The European Union labour force survey : main characteristics of the national surveys.
Date: 2007-07-03
Institutions: Eurostat
Subjects: EU statistics, employment statistics, labour market, statistical method, working population

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The European Union
labour force survey:
main characteristics of the national
surveys

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

THEME
Population 
and social 
conditions

 
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© European Communities, 2005

Preface 

The  present report  describes  the  main  characteristics of  the  Labour  Force  Surveys  in  the 25  Member States  of  the 
European Union, the four Candidate Countries and three EFTA countries in 2003.  

All but one of the Countries provide Eurostat with LFS data for publication. Due to legal considerations Turkey has not 
been able to deliver any micro-data. The aim of this report is to provide users with the means to accurately interpret 
the LFS results by providing information regarding the technical features of the Labour Force Surveys carried out in 
these countries. 

In 2003 France, Luxembourg, Hungary, Bulgaria and Iceland implemented the continuous quarterly survey, while Italy, 
Cyprus, Malta and Austria planned to do so in 2004 and Germany in 2005. 

The  main  characteristics  of  the  national  practices  are  presented  herein.  The  information  is  organised  on  the  same 
lines as the methodological data accompanying the main results of the European Labour Force Survey, see European 
social statistics. Labour force survey results 2002 and Labour Force Survey in the Acceding and Candidate Countries, 
Methods and Definitions, 2002. This will enable users to evaluate the degree of comparability achieved. 

For more detailed information on the common practices and definitions of the European Labour Force Survey see The 
European Union Labour Force Survey, Methods and Definitions, 2001. 

For  a  summary  of  the  data  quality  of  the  European  Union  Labour  Force  Survey  see  The  European  Union  Labour 
Force Survey, Quality Report, 2003. 
In  2003  the  module  on  education  and  training  was  revised  in  the  European  Union  Labour  Force  Survey.1  The 
explanatory notes to the new variables are included in Annex 1. 

The information necessary for preparing this publication was mainly collected in 2004 and early 2005. Eurostat wishes 
to  thank  the  experts  responsible  for  the  national  labour  force  surveys  in  the  Member  States,  Candidate  and  EFTA 
countries for their help in compiling the information presented in this publication. 

1 Commission Regulation (EC) No 2104/2002 (OJ L 324/ p. 14, 29.11.2002). 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                      
 
CONTENTS 

PREFACE

CHARACTERISTICS OF NATIONAL SURVEYS IN 2003....................................................................................................... 2 
BELGIUM ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 
CZECH REPUBLIC ....................................................................................................................................................................... 3 
DENMARK .................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 
GERMANY .................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 
ESTONIA ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 
GREECE......................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 
SPAIN............................................................................................................................................................................................. 8 
FRANCE......................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 
IRELAND..................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 
ITALY .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 
CYPRUS....................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 
LATVIA ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 13 
LITHUANIA ................................................................................................................................................................................ 14 
LUXEMBOURG .......................................................................................................................................................................... 15 
HUNGARY .................................................................................................................................................................................. 16 
MALTA ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 17 
NETHERLANDS ......................................................................................................................................................................... 18 
AUSTRIA ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 19 
POLAND ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 
PORTUGAL ................................................................................................................................................................................. 21 
SLOVENIA .................................................................................................................................................................................. 23 
SLOVAKIA .................................................................................................................................................................................. 23 
FINLAND..................................................................................................................................................................................... 25 
SWEDEN...................................................................................................................................................................................... 26 
UNITED KINGDOM.................................................................................................................................................................... 28 
BULGARIA.................................................................................................................................................................................. 30 
CROATIA..................................................................................................................................................................................... 31 
ROMANIA ................................................................................................................................................................................... 32 
TURKEY ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 33 
ICELAND..................................................................................................................................................................................... 34 
NORWAY .................................................................................................................................................................................... 35 
SWITZERLAND .......................................................................................................................................................................... 36 
TABLE 1.  INTERVIEWS OF PERSONS AGED 15-74 IN PRIVATE HOUSEHOLDS BY REFERENCE WEEK 2003. 38 

ANNEX I. EXPLANATORY NOTES FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING FROM 2003 ................................................... 40 

 
 
 
Characteristics of national surveys in 2003 

BELGIUM 

General 

Participation in the survey is compulsory. 

The survey has been continuous since January 1999 and provides quarterly and yearly results. 

The survey covers the entire country. Only private households are included where at least one person 
is younger than 75 years old. 

The household is the simple or collective unit comprising either one person living alone or two or more 
persons,  whether  or  not  of  the  same  family,  who  usually  occupy  the  same  dwelling  and  live  there 
together. 

Sampling plan 

The planned quarterly sample size is 11 960 households, which represents an average survey rate of 
about 0.3 %. Every week 920 households should be interviewed. 

The survey is based on a 2 level stratified sampling plan. 

The  survey  base  is  the  National  Register  of  Persons,  which  is  derived  from  communal  population 
registers. 

The  entire  national  territory  is  divided  into  provinces  (NUTS  II)  forming  11 strata.  The  allocation  is 
proportional  to  the  square  root  of  the  number  of  households  in  each  province.  This  increases  the 
sampling rate of the least-populated strata. 

Within  each  stratum,  a  two-stage  sampling  is  carried  out.  The  primary  units  comprise  parts  of  the 
communes  called  ‘statistical  sections’  (6 192 in  the  whole  country,  with  704  households  in  average 
and  covering  5 km²  in  average).  Their  probability  of  selection  is  proportional  to  the  number  of 
households  in  them,  with  replacement  of  any  ‘small’  section  (at  most  27  households)  by  another 
section  of  the  same  municipality;  the  ‘small’  sections  only  represent  0.15 %  of  the  total  number  of 
households. 

The secondary sampling unit is the household. 

Within each primary unit, 20 households (as well as 10 substitute households) are drawn at random.  

The overall survey rate (secondary units) is identical for all municipalities in each stratum. 

Weighting procedure 

Extrapolation  to  the  population,  including  adjustments  for  non-response,  is  done  at  the  level  of 
individuals, using a posteriori stratification by province (NUTS II), sex and age (5-year age groups). In 
each of the post-strata thus obtained, a weight is calculated whose numerator is the population as at 
1 January 2003 according to the National Register of Persons and whose denominator the number of 
usable responses. 

Data collection 

The detailed information (related to individuals aged 15 years and over) is collected by means of face-
to-face  interviews  in  the  3  weeks  following  the  reference  week.  In  households  of  retired  persons, 
interviews can be conducted by telephone. 

The field staff comprises 300-350 persons. 

In 2003, 28.6 % of the interviews (of persons aged 15 years and over) were carried out by authorised 
third parties. In terms of initially drawn households, the response rate is 78 % 

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A second interview takes place 3 months after (except for people aged 65 years and over) by mail or 
by telephone, with a shorter version of the questionnaire which aims only to measure the ILO labour 
situation (employed, unemployed and inactive). 

CZECH REPUBLIC 

General 

The survey has been conducted since December 1992 as a continuous quarterly survey, going over 
from seasonal quarters to calendar quarters by the end of 1997. 

The survey covers the whole country. Only private households are surveyed. 

Participation in the survey is voluntary. 

The target population comprises all persons living usually in the households of the selected dwellings. 
The temporarily absent persons (for not more than 1 year) and domestic servants are included. People 
in  student  or  worker’s  homes  are  included  if  satisfying  this  rule.  Lodgers  are  considered  as 
independent budget keeping households. People living abroad are excluded. Conscripts are surveyed 
for demographic background only. 

Sampling Plan 

The sampling plan is stratified two-stage probability sample of dwelling units. 

The strata consist of 77 districts with Prague considered one district. 

The primary sampling units are census areas that are sampled (by randomised systematic sampling) 
with probability proportional to size, i.e. the number of dwellings per census area. 

In the second stage, dwelling units are selected from the initial sample by simple random sampling. 

The initial sample of PSUs is 5 650 census areas, while the approximate final sample size is 25 000 
dwelling units, constituting an overall sampling fraction of 0.6 %. 

Each quarterly sample consists of five panels interviewed for five quarters consecutively until rotated 
out of the sample. 

Weighting Procedure 

The weights are produced by extrapolating a posteriori to the population in 12 age groups, sex and the 
77 districts. The demographic figures for individual quarters 2002 were interpolated according to the 
final result of Census 2001 taking into account the definitive demographic data for end-of-year of 2001 
and 2002. 

Data Collection 

Data are collected in first visits with face-to-face interviews, with repeated interviews usually made by 
telephone.  In  the  2nd  quarter,  when  ad  hoc  module  is  surveyed,  all  interviews  are  face-to-face.  All 
interviews were conducted with the aid of electronic questionnaires with few exceptions. 

All persons aged 15 years and older and living in the sampled dwellings are interviewed. 

The number of field workers was 113 in 2003. The response rate was 76.5 %. 

DENMARK 

General 

There is no specific national legislation making it compulsory to provide information for the survey, and 
participation is therefore voluntary. 

The entire country is covered, apart from Greenland and the Faroe Islands. 

3

 
The survey covers persons living in either private or collective households. 

It is a continuous survey, providing quarterly results. 

The  resident  population  comprises  persons  with  domicile  in  Denmark  (excluding  Greenland  and  the 
Faeroe Islands) according to the Central Population Register. 

Sampling plan 

The quarterly sample size is 16 665 persons, which represents an average survey rate of 0.42 %. 

The sampling unit is the individual. 

A  stratified  sample  design  is  used.  The  sample  comprises  5 000  persons  (aged  16-66  years) 
registered  as  unemployed  two  quarters  prior  to  the  survey  Quarter  and  11 665  persons(aged  15-74 
years) drawn from the Population Register (and not registered as unemployed two quarters prior to the 
survey quarter). 

The survey base is the Central Population Register. 

Respondents are questioned 3 times. First time in the initial quarter, then the following quarter and yet 
a third time a year later. One-third of the sample is renewed each quarter. 

Weighting procedure 

Register based information on age, gross income, educational attainment and sector of activity is used 
to  derive  initial  weights  to  adjust  for  non-response.  The  final  weights  are  derived  by  using  register 
based information on the distribution of sex and mainly 5-years age groups. 

