seeking employment 
 Availability to start working within two weeks 
Situation immediately before person started to seek 
employment (or was waiting for new job to start) 
Registration at a public employment office 

84 
85 
86 
87 
88 
89 
90 
91 
92 
93 
94 
95 

96 
97 
98 
99 

100 

82 
83 
84 
85 
86 
87 
88 
89 
90 
91 
92 
93 

94 
95 
96 
97 

98 

- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 

- 
76 
77 
78 

79 

- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 

- 
- 
53 
51 

54 

eurostat

16 

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Main labour status 

Main status 

Education and training 

101 

99 

80* 

- 

Education or training received during previous four weeks 
Type of instruction 
Level of this education or training 
Purpose of this education and training 
Total length of this education or training 
Usual number of hours of training per week 
Highest level of education or training successfully completed 
Having obtained a (non tertiary) vocational qualification  
(minimum duration : 6 months) 
Year when highest level of education or training was 
successfully completed 

102 
103 
104 
105 
106 
107/109 
109/110 
111 

100 
101* 
102 
103 
104 
105/106 
107/108* 
109 

81* 
- 
- 
- 
83* 
84/85 
- 
- 

112/115 

110/113 

- 

57* 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 

- 

Situation one year before survey 

Situation with regard to activity one year before survey 
Professional status one year before survey 
Economic activity of local unit in which person was working one 
year before survey 
Country of residence one year before survey 
Region of residence (within Member State) one year before 
survey 

116 
117 
118/119 

114 
115 
116/117 

120/121 
122/123 

118/119 
120/121 

88* 
89 
90/91 

92/93 
94/95 

59* 
60 
61/62* 

63/64* 
65/66* 

Income 

Monthly (take home) pay from main job 
Additional payments from main job 
Unemployment allowances 
Additional payments of unemployment allowance 
Sickness, disability or invalidity allowances 

Technical items relating to the interview 

Year of survey 
Reference week 
Interview week 
Member State 
Region of household 
Degree of urbanisation 
Serial number of household 
Type of household 
Type of institution 
Yearly weighting factor 
Quarterly weighting factor 
Quarterly weighting factor of the sample for household 
characteristics ( in the case of a sample of individuals) 
Sequence number of the survey wave 

eurostat
eurostat

17 

124/131 
132/139 
140/147 
148/155 
156/163 

122/129 
130/137 
138/145 
146/153 
154/161 

- 
- 
- 
- 
- 

164/167 
168/169 
170/171 
172/173 
174/175 
176 
177/182 
183 
184 
185/190 
191/196 
197/202 

162/165 
166/167 
168/169 
170/171 
172/173 
174 
175/180 
181 
182 
183/188 
189/194 
195-200 

96/97* 
98/99 
- 
100/101 
102/103 
104 
105/110 
111 
112 
114/119 
- 
- 

- 
- 
- 
- 
- 

1/2* 
3/4 
- 
5/6* 
7/8* 
- 
9/14 
15 
16 
68/73 
- 
- 

203 

203 

- 

- 

 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Atypical work 

Shift work  
Evening work  
Night work  
Saturday work  
Sunday work  

204 
205 
206 
207 
208 

204 
205 
206 
207 
208 

40 
41 
42 
43 
44 

- 
- 
- 
- 
- 

eurostat

18 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
European Union list of variables – detailed codification 

Column  Code 

Description 

Filter/Remarks 

DEMOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND 

1/2 

Sequence number in the household (it should remain the same for all 
waves) 

everybody 

01-98 

Two-digit sequence number allocated to each member of the 
household  

3 

Relationship to reference person in the household 

col 183 =1,3 

1 
2 
3 

4 

5 
6 
9 

Reference person 
Spouse (or cohabiting partner) of reference person 
Child of reference person (or of his/her spouse or cohabiting partner) 

Ascendant relative of reference person (or of his/her spouse or 
cohabiting partner) 
Other relative 
Other 
Not applicable (not private household) 

4/5 

Sequence number of spouse or cohabiting partner 

col 183 =1,3 

01-98 

Sequence number of spouse or cohabiting partner in the household 

99 

Not applicable (person does not belong to a private household, or has 
no partner, or the partner does not belong to this private household) 

6/7 

Sequence number of father 

col 183 =1,3 

01-98 
99 

Sequence number of father in the household 
Not applicable (person does not belong to a private household, or the 
father does not belong to this private household) 

8/9 

Sequence number of mother 

col 183 =1,3 

01-98 
99 

Sequence number of mother in the household 
Not applicable (person does not belong to a private household, or the 
mother does not belong to this private household) 

1 
2 

1 

2 

10 

11/14 

15 

eurostat
eurostat

Sex 

Male 
Female 

Year of birth 

everybody 

everybody 

The 4 digits of year of birth are entered 

Date of birth in relation to the end of reference period 

everybody 

Person's birthday falls between 1 January and the end of the 
reference week 
Person's birthday falls after the end of the reference week 

19 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
16 

1 
2 
3 
4 
blank 

Marital status 
Single 
Married 
Widowed 
Divorced or legally separated 
No answer 

everybody 

17/18 

Nationality 

everybody 

For coding, see annex IV 

19/20 

Years of residence in this Member State 

everybody 

00 
01-10 

11 
blank 

Born in this Member State 
Number of years for person who has been in this Member State for 1 
to 10 years 
Been in this Member State for more than 10 years 
No answer 

21/22 

Country of birth 

col.19/20≠00 

99 
blank 

For coding, see annex IV 
Not applicable (col.19/20=00) 
No answer 

23 

Nature of participation in the survey 

1 
2 
9 
blank 

Direct participation 
Participation via another member of the household 
Not applicable (child less than 15 years old) 
No answer 

LABOUR STATUS 

everybody aged 15 years 
or more 

24 

Labour status during the reference week 

everybody aged 15 years 
or more 

1 

2 

3 
4 
5 

9 

0 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 

8 
9 

25 

eurostat

Did any work for pay or profit during the reference week - one hour or 
more (including family workers but excluding conscripts on 
compulsory military or community service) 
Was not working but had a job or business from which he/she was 
absent during the reference week (including family workers but 
excluding conscripts on compulsory military or community service) 
Was not working because on lay-off 
Was a conscript on compulsory military or community service 
Other (15 years or more) who neither worked nor had a job or 
business during the reference week 
Not applicable (child less than 15 years old) 

Reason for not having worked at all though having a job 

col.24=2 

Bad weather 
Slack work for technical or economic reasons 
Labour dispute 
School education or training 
Own illness, injury or temporary disability 
Maternity or parental leave 
Holidays 
Compensation leave (within the framework of working time banking or 
an annualized  hours contract) 
Other reasons (e.g. personal or family responsibilities) 
Not applicable (col.24=1,3-5,9) 

20 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EMPLOYMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MAIN JOB 

26 

Professional status 

col.24=1,2 

1 
2 
3 
4 
9 
blank 

Self-employed with employees 
Self-employed without employees 
Employee 
Family worker 
Not applicable (col.24=3-5,9) 
No answer 

27/29 

Economic activity of the local unit 

col.24=1,2 

000 
blank 

NACE Rev. 1 coded 2 or if possible 3 digits    
Not applicable (col.24=3-5,9) 
No answer 

30/33 

Occupation 

col.24=1,2 

9999 
blank 

ISCO-88 (COM) coded 3 or if possible 4 digits  
Not applicable (col.24=3-5,9) 
No answer 

34/35 

Number of persons working at the local unit  

01-10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
99 
blank 

Exact number of persons, if  between 1 and 10 
11 to 19 persons 
20 to 49 persons 
50 persons or more 
Do not know but less than 11 persons 
Do not know but more than 10 persons 
Not applicable (col.26=2,9) 
No answer 

col.26=1,3,4, 
blank 

36/37 

Country of place of work 

col.24=1,2  

99 
blank 

For coding, see annex IV 
Not applicable (col.24=3-5,9) 
No answer 

38/39 

Region of place of work 

col.24=1,2  

99 
blank 

NUTS 2 
Not applicable (col.24=3-5,9) 
No answer 

40/43 

Year in which person started working for this employer or as self-
employed 

col.24=1,2  

9999 
blank 

01/12 
99 

44/45 

eurostat
eurostat

Enter the 4 digits of the year concerned 
Not applicable (col.24=3-5,9) 
No answer 

Month in which person started working for this employer or as self-
employed 
Enter the number of the month concerned 
Not applicable (Col.40/43=9999,blank or col. 164/167-Col.40/43>2) 

Col.40/43≠9999, blank & 
Col.164/167-Col.40/43 <= 
2 

21 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
46 

blank 

No answer 
Full-time / Part-time distinction 

col.24=1,2  

1 

2 

3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
blank 

Full-time job 
Part-time job which was taken because 
- person is undergoing school education or training 

- of own illness or disability 
- person could not find a full-time job 
- person did not want a full-time job 
- of other reasons 
Person with a part-time job but giving no reason 
Looking after children or incapacitated adults 
Not applicable (col.24=3-5,9) 
No answer 

47 

 Permanency of the job 

col.26=3 

1 

2 

3 
4 
5 
6 
9 
blank 

Person has a permanent job or work contract of unlimited duration 

Person has temporary job/work contract of limited duration because: 

- it is a contract covering a period of training (apprentices, trainees, 
research assistants, etc.) 
- person could not find a permanent job 
- person did not want a permanent job 
- no reason given 
- it is a contract for a probationary period 
Not applicable (col.26=1,2,4,9,blank) 
No answer 

48 

Total duration of temporary job or work contract of limited duration 

Col.47=2-6 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
blank 

Less than one month 
1 to 3 months 
4 to 6 months 
7 to 12 months 
13 to 18 months 
19 to 24 months 
25 to 36 months 
More than 3 years 
Not applicable (Col.47=1,9,blank) 
No answer 

HOURS WORKED 

49/50 

Number of hours per week usually worked 

col.24=1,2  

00 

01-98 
99 
blank 

Usual hours cannot be given because hours worked vary considerably 
from week to week or from month to month 
Number of hours usually worked in the first job 
Not applicable (col.24=3-5,9) 
No answer 

51/52 

Number of hours actually worked during the reference week 

col.24=1,2  

00 

Person having a job or business and not having worked at all in the 
main activity during the reference week (col.24=2) 

eurostat

22 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
01-98 

99 
blank 

Number of hours actually worked in the first job during the reference 
week 
Not applicable (col.24=3-5,9) 
No answer 

53/54 

Main reason for hours actually worked during the reference week 
being different from the person's usual hours 

Col.49/50=00-98 & 
col.51/52=01-98 

01 
16 
02 

03 
04 
05 
06 
07 
08 
09 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
97 

98 

Person has worked more than usual due to 

- variable hours (e.g. flexible working hours) 
- overtime 
- other reasons 
Person has worked less than usual due to: 
- bad weather 
- slack work for technical or economic reasons 
- labour dispute 
- education or training 
- variable hours (e.g. flexible working hours) 
- own illness, injury or temporary disability 
- maternity or parental leave 
- special leave for personal or family reasons 
- annual Holidays 
- bank Holidays 
- start of/change in job during reference week 
- end of job without taking up a new  one during reference week 
- other reasons 
Person having worked usual hours during the reference week 
(Col.49/50=col.51/52=01-98) 
Person whose hours vary considerably from week to week or month 
to month and who did not state a reason for a divergence between the 
actual and usual hours (Col.49/50=00 & col.53/54#01-16) 

99 

Not applicable (col.24=2-5,9 or Col.49/50=blank or col.51/52= blank) 

blank 

No answer 

55 

Wish to work usually more than the current number of hours 

0 
1 
2 
3 
4 
9 

blank 

01-98 
99 
blank 

- no 
- yes, through an additional job 
- yes, through a job working more hours than the present job 
- yes, but only  within the present job 
- yes, in any of the above ways 
Not applicable (col.24=3-5,9 or ((Col. 49/50=00 or 40<= 
Col.49/50<=98 or col. 49/50 = blank) and col.46=1, blank)) 
No answer 

Number of hours  that the person would like to work in total 
Number of hours wished to work in total 
Not applicable (col.24=3-5,9)  
No answer 

56/57 

(col.24=1 or col.24=2) & 
(00<Col.49/50<40 or col. 
46=2-8) 

col.24=1 or col.24=2  

58 

Working at home 

col.24=1 or col.24=2  

1 
2 
3 

Person usually works at home 
Person sometimes works at home 
Person never works at home 

23 

eurostat
eurostat

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9 
blank 

Not applicable (col.24=3-5,9) 
No answer 

59 

Looking for another job and reasons for doing so 

col.24=1 or col.24=2  

0 

1 
2 
3 

7 
8 

4 

5 
6 
9 
blank 

Person is not looking for another job 
Person is looking for another job because 
- of risk or certainty of loss or termination of present job 
- actual job is considered as a transitional job 
- seeking an additional job to add more hours to those worked in 
present job 
- seeking a job with more hours worked than in present job 
- seeking a job with less hours worked than in present job (col. 55=0) 

- of wish to have better working conditions (e.g. pay, working or travel 
time, quality of work) 
- of other reasons 
Person looking for another job but giving no reason 
Not applicable (col.24=3-5,9) 
No answer 

SECOND JOB 

60 

Existence of more than one job or business 

col.24=1 or col.24=2  

1 
2 

9 
blank 

Person had only one job or business during the reference week 
Person had more than one job or business during the reference week 
(not due to change of job or business) 
Not applicable (col.24=3-5,9) 
No answer 

61 

Professional status (in the second job) 

Col.60=2 

1 
2 
3 
4 
9 
blank 

Self-employed with employees 
Self-employed without employees 
Employee 
Family worker 
Not applicable (Col.60=1,9 blank) 
No answer 

62/63 

Economic activity of the local unit (in the second job) 

Col.60=2 

64/65 

00 
blank 

00 

01-98 

99 
blank 

NACE Rev. 1 
Not applicable (Col.60=1,9,blank) 
No answer 

Col.60=2 

Number of hours actually worked during the reference week in the 
second job 
Person not having worked in the second job during the reference 
week 
Number of hours actually worked in the second job during the 
reference week 
Not applicable (Col.60=1,9, blank) 
No answer 

PREVIOUS WORK EXPERIENCE OF PERSON NOT IN 
EMPLOYMENT 

66 

Existence of previous employment experience 

col.24=3-5 

eurostat

24 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
0 

1 

9 
blank 

Person has never been in employment (purely occasional work, such 
as vacation work, compulsory military or community service are not to 
be considered as employment) 
Person has already been in employment (purely occasional work, 
such as vacation work, compulsory military or community service are 
not to be considered as employment) 
Not applicable (col.24=1,2 or 9) 
No answer 

67/70 

Year in which person last worked 

Col.66=1 

Enter the 4 digits of the year in which  person last worked 

9999 
blank 

Not applicable (Col.66=0,9,blank) 
No answer 
Month in which person last worked 

71/72 

01-12 
99 

Enter the number of the month in which person last worked 
Not applicable (Col.67/70=9999,blank or col. 164/167-col.67/70>2) 

blank 

No answer 

73 

Main reason for leaving last job or business 

col.67/70≠9999 blank & 
Col.164/167-col.67/70 <= 2 

col. 66=1 and Col.164/167 
-Col.67/70<8 

0 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 

blank 

Dismissed or made redundant 
A job of limited duration has ended 
Personal or family responsibilities 
Own illness or disability 
Education or training 
Early retirement 
Normal retirement 
Compulsory military or community service 
Other reasons 
Not applicable (Col.66=0,9,blank, or Col.66=1 and did not work in last 
8 years) 
No answer 

74 

Professional status in last job 

Col.66=1 and Col.164/167 
-Col.67/70<8 

1 
2 
3 
4 
9 

Self-employed with employees 
Self-employed without employees 
Employee 
Family worker 
Not applicable (Col.66=0,9,blank, or Col.66=1 
and did not work in last 8 years) 

blank 

No answer 

75/76 

Economic activity of the local unit in which person last worked 

Col.66=1 and Col.164/167 
-Col.67/70<8 

00 

blank 

NACE Rev. 1 
Not applicable (Col.66=0,9,blank, or Col.66=1 and did not work in last 
8 years) 
No answer 

77/79 

Occupation of last job 

Col.66=1 and Col.164/167 
-Col.67/70<8 

999 

blank 

ISCO-88 (COM) 
Not applicable (Col.66=0,9,blank, or Col.66=1 and did not work in last 
8 years) 
No answer 

eurostat
eurostat

25 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SEARCH FOR EMPLOYMENT 

80/81 

Seeking employment during previous four weeks 

col.24=3-5  

01 

11 
12 

03 
04 
05 
06 
07 
08 
09 
10 
99 

Person is seeking employment 
Person has already found a job which will start later 
- within a period of at most 3 months 
- in more than 3 months 
Person is not seeking employment because: 
- awaiting recall to work (persons on lay-off) 
- of own illness or disability 
- of personal or family responsibilities 
- of education or training 
- of retirement 
- of belief that no work is available 
- of other reasons 
- no reason given 
Not applicable (col.24=1,2 or 9 ) 

82 

Type of employment sought 

Col.80/81=01, 11,12 or 
Col.59=1-8 

The employment sought (for Col.80/81=11, 12  the employment 
found) is: 
as self-employed 
as employee : 
 - and only full-time job is looked for (or has already been found) 
 - and full-time job is sought, but if not available, part-time job will be 
accepted 
 - and part-time job is sought, but if not available, full-time job will be 
accepted 
 - and only part-time job is looked for (or has already been found) 
 - and person did not state whether full-time or part-time job is looked 
for (or has already been found) 
Not applicable (col.24=9 or Col.80/81=03-10 or Col.59=0,blank) 
No answer 

1 

2 
3 

4 

5 
6 

9 
blank 

83 

Duration of search for employment 

Col.80/81=01, 11 or 
Col.59=1-8 

0 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
blank 

Search not yet started 
Less than 1 month 
1-2 months 
3-5 months 
6-11 months 
12-17 months 
18-23 months 
24-47 months 
4 years or longer 
Not applicable (col.24=9 or Col.80/81=03-10, 12 or Col.59=0,blank) 
No answer 

eurostat

26 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
METHODS USED DURING PREVIOUS FOUR WEEKS TO FIND 
WORK

Contacted public employment office to find work 

Col.80/81=01or Col.59=1-8 

No 
Yes 
Not applicable (col.24=9 or Col.80/81=03-12 or Col.59=0,blank) 

Contacted private employment agency to find work 

Col.80/81=01or Col.59=1-8 

No 
Yes 
Not applicable (col.24=9 or Col.80/81=03-12 or Col.59=0,blank) 

Applied to employers directly 

Col.80/81=01or Col.59=1-8 

No 
Yes 
Not applicable (col.24=9 or Col.80/81=03-12 or Col.59=0,blank) 

Asked friends, relatives, trade unions, etc. 
No 
Yes 
Not applicable(col.24=9 or Col.80/81=03-12 or Col.59=0,blank) 

Col.80/81=01or Col.59=1-8 

Inserted or answered advertisements in newspapers or journals 

Col.80/81=01or Col.59=1-8 

No 
Yes 
Not applicable (col.24=9 or Col.80/81=03-12 or Col.59=0,blank) 

 Studied advertisements in newspapers or journals 

Col.80/81=01or Col.59=1-8 

No 
Yes 
Not applicable (col.24=9 or Col.80/81=03-12 or Col.59=0,blank) 

Took a test, interview or examination 

Col.80/81=01or Col.59=1-8 

No 
Yes 
Not applicable (col.24=9 or Col.80/81=03-12 or Col.59=0,blank) 

Looked for land, premises or equipment 

Col.80/81=01or Col.59=1-8 

No 
Yes 
Not applicable (col.24=9 or Col.80/81=03-12 or Col.59=0,blank) 

Looked for permits, licences, financial resources 
No 
Yes 
Not applicable (col.24=9 or Col.80/81=03-12 or Col.59=0,blank) 

Col.80/81=01or Col.59=1-8 

Awaiting the results of an application for a job 

Col.80/81=01or Col.59=1-8 

No 
Yes 

27 

84 

85 

86 

87 

88 

89 

90 

91 

92 

93 

eurostat
eurostat

0 
1 
9 

0 
1 
9 

0 
1 
9 

0 
1 
9 

0 
1 
9 

0 
1 
9 

0 
1 
9 

0 
1 
9 

0 
1 
9 

0 
1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9 

0 
1 
9 

0 
1 
9 

0 
1 
9 

94 

95 

96 

97 

Not applicable (col.24=9 or Col.80/81=03-12 or Col.59=0,blank) 

Waiting for a call from a public employment office 

No 
Yes 
Not applicable (col.24=9 or Col.80/81=03-12 or Col.59=0,blank) 

Col.80/81=01 or Col.59=1-
8 

Awaiting the results of a competition for recruitment to the public 
sector 

Col.80/81=01 or Col.59=1-
8 

No 
Yes 
Not applicable (col.24=9 or Col.80/81=03-12 or Col.59=0,blank) 

Other method used 
No 
Yes 
Not applicable (col.24=9 or Col.80/81=03-12 or Col.59=0,blank) 

Willingness to work for person not seeking employment 
Person is not seeking employment: 
- but would nevertheless like to have work 
- and does not want to have work 
Not applicable (Col.80/81=01, 11, 12 ,99) 
No answer 

1 
2 
9 
blank 

98 

 Availability to start working within two weeks 

Col.80/81=01or Col.59=1-8 

Col. 80/81=03-10 

Col.80/81=01,11 or 
col.97=1,blank or 
Col.55=1-4 

1 

2 
3 
4 

5 
6 
7 
8 
9 

If work were found now: 
Person could start to work immediately (within 2 weeks) 
Person could not start to work immediately (within 2 weeks) because:   

- he/she must complete education or training 
- he/she must complete compulsory military or community service 
- he/she cannot leave present employment within two weeks due to 
period of notice 
- of personal or family responsibilities (including maternity) 
- of own illness or incapacity 
- of other reasons 
- no reason given 
Not applicable (col.24=9 or Col.55=0,blank or Col. 80/81=12 or 
Col.97=2 or ((Col. 49/50=00 or 40<= Col.49/50<=98) and col.46=1)) 

99 

Situation immediately before person started to seek employment (or 
was waiting for new job to start) 
Person was working (including apprentices, trainees) 
Person was in full-time education (excluding apprentices, trainees) 
Person was conscript on compulsory military or community service 
Person had domestic/family responsibilities 
Other (e.g. retired) 
Not applicable (Col.80/81=03-10, 99) 
No answer 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
9 
blank 

Col.80/81=01,11, 12 

100 

Registration at a public employment office 

everybody aged 15 years 
or more 

1 

Person is registered at a public employment office and receives 
benefit or assistance 

28 

eurostat

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2 

3 

4 

9 
blank 

Person is registered at a public employment office but does not 
receive benefit or assistance 
Person is not registered at a public employment office but receives 
benefit or assistance 
Person is not registered at a public employment office and does not 
receive benefit or assistance 
Not applicable (child less than 15 years) 
No answer 

MAIN LABOUR STATUS 

101 

Main status 

everybody aged 15 years 
or more 

1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
blank 

Carries out a job or profession, including unpaid work for a family 
business or holding, including an apprenticeship or paid traineeship, 
etc, 
Unemployed 
Pupil, student, further training, unpaid work experience 
In retirement or early retirement or has given up business 
Permanently disabled 
In compulsory military service 
Fulfilling domestic tasks 
Other inactive person 
Not applicable (child less than 15 years) 
No answer 

102 

103 

EDUCATION AND TRAINING 
Education or training received during previous four weeks 

everybody aged 15 years 
or more 

0 
1 
9 
blank 

Received no education or training 
Received  some education or training 
Not applicable (child less than 15 years) 
No answer 

1 
2 

3 

4 
9 
blank 

Type of instruction 
Class-room instruction 
Instruction in a working environment (without complementary class-
room instruction at a school or college including conferences, 
seminar, workshop ) 
Instruction combining both work experience and complementary 
class-room instruction ( including any form of 'dual system' or 
'sandwich courses') 
Other type of instruction 
Not applicable (Col.102=0,9,blank) 
No answer 

Col.102=1 

104 

Level of this education or training 

Col.102=1 

1 
2 

3 
4 

5 
6 
7 

General education 
      Primary or lower secondary (ISCED 1-2) 
      Upper secondary or post-secondary not tertiary  
      (ISCED 3-4) 
Pre-vocational or vocational education or training 
      Lower secondary (ISCED 2) 
      Upper secondary or post-secondary not tertiary 
      (ISCED 3-4) 
Tertiary education 
      ISCED 5a 
      ISCED 5b 
      ISCED 6 

eurostat
eurostat

29 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
105 

8 

9 
blank 

1 

2 

5 
6 
9 
blank 

Training that is not allocated to the ISCED classification (e.g.: 
language courses, computer courses, seminars ...) 
Not applicable (Col.102=0,9,blank) 
No answer 

Purpose of this education and training 
Initial education or training aiming at getting the skills for a job (except 
under a specific employment measure) 
Continuing vocational training (except under a specific employment 
measure) 
Training under a specific employment measure 
General interest 
Not applicable (col. 102=0,9,blank) 
No answer 

Col.102=1 

106 

Total length of this education or training 

Col.102=1 and col.103=1, 
2, 3, blank 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 

8 
9 
blank 

01-98 
99 
blank 

Less than 1 week 
1 week or more but less than 1 month 
1 month or more but less than 3 months 
3 months or more but less than 6 months 
6 months or more but less than 1 year 
1 year or more but less than 2 years 
2 years or longer 

No definite length 
Not applicable (Col.102=0,9,blank or col. 103 = 4) 
No answer 
Usual number of hours of training per week 

Number of hours 
Not applicable (Col.102=0,9,blank or col. 103 = 4) 
No answer 

107/108 

Col.102=1 and col.103=1, 
2, 3, blank 

109/110 

Highest level of education or training successfully completed 

everybody aged 15 years 
or more 

00 
01 
02 
11 
03 
04 
13 
14 
15 
08 
09 
10 
99 
blank 

No education 
ISCED 1 
ISCED 2 
ISCED 3 (without distinction a, b or c possible) 
ISCED 3c (shorter than 3 years) 
ISCED 3c (3 years of more) 
ISCED 3b  
ISCED 3a   
ISCED 4  
ISCED 5b 
ISCED 5a 
ISCED 6 
Not applicable (child less than 15 years) 
No answer 

111 

Having obtained a (non tertiary) vocational qualification 
(minimum duration : 6 months) 

everybody aged 15 years 
or more 

1 
2 

3 

Yes - Class-room instruction 
Yes - Instruction in a working environment (without complementary 
class-room instruction at a school or college) 
Yes - Instruction combining both work experience and complementary 
class-room instruction (including any form of 'dual system' or 
'sandwich courses') 

30 

eurostat

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4 
5 
9 
blank 

Yes - Type unknown 
No 
Not applicable (child less than 15 years) 
No answer 

112/115 

Year when highest level of education or training was successfully 
completed 

everybody aged 15 years 
or more 

The 4 digits of year when highest level of education or training was 
successfully completed are entered 
Not applicable (child less than 15 years) 
No answer 

9999 
blank 

SITUATION ONE YEAR BEFORE SURVEY 

116 

Situation with regard to activity one year before survey 

everybody aged 15 years 
or more 

1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
blank 

1 
2 
3 
4 
9 
blank 

00 
blank 

117 

118/119 

Carries out a job or profession, including unpaid work for a family 
business or holding, including an apprenticeship or paid traineeship, 
etc, 
Unemployed 
Pupil, student, further training, unpaid work experience 
In retirement or early retirement or has given up business 
Permanently disabled 
In compulsory military service 
Fulfilling domestic tasks 
Other inactive person 
Not applicable (child less than 15 years) 
No answer 

Professional status one year before survey 
Self-employed with employees 
Self-employed without employees 
Employee 
Family-worker 
Not applicable (Col.116=2-9 blank) 
No answer 
Economic activity of local unit in which person was working one year 
before survey 
NACE Rev. 1 
Not applicable (Col.116=2-9 blank) 
No answer 

Col.116=1 

Col.116=1 

120/121 

Country of residence one year before survey 

everybody 

99 
blank 

For coding, see annex IV 
Not applicable (child less than one year old) 
No answer 

eurostat
eurostat

31 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
122/123 

Region of residence (within Member State) one year before survey 

everybody 

99 

blank 

NUTS 2 
Not applicable (person who has changed country of residence or child 
less than one year old) 
No answer 

INCOME 

124/131 

Monthly (take home) pay from main job 

col.26=3 

The 8 digits of monthly (take home) pay from main job, including extra 
payments monthly paid (National currency) 

00000000- 
99999998 
99999999  Not applicable (col.26 ≠ 3) 
blank 

No answer 

132/139 

Additional payments from main job 

col.26=3 

The 8 digits of additional payments (total yearly net amount) from 
main job which are not monthly paid  (National currency) 

00000000- 
99999998 
99999999  Not applicable (col.26 ≠ 3) 
blank 

No answer 

140/147 

Unemployment allowances 

col.100 =1,3 

The 8 digits of monthly received unemployment allowances (National 
currency) 

00000000- 
99999998 
99999999  Not applicable (Col.100 ≠ 1,3) 
blank 

No answer 

148/155 

Additional payments of unemployment allowance 

col.100 =1,3 

00000000- 
99999998 

The 8 digits of additional payments (total yearly net amount) of 
unemployment allowance which are not monthly paid, e.g.: severance 
payments and other irregular payments or lumpsum payments 
(National currency) 
99999999  Not applicable (Col.100 ≠ 1,3) 
blank 

No answer 

156/163 

Sickness, disability or invalidity allowances 

col.26=3 

The 8 digits of monthly received sickness, disability or invalidity 
allowances (National currency) 

00000000- 
99999998 
99999999  Not applicable (col.26≠3) 
No answer 
blank 

TECHNICAL ITEMS RELATING TO THE INTERVIEW 

164/167 

Year of survey 

Last 4 digits of the year 

168/169 

Reference week 
Number of the week running from Monday to Sunday 

everybody 

everybody 

eurostat

32 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
170/171 

Interview week 

Number of the week running from Monday to Sunday 

172/173 

Member State 

For coding, see annex IV 

174/175 

Region of household 

NUTS 2 

176 

Degree of urbanisation 

1 
2 
3 

Densely-populated area 
Intermediate area 
Thinly-populated area 

everybody 

everybody 

everybody 

everybody 

177/182 

Serial number of household 

everybody 

Serial numbers are allocated by the national statistical institutes and 
remain the same for all waves. 
Records relating to different members of the same household carry 
the same serial number 

183 

Type of household 

everybody 

1 

2 
3 

4 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 

184 

6 
7 
9 
blank 

185/190 

Person living in private household (or permanently in a hotel) and 
surveyed in this household 
Person living in an institution and surveyed in this institution 
Person living in an institution but surveyed in this private household 

Person living in another private household on the territory of the 
Member State but surveyed in this household of origin 

Type of institution 

col.183=2,3 

Educational institution 
Hospital 
Other welfare institution 
Religious institution (not already included in 1-3) 
Workers' hostel, working quarters at building sites, student hostel, 
university accommodation, etc. 
Military establishment 
Other (e.g. prison) 
Not applicable (col.183=1,4) 
No answer 
Yearly weighting factor 

everybody 

0000-9999 Cols 185-188 contain whole numbers 
Cols 189-190 contain decimal places 
00-99 

191/196 

Quarterly weighting factor 

everybody 

0000-9999 Cols 191-194 contain whole numbers 
Cols 195-196 contain decimal places 
00-99 

197/202 

Quarterly weighting factor of the sample for household characteristics 
( in the case of a sample of individuals) 

0000-9999 Cols 197-200 contain whole numbers 

eurostat
eurostat

33 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
00-99 

Cols 201-202 contain decimal places 

203 

Sequence number of the survey wave 

everybody 

1-8 

Sequence number of the wave 

ATYPICAL WORK 

204 

Shift work  

col.26=3 

1 
3 
9 
blank 

Person does shift work 
Person never does shift work 
Not applicable (col.26 ≠ 3) 
No answer 

205 

Evening work  

col.24=1 or col.24=2 

1 
2 
3 
9 
blank 

Person usually works in the evening 
Person sometimes works in the evening 
Person never works in the evening 
Not applicable (col.24=3-5,9) 
No answer 

206 

Night work  

col.24=1 or col.24=2  

1 
2 
3 
9 
blank 

Person usually works at night 
Person sometimes works at night 
Person never works at night 
Not applicable (col.24=3-5,9) 
No answer 

207 

Saturday work  

col.24=1 or col.24=2  

1 
2 
3 
9 
blank 

Person usually works on Saturdays 
Person sometimes works on Saturdays 
Person never works on Saturdays 
Not applicable (col.24=3-5,9) 
No answer 

208 

Sunday work  

col.24=1 or col.24=2 

1 
2 
3 
9 
blank 

Person usually works on Sundays 
Person sometimes works on Sundays 
Person never works on Sundays 
Not applicable (col.24=3-5,9) 
No answer 

eurostat

34 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Derived variables 

AGE 

DATEBIR = 1 

Yes 

AGE = REFYEAR - 
YEARBIR 

No 

AGE = REFYEAR – 
YEARBIR-1 

DATEBIR = Date of birth in relation to the end of 
reference period (Col. 15) 
REFYEAR = Year of survey (Col. 164/167) 
YEARBIR = Year of birth (Col. 11/14) 

ISCED1D: Level of education 

ISCD2001=99 

Yes 

ISCED1D=9 
Not applicable 

No 

ISCD2001= 01,02 

Yes 

ISCED1D=L 
Low: lower secondary 

No 

ISCD2001=03 to 07, 11 
to15 

Yes 

No 

ISCD2001= 08, 09, 10 

Yes 

ISCED1=M 
Medium: upper 
secondary 

ISCED1D=H 
High: third level 

No 

ISCED1D=’ ‘ 
No answer 

eurostat
eurostat

ISCD2001 = Highest level of education or 
training successfully completed  
(Col. 109/110) 

35 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
WSTATUT: ILO/EU Employment status 

WSTATOR = 1, 2 

Yes 

WSTATUT=1 
Employed 

No 

WSTATOR =4  Yes 

No 

WSTATUT=4 
Compulsory 
military service 

WSTATOR =9 

Yes 

WSTATUT=9 
Children 

No 

SEARCHWK =11 

SEARCHWK =01 

No 

No 

WSTATOR - Labour status during the reference week 
(Col. 24)  
SEARCHWK - Seeking employment during previous 
four weeks (Col. 80/81) 
METHODA - Contacted public employment office to 
find work (Col. 84) 
METHODB - Contacted private employment agency to 
find work (Col. 85) 
METHODC - Applied to employers directly (Col. 86) 
METHODD - Asked friends, relatives, trade unions, etc. 
(Col. 87) 
METHODE - Inserted or answered advertisements in 
newspapers or journals (Col. 88) 
METHODF - Studied advertisements in newspapers or 
journals (Col. 89) 
METHODG - Took a test, interview or examination 
(Col. 90) 
METHODH - Looked for land, premises or equipment 
(Col. 91) 
METHODI - Looked for permits, licences, financial 
resources (Col. 92) 
METHODM - Other method used (Col. 96) 
DISPO - Availability to start working within two weeks 
(Col. 98) 

Yes 

Yes 

METHODA  or  METHODB or 
METHODC  or  METHODD or 
METHODE  or  METHODF or 
METHODG  or  METHODH or 
METHODI  or  METHODM  = 1 

No 

Yes 

No 

No 

WSTATUT=3 
Inactive 

36 

DISPO =1 

Yes 

Age  < 75 

Yes 

WSTATUT=2 
Unemployed 

eurostat

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
DURUNE: Duration of unemployment 

TNW = 0 

DEI = 1 

1 <= TNW <= 2 

DEI = 2 

3 <= TNW <= 5 

DEI = 3 

6 <= TNW <= 11 

DEI = 4 

12 <= TNW <= 17 

DEI = 5 

18 <= TNW <= 23 

DEI = 6 

TNW: Time since person last worked in months, 
(derived from Col. 67/70 and Col. 71/72) 
DEI – Duration without employment 
DUR – Duration of search (Col. 83) 
DURUNE – Minimum between DUR and DEI 

WSTATUT = 2 
unemployed 

No 

DURUNE=9  
Not applicable 

24 <= TNW <= 47 

DEI = 7 

Yes 

TNW >= 48 

DEI = 8 

TNW = blank 

DEI = blank 

DURUNE= MIN (DUR, DEI) 
Following codification of Col. 83 

eurostat
eurostat

37 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Explanatory notes to the LFS list of variables 

Demographic background 

Col 1/2: Sequence number in the household  

A two-digit sequence number should be allocated to each member of the household. It should remain the same for all 
waves. 

Col. 3 : Relationship to reference person in the household 

Each private household should contain one and only one person coded as 'reference person', who must be an adult 
(aged  over  15).    Establishing  the  relationship  between  members  of  the  household  permits  analysis  of  the  data  by 
categories of household. 

Code 2 (spouse or cohabiting partner of reference person) This code should reflect the “de facto” situation in terms  of 
co-habitation arrangements. It therefore does not necessarily correspond with the “the jure” situation of the household 
in terms of co-habitation arrangements, as recorded in Col. 16. 

Code 4 (ascendant) means the father or the mother of the reference person or of his/her cohabiting partner. 

Col 4/5, 6/7 and 8/9: Sequence number of spouse or cohabiting partner, father and mother 

These variables permit the family nucleus to be reconstituted. For each member of the household, his/her spouse or 
cohabiting partner, father and mother should be identified if they are members of the same household.  

Col  4/5  (Sequence  number  of  spouse  or  cohabiting  partner)  should  reflect  the  “de  facto”  situation  in  terms    of  co-
habitation arrangements. It therefore does not necessarily correspond with the “the jure” situation of the household in 
terms of co-habitation arrangements, as recorded in Col. 16. 

The identification can be done using the sequence number which was allocated to these persons in col.1/2. 

Example: 
Consider the household described by the following scheme: 

C 

A 

B 

D 

E 

Mrs A is the mother of Mrs B. Mrs B is married to Mr. C; they have a common child D. Mrs B has another child from 
her first marriage (E). 

Columns 1/2, 4/5, 6/7, and 8/9 should be filled as follows: 

col. ½ 
01 
02 
03 
04 
05 

col. 4/5 
99 
03 
02 
99 
99 

col. 6/7 
99 
99 
99 
03 
99 

col. 8/9 
99 
01 
99 
02 
02 

A 
B 
C 
D 
E 

eurostat

38 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Distinction between biological and non-biological children is preferable but if this is not possible countries should inform 
Eurostat.  