Data collection 

The Danish LFS uses a mix of modes. The main part of the interviews (approximately 90 per cent) is 
conducted via telephone interviewing (CATI). Persons who could not be reached by telephone receive 
a  mailed  questionnaire.  Demographic  information  (e.g.  sex,  year  of  birth,  marital  status,  nationality) 
and level of education, training and the year of completion are variables obtained from the statistical 
registers  based  on  administrative  sources  (The  Population  Register  and  The  Educational  Statistical 
System). 

The field staff comprises approximately 40 interviewers. 

Less  than  2 %  of  interviews  were  carried  out  by  authorised  third  parties.  However,  in  2002  special 
proxy household interviewing was implemented, so selected data on household composition as well as 
main status and labour status for the other household members are collected via proxy interviewing in 
the third (and last) wave with the current respondents. 

The  response  rate  is  65.7 %.  The  exact  percentage  of  refusals  is  difficult  to  calculate,  because  it  is 
impossible to know if a questionnaire sent by post but not returned represents a refusal or some other 
kind of non-response. 

GERMANY 

General 

The Labour Force Sample Survey is carried out as part of the annual micro-census, which is based on 
the  ‘micro-census  law’.  In  general  the  micro-census  is  compulsory.  Additionally,  the  questionnaire 
includes optional parts of the LFS and other special national programmes. 

The survey covers private and collective households, except for military quarters. A private household 
comprises either a person living alone or two or more persons, irrespective of their relationship. The 
members of a private household are characterised by the same dwelling and common housekeeping. 
National service personnel and students are included in their parents' households. 

The  resident  population  (statistical  population)  includes  all  inhabitants  with  their  main  place  of 
residence in the territory of the Federal Republic. Foreign armed forces and members of the diplomatic 
corps and their families are excluded. 

4

 
The reference week for the survey is usually the last week in April which includes no holiday. In 2003 
this week was the week Monday to Sunday 5-11 of May. 

Sampling plan 

There are three sources used for the sampling plan. The census data from 1987 is the survey base for 
the ‘old’ federal States. The central population register of the German Democratic Republic gives data 
for  the  ‘new’  federal  States.  Both  statistics  are  annually  updated  by  the  register  of  new  dwellings. 
Sampling  unit  is  a  household.  The  sample  is  an  area  sample  covering  all  areas  of  Germany.  The 
sampling districts comprise a number of dwellings. 

All buildings are attributed to one of three strata, depending on the number of dwellings they comprise. 
The first stratum contains a number of buildings which are close to one another (but not necessarily 
contiguous) and comprising fewer than five dwellings. In this stratum, each sampling district comprises 
12  dwellings.  The  second  stratum  comprises  buildings  with  between  five  and  10  dwellings.  Each  of 
these buildings constitutes a sampling district. The buildings in the third stratum comprise 11 dwellings 
or more. In this stratum, the ‘sampling district’ is a subdivision of the building, the target size being 6 
dwellings. An additional stratum covers the population living in collective households. It is divided into 
sampling units with a target size of 15 persons. 

All persons in a selected sampling district are interviewed. 

The stratification by region and size of the buildings is based on the size classes used to work out the 
sampling  units.  The  sampling  rate  varies  from  one  region  to  another.  Within  each stratum, an  effect 
similar to stratification is obtained by systematic sampling in a list classified by geographical entity. 

The regions comprise an average of 350 000 inhabitants. The list of sampling districts is sorted within 
each stratum by sub-region, Kreis (administrative district), the size class of the commune, commune 
and number of the sample district. This list is divided into groups of 100 consecutive sampling districts. 
A sample of 1 % is drawn at random for the micro-census in each of these groups. A systematic sub-
sample  of  the  1 %  -sample  is  used  for  the  LFS.  To  reach  the  degree  of  sampling  error  required  at 
NUTS  II  level  (as  laid  down  in  the  Regulation),  the  rate  of sub-sampling  varies:  either 100 %,  80 %, 
60 %  or  40 %,  giving  overall  sampling  rates  of  1 %,  0.8 %,  0.6 %  or  0.4 %.  The  sample  comprises 
about 380 000 persons, giving an average sampling rate of 0.45 %.  

A  rotation  system  is  composed  of  four  waves.  Each  address  remains  in  the  sample  four  years  and 
25 % of the sample is replaced each year. 

Weighting procedure 

A two-stage adjustment procedure is used. 

(a) 

If  possible,  limited  data  are  collected  for  households  which  fail  to  respond.  These  data  can 
include: number of persons of the household, nationality (German/foreign) and for households 
comprising  only  one  person:  age  (under  or  over  60  years)  and  sex.  From  this  data,  the 
weightings  of  respondent  households  are  increased  to  take  account  of  non-responses  in  the 
region. 

(b) 

The sample, weighted to take account of non-response, is stratified a posteriori by region, sex 
and  nationality  (German/foreign)  and  is  extrapolated  to  the  population  (adjusted  of  military 
personnel). 

Data collection 

The  field  staff  of  the  16  statistical  offices  of  the  Länder  comprises  7 000  interviewers.  For  all  four 
waves  information  should  be  collected  by  face-to-face  interviews.  In  some  cases  (approximately 
15 %),  the  interviewers  are  not  able  to  contact  members  of  the  household.  In  that  case,  a 
questionnaire  is  sent  and  a  hotline  is  offered.  One  person  (18  years  or  older)  is  allowed  to  answer 
instead of the rest of the household. About 30 % are proxy interviews. More and more interviews are 
carried out with the help of portable computers (CAPI). 

The response rate is 96-97 %; the rate of non-response of optional questions is up to 40 %. 

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Further methodological information 

The  German  LFS  question  on  employment  in  the  reference  week  asks  if  the  person  was  “having 
employment or occupation”, which has overtones of main status. This also applies to the first question 
on job-search, asking if the person “was unemployed … or … looking for work” in the reference week. 

ESTONIA 

General 

The Estonian Labour Force Survey started in 1997 as an annual survey. Since 2000 the Estonian LFS 
has been organised as a continuous quarterly survey. 

The survey covers the whole country. Both private and collective households are surveyed. 

Participation in the survey is voluntary. 

The target population comprises all persons aged 15-74 years with permanent residence in Estonia, 
i.e. the people who have lived or intend to live in Estonia for more than one year. 

The  household  is  made  up  either  of  persons  living  alone  or  of  two  or  more  persons  who  share  a 
household budget and usually occupy the same dwelling. 

Sampling Plan 

The sample size per quarter is approximately 2 300 households. 

The sampling design is a stratified systematic two-phase sampling of individuals, whose households 
are included in the sample. 

The 15 counties of Estonia and the capital Tallinn are divided into four strata, according to size. The 
small strata have higher sampling probability than the larger strata. 

The sampling frame is based on the 2000 Population and Housing Census database, comprising all 
registered persons aged 15-74 years. In the first phase the sample is selected by systematic sampling 
inside strata and the information on the size of sampled households is collected. In the second phase 
the sample is grouped by the number of persons aged 15-74 years in the household of the sampled 
individual.  The  final  sample  is  then  selected  by  systematic  sampling  from  each  size  group  with 
inclusion probability inverse to the size. This yields an equal probability sample of households (and its 
15-74 years old members) inside strata. All persons aged 15-74 years in the households of the final 
sample are interviewed. 

Every sampled household is interviewed for four quarters according to the rotation pattern 2-(2)-2. 

Weighting Procedure 

The weights are formed in a sequence of steps. A weight resulting from the previous step is multiplied 
by the correction factor calculated at the current step. The correction factors are scaled in such a way 
that their sample average is unity at each step. As a result, the final weight is a product of the initial 
weight and correction factors. 

As  stratified  sampling  is  used  as  the  first  step  of  sample  formation,  first  the  initial  weight  that  is 
inversely proportional to the inclusion probability in each stratum is calculated. 

For  non-response  adjustment  the  non-response  correction  factors  are  computed.  The  weighting 
groups  of  reasonably  uniform  size  of  sampled  households  are  formed  on  the  basis  of  the  place  of 
residence of the household according to the non-response rate in the region. Within each group the 
correction factor is inversely proportional to the overall response rate in the region. 

In the next step the weights are calibrated so that they produce exact population numbers in certain 
subgroups  known  from  demographic  data  (including  institutional  population).  The  subgroups  by  sex, 
age (5-years age groups) and the place of residence (15 counties – NUTS 4 level – and the capital 
city) are considered. For this purpose the Raking-Ratio method is applied. 

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Data Collection 

In 2003, 90 % of interviews were face to face interviews (paper / pencil) and 10 % computer assisted 
personal  interviews  (CAPI).  All  interviews  are  conducted  by  60  interviewers  of  the  Interviewers  Set 
Department  of  the  Statistical  Office  of  Estonia.  The  interviewing  is  normally  done  during  the  week 
immediately  following  the  reference  week  but  never  later  than  during  the  five  weeks  following  the 
reference week. About 18 % of the interviews were by proxy. 

The response rate in 2003 was 80.9 %. 

GREECE 

General 

The survey is a continuous survey providing quarterly results. 

It covers only private households. 

The resident population comprises persons who usually reside on Greek territory and who spend most 
days and nights there. 

Sampling plan 

The sample size is about 30 000 households, which represents a survey rate of 0.87 %. 

The survey base for samplings is based on the census. 

The sampling unit is the household. 

Stratification is carried out by administrative region and degree of urbanisation. 

Thus,  each  NUTS  II  region  constitutes  the  first  stratification  level.  Within  each  NUTS  II  region, 
communes and municipalities are stratified according to: 

(a) 

(b) 

the Department (NUTS III region) to which they belong 

the population of the main town, by the following classes (in thousands of inhabitants): > 50, 30-
49.999, 10-29.999, 5-9.999, 2-4.999, 1-1.999, 0.5-0.999, <0.499 

Salonika and Athens are divided into 10 and 40 contiguous, well-defined sub-strata respectively. 

A  rotation  system  comprising  six  waves  is  used.  Each  sampling  unit  is  kept  in  the  sample  for  six 
consecutive quarters. 

Weighting procedure 

When a household fails to respond, it not is replaced by the next household on the list. 

λ  =  M/m  is  the  weighting  for  this  stratum,  where  M  is  the  total  number  of  households  in  each  main 
stratum  (estimated  on  the  basis  of  the  previous  census)  and  m  is  the  number  of  households  in  this 
stratum. 