Col. 15 : Date of birth within the year 

Together with year of birth (Cols. 11/14) this enables the respondent's age to be calculated. For persons born in the 
same  year,  those  coded  1  (birthday  falling  between  1  January  and  the  end  of  the  reference  week)  will  be,  for  the 
purpose  of  analysing  survey  results,  effectively  one  year older  than  those persons coded 2 (birthday falling after the 
end  of  the  reference  week).    This  definition  of  age  should  be  applied  in  all  filters  that  use  age.  Dates  should  be 
consistent : Date of birth, years of residence in this Member State, year in which the person started working and year  
in which the person stopped working should be in a logical order. 

Col. 16 : Marital status 

Marital status is the conjugal status of each individual in relation to the marriage laws of the country (i.e. de jure status) 
It  therefore  does  not  necessarily  correspond  with  the  actual  situation  of  the  household  in  terms  of  co-habitation 
arrangements, as recorded in Col. 3. 
Some countries (i.e. the Nordic, the Netherlands, France) have a legal framework for registering partnerships (in most 
countries these are same-sex partnership and they have a legal status parallel to married couples). Such information 
has also to be treated in a harmonised way and it is proposed to treat them as married and classify them under group 
2 when they still exists, else as 3-4 as appropriate (legal separation or death of one of the partners). 
In some countries, children under a certain age cannot have a legal marital status different from “single”. To ask them 
this question would not be necessary, nevertheless they should be coded 1(single). 

Cols. 17/18 : Nationality 

Nationality should be interpreted as citizenship. 
Citizenship  is  defined  as  the  particular  legal  bond  between  an  individual  and  his/her  State  acquired  by  birth  or 
naturalisation, whether by declaration, option, marriage or other means according to national legislation. It corresponds 
to the country issuing the passport. 
For  persons  with  dual  or  multiple  citizenship  who  hold  the  citizenship  of  the  country  of  residence,  that  citizenship 
should be coded.  
This should be provided according to the coding given in Annex IV.  If possible the exact country should be indicated; 
where this is not possible, one of the general groupings in bold print should be used.  Member States must be coded 
individually. 

Cols. 19/20 : Years of residence in this Member State 

The years of residence should be calculated taking as starting point the last entrance in the country. 
For  persons  with  up  to  one  year's  residence  in  this  Member  State,  01  should  be  coded;  between  one  year  and  two 
years, 02; and so on up to 10 for persons with between nine and ten years of residence. All persons already resident 
for over ten years should be coded 11. 

Cols. 21/22 : Country of birth 

Country  of  birth  is  defined  as  the  country  of  residence  of  the  mother  at  the  time  of  birth.  This  should  be  provided 
according to the coding given in Annex IV.  If possible the exact country should be indicated; where this is not possible, 
one of the general groupings in bold print should be used.  Member States must be coded individually.  

For  the  purpose  of  this  question,  current  national  boundaries  should  be  considered,  rather  than  any  applying  at  the 
time of the respondent's birth. This variable is optional. 

Labour status 

Col. 24 : Labour status during the reference week 
Information  provided  here,  determines  whether  a  person  is  considered  as  being  in  employment  or  not.    Persons  in 
employment are those coded 1 or 2 in Col. 24. 

Code 1 : Did any work for pay or profit during the reference week 
"Work" means any work for pay or profit during the reference week, even for as little as one hour. Pay includes cash 
payments or "payment in kind" (payment in goods or services rather than money), whether payment was received in 

eurostat
eurostat

39 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
the  week  the  work  was  done  or  not.  Also  counted  as  working  is  anyone  who  receives  wages  for  on-the-job  training 
which  involves  the  production  of  goods  or  services.  Self-employed  persons  with  a  business,  farm  or  professional 
practice are also considered to be working if one of the following applies : 

(i)  A person works in his own business, professional practice or farm for the purpose of earning a profit, even if the 

enterprise is failing to make a profit. 

(ii)  A person spends time on the operation of a business, professional practice or farm even if no sales were made, 
no professional services were rendered, or nothing was actually produced (for example, a farmer who engages in 
farm  maintenance  activities;  an  architect  who  spends  time  waiting  for  clients  in  his/her  office;  a  fisherman  who 
repairs his boat or nets for future operations; a person who attends a convention or seminar). 

(iii)  A  person  is  in  the  process  of  setting  up  a  business,  farm  or  professional  practice;  this  includes  the  buying  or 
installing  of  equipment,  and  ordering  of  supplies  in  preparation  for  opening  a  new  business.  An  unpaid  family 
worker is said to be working if the work contributes directly to a business, farm or professional practice owned or 
operated by a related member of the same household. Unpaid family work is any task directly contributing to the 
operation of the family farm or business. 

Conscripts performing some work for pay or profit during the reference week or not should always be coded 4. 

Persons who works on their own small agriculture farm, who do not sell their products, but produce only for their own 
consumption 

The classification as employment depends on whether it falls within the production boundaries. When this production is 
included  in  national  accounts,  underlying  employment  must  be  identified.  This  depends  on  the  relative  quantitative 
importance  of  the  production  of  agricultural  products  for  own  consumption  in  relation  to  the  total  supply  of  these 
products in a country (ESA 3.08) 

Code 2 : Was not working but had a job or business from which he/she was absent during the reference week 

1. For employees 

- A job exists if there is a definite and pre-scheduled arrangement between an employer and employee for regular work 
(that is, every week or every month), whether the work is full-time or part-time. The number of hours of work done each 
week or each month may vary considerably, but as long as some work is done on a regular and scheduled basis, a job 
is considered to exist.  

- Long-term absence from work.  
If the total absence from work (measured from the last day of work to the day on which the paid worker will return) has 
exceeded  three  months  then  a  person  is  considered  to  have  a  job  only  if  he/she  continues  to  receive ≥  50%  of  the 
wage or salary from their employer. If this is not the case, they should be coded 5 in col. 24. 

- Seasonal workers  
During  the  off-season,  seasonal  workers  cannot  be  considered  as  having  a  formal  attachment  to  their  high-season 
job—  because  they  do  not  continue  to  receive  a  wage  or  salary  from  their  employer  although  they  may  have  an 
assurance of return to work. If they are not at work during the off-season, they should be coded 5 in col. 24.  

- Maternity and paternity leave 
Maternity  leave  is  first  given  to  the  mother  (but  may  include  the  leave  of  the  father  in  the  case  of  a  transfer  of  the 
entitlements)  and  corresponds  to  the  compulsory  period  of  the  leave  stipulated  by  national  legislation  to  ensure  that 
mothers  before  and  after  childbirth  have  sufficient  rest,  or  for  a  period  to  be  specified  according  to  national 
circumstances. 
Parental leave can be taken either by the mother or the father and is the interruption of work in case of childbirth or to 
bring up a child of young age. It should correspond to the period when parents receive “parental leave benefit”. 

People on maternity leave should always be coded 2 in col. 24 
People on full-time parental leave should be treated as a case of long term absence from work. 

eurostat

40 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. For unpaid family workers 

The unpaid family worker can be said to have a job but not be at work if there is a definite commitment by the employer 
(a  related  household  member)  to  accept  his/her  return  to  work  and  the  total  absence  do  not  exceed  a    period  of  3 
months. In this point Eurostat diverges from the ILO recommendation. If the period of absence exceeds 3 months they 
should be coded 5 in col. 24. 

3. For self-employed persons 

If  self-employed  persons  are  classified  as  being  absent  from  work,  then  they  are  regarded  as in employment only if 
they  can  be  said  to  have  a  business,  farm  or  professional  practice.  This  is  the  case  if  one  or  more  of  the  following 
conditions are met: 

(i)  Machinery  or  equipment  of  significant  value,  in  which  the  person  has  invested  money,  is  used  by  him  or  his 
employees in conducting his business. 

(ii)  An office, store, farm or other place of business is maintained. 

(iii)  There has been some advertisement of the business or profession by listing the business in the telephone book, 

displaying a sign, distributing cards or leaflets, etc.  

If none of these conditions is met, then the person is regarded as not being in employment and therefore should be 
coded 5 in col. 24. 

Code 3 : Was not working because on lay-off 

A person on lay-off is one whose written or unwritten contract of employment, or activity, has been suspended by the 
employer  for  a  specified  or  unspecified  period  at  the  end  of  which  the  person  concerned  has  a  recognised  right  or 
recognised expectation to recover employment with that employer.  
The following flow-chart shows how laid-off should be coded in this variable: 

The lay-off continue to receive ≥ 50% of the salary from their employer 

no 

The lay-off have an assurance of return to work within a period of 3 
months 

yes 

yes 

Col. 24=2, Col.25=1 

no 

Col.24 = 3 

Lay–offs  are  classified  as  employed  if  they  receive  ≥  50%  of  their  wage  or  salary  from  their  employer  or  have  an 
assurance of return to work within a period of 3 months. 

Lay–offs are classified as unemployed if they receive less than 50% of their wage or salary from their employer, don’t 
have assurance of return to work or have an agreed date but this date falls after a period of 3 months and if they are 
“available to start work in 2 weeks” and have “search for a job in the last 4 weeks”. 

Otherwise they are considered as inactive. 

Persons who find a job to start in the future should always be coded 5 in this column. 

Col 25 : Reason for not having worked at all though having a job 

This  item  is  addressed  to  those  persons  who  had  a  job  but  did  not  work  at  all  during  the  reference  week  (Filter: 
Col.24=2). 

eurostat
eurostat

41 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Code 1 : Slack work for technical or economic reasons 

This includes difficulties such as plant breakdown or materials shortage; see also note below on Code 2. A person in 
slack work for technical or economic reasons should have a  formal attachment to his/her job.  

Code 2 : Labour dispute 

This  code  only  applies  to  persons  who  were  directly  involved  in  a  labour  dispute.  Other  persons  who  did  not  work 
because production in the establishment was impeded by a labour dispute outside the establishment (thus causing a 
shortage in material supplies for example) are coded 1 : "slack work for technical or economic reasons". 

Code 5 : Maternity or parental leave 

Code 5 should only be used: 
a) for maternity leave 
b) for parental leave of less than 3 months or with continual receipt of significant salary. 
This code is used only for those persons on statutory parental leave (legal or contractual). Any other leave taken for 
reasons of child-bearing or rearing is coded 8: "Other reasons". 

Code 7: Compensation leave  

This code includes all absences in relationship with working time flexibility. Examples are time off as a compensation 
of overtime, as a compensation of credit hours within a system of working time banking or within the framework of an 
annualised hours contract. (This category is a parallel to code 7 in column 53/54). 

Employment characteristics of the first job 

Definition of the first job 

For the purposes of Cols. 26 to 59, multiple job holders decide for themselves which job is to be considered as the first 
job. In doubtful cases the first job should be the one with the greatest number of hours usually worked. Persons having 
changed job during the reference week should regard the job held at the end of the reference week as their first job. 

Col. 26 : Professional status 

The professional status requested here refers to the main job. 

Code 1 : Self-employed with employees 

Self-employed persons with employees are defined as persons who work in their own business, professional practice 
or farm for the purpose of earning a profit, and who employ at least one other person. 
If people working in the business, professional practice or farm, are not paid then he/she should be considered as self 
employed without staff. 

Code 2 : Self-employed without employees 

Self-employed  persons  without  employees  are  defined  as  persons  who  work  in  their  own  business,  professional 
practice or farm for the purpose of earning a profit, and who do not employ any other person. 
Nevertheless he may engage members of his/her own family or apprenticed without payment. In this category one can 
find farmers working alone or using the assistance of members of family. 
In particular: 
- 

A  woman  who  looks  after  one  or  more  children  that  are  not  her  own  on  a  private  basis  and  receiving  a 
payment for this service is a self-employed. 
A  freelancer  should  be  classified  as  self-employed,  although  a  person  who  has  been  regularly  retained  by  a 
single employer for some time may also be regarded as an employee. 

- 

eurostat

42 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Code 3 : Employee 

Employees  are  defined  as  persons  who  work  for  a  public  or  private  employer  and  who  receive  compensation  in the 
form  of  wages,  salaries,  fees,  gratuities,  payment  by  results  or  payment  in  kind;  non-conscripted  members  of  the 
armed forces are also included. 
An employee is usually working for an outside employer, but a son or daughter, for example, who is working in a parent’s 
firm and receives a regular monetary wage is classified here as an employee. 
- 

A woman looking after children in her own home is classified as an employee if she is paid to do this by the 
local  authority  (or  any  other  public  administration)  and  if  she  doesn’t  take  any  decision  affecting  the  enterprise 
(e.g. schedules or number of children) but as an self employed if she does it privately. 
Apprentices, or trainees receiving remuneration should be considered as employees. 
Priests ( of any kind of religion) are considered employees 
Persons who are simultaneously working in their own professional practice and for a public or private employer 
(e.g.  doctors  with  their  own  cabinet  and  working  in  an  hospital)  should  be  classified  according  to  the  status 
where they work a more important number of hours.  

- 
- 
- 

Code 4 : Family worker 

Family workers are persons who help another member of the family to run an agricultural holding or other business, 
provided they are not considered as employees. 
Persons working in a family business or on a family farm without pay should be living in the same household as the owner 
of  the  business  or  farm,  or  in  a  slightly  broader  interpretation,  in  a  house  located  on  the  same  plot  of  land  and  with 
common household interests. Such people frequently receive remuneration in the form of fringe benefits and payments in 
kind.  However,  that  this  applies  only  when  the  business  is  owned  or  operated  by  the  individual  themselves  or  by  a 
relative. Thus, unpaid voluntary work done for charity should not be included. 
The category includes,  
- 
- 

A son or daughter working in the parents' business or on the parents' farm without pay. 
A wife who assists her husband in his business, e.g. a haulage contractor, without receiving any formal pay. 

Members  of  producers’  co-operatives  should  be  considered  as  self-employed  if  in  the  co-operative,  each  member 
takes part on an equal footing with other members in determining the organisation of production, sales and /or other 
work of the establishment, the investments and the distribution of the proceeds of the establishment amongst their 
members.  
In  the  case  a  co-operative  hired  workers  and  these  workers  have  an  employment  contract  that  gives  them  a  basic 
remuneration (which is not directly dependent upon the revenue of the co-operative), these workers are identified as 
employees of the co-operative. 
Even if the co-operative has employees (e.g. an accountant) the members of the co-operative should be considered as 
“self-employed  without  employees”  because  the  co-operative  as  an  institution  (and  not  any  of  its  members)  is  the 
employer. 

Cols. 27/29 : Economic activity of the local unit  

The NACE codes in Annex II are derived from the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities (NACE Rev. 1). The 
"local unit" to be considered is the geographical location where the job is mainly carried out or, in the case of itinerant 
occupations, can be said to be based; normally it consists of a single building, part of a building, or, at the largest, a 
self-contained  group  of  buildings.  The  "local  unit"  is  therefore  the  group  of  employees  of  the  enterprise  who  are 
geographically located at the same site. 
For those countries that are not able to provide information at a 3 digit level the third digit should be coded ‘0’. 

Cols. 30/33 : Occupation 

This should be coded according to the ISCO-88 (COM) classification provided in Annex III, which is based upon ISCO-
88; International Standard Classification of Occupations, published by the International Labour Office (Geneva, 1990). 
For those countries that are not able to provide information at a 4 digit level the fourth digit should be coded ‘0’. 

eurostat
eurostat

43 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cols. 34/35 : Number of persons working at the local unit  

For the term "local unit ", see notes to Cols. 27/29. The codes provided permit either a reasonably exact number to be 
indicated (codes 01-13) or simply an indication of whether it is greater or less than ten (codes 14 and 15). Employer 
should be included in the number of persons working at the local unit. 

Cols. 36/37 : Country of place of work 

This should be provided according to the coding shown in Annex IV.  If possible the exact country should be indicated; 
where this is not possible, one of the general groupings in bold print should be used.  Member States must be coded 
individually. 

Cols. 38/39 : Region of place of work 

This  should  be  provided  to  the  coding  system  in  Annex  I,  which  is  based  upon  the Classification  of  Territorial  Units 
(NUTS).  

Cols. 40/43  and 44/45 : Year/Month  in which the person started working for this employer or as self-employed. 
This  information  is  valuable  for  estimating  the  degree  of  fluidity  in  the  labour  market  and  in  identifying  the  areas  of 
economic  activity  where  the  turnover  of  labour  is  rapid  or  otherwise.  Due  to  recall  problems  the  month  in  which  the 
person started working should be asked only if the person started work for this employer or as self-employed  within 
the last 2 years. 

Col. 46 : Full-time / part-time distinction 

This variable refers to the main job. 
The distinction between full-time and part-time work should be made on the basis of a spontaneous answer given by 
the  respondent.    It  is  impossible  to  establish  a  more  exact  distinction  between  part-time  and  full-time  work,  due  to 
variations in working hours between Member States and also between branches of industry. By checking the answer 
with  the  number  of  hours  usually  worked,  it  should  be  possible  to  detect  and  even  to  correct  implausible  answers, 
since part-time work will hardly ever exceed 35 hours, while full-time work will usually start at about 30 hours.  
The current reason for working part-time can differ from the reason when the person started working part-time. In this 
case the current reason should be coded.  

Code 8 : Looking after children in this context means their own or the children of the spouse or cohabiting partner and 
excludes  situations  where  a  person  is  looking  after  the  children  of  any  other  person.  The  same  applies  for  the 
incapacitated adults. 

Col. 47 : Permanency of the job 

This question is addressed only to employees. In the majority of Member States most jobs are based on written work 
contracts. However in some countries such contracts exist only for specific cases (for example in the public sector, for 
apprentices,  or  for  other  persons  undergoing  some  formal  training  within  an  enterprise).  Taking    account  of    these 
different  institutional  arrangements  the  notions  "temporary  job"  and  "work  contract  of  limited  duration"  (likewise 
"permanent  job"  and  "work  contract  of  unlimited  duration")  describe  situations  which  under  different  institutional 
frameworks can be regarded as similar. A job may be regarded as temporary if it is understood by both employer and 
the  employee  that  the  termination  of  the  job  is  determined  by  objective  conditions  such  as  reaching  a  certain  date, 
completion of an assignment or return of another employee who has been temporarily replaced. In the case of a work 
contract of limited duration the condition for its termination is generally mentioned in the contract.  

To be included in these groups are: 

persons with a seasonal job, 

persons engaged by an employment agency or business and hired out to a third party for the carrying out of a 
"work mission" (unless there is a work contract of unlimited duration with the employment agency or business), 

persons with specific training contracts. If there exists no objective criterion for the termination of a job or work 
contract these should be regarded as permanent or of unlimited duration (Code 1). 

44 

(i) 

(ii) 

(iii) 

eurostat

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
What is involved is the actual employment being time-limited under an agreement - not that he/she has, for example, 
considered stopping work in order to travel or attend college.  Students with jobs which they only reckon to have for as 
long as they are studying are thus not in a time-limited job. 

Respondents who have a contract to do their job, which may be renewed, for example, once a year, should be coded 
according to whether or not the respondents themselves consider their job to be of an unlimited duration. 

Code 6 : Contract for a probationary period 

This  code  applies  only  if  a  contract  finishes  automatically at the end of the probationary period, necessitating a new 
contract if the person continues to be employed by the same employer. 

In the case where more than one category applies temporary work in relationship with a period of training or 
trial period (Col. 47= 2 or 6) are priority reasons for a temporary job. 

Col. 48 : Total duration of temporary job or work contract of limited duration 

This refers to the total of the time already elapsed plus the time remaining until the end of the contract. 
Code 2 should be interpreted as 1 month to less than 4 months, code 3 as 4 to less than 7 months and so on. 
For persons who have a contract to perform a task and who don’t know how long it will take, blank (no answer) should 
be used. 

Cols. 49/50 : Number of hours per week usually worked 

The number of hours given here corresponds to the number of hours the person normally works. This covers all hours 
including extra hours, either paid or unpaid, which the person normally works, but excludes the travel time between the 
home and the place of work as well as the main meal breaks (normally taken at midday). Persons who usually also 
work at home (within the definitions given in the notes to Col. 58) are asked to include the number of hours they usually 
work  at  home.  Apprentices, trainees and other persons in vocational training are asked to exclude the time spent in 
school  or  other  special  training  centres.  Some  persons,  particularly  the  self-employed  and  family  workers,  may  not 
have  usual  hours,  in  the  sense  that  their  hours  vary  considerably  from  week  to  week  or  month  to month. When the 
respondent is unable to provide a figure for usual hours for this reason, the average of the hours actually worked per 
week over the past four weeks is used as a measure of usual hours. Code '00' is applied to those cases where neither 
the number of usual hours nor an average number of hours worked over the past four weeks can be established.  

Cols. 51/52 : Number of hours actually worked during the reference week  

The number of hours given here corresponds to the number of hours the person actually worked during the reference 
week. This includes all hours including extra hours regardless of whether they were paid or not. Travel time between 
home and the place of work as well as the main meal breaks (normally taken at midday) are excluded. Persons who 
have  also  worked  at  home  (within  the  definitions  given  in  the  notes  to  Col.  58)  are  asked  to  include  the  number  of 
hours they have worked at home. Apprentices, trainees and other persons in vocational training are asked to exclude 
the time spent in school or other special training centres. 

Cols. 53/54 : Main reason for hours actually worked during the reference week being different from the person's usual 
hours 

This question should also be asked of those persons who did not state their usual hours (Cols. 49/50 = 00). They may 
know if they have worked considerably more or less than usual even if they cannot give a number for their usual hours. 
In a case where more than one reason applies, the reason to be coded is that which explains the greatest number of 
hours. In the case where the same number of hours is justified by different reasons, the reason with the lowest code 
should be coded. 

Code 04 : Slack work for technical or economic reasons 

This includes difficulties such as plant breakdown or materials shortage; see also note below on Code 05. 

eurostat
eurostat

45 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Code 05 : Labour dispute 

This  code  only  applies  to  persons  who  were  directly  involved  in  a  labour  dispute.  Other  persons  who  did  not  work 
because  production  in  the  establishment  was  impeded  by  a  labour  dispute  (thus  causing  a  shortage  in  material 
supplies, for example) are coded 04. 

Code 09 : Maternity or parental leave 

Parental leave can be taken either by the mother or the father and is the interruption of work in case of childbirth or to 
bring up a child of young age. It should correspond to the period when parents receive “parental leave benefit”. 

This code is used only for those persons on statutory parental leave (legal or contractual).  Any other leave taken for 
reasons of child-bearing or rearing is coded 10 : "special leave for personal or family reasons".  

Code 16 : Overtime 

Overtime includes  extra hours regardless of whether they were paid or not. Only hours that cannot be recuperated at 
long term (shift work or flexible hours) should be considered. 

Col. 55 : Willingness to work a greater number of hours 

This variable is necessary to identify persons in underemployment.  
Code  4  :  This  code  applies  to  those  persons  who  would  like  to  work  a  greater  number  of  hours  with  none  of  the 
restrictions set out in codes 1 to 3. 

Col. 56/57 : Number of hours that the person would like to work in total 

This variable should include the number of hours actually worked in all jobs: 
- plus the extra hours wished for those who want to work more hours in the reference week. 
- minus the number of hours that the person would like to work less for those who would like to work less hours in the 
reference week. 

Col. 58 : Working at home 

This concept applies to many self-employed people, for example in artistic or professional activities, who work wholly 
or partly at home, often in a part of their living accommodation set aside for the purpose.  However, if the place of work 
comprises  a  separate  unit  (for  example,  a  doctor's  surgery  or  tax  consultant's  practice)  which  is  adjacent  to  the 
person's home but contains a separate entrance, then work performed there should not be considered to be done "at 
home".    Similarly,  a  farmer  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  working  "at  home"  when  he  is  occupied  in  fields  or  buildings 
adjacent  to  his  house.  In  the  case  of  employees,  "working  at  home"  should  be  interpreted  strictly  in  terms  of formal 
working  arrangements,  where  it  is  mutually  understood  by  the  employee  and  the  employer  that  a  certain  part  of  the 
work is to be done at home.  Such an arrangement may be explicitly included in the terms of employment, or may be 
recognised  in  other  ways  (for  example,  if  the  employee  explicitly  notifies  the  employer  of  this  work  by  completing  a 
timesheet, or by requesting additional payment or other form of compensation). This arrangement is also recognised if 
an employee is equipped with a computer in his home in order to perform his work.  Other typical examples of "working 
at  home"  include  travelling  salesmen  who  prepare  at  home  for  appointments  with  clients which  are  then  held  at  the 
clients' offices or homes, or persons who do typing or knitting work which on completion is sent to a central location. 

"Working at home" does not cover cases where employees carry out tasks at home (because of personal interest or 
pressure of time), which under their working arrangements might equally have been performed at their place of work. 

Code 1 : Person usually works at home 

"Usually"  in  this  context  may  be  interpreted  to  mean  that  during  a  reference  period  of  four  weeks  preceding  the 
interview, the person did work at home within the framework of an agreement as described above, and the number of 
occasions on which he did so amounted to half or more of the days worked in this period. 

eurostat

46 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Code 2 : Person sometimes works at home 

"Sometimes"  in  this  context  may  be  interpreted  to  mean  that  during  a  reference  period  of  four  weeks  preceding  the 
interview, the person did work at home within the framework of an agreement as described above, but the number of 
occasions on which he did so amounted to less than half of the days worked in this period. 

Code 3 : Person never works at home 

"Never"  in  this  context  may  be  interpreted  to  mean  that  during  a  reference  period  of  four  weeks  preceding  the 
interview, the person did not on any occasion work at home within the framework of an agreement as described above. 

Col. 59 : Looking for another job and reasons for doing so 

Self-employed people may interpret ‘looking for additional business’ as trying to increase their present business. They 
should be coded 1 to 8 at this question only if they were looking for a different business n the week of reference, and 
not just for additional clients.  

This  variable  identifies  under-employed  persons.  Codes  3,  7  and  8  give  a  better  picture  of  the  kind  of  job  these 
persons are looking for :  

-   if it is a job with more hours worked or not (code 7 or 8),  
-   if it is a second job (code 3) 

Code 6 identifies those persons who declare they are looking for another job but give no reason. 

When  more  than  one  reason  had  been  mentioned  the  order  of  priority  should  be  1,  3,  7,  8,  4,  2,  5,  6  being  1  the 
highest priority. 

Information about second jobs 

Col. 60 : Existence of more than one job or business 

Code 2 : Person had more than one job or business during the reference week. This refers only to those persons with 
more than one job.  It does not refer to persons having changed job during the reference week. 

Col. 61 : Professional status in the second job 
See notes to Col. 26.  

Cols. 62/63 : Economic activity of the local unit of the second job 

The NACE codes in Annex II are derived from the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities (NACE Rev. 1). For 
the term "local unit" see notes  to Cols. 27/29. 

Col. 66 : Existence of previous employment experience 

This  column  is  used  to  define  whether  a  person  without  employment  has  previously  been  in  employment  and,  if so, 
Cols. 67/70 and 71/72 provide information on the month and year in which he/she last worked. 

Cols. 67/70 and 71/72: Year/Month in which person last worked 

The  information  on  the  year  and  month  when  the  person  last worked  permits  exact  calculation  of  the length of time 
which  has  elapsed  since  the  person  was  in  employment.  In  the  case  of  unemployed  persons,  this  is  used  in  the 
estimation of the duration of unemployment, which is defined as the shorter of the length of time since last employment 
and the duration of search for work (Col. 83). The month in which the person last worked should be asked only if the 
person last worked within the last 2 years.. 

eurostat
eurostat

47 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Although  compulsory  military  or  community  service  is  not  regarded  as  employment  in  the  framework  of  the  survey, 
respondents who, after having left their last job were conscripts on compulsory military or community service should 
indicate  the  month  and  year  in  which  they  completed  this  service  in  order  that  this  period  is  not  counted  in  the 
unemployment duration. 

Col. 73 : Main reason for leaving last job or business 

Code 0 : Dismissed or made redundant 

This  code  is  used  for  employees  whose  employment  ended  involuntarily.  It  includes  those  employees  who  were 
dismissed,  made  redundant,  or  lost  their  job  because  their  employer  either  went  out  of  business,  or  sold  or  closed 
down the business. 

Code 1 : A job of limited duration has ended 

This code is used for employees who declare that their last job was temporary and came to an end, or that they had a 
formal work contract which was completed. This also applies to seasonal and casual jobs. 

Code 2 : Personal or family responsibilities 

Personal  or  family  responsibilities  may  include  marriage,  pregnancy,  childcare, serious illness of another member of 
the  family,  long  vacation  etc.  However,  if  the  respondent  left  his/her  job  because  of  personal  health-related  reasons 
then code 3 should be used. 

Code 5 : Early retirement 

This  code  applies  mainly  to  those  employees  who  have  taken  the  early  retirement  option  due  to  economic  factors 
(labour market problems, difficulties in specific sectors of the economy, etc.). If the respondent retired from his/her job 
at the normal retirement age then code 6 should be used. 

Code 8 : Other reasons 

This code is used where none of the codes 0-7 applies, including cases where the person has resigned from his job for 
reasons  (such  as  personal  dissatisfaction)  not  covered  by  any  of  the  other  codes.  Employers  who  went  out  of 
business, or sold or closed down the business should also be coded 8. 

Due to recall problems this variable is restricted to those who had stopped work within the last 8 years, nevertheless if 
the person has not answered in which year they have last worked, he/she should answer the present question.  

Col. 74 : Professional status in the last job 

See notes to Col. 26. 

Due to recall problems this variable is restricted to those who had stopped work within the last 8 years, nevertheless if 
the person has not answered in which year they have last worked, he/she should answer the present question.  

Cols. 75/76 : Economic activity of the local unit in which person last worked 

The NACE codes in Annex II are derived from the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities (NACE Rev. 1). For 
the term "local unit", see notes to Cols. 27/29. 

Due to recall problems this variable is restricted to those who had stopped work within the last 8 years, nevertheless if 
the person has not answered in which year they have last worked, he/she should answer the present question.  

Cols. 77/79 : Occupation of last job 

This should be coded according to the ISCO-88 (COM) classification provided in Annex III, which is based upon ISCO-
88; International Standard Classification of Occupations, published by the International Labour Office (Geneva, 1990). 

eurostat

48 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Due to recall problems this variable is restricted to those who had stopped work within the last 8 years, nevertheless if 
the person has not answered in which year they have last worked, he/she should answer the present question.  

Search for employment 

Cols. 80/81 : Seeking employment for person without employment during the last four weeks week 

The  period  of  reference  for  this  variable  is  the  last  four  weeks,  in  order  to  remain  consistent  with  the  variables 
concerning the methods used during previous four weeks to find work. 

Due  to  the  importance  of  this  question  in  defining  the  unemployed,  every  effort  should  be  made  to  ensure  that  an 
answer is given to this question.  'Blanks' should be kept to a minimum. Those people not seeking employment (i.e. 
codes 03 to 10 or blank) are questioned on their willingness to work at Col. 97. 

The question on search for employment applies to the last 4 weeks and persons coded 11 are directly considered as 
unemployed with the condition to be available within two weeks. No further check should be done on methods applied. 

On the other hand, persons coded 12 are considered as 'not searching anymore' since they have already found a job. 
Therefore, they should not be considered as unemployed and there should not be further check on methods. In case 
they are still searching for a work, they should be coded as 01.  

Code 01 : Person is seeking employment 

Also  considered  as  seeking  employment  is  a  person  who  seeks  an  opportunity  of  professional  training  within  an 
enterprise, e.g. as an apprentice or trainee. 

Code 11 and 12 : Person has already found a job to start later 

This applies to all persons without a job during the reference week who have already found a job which will start later.  
Persons who were coded 11 in this variable are considered as unemployed when they are available. Those coded 12 
are considered inactive because they were not looking for a job (otherwise they would have been coded 1) The period 
of 3 months considered follows the week of reference. 

Code 03 : Awaiting recall to work (persons laid-off) 

This code is to re-identify those persons who in Col. 24 state they are laid-off and not seeking employment. 

Code 08 : Belief that no work is available 

This code permits the estimation of the number of “discouraged workers" . 

Col. 82 : Type of employment sought 

Code 1 : As self-employed 

Persons  seeking  self-employment,  who  are  without  employment  during  the  reference  week,  are  also  asked  under 
Cols.  91-92  whether  they  have  taken  any  active  steps  during  the  past  4  weeks  to  set  up  a  business,  farm  or 
professional practice. 

Codes 2/5 : Only full-time/part-time job is looked for (or has already been found) 

Persons  having  already  found  a  job  as  employee  which  will  start  later  should  be  coded  either  2  or  5  depending  on 
whether the job found is full-time or part-time. Codes 3 and 4 do not apply for this group. 

Col. 83 : Duration of search for employment 

In the case of unemployed persons, this is used in the estimation of the duration of unemployment, which is defined as 
the shorter of the following two periods : the length of time since last employment (see notes on Cols. 67-72) and the 
duration of search for work. 

eurostat
eurostat

49 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Methods used during previous four weeks to find work 

Cols. 84 to 96 : 

Due to the importance of these columns for the classification of the unemployed:  
- all the questions should be asked to the population concerned (persons seeking an employment)  
- answering these questions is compulsory.  
Only the methods used during the four weeks ending with the reference week  are to be recorded.  

In col.84 only contacts with the public employment office with the objective of  finding a job should be coded yes. 

The consultation of job advertisements in internet and the consultation of list of job vacancies in the entrance of the 
factories should be coded as 1 (yes) in column 89. 
In col. 96 (other method used), the answer “yes” should be recorded only if the person has used an active method not 
covered by col. 84 to 95. Passive methods not coded before should be coded no. 

Col. 97 : Willingness to work for person not seeking employment 

This question is intended to permit a more exact measure for "discouraged workers".  It is put to persons coded 03-10 
in Cols. 80/81, i.e. without employment and not seeking employment. Discouraged workers are persons who are not 
seeking work because they believe that none is available (col. 80/81=08) but would nevertheless like to have a job (col. 
97=1). 

Col. 98 : Availability to start working within next two weeks 

Persons  seeking  paid  employment  must  be  immediately  available  for  work  in  order  to  be  considered  unemployed.  
'Immediately available' means that if a job were found at the time of the interview, the person would be able to start 
work within two weeks. Testing for availability in the two weeks after the interview is considered more appropriate than 
testing during the reference week, because some persons may be unavailable for work during the reference week due 
to  obstacles  that  might  have  been  overcome  had  they  known  that  a  job  was  available  to  them.  In  order  to  obtain  a 
wider view of the movement of the labour market, this question is also put to "discouraged workers" (Col. 97 = 1 and 
col.  80/81=08),  to  persons  who  wish  to  work  a  greater  number  of  hours  (col.  55=  1  to  4)  and  to  persons  who  have 
found a job to start within 3 months. 

Col. 99 : Situation immediately before person started to seek employment (or was waiting for new job to start) 

This  information  permits  a  distinction  to  be  made  between  categories  of  unemployed  persons,  namely  job-
losers/leavers, entrants and re-entrants. Job-losers/leavers are persons who were working before seeking work (Code 
1), while entrants and re-entrants were outside the labour force (Codes 2 to 5). 

Col. 100 : Registration at a public employment office 

Information  has  to  be provided for everybody of working age participating in the survey. It could be obtained directly 
from the claimant count register. 
For persons having declared themselves to be seeking employment this question should be the last in the section on 
seeking  employment,  as  it  is  important  not  to  give  the  subject  of  registration  too  much  emphasis  in  defining  the 
unemployed.  Since  unemployment  will  basically  be  defined  by  the  criteria  of  job  search  and  availability  for  work  the 
respondents' answer to these questions should not be conditioned by whether or not they are registered at an official 
employment  exchange.  It  is  expected  that  by  following  this  rule  the  comparability  of  unemployment  figures  will  be 
improved.  Persons  not  seeking  employment  are  also  asked  this  question.  By  putting  this  question  to  everybody  it 
should  be  possible  to  better  compare  the  unemployment  figures  derived  from  the  survey  with  those  from  the 
unemployment registers.  
Persons who are in employment and who register in a public employment office to find another job should be coded 2 
or 1 (for those who receive complementary unemployment benefits). 
Benefits, in this context should be limited to unemployment allowances (not other social benefits). 

eurostat

50 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Main Status 

Col. 101 : Main Status 

The  “main  activity  status”  gives  each person’s self-perception regarding his/her activity status; for instance, students 
with  small  jobs  will  in  general  be  classified  as  students.  The  reference  period  for  this  variable  should  be  at  least  3 
months including the reference week. In case of change the present situation should be stated as durable. 
If possible the information should be coded using a single question and not derived from different questions in from the 
questionnaire.  This  question  shouldn’t  in  any  case  precede  the  questions  on  the  labour  status  according  to  the  ILO 
definition or the questions on the registration at the public employment office.    

Education and training 

Col. 102 : Education and training received during previous four weeks 

A reference period of four weeks has been chosen in order to avoid distortion of information due to recall problems. All 
information  collected  through  the  following  questions,  however,  should  refer  to  the  entire  course  or 
programme (in other words should consider its entire duration). 

The  information  collected  here  should  relate  to  all  education  or  training  whether  or  not  relevant  to  the  respondent's 
current or possible future job (see new ISCED - International Standard Classification of Education - UNESCO 1997). 

It  should  include  initial  education,  further  education,  continuing  or  further  training,  training  within  the  company, 
apprenticeship,  on-the-job  training,  seminars,  distance  learning,  evening  classes,  self-learning  etc.  It  should  also 
include  courses  followed  for  general  interest  and  may  cover  all  forms  of  education  and  training  as  language,  data-
processing, management, art/culture, health/medicine courses. 

The question on purpose sorts the various options, giving the possibility of isolating job-related training. 

If  the  interviewee  has  taken  part  in  several  courses  of  education  or  training  over  the  past  four  weeks,  the  one 
considered most useful for his or her current or future employment should be recorded; in case of doubt, record the 
longest course in terms of hours. 

Col 103 : Type of instruction 

Code 1: refers to face to face instruction usually involving a teacher and one or several pupils taking place in a class-
room type environment regardless of the actual establishment (establishments within or outside the national education 
system including private training centres in the employer’s premises). 

Code 2 includes conferences, seminar, workshop. 

Code 3 : For this code to be the appropriate one, both work experience and class-room instruction must be explicitly 
integrated into a single system.  This code should be chosen even if during the past four weeks, the training took place 
exclusively in a working environment or as class-room instruction (for instance ‘sandwich courses’). 