Thus, Mhi is the number of households in each ith locality selected in each hth sub–stratum, with Phi 
the probability of selection. The number of households, mhi, which have to be selected in this unit, is 
determined by: 

λhi = Mhi/mhi where λhi =λ Phiπh 

where πh is the number of localities selected in the hth stratum. 

Thus, the estimator of each characteristic Y for the main strata is calculated as: 

Y = λ(∑∑∑yhij) 

After that the data:  

1.  corrected with non response rate at local unit level 

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2.  weighted  in  order  to  be  in  line  with  population  estimates  by  sex,  age  groups,  and  region 

(NUTS II level)  

Data collection 

All the information is collected by means of face-to-face interviews (printed questionnaires). 

The field staff comprises 600 interviewers. 

48 % of the interviews were carried out by authorised third parties. 

The  response  rate  is  approximately  93-95 %.  Two-thirds  of  non-responses  are  refusals  and  the 
remainder are due to difficulties contacting the household. 

SPAIN 

General 

Since 1996 the survey is compulsory as it was included in the yearly statistical programme. 

The survey produces quarterly results. Since 1999 the reference weeks are distributed uniformly over 
all the year. 

The  population  residing  in  private  households  is  covered,  including  servants;  persons  living  in 
collective households and persons who are temporarily absent are sampled via the relatives living in 
private household. Foreign nationals are included in the resident population if they have lived or intend 
to live in Spain for more than one year. 

The  household  concept  used  is  that  of  the  ‘dwelling  household’  (all  people  living  in  the  dwelling  are 
interviewed). 

Sampling plan 

The  sample  size  is  approximately  65 000  households,  which  represents  an  average  survey  rate  of 
0.5 %. 

A two-stage sampling procedure is utilised with stratification of the primary units. First stage units are 
geographical  areas  in  which  all  the  country  is  split.  These  areas  are  stratified  within  each  province, 
using  the  population  size  of  the  municipality.  Within  each  stratum,  the  areas  are  sub-stratified 
according to the socio-economic characteristics of the population. 

Second stage units are private households. 

The sample is made up of six rotation groups. Household once selected remain in the sample for six 
consecutive quarters before being replaced. In any quarter, households of one wave are receiving the 
first interview, households of another wave are receiving the second interview, and so on. 

Each  quarter,  the  household  sample  in  one  sixth  of  the  primary  unit  sampled,  is  replaced  by  a  new 
sample. Thus, there is an 83 % overlap in the samples for each consecutive quarter. 

The sample size of primary units is 3484 and, the sample size of the secondary units in each area is 
18. 

Units are selected in such a way to obtain self -weighted samples within each stratum. The first stage 
units  are  selected  with  proportional  probability  to  the  size  and  second  stage  units  are  selected  with 
equal probability. 

Weighting procedure 

The  design  uses  Ratio  Estimator  and  the  auxiliary  variable  is  the  Population  Projection  at  stratum 
level. 

Every quarter, population projections by age group (0–15 years and 16 years +) and NUTS 2 region 
are made. Projections by age and region are distributed by stratum in proportion to the population of 
each stratum. In each stratum, age group and region, the weighting is determined by the ratio of the 
projection to the sample size. 

8

 
Since 2002, the calibration method has been introduced regularly, in order to adjust the sample to the 
population distribution. The auxiliary information used is the population by sex, age and NUTS 2.2 

A linear weighting method is used, in which each member of the household has the same weight. 

Data collection 

All the information is collected by interview. The first interviews are personal interviews. Interviews in 
the  second  and  subsequent  waves  are  carried  out  by  telephone,  except  when  the  family  wants  a 
personal interview or there is no telephone. Since the fourth quarter 1997 all interviews are done with 
the help of portable computers. 

The field staff comprises 350 persons. 

58 % of the interviews were carried out by authorised third parties. 

The response rate is 91.6 %, with 39 % of non-responses being due to refusals. 

FRANCE 

General 

Participation in the survey is compulsory. 

Starting in 2003 the survey is a continuous survey providing quarterly results. Compared with the 2002 
annual  survey  the  questionnaire  has  been  improved  in  order  to  give  a  measure  of  unemployment 
better harmonized with other European countries and to allow a richer knowledge of the French labour 
market. 

The survey covers private households in metropolitan France. 

It  includes  part  of  the  population  living  in  collective  households,  persons  who  have  family  ties  with 
private households. 

The resident population comprises persons living on French metropolitan territory. 

The household concept used is that of the ‘dwelling household’: a household means all persons living 
in the same dwelling. It may consist of a single person, or of two families living in the same dwelling. 

Sampling plan 

All 15 years old or more individuals in the household are surveyed. 

All  weeks  of  the  year  are  reference  weeks.  Data  collection  is  continuous.  The  quarterly  sample  is 
distributed among its 13 weeks. 

The results are quarterly. Each quarter consists in 13 reference weeks. The sample is representative 
of the French population each quarter. 

The  sample  of  the  new  quarterly  survey  is  made  with  geographical  delimited  areas  (aires).  From  a 
theoretical point of view, the sampling method consists in a stratification of Metropolitan France in 189 
strata (21 French regions x 9 types of urban units), and a first stage sampling of areas in each stratum 
(with  different  probabilities,  average  sampling  rate  =  1/600).  Areas  contain  about  20  dwellings,  and 
among them only dwellings which are main residences are surveyed. 

The base used for the sample is the Population Census of 1999. New dwellings (constructed between 
the date of the Census and the date of the survey) in the areas are listed by the surveyor at the time of 
the  survey.  If  the  area  contains  less  than  10  new  dwellings,  all  of  them  are  surveyed  ;  if  the  area 
contains between 10 and 40 new dwellings, 10 of them are surveyed (srs) ; if the area contains more 
than 40 new dwellings, a quarter of them are surveyed (srs). 

2 In 2005 the estimates for the period 1996-2004 were updated using the detailed data of the Census 2001 and the population 
registers  in  Spain.  Nationality  was  introduced  as  a  weighting  factor  in  those  NUTS  2  regions  where  the  sample  size  is 
sufficiently large. 

9

                                                      
 
The  sample  unit  is  the  dwelling:  in  each  sampled  area,  every  private  household  living  in  its  main 
residence is surveyed. 

The sample rate is about 1/600 for a given quarter. In the preceding annual survey, the sample rate 
was 1/300 for a given year. 

Each  quarter,  about  54 000  dwellings  are  sampled.  Among  them,  about  35 000  include  at  least  one 
respondent, i.e. 75 000 persons 15 years old or more. 

The stratification is crossing two criteria: French region (nuts 2) and type of urban unit (21 regions x 9 
types of urban unit). 

Each area is surveyed six quarters consecutively. Each quarter, the sample contains 6 sub-samples: 
1/6 of the sample is surveyed for the first time, 1/6 is surveyed for the second time, …, 1/6 is surveyed 
for the 6th (and last) time. 

Weighting procedure 

The  expansion  factor  is  the  population  totals  (15  years  old  or  more)  less  the  estimated  number  of 
persons living in communities. 

1. 

2. 

a  correction  for  non-response  is  made,  using  several  criteria:  size  of  urban  unity,  number  of 
rooms in the housing, type of housing (individual house, building…), number of new dwellings. 

an adjustment with the population pyramid (at the middle of the quarter) by five-year age groups 
and gender is made for each sub-sample. 

Data collection 

The  collection  method  is  a  face-to-face  interview  for  the  first  and  the  last  interrogations  and  a 
telephone interview for intermediate interrogations (2nd to 5th). The first interview lasts on average 915 
minutes, the following ones -except the last one- 7 minutes (all questions are not asked) and the last 
one 6 minutes. 

About 750 interviewer works for the French LFS. 

About 40 % of the interviews were carried out by authorised third parties. 

The average response rate in 2003 was 80.5 %, with 25 % of non-responses being due to refusals. 

IRELAND 

General 

There is no specific legislation making it compulsory to provide information for the survey. Participation 
is therefore voluntary. 

All the regions are covered. 

Only private households are included. 

The survey is a continuous one, providing quarterly results. 

The population comprises persons who usually reside on Irish territory. 

The private household is made up either of persons living alone or of two or more persons, whether or 
not of the same family, usually occupying the same dwelling and sharing a joint budget. 

Sampling plan 

A  two-stage  sample  design  is  used.  This  comprises  a  first  stage  sample  of  2 600  blocks  (or  small 
areas) selected at county level to proportionately represent eight strata reflecting population density. 
Each block was selected to contain, on average, 75 dwellings and the sample of blocks is fixed for a 
period of about five years. In the second stage of sampling, 15 households are surveyed in each block 
to give a total quarterly sample of 39 000 households with 3 000 households interviewed every week 
of the quarter. 

10

 
The primary sampling units are stratified as follows: 

1 County Boroughs 

2 Suburbs of County Boroughs 

3 Environs of County Boroughs 

4 Towns 10 000 + 

5 Towns 5 001 - 10 000 

6 Towns 1 000 - 5 000 

7 Mixed Urban/Rural Areas 

8 Rural Areas 

The base for the sampling frame is the census of population. 

Households are asked to take part in the survey for five consecutive quarters and are then replaced by 
other households in the same block. Thus, one fifth of the households in the survey are replaced each 
quarter and the QNHS sample involves an overlap of 80 % between consecutive quarters and 20 % 
between the same quarters in consecutive years. 

Weighting procedure 

The expansion factor is to population totals. 

The survey results are weighted to agree with population estimates broken down by age (5 year age 
groups), sex and region (NUTS 3 regions). The estimates are calculated as follows: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

The previous quarter’s population estimate or census of population at regional level is used as 
the base population. 

A quarter of this population is aged on by 1 year. 

Births for the relevant period are added to each region – source = registered births. 

Deaths for relevant period are subtracted from each region – source = registered deaths. 

Net  migration  (inflows  from  other  regions  minus  outflows  to  other  regions  plus  inflows  from 
abroad minus outflows to abroad) is added to each region – main source = Quarterly National 
Household Survey (QNHS – formerly annual Labour Force Survey). 

The result is the new population estimate at regional level. 

Data collection 

Interviews are carried out on a face-to-face basis with the help of portable computers (CAPI). All the 
information is obtained by interview. 

The field staff comprises 140 interviewers plus 30 back-up interviewers. 

33.5 % of the interviews were carried out by authorised third parties. 