Col 104 : Level of education or training  

Level is coded according the International Standard Classification of Education 1997.  

Codes  1  to  7  should  be  used  for  those  programmes  that  either  belong  to  the  regular  education  system  or  are 
equivalent in terms of qualifications aspired to. 

Code 8 should be used for programmes that neither belong to the regular education system nor are equivalent in terms 
of qualifications aspired to (language courses, computer courses, seminars etc.). 

“Special needs education programs” are also covered in ISCED 1997. They have to be allocated according to their 
similarity in terms of contents with other education programs. In other words, there is not a unique code foreseen for 
special needs education programs which can thus correspond either to ISCED 0, 1 or 2 levels. 

eurostat
eurostat

51 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Col. 105 : Purpose of education or training 

First of all, this question aims at collecting information on participation in training under a specific employment measure 
(code 5 ). 

Secondly,  the  question  aims  at  collecting  individual  perception  of  purpose.  The  answer  does  not  depend  on  the 
characteristics  of  a  programme  but  on  the  perception  the  individual  has  about  his  current  training.  This  perception 
would usually depend on whether the person has had a previous main job before. 

Code 1 : Initial education or training aiming at getting the skills for a job either in the formal education system or in the 
working environment (except under a specific employment measure) 

Code 6 : courses followed for general interest not related to current or future job. 

Col. 106 : Total length 

This question aims at estimated total length (elapsed time) of education or training, meaning both the period already 
completed and the period the interviewee has still to complete. Previous courses leading to a separate qualification or 
diploma and future courses the person may intend to follow but which are not an intrinsic part of the current course are 
excluded. 

Col. 107/108 : Usual number of hours 

The week to be considered should be a typical one. Time spent on homework  should be excluded 

Col. 109/110 : Highest level of education or training successfully completed 

-   Level is coded according to the International Standard Classification of Education 1997. 

-   Persons with no education (illiterate) should be coded 00. 

-   The  expression  'level  successfully  completed'  must  be  associated  with  obtaining  a  certificate  or  a  diploma,  when 
there is a certification. In cases where there is no certification, successful completion must be associated with full 
attendance.  

-   When  determining  the  highest  level,  both  general  and  vocational  education/training  should  be  taken  into 

consideration. 

-   Persons who have not completed their studies should be coded according to the highest level they have completed 

and should not be coded with a blank.  

-   ISCED3 without distinction possible should only be used in those cases in which a distinction a, b, c is impossible. 
This  is  typically  the  case  for  qualifications  whose  exact  characteristics  are  not  known  either  because  they  were 
obtained in another country or they refer to an education system no longer in existence. 

Col. 111 : Having obtained a vocational (non tertiary) qualification or not 

Only vocational qualifications corresponding to a minimum duration of 6 months should be considered. 

-   This information does not necessarily refer to the highest qualification obtained 

  Vocational qualifications are those that provide the participant with the practical skills, know-how and understanding 
necessary  for  employment  in  a  particular  occupation  or  trade  or  class  of  occupation  or  trades  and  that  are 
recognised  by  the  competent  authorities  of  the  country  in  which  they  are  obtained  (e.g.  Ministry  of  Education, 
employers’ associations, etc.). (see ISCED 1997) 

-  Code 1 : See Col 103 code 1 

-  Code 3 : See Col 103 code 3 

eurostat

52 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
Situation one year before survey 

Col. 116 : Situation with regard to activity one year before survey 

The information collected through this question and those following in this section, is used to assess mobility of various 
types : between employment, unemployment and inactivity; of professional status; of economic activity; geographical 
mobility. Clearly such mobility measures, based upon the respondent's situation at two points in time, can only indicate 
at most one change in each case (for example, from unemployed to employed), whereas in fact several changes may 
have taken place over this period (for example, unemployed - employed - inactive - employed). Also, the International 
Labour  Organisation  definitions  used  elsewhere  in  the  survey  cannot  be  applied  here,  since  not  all  the  questions 
necessary can be asked (for example, availability for work, job search, etc.).  The variables “current main status” and 
“main status one year before the survey” have exactly the same structure in order to permit these comparisons.  

Code 4: Person was conscripted on compulsory military or community service 

Although  conscripts  on  compulsory  military  or  community  service  are  excluded  from  the  survey  results,  this  code 
identifies persons who were conscripts a year before the survey.  This is  important in identifying labour force entrants. 

Cols. 118/119 : Economic activity of  the local unit in which the person  worked  one year before survey 

The NACE codes in Annex II are derived from the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities (NACE Rev. 1).  

Col. 120/121 : Country of residence one year before survey 

This should be provided according to the coding in Annex IV. 

Cols. 122/123 : Region of residence one year before survey 

This  should  be  provided  to  the  coding  system  in  Annex  I,  which  is  based  upon  the Classification  of  Territorial  Units 
(NUTS).   

Income 

Cols. 124/131 : Monthly (take-home) pay from main job 

Data should refer to the last monthly pay received before the reference week.  

Data  should  be  provided  for  all  employees.  Income  from  self-employment  is  excluded  because  of  measurement 
problems.  

If the job is an occasional job for a short period, the amount should be an estimate of the total earnings from all similar 
jobs in that month. 

The  monthly  (take-home)  pay  is  the  pay  after  (provisional,  subject  to  revision  later)  deduction  of  income  tax  and 
National  Insurance  Contributions.  It  includes  regular  overtime,  tips  and  commission  but  excludes  income  from 
investments – assets, savings, stocks and shares. 

Cols. 132/139 : Additional payments from main job 

Irregular payments should refer to the total amount of irregular payments received in a calendar year. It can be the total 
of irregular payments received in the last calendar year if the person did not change his employment since then, or an 
estimate of the total of irregular payments that the person will receive in the present year if the person was not in the 
same job the year before.   

These irregular payments comprise, e.g., 13th and 14th month, holiday pay, profit share, bonuses, fringe benefits and 
sickness insurance premium compensation. 

Cols. 140/147 : Unemployment allowances 

Data should refer to the last monthly unemployment allowance received before the week of reference.  

eurostat
eurostat

53 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The data should be provided for all registered unemployed claiming unemployment benefits. 

The  monthly  unemployment  allowance  include  unemployment  benefits  or  assistance,  training  allowances  and 
placement or resettlement benefits in relationship to job creation schemes. 

Cols. 148/155 : Additional payments of unemployment allowance 

This variable includes all irregular payments (total yearly net amount) of unemployment allowance which are not paid 
monthly, e.g., severance payments and other irregular payments or lump-sum payments. 

Cols. 156/163 : Sickness, disability or invalidity allowances 

Data should refer to the sickness, disability or invalidity allowances received in the month before the reference week.  

Data should be provided for persons having an employment. The sickness, disability or invalidity allowances should be 
provided for persons who receive this kind of allowances and for whom it is not included in the monthly (take-home) 
pay from the main job. 

Technical points relating to the interview 

Col. 168/169 : Reference week 

The reference weeks should follow the Norm ISO 8601 which indicates that, according to the Gregorian calendar, the 
first week of the year is the one that includes the first Thursday of that year. Concretely:  

- Week 1 of 1998 starts the 29

 December 1997 

th

- Week 1 of 1999 starts the 4th January 1999 

- Week 1 of 2000 starts the 3rd January 2000 

- Week 1 of 2001 starts the 1st January 2001 

As  the  year  has  365  days  (except  leap  years  which  have  366  days)  and  the  quarterly  survey  covers  364  days 
(52*7=364), every year the Thursday of the first week of the first quarter moves (backward) to the previous day of the 
  of  December  of  year  Y-1.  To  avoid  this  situation,  when  this 
month.  After  some  years  that  Thursday  will  be  the  31
happens, the 53

 week of the year will be skipped. 

rd

st

Col. 170/171 : Survey week 

Number  of  the  week  running  from  Monday  to  Sunday  when  the  interview  took  place.  This  information  used  with 
reference week gives an indication of the recall period and an information on the quality of the answer.  
See also notes referring to col. 168/169. 

Col. 172/173 : Member State 

This should be provided according to the coding in Annex IV. 

Cols. 174/175 : Region of household 

This  should  be  provided  to  the  coding  system  in  Annex  I,  which  is  based  on  the  Classification  of  Territorial  Units 
(NUTS).  The third and fourth digits of the NUTS code (that is, the level II regional code) should be provided. 

Col. 176 : Degree of urbanisation 

The  concept  of  "urbanisation"  has  been  introduced to indicate the character of the area where the respondent lives.  
Three types of area have been identified, as follows: 
densely-populated (Code 1) 
intermediate (Code 2) 
thinly-populated (Code 3). 

eurostat

54 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In  the  definition  of  "Degree  of  urbanisation"  there  is  a  criteria  of  geographical  contiguity  together  with  a  population 
threshold. Harmonised, comparable correspondence between the Degree of Urbanisation and NUTS 5 regions will be 
(re-)defined on the basis of 2001 census data (for Member States and Candidate countries) in 2005. 

An "area" consists of a group of contiguous "local areas"  where a "local area" corresponds to the following entities in 
the respective Member States : 

Belgique / Belgie : 
Danmark :  
Deutschland :  
Ellada :   
España :  
France :  
Ireland :  
Italia :    
Luxembourg:  
Nederland :  
Österreich :  
Portugal:  
Suomi / Finland:  
Sverige :  
United Kingdom :  

Iceland:  
Norway:  
Switzerland:  

Czech Republic:  
Estonia:  
Hungary:  
Latvia:    
Poland:  
Slovenia:  
Slovakia:  

Commune/Gemeente 
Kommuner 
Gemeinde 
Demos 
Municipio 
Commune 
DED / ward 
Commune 
Commune 
Gemeente 
Gemeinde 
Freguesias 
Kunnat  
Kommune 
Ward 

SVEITARFÉLAG  (165 until 1997, 124 from 1998) 
KOMMUNER (435) 
GEMEINDEN / COMMUNES / COMUNI (2 903 in year 1999) 

OBCE (6 251 in year 2000) 
VALD+ALEV+LINN (254) 
TELEPULES (3 135) 
PAGAST+ PILSETAS (560) 
GMINY+MIASTA (2 486) 
OBCINAH (192 since 1 Jan 1999) 
OBCE A MESTA (2 920 in year 1999) 

This information is not yet available for Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta and Turkey.  

The three types of area described above are defined as follows: 

Code 1 : Densely-populated area 

This is a contiguous set of local areas, each of which has a density superior to 500 inhabitants per square kilometre, 
where the total population for the set is at least 50,000 inhabitants. 

Code 2 : Intermediate area 

This is a contiguous set of local areas, not belonging to a densely-populated area, each of which has a density superior 
to 100 inhabitants per square kilometre, and either with a total population for the set of at least 50,000 inhabitants or 
adjacent to a densely-populated area. 

Code 3 : Thinly-populated area 

This is a contiguous set of local areas belonging neither to a densely-populated nor to an intermediate area. 

A set of local areas totalling less than 100 square kilometres, not reaching the required density, but entirely enclosed 
within a densely-populated or intermediate area, is to be considered to form part of that area.  If it is enclosed within a 
densely-populated area and an intermediate area it is considered to form part of the intermediate area. 

eurostat
eurostat

55 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Col. 183: Type of household  

A private household (housekeeping unit concept) is either: 
a) a one-person household, i.e. a person who lives alone in a separate housing unit or who occupies, as a lodger, a 
separate room (or rooms) of a housing unit but does not join with any of the other occupants of the housing unit to form 
part of a multi-person household as defined below, or 
b)  a  multi-person  household,  i.e.  a  group  of  two  or  more  persons  who  combine  to  occupy  the  whole  or  part  of  a 
housing unit and to provide themselves with food and possibly other essentials for living. Members of the group may 
pool their incomes to a greater or lesser extent 
The  household-dwelling  concept  (the  aggregate  number  of  persons  occupying  a  housing  unit)  can  equally  be 
accepted.  

These  definitions  comprise  all  persons  living  in  the  households  surveyed  during  the  reference  week,  and  those 
persons absent from the household for short periods due to studies, holidays, illness, business trips, etc. In this context 
short period means less than one year in total (time already elapsed plus the time remaining until the foreseen return).  

An  institutional  household  comprises  persons  whose  need  for  shelter  and  subsistence  are  being  provided  by  an 
institution. 

Cols. 185/190 : Yearly weighting factor 

Each person in the survey sample may be considered to be "representative" of a certain number of other persons not 
in  the  sample.    The  record  for  each  responding  individual  is  therefore  assigned  a  weighting  indicating  how  many 
persons  are  in  this  sense  "represented"  by  this  individual.  In  order  to  have  consistency  between  individual  and 
household statistics the same weighting factor should be allocated to all the members of the household. 
The  ‘4  first  digits’  should  correspond  to   whole  numbers  and  the  ‘2  last  digits’  should  correspond  to   decimal  places 
(without any coma before). 

Cols. 191/196 : Quarterly weighting factor 

In order to have a measure of each variable at quarterly level a quarterly weighting factor should also be calculated. 
See also notes for Cols. 185/190. 
Countries still having an yearly survey are requested to fill these columns with the Yearly weighting factor. 

The ‘4 first digits’ should correspond to whole numbers and the ‘2 last digits’ should correspond to decimal 
places (without any coma before). 

Cols.  197/202  :  Quarterly  weighting  factor  of  the  sample  for  household  characteristics  (  in  the  case  of  a  sample  of 
individuals) 

According to Article 2, § 4. of the regulation for a continuous labour force survey, if the sampling unit is the individual, 
information can be collected for a sub-sample defined in such way that: 

-  The reference weeks are uniformly distributed throughout the whole year; 

-  The  number  of  observations  (individuals  sampled  plus  the  members  of  their  household)  satisfies,  for  the  annual 

estimates of levels, the reliability criteria.  

For  countries  providing  household  data  using  this  kind  of  sub-sample  (and  only  for  these  countries)  this  weighting 
factor should be calculated for each person composing the sub-sample. 

Col. 203 : Sequence number of the survey wave 

The  sequence  number  of the wave should correspond to the number of times that the individual/household is in the 
sample. The quarters where the individual/household is not in the sample should be excluded from the counting.  
For  countries  where  the  sample  unit  is  the  household,  the  sequence  number  of  the  survey  wave  is  attached  to  the 
household. Therefore it should follow the same pattern for all individuals of the same household. For instance a new 
person joining the household (and the sample) in wave 2 would be assigned number 2. A person present in wave 1, 
absent in wave 2 but present in wave 3 would be assigned number 3 when interviewed in wave 3. 

eurostat

56 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Col. 204 : Shift work 
Shift work is a regular work schedule during which an enterprise is operational or provides services beyond the normal 
working hours from 8 am to 6 pm on weekdays (evening closing hours may be later in the case of a longer break at 
noon in some Member states). Shift work is a work organisation under which different groups or crews of workers 
succeed each other at the same work site to perform the same operations. At the start of the shift work, work of the 
previous shift is taken over and at the end of the shift, work is handed over to the next shift. Shift work usually involves 
work on unsocial hours in the early morning, at night or in the weekend and the weekly rest days not always coincide 
with the normal rest days. This definition of this variable has changed in 2001, to see previous definition please consult 
“The European Union Labour force survey, Methods and definitions 1998”  

Col. 205 : Evening work 
The definitions of evening and night vary considerably so that it is not easy to establish a strictly common basis for all 
Member States.  Generally speaking, however, "evening work" can be considered to be work done after the usual 
hours of working time in this Member State, but before the usual sleeping hours.  This implies the possibility of 
sleeping at normal times (whereas "night work" implies an abnormal sleeping pattern). 
Code 1 : Person usually works in the evening 
"Usually" in this context may be interpreted to mean on at least half of the days worked in a reference period of four 
weeks preceding the interview. 
Code 2 : Person sometimes works in the evening 
"Sometimes" in this context may be interpreted to mean on less than half of the days worked (but on at least one 
occasion) in a reference period of four weeks preceding the interview. 
Code 3 : Person never works in the evening 
"Never" in this context may be interpreted to mean on no occasion in a reference period of four weeks preceding the 
interview. 

Col. 206 : Night work 
Bearing in mind the definitional problems discussed under Col. 205, "night work" can be generally be considered to be 
work done during the usual sleeping hours.  This implies an abnormal sleeping pattern (whereas "evening work" 
implies the possibility of sleeping at normal times). 
Code 1 : Person usually works at night 
"Usually" in this context may be interpreted to mean on at least half of the days worked in a reference period of four 
weeks preceding the interview. 
Code 2 : Person sometimes works at night 
"Sometimes" in this context may be interpreted to mean on less than half of the days worked (but on at least one 
occasion) in a reference period of four weeks preceding the interview. 
Code 3 : Person never works at night 
"Never" in this context may be interpreted to mean on no occasion in a reference period of four weeks preceding the 
interview. 

Col. 207 : Saturday work 
This should be strictly interpreted in terms of formal working arrangements. Thus employees who, on their own 
initiative, take some of their work home or work at the place of business on Saturdays should not be included in this 
classification, even if they have done so during the reference period of four weeks preceding the interview. 
Code 1 : Person usually works on Saturdays 
"Usually" in this context may be interpreted to mean on two or more Saturdays in a reference period of four weeks 
preceding the interview. 
Code 2 : Person sometimes works on Saturdays 
"Sometimes" in this context may be interpreted to mean on one Saturday in a reference period of four weeks preceding 
the interview. 
Code 3 : Person never works on Saturdays 
"Never" in this context may be interpreted to mean not on any Saturday in a reference period of four weeks preceding 
the interview. 

Col. 208 : Sunday work 
This should be strictly interpreted in terms of formal working arrangements.  Employees who take some of their office 
work home and/or work occasionally at the place of business on Sundays should not be included in this classification. 
Code 1 : Person usually works on Sundays 
"Usually" in this context may be interpreted to mean on two or more Sundays in a reference period of four weeks 
preceding the interview. 
Code 2 : Person sometimes works on Sundays 

eurostat
eurostat

57 

 
 
 
 
 
 
"Sometimes" in this context may be interpreted to mean on one Sunday in a reference period of four weeks preceding 
the interview. 
Code 3 : Person never works on Sundays 
"Never" in this context may be interpreted to mean not on any Sunday in a reference period of four weeks preceding 
the interview. 

eurostat

58 

 
 
ANNEX  I  –  Regional  codes  used  in  the  EU  Labour  Force  Survey  (according  to  the 
Classification of Territorial Units (NUTS)) 

The following codes are used to identify the regions for which data are collected in the EU LFS. 

CODE 

REGION 

PAYS 

BELGIQUE-BELGIE 

DANMARK 

DEUTSCHLAND 

BE 
BE10 

BE21 
BE22 
BE23 
BE24 
BE25 
BE31 
BE32 
BE33 
BE34 
BE35 

DK00 

DE 
DE11 
DE12 
DE13 
DE14 
DE21 
DE22 
DE23 
DE24 
DE25 
DE26 
DE27 
DE31 
DE32 
DE40 
DE50 
DE60 
DE71 
DE72 
DE73 
DE80 
DE91 
DE92 
DE93 
DE94 
DEA1 
DEA2 
DEA3 
DEA4 
DEA5 
DEB1 
DEB2 
DEB3 
DEC0 

eurostat
eurostat

Rég. Bruxelles-Cap.- 
Brussels Hfdst. gewest 
Antwerpen 
Limburg (b) 
Oost-Vlaanderen 
Vlaams Brabant 
West-Vlaanderen 
Brabant Wallon 
Hainaut 
Liège 
Luxembourg (b) 
Namur 

Danmark 

Stuttgart 
Karlsruhe 
Freiburg 
Tübingen 
Oberbayern 
Niederbayern 
Oberplatz 
Oberfranken 
Mittelfranken 
Unterfranken 
Schwaben 
Berlin-West, Stadt 
Berlin-Ost, Stadt 
Brandenburg 
Bremen 
Hamburg 
Darmstadt 
Gieβen 
Kassel 
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 
Braunschweig 
Hannover 
Lüneburg 
Weser-Ems 
Düsseldorf 
Köln 
Münster 
Detmold 
Arnsberg 
Koblenz 
Trier 
Rheinhessen-Pfalz 
Saarland 

59 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CODE 

REGION 

PAYS 

DED0 
DEE1 
DEE2 
DEE3 
DEF0 
DEG0 

GR 
GR11 
GR12 
GR13 
GR14 
GR21 
GR22 
GR23 
GR24 
GR25 
GR30 
GR41 
GR42 
GR43 

ES 
ES11 
ES12 
ES13 
ES21 
ES22 
ES23 
ES24 
ES30 
ES41 
ES42 
ES43 
ES51 
ES52 
ES53 
ES61 
ES62 
ES63 
ES70 

FR 
FR10 
FR21 
FR22 
FR23 
FR24 
FR25 
FR26 
FR30 
FR41 
FR42 
FR43 
FR51 
FR52 
FR53 

eurostat

ELLADA 

ESPAÑA 

FRANCE 

Sachsen 
Dessau 
Halle 
Magdeburg 
Schleswig-Holstein 
Thüringen 

Anatoliki Makedonia, Thraki 
Kentriki Makedonia 
Dytiki Makedonia 
Thessalia 
Ipeiros 
Ionia Nisia 
Dytiki Ellada 
Sterea Ellada 
Peloponnisos 
Attiki 
Voreio Aigaio 
Notio Aigaio 
Kriti 

Galicia 
Principado de Asturias 
Cantabria 
Pais Vasco 
Comunidad Foral de Navarra 
La Rioja 
Aragón 
Comunidad de Madrid 
Castilla y León 
Castilla-la Mancha 
Extremadura 
Cataluna 
Comunidad Valenciana 
Islas Baleares 
Andalucia 
Región de Murcia 
Ceuta y Melilla 
Canarias 

Île de France 
Champagne-Ardenne 
Picardie 
Haute-Normandie 
Centre 
Basse-Normandie 
Bourgogne 
Nord - Pas-de-Calais 
Lorraine 
Alsace 
Franche-Comté 
Pays de la Loire 
Bretagne 
Poitou-Charentes 

60 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CODE 

REGION 

PAYS 

FR61 
FR62 
FR63 
FR71 
FR72 
FR81 
FR82 
FR83 
FR91 
FR92 
FR93 
FR94 

IE 
IE01 
IE02 

IT 
IT11 
IT12 
IT13 
IT20 
IT31 
IT32 
IT33 
IT40 
IT51 
IT52 
IT53 
IT60 
IT71 
IT72 
IT80 
IT91 
IT92 
IT93 
ITA0 
ITB0 

LU00 

NL 
NL11 
NL12 
NL13 
NL21 
NL22 
NL23 

eurostat
eurostat

Aquitaine 
Midi-Pyrénées 
Limousin 
Rhône-Alpes 
Auvergne 
Languedoc-Roussillon 
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 
Corse 
Guadeloupe 
Martinique 
Guyane 
Réunion 

Border, Midland and Western 
Southern and Eastern 

Piemonte 
Valle d'Aosta 
Liguria 
Lombardia 
Trentino-Alto Adige 
Veneto 
Friuli-Venezia Giulia 
Emilia-Romagna 
Toscana 
Umbria 
Marche 
Lazio 
Abruzzo 
Molise 
Campania 
Puglia 
Basilicata 
Calabria 
Sicilia 
Sardegna 

Groningen 
Friesland 
Drenthe 
Overijssel 
Gelderland 
Flevoland 

61 

IRELAND 

ITALIA 

LUXEMBOURG  

NEDERLAND 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CODE 

REGION 

PAYS 

NL31 
NL32 
NL33 
NL34 
NL41 
NL42 

AT 
AT11 
AT12 
AT13 
AT21 
AT22 
AT31 
AT32 
AT33 
AT34 

PT 
PT11 
PT12 
PT13 
PT14 
PT15 
PT20 
PT30 

FI 
FI13 
FI14 
FI15 
FI16 
FI17 
FI20 

SE 
SE01 
SE02 
SE04 
SE06 
SE07 
SE08 
SE09 
SE0A 

UK 
UKC1 
UKC2 
UKD1 
UKD2 
UKD3 
UKD4 
UKD5 

eurostat

Utrecht 
Noord-Holland 
Zuid-Holland 
Zeeland 
Noord-Brabant 
Limburg (NL) 

Burgenland 
Niederösterreich 
Wien 
Kärnten 
Steiermark 
Oberösterreich 
Salzburg 
Tirol 
Vorarlberg 

Norte 
Centro (P) 
Lisboa e Vale do Tejo 
Alentejo 
Algarve 
Açores 
Madeira 

Itä-Suomi 
Väli-Suomi 
Pohjois-Suomi 
Uusimaa (Suuralue) 
Etelae-Suomi 
Äland 

Stockholm 
Östra Mellansverige 
Sydsverige 
Norra Mellansverige 
Mellersta Norrland 
Övre Norrland 
Småland med Őarna 
Västsverige 

Tees Valley & Durham 
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 
Cumbria 
Cheshire 
Greater Manchester 
Lancashire 
Merseyside 

62 

ÖSTERREICH 

PORTUGAL 

SUOMI/FINLAND 

SVERIGE 

UNITED KINGDOM 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CODE 

REGION 

PAYS 

UKE1 
UKE2 
UKE3 
UKE4 
UKF1 
UKF2 
UKF3 
UKG1 
UKG2 
UKG3 
UKH1 
UKH2 
UKH3 
UKI1 
UKI2 
UKJ1 
UKJ2 
UKJ3 
UKJ4 
UKK1 
UKK2 
UKK3 
UKK4 
UKL1 
UKL2 
UKM1 
UKM2 
UKM3 
UKM4 
UKN0 

IS00 

NO00 

NO01 
NO02 
NO03 
NO04 
NO05 
NO06 
NO07 

CH 

CH01 
CH02 
CH03  
CH04  
CH05  
CH06  
CH07  

eurostat
eurostat

East Riding & North Lincolnshire 
North Yorkshire 
South Yorkshire 
West Yorkshire 
Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire 
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire 
Lincolnshire 
Herefordshire, Worcestershire & Warks 
Shropshire, Staffordshire 
West Midlands  
East Anglia 
Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire 
Essex 
Inner London 
Outer London 
Berkshire, Bucks, Oxfordshire 
Surrey, East-West Sussex 
Hampshire, Isle of Wight 
Kent 
Avon, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire & North Somerset 
Dorset, Somerset 
Cornwall & Isles of Scilly 
Devon 
West Wales & the Valleys 
East Wales 
North Eastern Scotland 
Eastern Scotland 
South Western Scotland 
Highlands, Islands 
Northern Ireland 

ICELAND 

NORWAY 

SWITZERLAND 

Oslo og Akershus 
Hedmark og Oppland 
Soer-Ostlandet 
Agder og Rogaland 
Vestlandet 
Troendelag 
Nord-Norge 

Région lémanique 
Espace Mittelland 
Nordwestschweiz 
Zürich 
Ostschweiz 
Zentralschweiz 
Ticino 

63 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CODE 

REGION 

PAYS 

BG  

BG01  
BG02 
BG03 
BG04  
BG05 
BG06 

CY 

CZ 
CZ01 
CZ02 
CZ03 
CZ04 
CZ05 
CZ06 
CZ07 
CZ08 

EE00 

HU 

HU01 
HU02 
HU03 
HU04 
HU05 
HU06 
HU07 

LT00 

LV00 

MT00 

PL 

PL01 
PL02 
PL03 
PL04 
PL05 
PL06 
PL07 
PL08 
PL09 
PL0A 

eurostat

BULGARIA 

CYPRUS 

CZECH REP. 

ESTONIA 

HUNGARY 

LITUANIA 

LATVIA 

MALTA 

POLAND 

North-East 
North Central 
North-West 
South-East  
South Central 
South-West  

Prague 
Central Bohemia 
Southwest 
Northwest 
Northeast 
Southeast 
Central Moravia 
Ostrava 

Central Hungary 
Central Transdanubia 
Western Transdanubia 
Sauthern Transdanubia 
Nothern Hungary 
Nothern Great Plain 
Southern Great plain 

Dolnoslaskie 
Kujawsko-Pomorskie 
Lubelskie 
Lubuskie 
Lódzkie 
Malopolskie 
Mazowieckie 
Opolskie 
Podkarpackie 
Podlaskie 

64 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CODE 

REGION 

PAYS 

Pomorskie 
Slaskie 
Swietokrzyskie 
Warminsko-Mazurskie 
Wielkopolskie 
Zachodniopomorskie 

Nord-Est 
Sud-Est 
Sud 
Sud-Vest 
Vest 
Nord-Vest 
Centru 
Bucuresti 

Bratislava 
Western Slovakia 
Central Slovakia 
Eastern Slovakia 

PL0B 
PL0C 
PL0D 
PL0E 
PL0F 
PL0G 

RO 

RO01 
RO02 
RO03 
RO04 
RO05 
RO06 
RO07 
RO08 

SK 
SK01 
SK02 
SK03 
SK04 

SI00 

TA00 

ROMANIA 

SLOVAK REP. 

SLOVENIA 

TURKEY 

eurostat
eurostat

65 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNEX II – Statistical Classification of economic activities at 2 and 3 digits (NACE Rev.1) 

Section A  Agriculture, hunting and forestry 

01 

011 
012 
013 
014 
015 

02 

020 

B 

05 

050 

C 

10 

101 
102 
103 

11 

111 
112 

12 

120 

13 

131 
132 

14 

141 
142 
143 
144 
145 

D 

15 

151 
152 
153 
154 
155 
156 
157 
158 
159 

16 

160 

eurostat

Agriculture, hunting and related service activities 
Growing of crops; market gardening; horticulture 
Farming of animals 
Growing of crops combined with farming of animals (mixed farming) 
Agricultural and animal husbandry service activities, except veterinary activities 
Hunting, trapping and game propagation, including related service activities 
Forestry, logging and related service activities 
Forestry, logging and related service activities 

Fishing 

Fishing, operation of fish hatcheries and fish farms; service activities incidental to 
fishing 
Fishing, operation of fish hatcheries and fish farms; service activities incidental to fishing 

Mining and quarrying 

Mining of coal and lignite; extraction of peat 
Mining and agglomeration of hard coal 
Mining and agglomeration of lignite 
Extraction and agglomeration of peat 
Extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas; service activities incidental to oil and gas 
extraction, excluding surveying 
Extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas 
Service activities incidental to oil and gas extraction, excluding surveying 
Mining of uranium and thorium ores 
Mining of uranium and thorium ores 
Mining of metal ores 
Mining of iron ores 
Mining of non-ferrous metal ores, except uranium and thorium ores 
Other mining and quarrying 
Quarrying of stone 
Quarrying of sand and clay 
Mining of chemical and fertilizer minerals 
Production of salt 
Other mining and quarrying n.e.c. 

Manufacturing 

Manufacture of food products and beverages 
Production, processing and preserving of meat and meat products 
Processing and preserving of fish and fish products 
Processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables 
Manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats 
Manufacture of dairy products 
Manufacture of grain mill products, starches and starch products 
Manufacture of prepared animal feeds 
Manufacture of other food products 
Manufacture of beverages 
Manufacture of tobacco products 
Manufacture of tobacco products 

66 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
17 

171 
172 
173 
174 
175 
176 
177 

18 

181 
182 
183 

19 

191 
192 
193 

20 

201 
202 

203 
204 
205 

21 

211 
212 

22 

221 
222 
223 

23 

231 
232 
233 

24 

241 
242 
243 
244 
245 

246 
247 

25 

251 
252 

26 

261 
262 

263 
264 
265 

eurostat
eurostat

Manufacture of textiles 
Preparation and spinning of textile fibres 
Textile weaving 
Finishing of textiles 
Manufacture of made-up textile articles, except apparel 
Manufacture of other textiles 
Manufacture of knitted and crocheted fabrics 
Manufacture of knitted and crocheted articles 
Manufacture of wearing apparel; dressing and dyeing of fur 
Manufacture of leather clothes 
Manufacture of other wearing apparel and accessories 
Dressing and dyeing of fur; manufacture of articles of fur 
Tanning and dressing of leather; manufacture of luggage, handbags, saddlery, harness 
and footwear 
Tanning and dressing of leather 
Manufacture of luggage, handbags and the like, saddlery and harness 
Manufacture of footwear 
Manufacture of wood and of products of wood and cork, except furniture; manufacture 
of articles of straw and plaiting materials 
Sawmilling and planing of wood; impregnation of wood 
Manufacture of veneer sheets; manufacture of plywood, laminboard, particle board, fibre board 
and other panels and boards 
Manufacture of builders' carpentry and joinery 
Manufacture of wooden containers 
Manufacture of other products of wood; manufacture of articles of cork, straw and plaiting 
materials 
Manufacture of pulp, paper and paper products 
Manufacture of pulp, paper and paperboard 
Manufacture of articles of paper and paperboard 
Publishing, printing and reproduction of recorded media 
Publishing 
Printing and service activities related to printing 
Reproduction of recorded media 
Manufacture of coke, refined petroleum products and nuclear fuel 
Manufacture of coke oven products 
Manufacture of refined petroleum products 
Processing of nuclear fuel 
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products 
Manufacture of basic chemicals 
Manufacture of pesticides and other agro-chemical products 
Manufacture of paints, varnishes and similar coatings, printing ink and mastics 
Manufacture of pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemicals and botanical products 
Manufacture of soap and detergents, cleaning and polishing preparations, perfumes and toilet 
preparations 
Manufacture of other chemical products 
Manufacture of man-made fibres 
Manufacture of rubber and plastic products 
Manufacture of rubber products 
Manufacture of plastic products 
Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products 
Manufacture of glass and glass products 
Manufacture of non-refractory ceramic goods other than for construction purposes; 
manufacture of refractory ceramic products 
Manufacture of ceramic tiles and flags 
Manufacture of bricks, tiles and construction products, in baked clay 
Manufacture of cement, lime and plaster 

67 

 
 
266 
267 
268 

27 

271 
272 
273 
274 
275 

28 

281 
282 

283 
284 
285 
286 
287 

29 

291 

292 
293 
294 
295 
296 
297 

30 

300 

31 

311 
312 
313 
314 
315 
316 

32 

321 
322 

323 

33 

331 
332 

333 
334 
335 

34 

341 
342 
343 

35 

351 
352 
353 

eurostat

Manufacture of articles of concrete, plaster and cement 
Cutting, shaping and finishing of stone 
Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products 
Manufacture of basic metals 
Manufacture of basic iron and steel and of ferro-alloys (ECSC) 
Manufacture of tubes 
Other first processing of iron and steel and production of non-ECSC ferro-alloys 
Manufacture of basic precious and non-ferrous metals 
Casting of metals 
Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment 
Manufacture of structural metal products 
Manufacture of tanks, reservoirs and containers of metal; manufacture of central heating 
radiators and boilers 
Manufacture of steam generators, except central heating hot water boilers 
Forging, pressing, stamping and roll forming of metal; powder metallurgy 
Treatment and coating of metals; general mechanical engineering 
Manufacture of cutlery, tools and general hardware 
Manufacture of other fabricated metal products 
Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. 
Manufacture of machinery for the production and use of mechanical power, except aircraft, 
vehicle and cycle engines 
Manufacture of other general purpose machinery 
Manufacture of agricultural and forestry machinery 
Manufacture of machine-tools 
Manufacture of other special purpose machinery 
Manufacture of weapons and ammunition 
Manufacture of domestic appliances n.e.c. 
Manufacture of office machinery and computers 
Manufacture of office machinery and computers 
Manufacture of electrical machinery and apparatus n.e.c. 
Manufacture of electric motors, generators and transformers 
Manufacture of electricity distribution and control apparatus 
Manufacture of insulated wire and cable 
Manufacture of accumulators, primary cells and primary batteries 
Manufacture of lighting equipment and electric lamps 
Manufacture of electrical equipment n.e.c. 
Manufacture of radio, television and communication equipment and apparatus 
Manufacture of electronic valves and tubes and other electronic components 
Manufacture of television and radio transmitters and apparatus for line telephony and line 
telegraphy 
Manufacture of television and radio receivers, sound or video recording or reproducing 
apparatus and associated goods 
Manufacture of medical, precision and optical instruments, watches and clocks 
Manufacture of medical and surgical equipment and orthopaedic appliances 
Manufacture of instruments and appliances for measuring, checking, testing, navigating and 
other purposes, except industrial process control equipment 
Manufacture of industrial process control equipment 
Manufacture of optical instruments and photographic equipment 
Manufacture of watches and clocks 
Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers 
Manufacture of motor vehicles 
Manufacture of bodies (coachwork) for motor vehicles; manufacture of trailers and semi-trailers 
Manufacture of parts and accessories for motor vehicles and their engines 
Manufacture of other transport equipment 
Building and repairing of ships and boats 
Manufacture of railway and tramway locomotives and rolling stock 
Manufacture of aircraft and spacecraft 

68 

 
354 
355 

36 

361 
362 
363 
364 
365 
366 

37 

371 
372 

E 

40 

401 
402 
403 

41 

F 

45 

451 
452 
453 
454 
455 

G 

50 

501 
502 
503 
504 
505 

51 

511 
512 
513 
514 
515 
516 
517 

52 

521 
522 
523 
524 
525 
526 
527 

eurostat
eurostat

Manufacture of motorcycles and bicycles 
Manufacture of other transport equipment n.e.c. 
Manufacture of furniture; manufacturing n.e.c. 
Manufacture of furniture 
Manufacture of jewellery and related articles 
Manufacture of musical instruments 
Manufacture of sports goods 
Manufacture of games and toys 
Miscellaneous manufacturing n.e.c. 
Recycling 
Recycling of metal waste and scrap 
Recycling of non-metal waste and scrap 

Electricity, gas and water supply 

Electricity, gas, steam and hot water supply 
Production and distribution of electricity 
Manufacture of gas; distribution of gaseous fuels through mains 
Steam and hot water supply 
Collection, purification and distribution of water 

Construction 

Construction 
Site preparation 
Building of complete constructions or parts thereof; civil engineering 
Building installation 
Building completion 
Renting of construction or demolition equipment with operator 

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and 
household goods 

Sale, maintenance and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; retail sale of 
automotive fuel 
Sale of motor vehicles 
Maintenance and repair of motor vehicles 
Sale of motor vehicle parts and accessories 
Sale, maintenance and repair of motorcycles and related parts and accessories 
Retail sale of automotive fuel 
Wholesale trade and commission trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 
Wholesale on a fee or contract basis 
Wholesale of agricultural raw materials and live animals 
Wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco 
Wholesale of household goods 
Wholesale of non-agricultural intermediate products, waste and scrap 
Wholesale of machinery, equipment and supplies 
Other wholesale 
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles; repair of personal and 
household goods 
Retail sale in non-specialized stores 
Retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco in specialized stores 
Retail sale of pharmaceutical and medical goods, cosmetic and toilet articles 
Other retail sale of new goods in specialized stores 
Retail sale of second-hand goods in stores 
Retail sale not in stores 
Repair of personal and household goods 