The response rate in the spring quarter 2003 was 79.2 %, with 16.6 % of non-responses being due to 
refusals. 

ITALY 

General 

Participation in the survey is compulsory. All the regions are covered. 

The resident population is that recorded in the population registers of Italian communes. Only private 
households are included. The private household is made up either of persons living alone or of two or 
more persons, whether or not of the same family, usually occupying the same dwelling and sharing a 
joint budget. 

11

 
The survey is carried out in January, April, July and October. A single reference week is used in each 
quarter.  In  2003  the  reference  weeks  were:  6-12  January,  31  March  -  6  April,  30  June  -  6  July,  29 
September - 5 October. 

Sampling plan 

The sample size is 75 512 households, giving an average survey rate of 0.36 %. 

The  sample  frame  is  a  stratification  of  the  primary  units  (municipalities)  in  each  NUTS  II  (Region) 
based on the population of the municipality. The ultimate sampling units are the households and are 
drawn from municipal registers. 

Stratification of the municipalities in each NUTS II region is based on the population of the communes. 

The  households  are  rotated  according  to  a  2-(2)-2  rotation  plan.  Households  are  interviewed  during 
two  consecutive  quarters.  After  a  two-quarter  interval,  they  are  again  interviewed  twice  in  the 
corresponding two quarters of the following year. 

Weighting procedure 

The estimates of the survey are obtained through a calibration estimator. 

The  procedure  for  working  out  the  grossing  coefficient  is  based  on  the  solution  of  a  minimisation 
problem  under  constraints,  which  requires  the  equalisation  of  the  sampling  estimates  of  certain 
auxiliary variables (in particular gender and age) with their respective total obtained from demographic 
estimates based on different sources. 

The grossing coefficient is determined as follows: 

(cid:131) 

(cid:131) 

(cid:131) 

firstly, the base weighting factor is obtained as the inverse ratio of the probability of inclusion 
of any sample household 

then,  the  correction  factor  for  total  non-response  is  worked  out  as  the  reciprocal  of  the 
response ratio for each strata; 

then,  the  correction  factor  that  assures  that  the  sample  replies  the  same  structure  as  the 
population, with regard to the distribution by sex and 5-year age groups at NUT 2 area and by 
sex at NUT 3 area, is finally determined. 

This procedure is applied iteratively to ensure that all members of a given household have the same 
final weight. 

Data collection 

Interviews  are  carried  out  on  a  face-to-face  basis  using  a  paper  questionnaire  (PAPI).  All  the 
information is obtained by interview. 

The field staff comprises 2 740 persons. 

32.9 % of the interviews were carried out by authorised third parties. 

The response rate is 95.0 %, with approximately 27 % of non-responses being due to refusals. 

CYPRUS 

General 

The Cypriot Labour Force Survey started in 1999 as an annual survey, covering all the weeks of the 
second quarter uniformly. 

The survey covers only the areas of Cyprus controlled by the Government of the Republic of Cyprus. 
Only private households are covered. 

Participation in the survey is compulsory. 

12

 
The resident population comprises persons who usually reside in Cyprus or intend to stay in Cyprus 
for at least 12 months. It excludes Cypriot students studying abroad as well as foreign armed forces 
and foreigners who work in embassies or diplomatic missions. 

The private household is made up either of persons living alone or of two or more persons, whether or 
not of the same family, usually occupying the same dwelling and sharing a joint budget. 

Sampling Plan 

The sampling plan is a stratified two-stage probability sampling of dwelling units. 

The variables used for stratification are the Districts and the urban/rural areas within each district. 

The primary sampling units (PSUs) in each stratum are the enumeration areas in urban areas and the 
villages in rural areas as specified in the Population Census of 1992. The selection of PSUs is based 
on probability proportional to size sampling. The size refers to the number of households enumerated 
in the Population Census of 1992. 

The secondary sampling units (SSUs) are the dwelling units selected systematically from a list of all 
dwellings  belonging  to  the  selected  PSUs.  This  list  was  updated  by  a  new  enumeration  in  1998. 
Refusals,  non-contacts  (households  absent  for  more  than  one  month)  and  households  unable  to 
respond are substituted by the next household on the sampling frame. 

The  sample  size  per  year  is  approximately  4 500  dwelling  units  containing  approximately  3 600 
households, which represents an average sampling rate of 1.54 %. 

Each sample consists of four panels, three of which have been carried over from previous year. Each 
household is interviewed four years consecutively before being rotated out of the sample. 

Weighting Procedures 

The results are weighted a posteriori to the population in each district by sex and five-year age groups. 
No urban/rural weighting is carried out. 

Data Collection 

Data  are  collected  with  face-to-face  interviews  by  15  field  workers  using  CAPI.  The  response  rate 
before substitution in the second quarter of 2003 was 98.9 %. 

The number of proxy interviews was 41.4 %. 

LATVIA 

General 

The Latvian Labour Force Survey started in November 1995, producing results in May and November 
each year. In 2002 the survey was redesigned as a continuous survey. 

The survey covers the whole country. Only private households are surveyed. 

Participation in the survey is voluntary. 

The  target  population  includes  all  the  residents  aged  15  to  74  years,  with  permanently  residence  in 
Latvia. Persons temporarily absent for one year or more are excluded. 

A  household  is  defined  as  a  group  of  two  or  more  persons  living  together  in  a  house  or  a  part  of  a 
house  and  share  expenses  for  common  living  and  eating.  The  person  stating  that  he/she  does  not 
belong to any household and that he/she lives on his/her own budget is considered as a single person 
household. 

Sampling Plan 

The sampling plan is a two-stage stratified probability sample. 

The  Population  Census  2000  was  used  as  the  sampling  frame,  updated  with  information  from  the 
Population Register and the statistical register of farms/households. 

13

 
The strata are defined by degree of urbanisation (Riga, six other largest towns, towns and rural areas). 

The  census  counting  areas  constitute  the  primary  sampling  units  with  few  exceptions.  These  are 
selected from each stratum using systematic sampling with probability proportional to size. 

The final sampling units are 2 574 households selected from the PSUs by a simple random sampling 
method. 

Each household is interviewed three times with a six months interval. 

Weighting Procedure 

The  initial  weights  are  calculated  according  to  the  sample  design,  with  all  persons  within  the  same 
PSU having equal design weights. The design weights are adjusted using the data of response level in 
each PSU. These weights were then adjusted on the basis of demographic data. The breakdown into 
groups  was  various  for  adjustment  of  quarterly  and  yearly  weights.  Demographic  data  were  broken 
down by degree of urbanisation (as in stratification), 14 age groups (0-14; 15-19; 20-24; 25-29; 30-34; 
35-39;  40-44;  45-49;  50-54;  55-59;  60-64;  65-69;  70-74;  over  75)  and  sex  for  adjustment  of  the 
quarterly weights. Demographic data were broken down by degree of urbanisation (as in stratification), 
NUTS-4 (33 units), 14 age groups (0-14; 15-19; 20-24; 25-29; 30-34; 35-39; 40-44; 45-49; 50-54; 55-
59; 60-64; 65-69; 70-74; over 75) and sex for adjustment of the yearly weights. All persons within the 
same household have equal initial weights, but the final weights tend to be diverse. 

Data Collection 

Data  are  collected  throughout  the  year  by  41  interviewers,  with  face-to-face  interviews  using  paper 
questionnaires. 50 % of the interviews were collected from authorised third parties. 

The average response rate in 2003 was 85.4 % with 33.4 % of the non-response due to refusals. 

LITHUANIA 

General 

The  Lithuanian  LFS  started  in  April  1994  as  a  semi-annual  survey  with  one  reference  week  in  the 
second  and  fourth  quarter  each.  Since  the  third  quarter  2002  the  survey  has  been  redesigned  as  a 
continuous survey. 

The survey covers the whole country. Both private and collective households are surveyed. 

Participation in the survey is voluntary. 

The  target  population  covers  all  residents  15  years  and  older  living  in  private  and  collective 
households,  including  those  who  are  temporarily  abroad  for  a  period  of  less  than  a  year.  The 
population  also  includes  foreign  nationals  who  have  been  living  in  Lithuania  at  least  a  year.  An 
additional sample is selected and children under the age of 15 years since 2002. 

A private household comprises either persons living alone or two or more persons, whether they are of 
the same family or not, who usually occupy the same dwelling and share a common budget. 

Sampling Plan 

The sampling plan is a one-stage simple random sample of 4 000 individuals aged 15 years and over, 
using the Population Register as a sampling frame. The Population register has some shortcomings: it 
suffers from the under coverage and over coverage; not all the addresses are included in the frame, 
some are imprecise, and it is impossible to follow the person selected up to his correct address. The 
Population register for persons of age under the survey coverage with the addresses of residence in 
towns  and  at  least  the  name  of  the  village  in  rural  area  is  used  as  a  sampling  frame.  This  frame  is 
actually used as a frame of addresses. The sample is constructed as follows: having selected a simple 
random  sample  of  the  fixed  number  of  persons  of  the  sampling  frame,  the  members  of  their 
households are also added. Even in case turned out that according to the address denoted, a part of 
people or all of them were not included into the list of the sample, the people actually living there were 
interviewed.  The  cluster  sample  of  persons  is  thus  obtained.  All  the  persons  living  at  the  address 

14

 
selected  belong  to  the  same  cluster.  The  actual  composition  of  the  cluster  is  indicated  by  the 
interviewer when visiting the household. 

Each household is surveyed for four quarters according to the rotation pattern 2-(1)-2. 

Weighting Procedure 

The  weighting  method  for  the  Lithuanian  LFS  is  based  on  the  generalised  calibration  method 
introduced by Deville and Särndal in 1992. The initial household design weights are calculated taking 
into account the unequal selection probabilities of the households. These are then adjusted by the use 
of auxiliary information relating to population data on 10 NUTS III (counties) and the intersection of 13 
age-groups, sex and urban/rural as well as data from the National Labour Exchange on the number of 
registered  unemployed  persons.  Each  member  of  the  household  receives  the  same  weight  as  the 
household. 

Data Collection 

The  first  interview  must  be  carried  out  face-to-face,  while  the  subsequent  interviews  could  be 
conducted  according  to  the  situation  –  by  telephone  or  face-to-face.  The  interview  normally  takes 
place  during the  week  immediately  following  the  reference  week  but  never  later  than  the  five  weeks 
after the reference week. The interview is on the average about 15 minutes in the first interview and 
shorter in the subsequent interviews. If the target persons selected to the sample cannot be reached, 
a proxy may by used on certain conditions. 

The  field  staff  comprises  120  interviewers.  The  average  response  rate  in  2003  was  89.6 %,  with 
19.7 % of non-response due to refusals. 

Approximately 31 % of the interviews were by proxy. 

LUXEMBOURG 

General 

There is no specific legislation making it compulsory to provide information for the survey. Participation 
is therefore voluntary. 

The survey covers only private households. 

In 2003, Luxembourg LFS launched a new survey design, which is characterized by continuous data 
collection by telephone interviews. The sample is divided into 52 reference weeks. Once a year, each 
selected household should be interviewed within 3 weeks from the reference week. 

The  survey  yields  annual  results  as  average  of  the  whole  year.  The  resident  population  comprises 
persons registered as residing in one of the communes. 

The household is defined as persons living in the same household, other than subtenants and military 
personnel returning home at the weekend. 

The  demographic  part  of  the  questionnaire  is  submitted  to  all  the  household  members.  But  only  the 
15-74 years old should be interviewed for the rest of questionnaire. 

Sampling plan 

A  yearly  sample  is  drawn  and  spread  over  52  weeks.  The  households  are  randomly  chosen  by 
proportional  allocation  in  each  stratum,  with  the  exception  of  under-populated  strata,  but  with  the 
constraint that its yearly minimum size be at least 48 households. The strata result from the crossing 
of the canton and the household size class. There are 13 cantons in Luxembourg. The household size 
is divided into 4 classes: 1, 2, 3, 4+. So, the product of the number of cantons (13) and the number of 
size classes (4) gives 52 strata. 

The sample size is 8 532 households. The sample plan comprises only one stage. 

For 2003 LFS two bases are used to draw the sample: the February 2001 census (RP2001) for the 
first 3 months of the year, and the central population register (RGPP) for the remaining 9 months of 
that year. 

15

 
The sampling unit are the households. All the individuals included in the households are considered as 
targets of the survey. 

The aggregated yearly sampling rate is about 4.70 %. 

Weighting procedure 

The  expansion  factor  refers  to  the  population  of  private  households  (physical  or  fiscal).  The  initial 
household weight is the inverse of the selection probability in each stratum. According to the general 
sharing  weight  method,  all  the  individuals  of  the  same  household  have  the  same  weight  defined 
above. 

1. 

2. 

A  calibration  is  performed  with  CALMAR  macro  of  INSEE-France  for  correcting  the  non-
response. Among many variables like region (merger of cantons), household class size, age of 
reference person and citizenship of reference person, we try to find out, by logistic regression, 
by how much they account for the non-response phenomenon. These variables were selected: 
canton,  size  of  household,  and  age  of  the  reference  person.  Its  purpose  is  to  make  the 
distribution of these variables in the sampling frame and in the set of respondents agree. Three 
“regions”  are  determined  by  grouping  some  cantons:  North,  Centre  and  South.  The  following 
classes  are  used  for  the  age:  0-38,  39-49,  50-64,  65+.  This  calibration  is  implemented  at  the 
household level. 

A final adjustment is carried out for getting more accurate estimates of the variables of interest. 
It  consists  in  making  the  most  recent  distribution  of  sex  *  age  class  *  citizenship  in  the 
population  agree  with  the  distribution  of  the  same  variables  in  the  set  of  respondents.  The 
following age classes are used: 0-14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-39, 40-54, 55-64, 65+. This calibration is 
implemented at the person level. 

Data collection 

All the interviews are carried out by telephone. One interview (covering the core variables as well as 
the ad hoc module variables) lasts in average 10 to 15 minutes per interviewed person. 

In 2003, 38.3 % of the interviews were carried out by authorised third parties. 

The response rate is 37.1 %, with 20 % of non-responses being due to refusals. 

HUNGARY 

General 

The Hungarian Labour Force Survey started in 1992 as a quarterly survey, producing monthly results 
for some indicators since May 1998. In 2003 the survey was redesigned as a continuous survey. Each 
month three weeks are surveyed. 

The survey covers the whole country. Only private households are surveyed. 

Participation in the survey is voluntary. 

The data cover the population aged 15-74 years. Included are household members temporarily absent 
and  persons  residing  abroad  if  they  have  common  consumption  with  the  surveyed  household.  The 
institutional  and  unsettled  population  is  excluded,  as  well  as  conscripts.  Demographic  information  is 
collected on persons younger than 15 years and older than 74 years. 

Sampling Plan 

From  2003  on  the  LFS  sample  is  a  two-stage  stratified  sample  of  dwellings  based  on  the  2001 
Population  and  Housing  Census.  The  sampling  frame  is  the  dataset  of  all  addresses  used  in  that 
census; the terms “dwelling” and “address” may (and will) be used as equivalents. 

The  sample  includes  662  localities,  of  which  126  are  self-representative  and  the  rest  are  non-self-
representative.  At  national  level,  self-representative  localities  are  those  which  have  at  least  3975 
dwellings  (i.e.  approximately  5000  inhabitants),  while  all  other  localities  are  non-self-representative.  
The former are all included in the sample with certainty, while a stratified (sub-)sample is selected from 

16

 
the  latter  with  probability  proportional  to  size  (PPS).  In  the  case  of  non-self-representative  localities, 
design  strata  are  defined  as  cross-classes  of  four  size  categories  and  19  administrative  units 
(counties).  In  the  case  of  non-self-representing  localities,  the  primary  sampling  units  (PSUs)  are 
localities,  and  the  secondary  (and  ultimate)  sampling  units  are dwellings.  By  contrast,  the  PSUs  are 
dwellings in the case of self-representing localities, thus sampling has actually only one stage in this 
case.  

The  final  sampling  units  are  dwellings  in  each  case.  They  are  selected  with  systematic  random 
sampling  from  lists  of  addresses  belonging  to  the  sampled  localities.  Prior  to  selection,  the  lists  are 
properly sorted for the purpose of implicit stratification. As a result, the different parts of the localities 
(downtown areas, suburbs, etc.) will be properly represented. All households residing in the selected 
dwelling units are surveyed. 

The overall sampling fraction is 0.9 %, yielding approximately 37 100 dwellings per quarter. 

All  households  in  the  sampled  dwellings  are  surveyed  for  six  consecutive  quarters,  before  being 
rotated out of the sample. 

Weighting Procedure 

At the first stage, design (or design based) weights are determined. For any stratum of the sample, the 
unique design weight is defined as the ratio of the total number of dwellings in the stratum to that in 
the sub-sample for that stratum. Some adjustments are also included at this stage. 

At  the  second  stage,  calibrated  weights  are  determined  with  the  method  of  generalized  raking.  For 
each of the 20 geographical units (i.e. the capital city and the 19 counties), the calibration variables or 
controls are the following: 

(cid:131) 

(cid:131) 

(cid:131) 

totals for age-sex groups (2x10 totals), 

total number of households, 

total resident population in cities with at least 50 000 inhabitants. 

The calibration is organized so that the members in any sample households have the same calibrated 
weight as the household. 

Method  of  deriving  controls:  demographic  components  method  combined  with  census-based 
proportions. 

Data Collection 

Data  are  collected  throughout  the  year  by  some  419  field  workers  on  the  average  using  paper 
questionnaires.  The  first  interview  is  face-to-face,  while  the  repeated  interviews  are  when  feasible 
carried  out  by  telephone.  Interviews  are  done  during  the  week  immediately  following  the  reference 
week. 

The average response rate in 2003 was 87.3 % with 32.7 % of the non-response due to refusals. 

In 2003, 40 % of the interviews were collected from authorised third parties. 

MALTA 

General 

The survey started in 2000 with two survey rounds in June and December. From 2001 the survey has 
been  carried  out  quarterly  with  one  reference  week  per  quarter  in  March,  June,  September  and 
December. 

The survey covers the whole country. Only private households are surveyed. 

Participation in the survey is obligatory. 

The residence population comprises all persons residing in the Maltese Islands and eligible to vote in 
Local Council elections as well as their dependants. 

17

 
A household is defined as one or more persons who live together and share expenses. A person who 
is  abroad  during  the  reference  week  and  who  visits  Malta  on  a  regular  basis,  i.e.  at  least  2  times  a 
year,  is  considered  to  be  part  of  the  household.  Children  or  any  other  members  who  are  living  in 
another dwelling or institution are excluded. 

Sampling Plan 

The  sampling  plan  is  a  one-stage  stratified  systematic  random  sample  of  households  from  the 
Electoral Register. 

The strata are defined by the localities. The sample is 2 500 households, with an effective sampling 
rate of 2 %. 

In March and June 2003 the sample includes a sub-sample of 600 households which is carried over 
from previous quarter. In September and December the overlap was increased to 1 000 households 

Weighting Procedure 

A  posteriori  stratification  at  one  level  was  performed  by  sex,  age-group  and  district.  This  allows  the 
tabulation  of  estimates  on  national  and  district  levels.  The  totals  are  benchmarked  to  Census 
Population Totals. 

For weighting procedures, NUTS 4 is used, and age groups consist of the ages between 0-15, 16-24, 
25-34, 35-54, 55-64 and 65+ years. 

Data Collection 

Data are collected with face-to-face or telephone interviews by 80-100 interviewers in the two weeks 
following the reference week. All persons in the household aged 15 years and over are interviewed. 

The average response rate in 2003 was 79.7 % with 19.6 % of the non-response due to refusals. 

In 2003, 50.7 % of the interviews were carried out by authorised third parties. 

Further methodological information 

Two  active  search  methods—”Asked 
trade  unions,  etc.”  and 
advertisements in newspapers or journals”—are not asked for in the Maltese questionnaire. 

relatives, 

friends, 

“Studied 

NETHERLANDS 

General 

There is no specific legislation making it compulsory to provide information for the survey. Participation 
is therefore voluntary. 

The survey covers only private households. 

The year is divided into quarters of 13 weeks: January to March, April to June, July to September and 
October to December. For each of these periods, the reference weeks are distributed uniformly over 
the 13 weeks. 

The resident population comprises persons residing in the Netherlands. 