69 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
H 

55 

551 
552 
553 
554 
555 

I 

60 

601 
602 
603 

61 

611 
612 

62 

621 
622 
623 

63 

631 
632 
633 
634 

64 

641 
642 

J 

65 

651 
652 

66 

660 

67 

671 
672 

K 

70 

701 
702 
703 

71 

711 
712 
713 
714 

72 

721 
722 

eurostat

Hotels and restaurants 

Hotels and restaurants 
Hotels 
Camping sites and other provision of short-stay accommodation 
Restaurants 
Bars 
Canteens and catering 

Transport, storage and communication 

Land transport; transport via pipelines 
Transport via railways 
Other land transport 
Transport via pipelines 
Water transport 
Sea and coastal water transport 
Inland water transport 
Air transport 
Scheduled air transport 
Non-scheduled air transport 
Space transport 
Supporting and auxiliary transport activities; activities of travel agencies 
Cargo handling and storage 
Other supporting transport activities 
Activities of travel agencies and tour operators; tourist assistance activities n.e.c. 
Activities of other transport agencies 
Post and telecommunications 
Post and courier activities 
Telecommunications 

Financial intermediation 

Financial intermediation, except insurance and pension funding 
Monetary intermediation 
Other financial intermediation 
Insurance and pension funding, except compulsory social security 
Insurance and pension funding, except compulsory social security 
Activities auxiliary to financial intermediation 
Activities auxiliary to financial intermediation, except insurance and pension funding 
Activities auxiliary to insurance and pension funding 

Real estate, renting and business activities 

Real estate activities 
Real estate activities with own property 
Letting of own property 
Real estate activities on a fee or contract basis 
Renting of machinery and equipment without operator and of personal and household 
goods 
Renting of automobiles 
Renting of other transport equipment 
Renting of other machinery and equipment 
Renting of personal and household goods n.e.c. 
Computer and related activities 
Hardware consultancy 
Software consultancy and supply 

70 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
723 
724 
725 
726 

73 

731 
732 

74 

741 

742 
743 
744 
745 
746 
747 
748 

L 

75 

751 
752 
753 

M 

80 

801 
802 
803 
804 

N 

85 

851 
852 
853 

O 

90 

900 

91 

911 
912 
913 

92 

921 
922 
923 
924 
925 
926 
927 

93 

eurostat
eurostat

Data processing 
Database activities 
Maintenance and repair of office, accounting and computing machinery 
Other computer related activities 
Research and development 
Research and experimental development on natural sciences and engineering 
Research and experimental development on social sciences and humanities 
Other business activities 
Legal, accounting, book-keeping and auditing activities; tax consultancy; market research and 
public opinion polling; business and management consultancy; holdings 
Architectural and engineering activities and related technical consultancy 
Technical testing and analysis 
Advertising 
Labour recruitment and provision of personnel 
Investigation and security activities 
Industrial cleaning 
Miscellaneous business activities n.e.c. 

Public administration and defence; compulsory social security 

Public administration and defence; compulsory social security 
Administration of the State and the economic and social policy of the community 
Provision of services to the community as a whole 
Compulsory social security activities 

Education 

Education 
Primary education 
Secondary education 
Higher education 
Adult and other education 

Health and social work 

Health and social work 
Human health activities 
Veterinary activities 
Social work activities 

Other community, social and personal service activities 

Sewage and refuse disposal, sanitation and similar activities 
Sewage and refuse disposal, sanitation and similar activities 
Activities of membership organizations n.e.c. 
Activities of business, employers' and professional organizations 
Activities of trade unions 
Activities of other membership organizations 
Recreational, cultural and sporting activities 
Motion picture and video activities 
Radio and television activities 
Other entertainment activities 
News agency activities 
Library, archives, museums and other cultural activities 
Sporting activities 
Other recreational activities 
Other service activities 

71 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
930 

Other service activities 

P 

95 

950 

Q 

99 

990 

Private households with employed persons 

Private households with employed persons 
Private households with employed persons 

Extra-territorial organizations and bodies 

Extra-territorial organizations and bodies 
Extra-territorial organizations and bodies 

eurostat

72 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNEX III – International Standard classification of occupations 2, 3 and 4 digits (ISCO-88 
(com)) 

MAJOR GROUP 1: LEGISLATORS, SENIOR OFFICIALS AND MANAGERS 

11 

Legislators and senior officials 

Legislators and senior government officials 
1110 

Legislators and senior government officials 

Senior officials of special-interest organisations 
1141 
1142 

Senior officials of political party organisations 
Senior  officials  of  employers',  workers'  and  other  economic-                            interest 
organisations 
Senior officials of humanitarian and other special-interest organisations 

12 

Corporate managers 

1143 

111 

114 

121 

122 

123 

Directors and chief executives 
1210 

Directors and chief executives 

Production and operations managers 
1221 

1222 
1223 
1224 

1225 

1226 

1227 

1228 

1229 

Production and operations managers in agriculture, 
hunting, forestry and fishing 
Production and operations managers in manufacturing 
Production and operations managers in construction 
Production and operations managers in wholesale and 
retail trade 
Production and operations managers in restaurants  
and hotels 
Production and operations managers in transport, 
storage and communications 
Production and operations managers in business  
services enterprises 
Production and operations managers in personal  
care, cleaning and related services 
Production and operations managers not elsewhere 
classified 

Other specialist managers 
1231 
1232 
1233 
1234 
1235 
1236 
1237 
1239 

Finance and administration managers 
Personnel and industrial relations managers 
Sales and marketing managers 
Advertising and public relations managers 
Supply and distribution managers 
Computing services managers 
Research and development managers 
Other specialist managers not elsewhere classified 

13 

Managers of small enterprises 

131 

Managers of small enterprises 
1311 

Managers of small enterprises in agriculture, hunting,  
forestry and fishing 
Managers of small enterprises in manufacturing 
Managers of small enterprises in construction 
Managers of small enterprises in wholesale and retail trade 
Managers of small enterprises of restaurants and hotels 
Managers of small enterprises in transport, storage and 
communications 
Managers of small enterprises in business services enterprises 
Managers of small enterprises in personal care, cleaning and related services 
Managers of small enterprises not elsewhere classified  

1312 
1313 
1314 
1315 
1316 

1317 
1318 
1319 

eurostat
eurostat

73 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MAJOR GROUP 2: PROFESSIONALS 

21 

Physical, mathematical and engineering science professionals 
211 

Physicists, chemists and related professionals 
2111 
2112 
2113 
2114 

Physicists and astronomers 
Meteorologists 
Chemists 
Geologists and geophysicists 

212 

213 

214 

Mathematicians, statisticians and related professionals 
2121 
2122 

Mathematicians and related professionals 
Statisticians 

Computing professionals 
2131 
2139 

Computer systems designers, analysts and programmers 
Computing professionals not elsewhere classified 

Architects, engineers and related professionals 
Architects, town and traffic planners 
2141 
Civil engineers 
2142 
Electrical engineers 
2143 
Electronics and telecommunications engineers 
2144 
Mechanical engineers 
2145 
Chemical engineers 
2146 
Mining engineers, metallurgists and related professionals 
2147 
Cartographers and surveyors 
2148 
Architects, engineers and related professionals not  
2149 
elsewhere classified 

22 

Life science and health professionals 

221 

222 

Life science professionals 
2211 
2212 
2213 

Biologists, botanists, zoologists and related professionals  
Pharmacologists, pathologists and related professionals 
Agronomists and related professionals 

Health professionals (except nursing) 
Medical doctors 
2221 
Dentists 
2222 
Veterinarians 
2223 
Pharmacists 
2224 
Health professionals (except nursing) not elsewhere classified 
2229 

223 

Nursing and midwifery professionals 
2230 

Nursing and midwifery professionals  

23 

eurostat

Teaching professionals 
231 

College, university and higher education teaching professionals 
2310 

College, university and higher education teaching professionals 

232 

233 

234 

Secondary education teaching professionals 
2320 

Secondary education teaching professionals 

Primary and pre-primary education teaching professionals 
2331 
2332 

Primary education teaching professionals 
Pre-primary education teaching professionals 

Special education teaching professionals 
2340 

Special education teaching professionals 

74 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
235 

Other teaching professionals 
2351 
2352 
2359 

Education methods specialists 
School inspectors 
Other teaching professionals not elsewhere classified 

24 

Other professionals 
241 

Business professionals 
Accountants 
2411 
Personnel and careers professionals 
2412 
Business professionals not elsewhere classified 
2419 

242 

243 

244 

245 

246 

247 

Legal professionals 
Lawyers 
2421 
Judges 
2422 
Legal professionals not elsewhere classified 
2429 

Archivists, librarians and related information professionals 
2431 
2432 

Archivists and curators 
Librarians and related information professionals 

Social science and related professionals 
2441 
2442 
2443 
2444 
2445 
2446 

Economists 
Sociologists, anthropologists and related professionals 
Philosophers, historians and political scientists 
Philologists, translators and interpreters 
Psychologists 
Social work professionals 

Writers and creative or performing artists 
2451 
2452 
2453 
2454 
2455 

Authors, journalists and other writers 
Sculptors, painters and related artists 
Composers, musicians and singers 
Choreographers and dancers 
Film, stage and related actors and directors 

Religious professionals 
2460 

Religious professionals 

Public service administrative professionals 
2470 

Public service administrative professionals 

MAJOR GROUP 3: TECHNICIANS AND ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS 

31 

eurostat
eurostat

Physical and engineering science associate professionals 
311 

Physical and engineering science technicians 
3111 
3112 
3113 
3114 
3115 
3116 
3117 
3118 
3119 

Chemical and physical science technicians 
Civil engineering technicians 
Electrical engineering technicians 
Electronics and telecommunications engineering technicians 
Mechanical engineering technicians 
Chemical engineering technicians 
Mining and metallurgical technicians 
Draughtspersons 
Physical and engineering science technicians not  
elsewhere classified 

312 

Computer associate professionals 
3121 
3122 
3123 

Computer assistants 
Computer equipment operators 
Industrial robot controllers 

75 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
313 

314 

315 

Optical and electronic equipment operators 
3131 
3132 
3133 
3139 

Photographers and image and sound recording equipment operators 
Broadcasting and telecommunications equipment operators 
Medical equipment operators 
Optical and electronic equipment operators not elsewhere classified 

Ship and aircraft controllers and technicians 
3141 
3142 
3143 
3144 
3145 

Ships' engineers 
Ships' deck officers and pilots 
Aircraft pilots and related associate professionals 
Air traffic controllers 
Air traffic safety technicians 

Safety and quality inspectors 
3151 
3152 

Building and fire inspectors 
Safety, health and quality inspectors 

Life science and health associate professionals 
321 

Life science technicians and related associate professional 
3211 
3212 
3213 

Life science technicians 
Agronomy and forestry technicians 
Farming and forestry advisers 

322 

Health associate professionals (except nursing) 
3221 
3222 
3223 
3224 
3225 
3226 
3227 
3228 
3229 

Medical assistants 
Hygienists, health and environmental officers 
Dieticians and nutritionists 
Optometrists and opticians 
Dental assistants 
Physiotherapists and related associate professionals 
Veterinary assistants 
Pharmaceutical assistants 
Health associate professionals (except nursing)  
not elsewhere classified 

323 

Nursing and midwifery associate professionals 
3231 
3232 

Nursing associate professionals 
Midwifery associate professionals 

Teaching associate professionals 
331 

Primary education teaching associate professionals 
3310 

Primary education teaching associate professionals 

332 

333 

334 

Pre-primary education teaching associate professionals 
3320 

Pre-primary education teaching associate professionals 

Special education teaching associate professionals 
3330 

Special education teaching associate professionals 

Other teaching associate professionals 
3340 

Other teaching associate professionals 

Other associate professionals 
341 

Finance and sales associate professionals 
3411 
3412 
3413 
3414 
3415 
3416 

Securities and finance dealers and brokers 
Insurance representatives 
Estate agents 
Travel consultants and organisers 
Technical and commercial sales representatives 
Buyers 

32 

33 

34 

eurostat

76 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
342 

343 

344 

345 

346 

347 

3417 
3419 

Appraisers, valuers and auctioneers 
Finance and sales associate professionals not elsewhere classified 

Business services agents and trade brokers 
3421 
3422 
3423 
3429 

Trade brokers 
Clearing and forwarding agents 
Employment agents and labour contractors 
Business services agents and trade brokers not  
elsewhere classified 

Administrative associate professionals 
3431 
3432 
3433 
3434 

Administrative secretaries and related associate professionals 
Legal and related business associate professionals 
Bookkeepers 
Statistical, mathematical and related associate professionals 

Customs, tax and related government associate professionals 
3441 
3442 
3443 
3444 
3449 

Customs and border inspectors 
Government tax and excise officials 
Government social benefits officials 
Government licensing officials 
Customs, tax and related government associate professionals not elsewhere 
classified 

Police inspectors and detectives 
3450 

Police inspectors and detectives 

Social work associate professionals 
3460 

Social work associate professionals 

Artistic, entertainment and sports associate professionals 
3471 
3472 
3473 
3474 
3475 

Decorators and commercial designers 
Radio, television and other announcers 
Street, night-club and related musicians, singers and dancers 
Clowns, magicians, acrobats and related associate professionals 
Athletes, sports persons and related associate professionals 

348 

Religious associate professionals 
3480 

Religious associate professionals 

MAJOR GROUP 4: CLERKS 

41 

Office clerks 
411 

Secretaries and keyboard-operating clerks 
4111 
4112 
4113 
4114 
4115 

Stenographers and typists 
Word-processor and related operators 
Data entry operators 
Calculating-machine operators 
Secretaries 

412 

413 

Numerical clerks 
4121 
4122 

Accounting and book-keeping clerks 
Statistical and finance clerks 

Material-recording and transport clerks 
4131 
4132 
4133 

Stock clerks 
Production clerks 
Transport clerks 

eurostat
eurostat

77 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
414 

Library, mail and related clerks 
4141 
4142  
4143 
4144 

Library and filing clerks 
Mail carriers and sorting clerks 
Coding, proof-reading and related clerks 
Scribes and related workers 

419 

Other office clerks 
4190 

Other office clerks 

42 

Customer services clerks 
421 

Cashiers, tellers and related clerks 
4211 
4212 
4213 
4214 
4215 

Cashiers and ticket clerks 
Tellers and other counter clerks 
Bookmakers and croupiers 
Pawnbrokers and money-lenders 
Debt-collectors and related workers 

422 

Client information clerks 
4221 
4222 
4223 

Travel agency and related clerks 
Receptionists and information clerks 
Telephone switchboard operators 

MAJOR GROUP 5: SERVICE WORKERS AND SHOP AND MARKET SALES WORKERS 

51 

52 

eurostat

Personal and protective services workers 
511 

Travel attendants and related workers 
5111 
5112 
5113 

Travel attendants and travel stewards 
Transport conductors 
Travel guides 

512 

513 

514 

516 

Housekeeping and restaurant services workers 
5121 
5122 
5123 

Housekeepers and related workers 
Cooks 
Waiters, waitresses and bartenders 

Personal care and related workers 
5131 
5132 
5133 
5139 

Child-care workers 
Institution-based personal care workers 
Home-based personal care workers 
Personal care and related workers not elsewhere classified 

Other personal services workers 
5141 
5142 
5143  
5149 

Hairdressers, barbers, beauticians and related workers 
Companions and valets 
Undertakers and embalmers 
Other personal services workers not elsewhere classified 

Protective services workers 
5161 
5162 
5163 
5169 

Fire-fighters 
Police officers 
Prison guards 
Protective services workers not elsewhere classified 

Models, salespersons and demonstrators 
521 

Fashion and other models 
5210 

Fashion and other models 

522 

Shop, stall and market salespersons and demonstrators 
5220 

Shop, stall and market salespersons and demonstrators 

78 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MAJOR GROUP 6: SKILLED AGRICULTURAL AND FISHERY WORKERS 

61 

Skilled agricultural and fishery workers 
611 

Market gardeners and crop growers 
6111 
6112 

Field crop and vegetable growers 
Gardeners, horticultural and nursery growers 

612 

613 

614 

615 

Animal producers and related workers 
6121 
6122 
6129 

Dairy and livestock producers 
Poultry producers 
Animal producers and related workers 
not elsewhere classified 

Crop and animal producers 
6130 

Crop and animal producers 

Forestry and related workers 
6141 
6142 

Forestry workers and loggers 
Charcoal burners and related workers 

Fishery workers, hunters and trappers 
6151 
6152 
6153 
6154 

Aquatic life cultivation workers 
Inland and coastal waters fishery workers 
Deep-sea fishery workers 
Hunters and trappers 

MAJOR GROUP 7: CRAFT AND RELATED TRADES WORKERS 

71 

Extraction and building trades workers 
711 

Miners, shotfirers, stone cutters and carvers 
7111 
7112 
7113 

Miners and quarry workers 
Shotfirers and blasters 
Stone splitters, cutters and carvers 

712 

713 

Building frame and related trades workers 
7121 
7122 
7123 
7124 
7129 

Builders 
Bricklayers and stonemasons 
Concrete placers, concrete finishers and related workers 
Carpenters and joiners 
Building frame and related trades workers not elsewhere classified 

Building finishers and related trades workers 
7131 
7132 
7133 
7134 
7135 
7136 
7137 
7139 

Roofers 
Floor layers and tile setters 
Plasterers 
Insulation workers 
Glaziers 
Plumbers and pipe fitters 
Building and related electricians 
Building finishers and related trade workers not  
elsewhere classified 

714 

Painters, building structure cleaners and related trades workers 
7141 
7143 

Painters and related workers 
Building structure cleaners 

72 

Metal, machinery and related trades workers 
721  Metal moulders, welders, sheet-metal workers, structural-metal preparers, and related trades workers 

7211 

Metal moulders and coremakers 

79 

eurostat
eurostat

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7212 
7213 
7214 
7215 
7216 

Welders and flame cutters 
Sheet-metal workers 
Structural-metal preparers and erectors 
Riggers and cable splicers 
Underwater workers 

722 

723 

724 

Blacksmiths, tool-makers and related trades workers 
7221 
7222 
7223 
7224 

Blacksmiths, hammer-smiths and forging-press workers 
Tool-makers and related workers 
Machine-tool setters and setter-operators 
Metal wheel-grinders, polishers and tool sharpeners 

Machinery mechanics and fitters 
7231 
7232 
7233 

Motor vehicle mechanics and fitters 
Aircraft engine mechanics and fitters 
Agricultural- or industrial-machinery mechanics and fitters 

Electrical and electronic equipment mechanics and fitters 
7241 
7242 
7243   
7244 
7245 

Electrical mechanics fitters and services 
Electronics mechanics, fitters and servicers 
Electronics mechanics and servicers  
Telegraph and telephone installers and servicers 
Electrical line installers, repairers and cable jointers  