The private household comprises either persons living alone or two or more persons, whether or not 
they are of the same family, who usually occupy the same dwelling and share a joint budget. 

Sampling plan 

The  survey  base  is  a  list  of  all  addresses  drawn  up  by  the  postal  services  in  combination  with  the 
Population Register. All institutions are eliminated from the sample. The file also contains information 
on the number of letterboxes at each address (mailing addresses), which are used as sampling units. 

The sampling plan comprises three stages: 

18

 
(a) primary sampling units: the municipalities; 

(b) secondary sampling units: mailing addresses; 

(c) tertiary sampling units: households. 

Municipalities are selected with a probability proportional to their population. All municipalities with a 
population of more than 18 000 persons (of which there are about 200), are permanently represented 
in the survey. 

Mailing addresses are selected systematically out of a mailing list sorted by postal code. At addresses 
with more than one letterbox, all letterboxes appear in the list. If a selected mailing address includes 
only one household, this household is questioned. If the address includes more than one household, 
only  half  of  the  households  are  questioned,  with  a  maximum  of  three  households.  This  makes  it 
possible  to  increase  the  effectiveness  of  the  survey.  Sixty-six  strata  are  defined  using  cross-
classification based on 40 ‘Corop’ regions and 18 employment-exchange regions. 

Weighting procedure 

A posteriori stratification in two stages is applied, using independent demographic information. A linear 
weighting  method  in  which  each  member  of  the  household  has  the  same  weight  is  used.  Four  a 
posteriori stratifications are used: 

- first, a detailed breakdown by age and sex, 

- secondly, a broad breakdown by age and sex and a detailed breakdown by ethnic background, 

- third, a broad breakdown by age and sex and marital status, 

- finally, a detailed breakdown by region and a broad breakdown by age and sex. 

The weights are benchmarked to the population totals without the institutional population. 

Data collection 

Interviews  in  the  first  wave  are  carried  out  face-to-face  with  the  help  of  portable  computers  (CAPI). 
Interviews in the next four waves are carried out by telephone (CATI). The field staff comprises 300 
CAPI and 64 CATI interviewers. 

The response rate is 59 % in the first wave, with 57 % of non-responses being due to refusals. 

In 2003, 46 % of the interviews were by proxy (Wave 1: 33 % and Wave 2 - 5: 52 %). 

AUSTRIA 

General 

In  2003  the  LFS  in  Austria  was  for  the  first  time  done  quarterly  in  March,  June,  September  and 
December (not as a continuous survey) using in all quarters the whole questionnaire of the European 
Labour Force Survey. 

Exceptionally in 2003 the households selected were not obliged to provide information. All households 
are covered, but only the population in private households is included in the Labour Force Survey. 

The micro-census provides quarterly results (the reference weeks are the first three weeks of the last 
month of each quarter). 

The resident population comprises persons who have their main residence on Austrian territory during 
the reference week. 

A private household is made up either of persons living alone or of 2 or more persons, whether or not 
of the same family, who usually occupy the same dwelling and share a common budget. 

Sampling plan 

The  survey  base  is  the  Census  of  Dwellings  and  Houses,  updated  to  take  account  of  newly 
constructed dwellings. 

19

 
The  sampling  design  is  a  multi-stage  stratified  random  sample.  The  primary  sampling  units  are  the 
municipalities.  The  biggest  municipalities  are  all  selected  to  the  sample  while  smaller  municipalities 
are  selected  with  a  probability  sampling  technique.  In  the  one-stage  domain  the  addresses  are 
stratified  by  Bundesland,  kind  of  dwelling,  period  of  construction,  main  use  of  building,  useful  floor 
space, quality of dwellings, number of people in the dwelling. In the two-stage domain the communities 
are stratified by number of dwellings. 

The sampling unit is the dwelling. All the households in the selected dwellings are sampled. 

The overall survey rate is 0.8 %, which gives a sample of about 37 600 dwellings. 

Stratification  was  carried  out  within  each  Bundesland  using  data  obtained  from  the  census  on  the 
number of occupants, size, period of construction and amenities. 

A rotation system comprising 8 waves is used. Each dwelling is kept in the sample for two years and 
one-eighth of the sample is replaced each quarter. 

Weighting procedure 

Population  is  adjusted  to  results  of  population  estimation  by  Länder,  sex  and  five-years-age-groups 
and  on  the  other  hand  by  Länder,  sex  and  nationality  (national  citizen,  Ex-Yugoslavia,  Turkey  and 
others) 

The weights are calculated in two steps. In the first step for each record a basic weight which depends 
on the stratum and the domain (one- or two-staged) is calculated. In the second step the weights are 
adjusted in such a manner that the resulting distribution is in accordance to the population within the 
federal  provinces.  These  distributions  are  given  by  the  projections  of  the  population  of  the  Statistics 
Austria.  The  variables  which  are  used  for  adjusting  the  data  are  age  and  sex  on  the  one  side  and 
nationality on the other side. All members of the same household receive the same weights. 

Data collection 

The Community LFS is carried out as part of the quarterly micro-census. 

Interviews are carried out on a face-to-face basis. 

The survey does not use complementary data from other sources. 

The field staff comprises about 1 200 persons. 

The average response rate in 2003 was 71.6 % with 10.7 % of the non-response due to refusals. 

Approximately  37 %  of  the  interviews  with  persons  aged  15  or  over  were  carried  out  by  authorised 
third parties (interviewing other adult members of the household). 

POLAND 

General 

The  Polish  Labour  Force Survey  started  in  May  1992  as  a  quarterly  survey,  using  data  collection  in 
one reference week per quarter. A rotation scheme was introduced in the second quarter of 1993. A 
continuous survey design was introduced in the fourth quarter of 1999. 

The survey covers the whole country. Only non-institutional households are covered. 

Participation in the survey is voluntary. 

The  target  population  covers  all  persons  15  years  old  and  older  with  usual  residence  in  Poland. 
Persons  living  in  institutional  households  (army,  hospital,  prison  etc.)  and  students  living  away  from 
home  for  a  total  period  exceeding  two  months  are  excluded  from  the  survey.  The  same  applies  to 
persons living permanently or temporarily (for more than two months) in other countries. 

The  household  is  a  group  of  relatives  or  other  people  living  together  and  maintaining  a  joint  unit. 
Persons not belonging to any household and living and managing the household alone are considered 
as single person households. 

20

 
Sampling Plan 

The sampling plan for the Polish LFS is a two-stage stratified probability sampling of dwelling units. 

The  sampling  frame  for  both  stages  of  the  sample  is  based  on  the  Domestic  Territorial  Division 
Register.  The  primary  sampling  units  refer  with  few  exceptions  to  census  clusters  in  towns  and 
enumeration districts in rural areas. 

The primary sampling units are stratified by urban/rural division of voivodships (provinces), as well as 
division within voivodships depending on the size of the place, with rural areas included in the smallest 
ones. PSUs are sampled within strata with sampling probability proportional to the number of dwellings 
in a PSU. 

In  the  second  stage  a  total  of  24 700  dwelling  units  per  quarter  are  sampled  from  selected  PSUs 
stratified by size of the municipality. The final selection probability of dwelling units equals 1/2000 in 
urban strata and 1/1818 in rural ones. 

The sample is divided into four sub-samples, using the rotation scheme 2-(2)-2. 

Weighting Procedure 

First primary weights which basically are the reciprocals of selection probabilities for ultimate sampling 
units (i.e. dwellings) are provided. Then the so called interview rates R are calculated by the formula: 
R=(K-N)/K, where K is the number of interviewed dwellings estimated using the primary weights and N 
is  the  number  of  non-interviewed  dwellings  which  should  be  interviewed.  The  interview  rates  are 
calculated  for  six  place-of-residence  categories  (Warsaw,  towns  with  500  thousand  up  to  1  million 
inhabitants, towns with 100 thousand up to 500 thousand inhabitants, towns with 20 thousand up to 
100 thousand inhabitants, other towns and rural areas). The secondary weights are calculated in the 
next  step  by  dividing  primary  weights  by  R,  where  R  rate  depends  on  the  category  of  place-of-
residence of a given dwelling (rural area or one of five town classes mentioned above). The secondary 
weights are also final for results concerning households and families. 

Final weights for the results concerning population are calculated in the third step. The purpose of this 
step is adjustment of the LFS results to the current demographic estimates. It is attained by calculation 
of the so called modifiers for each of 48 categories defined by the place-of-residence (urban/rural), sex 
and  12  age  groups  (15-17  years,  18-19  years,  20-24  years,  25-29  years,  30-34  years,  35-39  years, 
40-44 years,  45-49 years, 50-54 years, 55-59 years, 60-64 years, 65 years and more), the same as in 
the LFS tables. The modifiers are calculated by dividing the number of people in each group according 
to the demographic estimates by the number of people in the same categories calculated from the LFS 
results  with  appliance  of  secondary  weights  from  the  second  step.  Final  weights  result  from 
multiplication of secondary weights by adequate modifiers. 

Data Collection 

The  data  are  collected  by  1 100-1 200  field  workers  with  face-to-face  interviews  using  paper 
questionnaires. Repeated interviews are sometimes carried out by telephone. 

The average response rate in 2003 was 80.2 %, with 52 % of the non-response due to refusals. 

Approximately 40-42 % of the interviews are by proxy. 

PORTUGAL 

General 

Participation  in  the  survey  is  compulsory  (in  accordance  with  Law  No 6/89,  Sistema  Estatistico 
Nacional, of April 1989). 

All the geographical territory of Portugal is covered, i.e. mainland, Madeira and the Azores. 

Only private households are covered, although the survey also covers part of the population living in 
collective households and who represent a potential for the labour market, insofar as they have family 
links with the private households (national servicemen or students). 

The survey is a continuous one which yields quarterly results. 

21

 
The  resident  population  consists  of  individuals  residing  in  a  private  household  during  the  reference 
week.  Individuals  who  are  absent  for  short  periods  of  time  and  not  occupying  another  dwelling 
permanently are also included. 

A private household is made up either of persons living alone or of 2 or more persons, whether or not 
they are of the same family, who usually occupy the same dwelling and share a common budget. 

Sampling plan 

During 2003 there were a change of frames in the Portuguese LFS. In order to avoid a break in the 
series this change has been implemented progressively. It started in the first quarter of 2003 and the 
LFS sample was constituted by 5/6 selected from the Master Sample 1996 (MS1996) and 1/6 from the 
Master Sample 2001 (MS2001). In each quarter, 1/6 of the sample was replaced, thus the sample was 
fully selected from the MS2001 in the second quarter of 2004.  

Therefore the 2003 LFS sample is a sub-sample of the MS1996 and MS2001 which are described as 
follows. 

The  MS1996  was  designed  and  selected  using  the  results  of  the  ‘1989  Electoral  Census’  and  the 
‘Geographical  Spatial  Reference  Framework’  used  for  the  1991  Census  of  Population  and  Housing. 
The MS is a cluster sample with a two-stage design with the selection of ‘freguesias’ in the first stage 
and the selection of ‘secções’ (sections) in the second stage. The MS1996 consists of 1 143 ‘secções’ 
and it is representative at the level 2 of the NUTS. 

The  MS2001  is  a  stratified  one-stage  cluster  sample  constituted  by  private  dwellings  from  the  2001 
Census  of  Population  and  Housing.  In  each  stratum  (NUTS  3)  the  clusters  were  selected 
systematically  with  probability  proportional  to  size  (number  of  private  dwellings  of  usual  residence). 
The sampling frames for the MS2001 are the Census 2001 data and the BGRI-Geographic Information 
Referencing  Base  (geographical  referencing  system  supported  by  digital  topographic  mapping  and 
aerial  photographs,  containing  the  limits  of  administrative  divisions  and  statistical  divisions).  The 
MS2001 consists of 1 408 ‘areas’ and it is representative at the level 3 of the NUTS. 

After the selection of the geographical areas (primary units) of the MS2001 the LFS sample of private 
dwellings (secondary units) were selected sequentially in two systematic blocs.  

All the persons living in the same dwelling are interviewed. Despite the survey being directed to the 
households, the dwellings are the sampling units. 

A  rotation  system  comprising  six  waves  is  used.  Houses  are  kept  in  the  sample  for  six  consecutive 
quarters before being replaced by an identical number of houses in the same statistical section. One-
sixth of the sample is replaced each quarter. 

Due  to  the  change  of  the  sampling  frames,  the  sample  size  was  between  20 747  and  22 554 
households, which represents a survey rate of approximately 0.6 %. 

Weighting procedure 

The  weight  is  derived  as  the  product  of  a  design  weight  (which  incorporates  design  information  and 
non-response)  and  a  factor  that  calibrates  the  sample  to  the  independent  demographic  estimates 
(using a posteriori stratification method by region, sex and 5-year age groups). 

Data collection 

Interviews  are  carried  out  on  a  face-to-face  basis  with  the  help  of  portable  computers  (CAPI).  All 
information is obtained by interview. 

The field staff comprises 178 persons. 

40 % of the interviews were carried out by authorised third parties. 

The average response rate in 2003 was 90.6 %, with 10.9 % of non-responses being due to refusals. 

22

 
SLOVENIA 

General 

The Slovenian Labour Force Survey started in 1993 as an annual survey, using four weeks in May as 
the reference period. Since the second quarter of 1997 the LFS has been conducted as a continuous 
survey, providing quarterly results. 

The survey covers the whole country. Only private households are surveyed. 

Participation in the survey is voluntary. 

Members  of  the  household  temporary  absent  for  a  period  exceeding  6  months  (army,  hospitals, 
prisons,  student’s  homes)  and  persons  living  in  other  countries  were  excluded  from  the  survey. 
Foreign  nationals  are  included,  if  they  correspond  to  the  criteria  of  household.  For  the  household 
members up to 15 years only very few questions are collected. 

A household is a single person or a group of persons, who live together and share expenses related to 
common living and eating. 

Sampling Plan 

The basis of sampling frame is the Central Population Register. 

The sampling method is a one-stage stratified simple random sampling of individuals aged 18 years 
and  older,  whose  households  are  selected.  The  selection  probability  of  each household  member  is 
thus  proportional  to  the  number  of  persons  aged  18  years  or  older  in  the  household.  Approximately 
1 % of the population, living in 7 300 households is included in the sample each quarter. 

Strata  are  defined  by  NUTS  3  (12)  and  type  of  settlement,  defined  according  to  the  settlement  size 
and  proportion  of  farmers  (6).  Stratum  allocation  is  proportional  to  the  population  distribution,  but 
adjusted by previous non-response rates by stratum. 

Each household is interviewed five times according to the rotation pattern 3-(1)-2. 

Weighting Procedure 

In the first step the data is weighted for unequal probability of selection and for non-response. Next, 
the post-stratification is performed according to the known population distribution: age (8 groups), sex 
and  region  (NUTS3  level).  The  post-stratification  is  done  on  individual  level  (members  of  the  same 
household  thus  receive  different  weights)  and  benchmarked  to  population  totals.  Institutional 
population is included in population totals. In the longitudinal analysis the weight from the last quarter 
is used as a longitudinal weight. 

Data Collection 

The data are collected by approximately 30 field workers with face-to-face interviews using electronic 
questionnaires and 15 telephone interviewers. All repeated interviews are carried out by telephone if 
the  household  has  a  telephone.  Repeated  interviews  in  the  households  without  telephone  are  done 
face-to-face. 

The average response rate in 2003 was 86 % with 63 % of the non-response due to refusals. 
Approximately 60 % of the interviews are carried out by authorised third parties. 

SLOVAKIA 

General 

The  Slovakian  Labour  Force  Survey  started  1993  as  continuous  quarterly  survey  using  seasonal 
quarters. In 2000 the Slovakian LFS moved to calendar quarters. 

The whole country is covered. Only private households are surveyed. 

23

 
The target population of the survey is every person aged 15 and over, living in the household of the 
selected  dwelling  without  regards  to  permanent,  temporary  or  unregistered  stays.  Data  for  the 
students  living  in  hostels,  schoolchildren  living  in  boarding  schools  and  persons  living  temporarily  in 
worker homes are collected within the households to which they belong. Inmates of prison or mental 
institutions,  foreign  citizens  with  temporary  stay  and  domestic  servants  are  not  surveyed.  Since  the 
first quarter of 1997 the conscripts on compulsory military service are included in the LFS. 

A  household  is  a  group  of  persons  sharing  common  accommodation  and  house  keeping.  Persons 
living on their own constitute one-person households. 

Sampling Plan 

The  sample  selection  method  is  based  on  a  stratified  two-stage  probability  sampling  design.  Each 
stratum  corresponds  to  a  district  (79)  corresponding  to  the  NUTS-4  level.  The  sample  frame  for  the 
first stage of sampling consists of the register of the municipalities. For the second stage of selection 
the sample frame is based on the list of dwellings from Population Census conducted in 1991. 

For the first sampling stage, the municipalities in all districts are selected. The selection probability of 
each municipality is proportional to its population number. In the second sampling stage the dwellings 
are  selected  from  each  municipality  selected  on  the  first  stage.  The  selection  is  performed  by 
interviewers on basis of the list of dwellings from 1991 Population Census. Five dwellings are chosen 
within  each selected  municipality.  The  interviewer chooses randomly  the  number,  which  assigns  the 
first  dwelling selected  from  the  list,  and then  he  chooses  the other  four dwellings  from  the same  list 
using a step of ten. 

The  sample  size  is  about  10 250  dwellings  every  quarter,  representing  0.6 %  of  all  permanently 
occupied dwellings. 

Every selected dwelling remains in the survey for five consecutive quarters. 

Weighting Procedure 

Data from the survey for all persons participating in the survey were weighted by administrative data 
on  total  population  (including  institutional  population)  as  of  1  January  2001  by  region,  sex  and  age 
group. 

Extrapolation  to  the  population  is  done  at  the  level  of  individuals.  The  sample  size  is  about  24 500 
persons (aged 15 and over). The population and the sample are the subject of a post-stratification by 
NUTS-3  administrative  region  (8  regions  altogether),  sex  and  five-year  age  group  (15-19,  20-24,  ..., 
70-74,  75+).  In  each  of  the  strata  thus  obtained  the  weight  wi  is  assigned  to  each  person  in  the 
sample: 

w =
i

i

N
n

i

iN

in

- the number of persons in stratum i of population (age 15+) as of 1 January 2001 

- the number of persons in stratum i of the sample (age 15+) 

Data Collection 

The  data  are  collected  by  face-to-face  interviews  using  paper  questionnaires.  In  most  cases  the 
repeated interviews are carried out via telephone using paper questionnaires. 

The field staff comprises 51 interviewers. The average response rate in 2003 was 91.6 % with 82.4 % 
of the non-response due to refusals. 

The average percentage of proxy interviews in 2003 for persons aged 15 and over was 59.1 %. 

24

 
 
FINLAND 

General 

The Finnish Labour Force Survey is a monthly survey with the reference weeks distributed uniformly 
throughout the month. The data for the first two months of the each quarter are estimated on the basis 
of 4 survey weeks and data for the third month on the basis of 5 survey weeks. 

Participation in the survey is voluntary. 

Through sampling of individual persons living in both private and collective households are covered. 
Persons  living  in  collective  households  are  also  recorded  in  the  Population  Register  maintained  by 
Statistics Finland and are therefore sampled as well as persons living in private households. 

The  resident  population  comprises  persons  who,  according  to  the  Population  Register,  were  legally 
domiciled  in  Finland  on  31 December  of  the  year  preceding  the  survey.  Persons  temporarily  absent 
from the country are included, as are foreign nationals who intend to reside in Finland for at least a 
year. Asylum-seekers are not legally resident until such time as their application is granted. Members 
of the diplomatic corps and their families are not members of the resident population. 

Statistics  Finland  carried  out  in  2003  a  data  collection  of  household  data  for  the  Community  Labour 
Force Survey by integrating it to the continuous LFS. The sample for the household-based study was 
based  on  the  individuals  who  participated  in  the  last  wave  of  the  current  study  design  of  the 
continuous Community LFS in 2003. 

Sampling plan 

The  sampling  design  used  in  Finland  is  stratified  systematic  sampling  of  elements,  having  as  a 
sampling  frame  the  total  population  database  maintained  by  Statistics  Finland.  It  is  based  on  the 
Population  Information  System  of  The  Population  Register  Centre  and  updated  regularly.  The 
population  of  individuals  is  divided  into  strata.  Geographic  stratification  according  to  NUTS I  regions 
with over-sampling from the Autonomous Territory of the Åland Islands. 