Precision, handicraft, craft printing and related trades workers 
731 

Precision workers in metal and related materials 
7311 
7312 
7313 

Precision-instrument makers and repairers 
Musical-instrument makers and tuners 
Jewellery and precious-metal workers 

732 

733 

734 

Potters, glass-makers and related trades workers 
7321 
7322 
7323 
7324 

Abrasive wheel formers, potters and related workers 
Glass-makers, cutters, grinders and finishers 
Glass engravers and etchers 
Glass, ceramics and related decorative painters 

Handicraft workers in wood, textile, leather and related materials 
7331 
7332 

Handicraft workers in wood and related materials 
Handicraft workers in textile, leather and related materials 

Craft printing and related trades workers 
7341 
7342 
7343 
7344 
7345 
7346 

Compositors, typesetters and related workers 
Stereotypers and electrotypers 
Printing engravers and etchers 
Photographic and related workers 
Bookbinders and related workers 
Silk-screen, block and craft textile printers 

Other craft and related trades workers 
741 

Food processing and related trades workers 
7411 
7412 
7413 
7414 
7415 
7416 

Butchers, fishmongers and related food preparers 
Bakers, pastry-cooks and confectionery makers 
Dairy-products workers 
Fruit, vegetable and related preservers 
Food and beverage tasters and graders 
Tobacco preparers and tobacco products makers 

73 

74 

742 

Wood treaters, cabinet-makers and related trades workers 
7421 
7422 
7423 

Wood treaters 
Cabinetmakers and related workers 
Woodworking machine setters and setter-operators 

80 

eurostat

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
743 

7424 

Basketry weavers, brush makers and related workers 

Textile, garment and related trades workers 
7431 
7432 
7433 
7434 
7435 
7436 
7437 

Fibre preparers 
Weavers, knitters and related workers 
Tailors, dressmakers and hatters 
Furriers and related workers 
Textile, leather and related pattern-makers and cutters 
Sewers, embroiderers and related workers 
Upholsterers and related workers 

744 

Pelt, leather and shoemaking trades workers 
7441 
7442 

Pelt dressers, tanners and fellmongers 
Shoe-makers and related workers 

MAJOR GROUP 8: PLANT AND MACHINE OPERATORS AND ASSEMBLERS 

81 

82 

eurostat
eurostat

Stationary plant and related operators 
811 

Mining and mineral-processing-plant operators 
8111 
8112 
8113 

Mining plant operators 
Mineral-ore and stone-processing-plant operators 
Well drillers and borers and related workers 

812 

813 

814 

815 

816 

Metal-processing plant operators 
8121 
8122 
8123 
8124 

Ore and metal furnace operators 
Metal melters, casters and rolling-mill operators 
Metal heat-treating-plant operators 
Metal drawers and extruders 

Glass, ceramics and related plant operators 
8131 
8139 

Glass and ceramics kiln and related machine operators 
Glass, ceramics and related plant operators not  
elsewhere classified 

Wood-processing- and papermaking-plant operators 
8141 
8142 
8143 

Wood-processing-plant operators 
Paper-pulp plant operators 
Papermaking-plant operators 

Chemical-processing-plant operators 
8151 
8152 
8153 
8154 

Crushing-, grinding- and chemical-mixing-machinery operators 
Chemical-heat-treating-plant operators 
Chemical-filtering- and separating-equipment operators 
Chemical-still and reactor operators (except petroleum and  
natural gas) 
Petroleum- and natural-gas-refining-plant operators 
Chemical-processing-plant operators not elsewhere classified 

8155 
8159 

Power-production and related plant operators 
Power-production plant operators 
8161 
Steam-engine and boiler operators 
8162 
Incinerator, water-treatment and related plant operators 
8163 

817 

Industrial robot operators 
8170 

Industrial robot operators 

Machine operators and assemblers 
821 

Metal- and mineral-products machine operators 
8211 

Machine-tool operators 

81 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
822 

823 

824 

825 

826 

827 

828 

8212 

Cement and other mineral products machine operators 

Chemical-products machine operators 
8221 
8222 
8223 
8224 
8229 

Pharmaceutical-and toiletry-products machine operators 
Ammunition- and explosive-products machine operators 
Metal finishing-, plating- and coating-machine operators 
Photographic-products machine operators 
Chemical-products machine operators not elsewhere classified 

Rubber- and plastic-products machine operators 
8231 
8232 

Rubber-products machine operators 
Plastic-products machine operators 

Wood-products machine operators 
8240 

Wood-products machine operators 

Printing-, binding- and paper-products machine operators 
8251 
8252 
8253 

Printing-machine operators 
Book-binding-machine operators 
Paper-products machine operators 

Textile-, fur- and leather-products machine operators 
8261 
8262 
8263 
8264 
8265 
8266 
8269 

Fibre-preparing-, spinning- and winding-machine operators 
Weaving- and knitting-machine operators 
Sewing-machine operators 
Bleaching-, dyeing- and cleaning-machine operators 
Fur- and leather-preparing-machine operators 
Shoemaking- and related machine operators 
Textile-, fur- and leather-products machine operators not  
 elsewhere classified 

Food and related products machine operators 
8271 
8272 
8273 
8274 
8275 
8276 
8277 
8278 
8279 

Meat- and fish-processing-machine operators 
Dairy-products machine operators 
Grain- and spice-milling-machine operators 
Baked-goods, cereal- and chocolate-products machine operators 
Fruit-, vegetable- and nut-processing-machine operators 
Sugar production machine operators 
Tea-, coffee- and cocoa-processing-machine operators 
Brewers, wine and other beverage machine operators 
Tobacco production machine operators 

Assemblers 
8281 
8282 
8283 
8284 
8285 
8286 
8287 

Mechanical-machinery assemblers 
Electrical-equipment assemblers 
Electronic-equipment assemblers 
Metal-, rubber- and plastic-products assemblers 
Wood and related products assemblers 
Paperboard, textile and related products assemblers 
Composite products assemblers 

829 

Other machine operators not elsewhere classified 
8290 

Other machine operators not elsewhere classified 

83 

Drivers and mobile plant operators 
831 

Locomotive engine drivers and related workers 
Locomotive engine drivers 
8311 
Railway brakers, signallers and shunters 
8312 

832 

Motor vehicle drivers 
8321 

Motorcycle drivers 

82 

eurostat

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8322 
8323 
8324 

Car, taxi and van drivers 
Bus and tram drivers 
Heavy truck and lorry drivers 

833 

Agricultural and other mobile plant operators 
8331 
8332 
8333 
8334 

Motorised farm and forestry plant operators 
Earth-moving and related plant operators 
Crane, hoist and related plant operators 
Lifting-truck operators 

834 

Ships' deck crews and related workers 
8340 

Ships' deck crews and related workers 

MAJOR GROUP 9: ELEMENTARY OCCUPATIONS 

91 

Sales and services elementary occupations 
911 

Street vendors and related workers 
Street vendors 
9111 
Door-to-door and telephone salespersons 
9113 

912 

913 

914 

915 

916 

Shoe cleaning and other street services elementary occupations 
9120 

Shoe cleaning and other street services elementary occupations 

Domestic and related helpers, cleaners and launderers 
Domestic helpers and cleaners 
9131  
Helpers and cleaners in offices, hotels and other establishments 
9132 
Hand-launderers and pressers 
9133 

Building caretakers, window and related cleaners 
9141 
9142 

Building caretakers 
Vehicle, window and related cleaners 

Messengers, porters, doorkeepers and related workers 
9151 
9152 
9153 

Messengers, package and luggage porters and deliverers 
Doorkeepers, watchpersons and related workers 
Vending-machine money collectors, meter readers and  
related workers 

Garbage collectors and related labourers 
Garbage collectors 
9161 
Sweepers and related labourers 
9162 

92 

93 

eurostat
eurostat

Agricultural, fishery and related labourers 
921 

Agricultural, fishery and related labourers 
9211 
9212 
9213 

Farm-hands and labourers 
Forestry labourers 
Fishery, hunting and trapping labourers 

Labourers in mining, construction, manufacturing and transport 
931 

Mining and construction labourers 
9311 
9312 

Mining and quarrying labourers 
Construction and maintenance labourers: roads, dams  
and similar constructions 
Building construction labourers 

9313 

932 

Manufacturing labourers 
9320 

Manufacturing labourers 

933 

Transport labourers and freight handlers 

83 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9330 

Transport labourers and freight handlers 

MAJOR GROUP 0: ARMED FORCES 

01 

Armed forces 
010 

Armed forces 
0100 

Armed forces 

eurostat

84 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNEXE IV – Codification of countries 

01 

BE 
DK 
DE 
GR 
ES 
FR 
IE 
IT 
LU 
NL 
AT 
PT 
FI 
SE 
UK 

02 

IS 
LI 
NO 

03 

AL 

BY 
BA 
BG 
HR 
CZ 
EE 
MK 

HU 
LT 
LV 
MD 
PL 
RO 
RU 
SK 
SI 
UA 
YU 

04 

CY 
MT 

CH 
TR 

EUROPEAN UNION 

Belgique-Belgïe 
Danmark 
Deutschland 
Ellada 
España 
France 
Ireland 
Italia 
Luxembourg 
Nederland 
Österreich 
Portugal 
Suomi / Finland 
Sverige 
United Kingdom 

OTHER EEA 

Iceland 
Liechtenstein 
Norway 

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE 

Albania 
Armenia 
Azerbaijan 
Belarus 
Bosnia Herzegowina 
Bulgaria 
Croatia 
Czech Republic 
Estonia 
FYROM 
Georgia 
Hungary 
Lithuania 
Latvia 
Republic of Moldova 
Poland 
Romania 
Russian Federation 
Slovak Republic 
Slovenia 
Ukraine 
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 

OTHER EUROPE 

Andorra 
Cyprus 
Malta 
San Marino 
Switzerland 
Turkey 
Vatican City 

eurostat
eurostat

85 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
05 

DZ 
EG 
LY 
MA 

TN 

06 

ZA 

NORTHERN AFRICA 

Algeria 
Egypt 
Libya 
Morocco 
Sudan 
Tunisia 

OTHER AFRICA 

Burundi 
Comoros 
Djibouti 
Eritrea 
Ethiopia 
Kenya 
Madagascar 
Malawi 
Mauritius 
Seychelles 
Somalia 
Uganda 
Tanzania 
Zambia 
Zimbabwe 
Angola 
Cameroon 
Central African Republic 
Chad 
Congo 
Equatorial Guinea 
Gabon 
Sao Tome and Principe 
Zaire 
Botswana 
Lesotho 
Namibia 
South Africa 
Swaziland 
Benin 
Burkina Faso 
Cape Verde 
Ivory Coast 
Gambia 
Ghana 
Guinea 
Guinea-Bissau 
Liberia 
Mali 
Mauritania 
Niger 
Nigeria 
Senegal 
Sierra Leone 
Togo 

eurostat

86 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
07 

CA 

US 

08 

MX 

09 

AR 

BR 

10 

CN 

JP 

11 

IQ 
IL 

NORTHERN AMERICA 

Bermuda 
Canada 
Greenland 
Saint Pierre and Miquelon 
United States of America 

CENTRAL AMERICA AND CARRIBEAN 
Belize 
Costa Rica 
El Salvador 
Guatemala 
Honduras 
Mexico 
Nicaragua 
Panama 
Antigua and Barbuda 
Bahamas 
Barbados 
Cuba 
Dominica 
Dominican Republic 
Grenada 
Haiti 
Jamaica 
Netherlands Antilles 
Puerto Rico 
Trinidad and Tobago 

SOUTH AMERICA 

Argentina 
Bolivia 
Brazil 
Chile 
Colombia 
Ecuador 
Guyana 
Paraguay 
Peru 
Surinam 
Uruguay 
Venezuela 

EASTERN ASIA 

China 
Dem. People's Republic of Korea 
Japan 
Mongolia 
Republic of Korea 
Taiwan 

WESTERN ASIA 

Bahrein 
Iraq 
Israel 
Jordan 
Kuwait 

eurostat
eurostat

87 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LB 

Lebanon 
Oman 
Palestine 
Qatar 
Saudi Arabia 
Syria 
United Arab Emirates 
Yemen 

12 

SOUTHERN AND SOUTH EASTERN ASIA 

IN 

PK 

KH 

ID 

PH 

TH 
VN 

13 

AU 
NZ 

Afghanistan 
Bangladesh 
Bhutan 
India 
Iran 
Kazakhstan 
Kyrgyzstan 
Maldives 
Nepal 
Pakistan 
Sri Lanka 
Tajikistan 
Turkmenistan 
Uzbeksitan 
Brunei 
Cambodia 
East Timor 
Indonesia 
Laos 
Malaysia 
Myanmar 
Philippines 
Singapore 
Thailand 
Vietnam 

AUSTRALIA, OCEANIA AND OTHER TERRITORIES 

Australia 
New Zealand 
Fiji 
New Caledonia 
Papua New Guinea 
Solomon Islands 
Vanuatu 
Micronesia 
Polynesia 

14 

Other + stateless 

Blank 

No answer 

eurostat

88 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNEX V – Levels of education and training (ISCED 1997) 

ISCED 0 — PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION 

Programs  at  level  0,  (pre-primary)  defined  as  the  initial  stage  of  organised  instruction  are  designed  primarily  to 
introduce very young children to a school-type environment, i.e. to provide a bridge between the home and a school 
based  atmosphere.  Upon  completion  of  these  programs,  children  continue  their  education  at  level  1  (primary 
education). 

ISCED 1  — PRIMARY EDUCATION OR FIRST STAGE OF BASIC EDUCATION 

Programmes at level 1 are normally designed on a unit or project basis to give students a sound basic education in 
reading,  writing  and  mathematics  along  with  an  elementary  understanding  of  other  subjects  such  as  history, 
geography, natural science, social science, art and music. In some cases religious instruction is featured. The core at 
this level consists of education provided for children, the customary or legal age of entrance being not younger than 
five years or older than seven years. This level covers, in principle, six years of full-time schooling. 

ISCED 2  — LOWER SECONDARY EDUCATION OR SECOND STAGE OF BASIC EDUCATION 

The  contents  of  education  at  this  stage  are  typically  designed  to  complete  the  provision  of  basic  education  which 
began at ISCED level 1. In many, if not most countries, the educational aim is to lay the foundation for lifelong learning 
and  human  development.  The  programmes  at  this  level  are  usually  on  a  more  subject-oriented  pattern  using  more 
specialised  teachers  and  more  often  several  teachers  conducting  classes  in  their  field  of  specialisation.  The  full 
implementation  of  basic  skills  occurs  at  this  level.  The  end  of  this  level  often  coincides  with  the  end  of  compulsory 
schooling where it exists.  

ISCED 3  — (UPPER) SECONDARY EDUCATION 

This  level  of  education  typically  begins  at  the  end  of  full-time  compulsory  education  for  those  countries  that  have  a 
system  of  compulsory education. More specialisation may be observed at this level than at ISCED level 2 and often 
teachers need to be more qualified or specialised than for ISCED level 2. The entrance age to this level is typically 15 
to 16 years. The educational programmes included at this level typically require the completion of some 9 years of full-
time education (since the beginning of level 1) for admission or a combination of education and vocational or technical 
experience. 

ISCED 3A: 

Programmes designed to provide direct access to ISCED 5A;  

ISCED 3B: 

Programmes designed to provide direct access to ISCED 5B;  

ISCED 3C: 

Programmes not designed to lead to ISCED 5A or 5B.  

ISCED 4 

POST-SECONDARY NON TERTIARY EDUCATION 

ISCED  4  captures  programmes  that  straddle  the boundary  between  upper  secondary  and  post-secondary education 
from  an  international  point  of  view,  even  though  they  might  clearly  be  considered  as  upper  secondary  or  post-
secondary programmes in a national context. These programmes can, considering their content, not be regarded as 
tertiary programmes. They are often not significantly more advanced than programmes at ISCED 3 but they serve to 
broaden the knowledge of participants who have already completed a programme at level 3. 
Typical examples are programmes designed to prepare students for studies at level 5 who, although having completed 
ISCED  level  3,  did  not  follow  a  curriculum  which  would  allow  entry  to  level 5,  i.e.  pre-degree  foundation  courses  or 
short vocational programmes. Second cycle programmes can be included as well.  

ISCED 4A:  See text for ISCED 3 

ISCED 4B:  See text for ISCED 3 

ISCED 4C:  See text for ISCED 3 

eurostat
eurostat

89 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ISCED  5 —  FIRST  STAGE  OF  TERTIARY  EDUCATION  (NOT  LEADING  DIRECTLY  TO  AN  ADVANCED 
RESEARCH QUALIFICATION)  

This level consists of tertiary programmes having an educational content more advanced than those offered at levels 3 
and 4. Entry to these programmes normally requires the successful completion of ISCED level 3A or 3B or a similar 
qualification at ISCED level 4A. They do not lead to the award of an advanced research qualification (ISCED 6). These 
programmes must have a cumulative duration of at least two years.  

ISCED 5A:  Programmes  that  are  largely  theoretically  based  and  are  intended  to  provide  sufficient  qualifications  for 

gaining entry into advanced research programmes and professions with high skills requirements. 

ISCED 5B:  Programmes that are practically oriented/ occupationally specific and are mainly designed for participants 
to acquire the practical skills and know-how needed for employment in a particular occupation or trade or 
class of occupations or trades, the successful completion of which usually provides the participants with a 
labour-market relevant qualification 

ISCED  6  —  SECOND  STAGE  OF  TERTIARY  EDUCATION  (LEADING  TO  AN  ADVANCED  RESEARCH 
QUALIFICATION)  

This  level  is  reserved  for  tertiary  programmes  which  lead  to  the  award  of  an  advanced  research  qualification.  The 
programmes are therefore devoted to advanced study and original research and not based on course-work only. They 
typically  require  the  submission  of  a  thesis  or  dissertation  of  publishable  quality  which  is  the  product  of  original 
research and represents a significant contribution to knowledge. They prepare graduates for faculty posts in institutions 
offering ISCED 5A programmes, as well as research posts in government, industry, etc.  

PROGRAMME ORIENTATION 

GENERAL EDUCATION 

Education which is mainly designed to lead participants to a deeper understanding of a subject or group of subjects, 
especially, but not necessarily, with a view to preparing participants to further (additional) education at the same or a 
higher level. Successful completion of these programmes may or may not provide the participants with a labour-market 
relevant qualification. These programmes are typically school-based. Programmes with a general orientation and not 
focusing on a particular specialisation should be classified in this category.  

PRE-VOCATIONAL AND PRE-TECHNICAL EDUCATION 

Education  which  is  mainly  designed  to  introduce  participants to the world of work and to prepare them for entry into 
vocational  and  technical  education  programmes.  Successful  completion  of  such  programmes  does  not  yet  lead to a 
labour-market  relevant  vocational  or  technical  qualification.  For  a  programme  to  be  considered  as  pre-vocational  or 
pre-technical  education,  at  least  25%  of  its  content  has  to be  vocational  or  technical.  This  minimum  is necessary to 
ensure that the vocational subject or the technical subject is not only one among many others.  

VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION 

Education which is mainly designed to lead participants to acquire the practical skills, know-how and understanding 
necessary for employment in a particular occupation or trade or class of occupations or trades. Successful completion 
of such programmes leads to a labour-market relevant vocational qualification recognised by the competent authorities 
in the country in which it is obtained (e.g. Ministry of Education, employers’ associations, etc. 

eurostat

90