The  sampling  unit  is  the  individual.  The  sample  comprises  12 500  persons  per  month,  o  37 500 
persons per quarter which corresponds to a survey rate of 0.9 % over the quarter. 

Respondents are questioned at quarterly intervals for 3 successive quarters and then, after a 6-month 
interval, for 2 further consecutive quarters. This corresponds to a quarterly rotation pattern of 3-(1)-2. 

The sample for the household-based study was based on the individuals who participated in the last 
wave  of  the  current  study  design  of  the  continuous  Community  LFS  in  2003.  Household  members 
were  interviewed  throughout  the  year 2003. The  reference  person was  interviewed  as  usually  in  the 
continuous  survey.  After  that  the  composition  of  household  was  checked  and  persons  aged  15  or 
more were interviewed. 

Weighting procedure 

Post-stratification  at  one  level  is  performed  by  sex,  5-year  age  groups  and  NUTS  III  region  (22 
regions).  Information  on  job  applicants  obtained  from  the  Ministry  of  Labour  is  also  used  as  a  post-
stratification variable (8 categories). 

The data are limited to the aggregates of the population register. 

Data collection 

98.8 %  of  the  interviews  were  carried  out  by  telephone,  using  portable  computers  (CATI). 
Demographic information (sex, year of birth, marital status, nationality) and level of education, training 
and  the  year  of  completion  are  variables  obtained  from  administrative  sources  (population  register, 
register of completed education and degrees). 

The field staff comprises 160 interviewers. 

3.6 % of the interviews were carried out by authorised third parties. 

The response rate for wave 1 was 83.9 % in 2003. The total average response rate was 84.8 % with 
61.2 % of the non-responses being due to refusals. 

25

 
SWEDEN 

General 

Participation in the survey is voluntary. 

The reference weeks are distributed uniformly throughout the year and the survey provides monthly, 
quarterly and annual results. 

Through sampling of individuals persons living in both private and collective households are covered. 
Persons  living  in  a  collective  household  are  also  recorded  in  the  central  population  register  and  are 
therefore sampled as well as persons living in private households. 

The resident population for the purposes of the survey comprises persons between the ages of 15 and 
74 who are domiciled in Sweden according to the population register. 

No information on household structure is collected. 

Sampling plan 

The  sample  is  drawn  at  the  end  of  the  first  quarter  every  year  to  cover  the  coming  year’s  need  of 
sample  persons.  When  the  sample  is  drawn  it  is  stratified  according  to  county,  sex,  citizenship 
(Swedish, foreign), and employment (employed, not employed) as appears in the Register of Regional 
Employment. In this way 192 strata are constructed. Within each stratum then population is ordered by 
age,  and  a  systematic  probability  sample  is  drawn.  The  sampling  differs  from  different  regions 
according to NUTS III and between Swedish and non-Swedish citizens. Within regions and each of the 
two citizen groups the sample size is directly proportional to stratum size. 

The sampling frame is Statistics Sweden’s Register of the Total Population. 

Auxiliary information is retrieved from two registers: 

Register of the total population (RTB): Information on sex, age, region (county) and citizenship is used. 

Annual employment register (RAMS): Information on employment or not according to RAMS is used. 
RAMS is a statistical register with information on employment for the total population. The register is 
based on six other administrative registers where the main source is a register (KU-register) of income 
from employment with a link between the employer and the employee. The register is primarily used 
for taxation purposes. The reference period for RAMS is November and the register is available to use 
about  14-15  month  after  the  reference-period.  The  conceptual  definition  of  employment  in  RAMS  is 
persons  who  have  had  work  corresponding  to  on  the  average  at  least  one  hour  a  week  during 
November. 

The sampling unit is the individual. 

The  inclusion  probabilities  for  individuals  in  a  monthly  sample  vary  primarily  with  the  share  of  the 
current sample that consists of the total sample in a month. 

The inclusion probability for individual k on a certain survey occasion is calculated approximately as: 

=π

n
h
k N

h

j

j

, where 

jhn = The number of individuals in the sample that belong to sample stratum h and to the year’s 
sample j. 

jhN = The number of individuals in the age group 16-64 in sample stratum h at sample selection 
occasion j. 

Every month 21 000 persons are included in the sample.  

When the sample is drawn it is stratified according to county, sex, citizenship (Swedish, foreign), and 
employment  (employed,  not  employed)  according  to  the  Register  of  Regional  Employment  which 
results in 24×2×2×2 = 192 strata. 

26

 
The LFS sample consists of three separate samples, one for each month in the quarter. Each of the 
samples,  which  consists  of  about  21 000  people,  is  rotated  in  such  a  way  that  an  eighth  leaves  the 
sample  between  two  survey  cycles.  For  every  sample  this  occurs  every  three  months.  Persons  in 
sample are interviewed once a quarter with a total of eight interviews during a two-year period, after 
which  they  leave  the  sample.  In  2003  a  total  of  79 000  persons  were  interviewed  once  or  several 
times. 

Weighting procedure 

The  estimates  build  on  two  regression  estimators  (GREG)  with  two  different  types  of  auxiliary 
information.  The  first  GREG  estimator  is  used  in  the  estimation  of  the  number  of  unemployed  and 
subgroups of unemployed. The estimator (GREG I) makes use of auxiliary information from RTB and 
the register of persons seeking work from the National Labour Market Board. 

The  second  GREG  estimator  (GREG  II)  is  used  in  the  estimation  of  the  number  of  employed  and 
subgroups  thereof.  The  GREG  II  estimator  makes  use  of  auxiliary  information  from  RTB  and  the 
register on employment, RAMS. 

The estimator is a generalised regression estimator (GREG) briefly described below: 

From  a  given  sample  design  we  have  a  sample  s  with  a  sample  size 
respondents. A GREG estimator for a total, based on data from this sample is: 

ns

  A  part  r  of  size 

mr

  are 

$t

y

= ∑ yk
w

k

r

where 
t y =ˆ

Estimate

  a of 

total,

 eg 

number

 of 

employed.

the If = 1

 =y  k

 = 0


otherwise

individual

the has

caracteris

tic

 in 

question





wk =  Final weight 

wk = gk×dk, 

d k

= 1 πθ$k = Design weight with respect to the non response. 

k

(

)

πk = Inclusion probability for individual k 

$θk = The estimated probability of being a respondent for individual k,  $θk

=

m
h
n

h

 when k belongs to 

stratum h. 

g

k

1
= +

(

t

x

−

t
$

x

′

)





∑

r

k

q
x x
′
k
k
$πθ
k
k





−

1

x

q

k

k

.Correction factor by using the auxiliary information 

x k

= (

x

k
1

, ...,

x

jk

, ...

x

Jk

) '

is a vector for auxiliary information of length J. 

qk  is a known constant. 

t x

= (

t

,...,

t

..,

t

xj

xJ

x

1

=

t
t
t
( $ ,..., $ .., $
t x
$
xJ
1
of a given element  t

xj

x

xj

$t

x

= ∑ xk  
d

k

r

)

)

is a vector of length J consisting of known register totals. 

is a vector of estimates of the elements in vector 

t x

. Where the estimate 

 is given by: 

27

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The variance for 

$t y

 is estimated as 

V t yGREG =
$( $

)

∑∑

r

where 

kl

$
kl

π θ πθπθ
−
$
l
k
π θ
$
kl
kl

$
k

l

w e w e
k

k

l

l

π kl  is the second order inclusion probability, 

$θ kl  is the estimated probability that k and l belongs to r (i.e. the respondents),  $θ kl

=

m
h
n

h

m
h
n

n

−
−

1
1

, 

k ≠ l

 and 

e

k

y
k=

− $B 'x k ,  B

=

1
−





∑

r

'
q
x x
k
k
π θ
$
k

k

k





∑

r

k

q
y
x
k
k
π θ
$
k

k

The  estimation  system  in  LFS  consists  of  two  different  (GREG)  estimators  with  different  type  of 
auxiliary information. 

The  first  GREG  estimator  (GREG I)  is  used  for  estimates  of  unemployed  and  subgroups  of 
unemployed. The (GREG I) estimator makes use of auxiliary information from RTB and the register of 
persons seeking work from the National Labour Market Board 

The  second  GREG  estimator  (GREG II)  is  used  for  estimates  of  number  of  persons  in  employment 
and subgroups thereof and for estimates of the total population and subgroups thereof. The (GREG II) 
estimator makes use of auxiliary information from RTB and the register on employment RAMS. 

The estimation method is to be found in “The Sampling- and the Estimation Procedure in the Swedish 
Labour Force Survey” by Hassan Mirza and Jan Hörngren (R&D report 2002:4, Statistics Sweden). 

Data collection 

The  information  is,  for  the  most  part,  collected  in  telephone  interviews  by  Statistics  Sweden’s 
interviewers. Interviews are conducted using computer assisted telephone technology and techniques. 
Personal interviews are conducted when the respondent cannot be reached by telephone. Only 0.5 % 
of all interviews are conducted via personal interviews. 

The field staff comprises about 200 persons. 

In 2003, 2.9 % of the interviews were proxy interviews. 

The average response rate in 2003 was 83.7 %, with 41 % of non-responses being due to refusals. 

UNITED KINGDOM 

General 

The UK LFS is a voluntary survey.   

The  survey  covers  private  households  and  includes  persons  who  are  temporarily  absent.  Students 
living  in  university  accommodation  (e.g.  halls  of  residence)  are  sampled  via  their  parents  living  in 
private households. In Great Britain, an additional sample is drawn to cover persons living in National 
Health  Service/Hospital  Trust  accommodation.  A  private  household  comprises  one  or  more  persons 
whose main residence is the same dwelling and/or who share at least one meal per day.  

The  resident  population  comprises  persons  who  regard  the  sample  address  as  their  main  address. 
Persons who have lived in a dwelling for more than six consecutive months are considered a member 
of the resident population, even if they do not regard this as their principal dwelling. Persons absent 
for more than six months are not regarded as a member of the resident population. 

28

 
 
 
The year is divided into quarters of 13 weeks: winter (December to February), spring (March to May 
useful for results at EU level), summer (June to August) and autumn (September to November). For 
each of these periods, the reference weeks are distributed uniformly over the 13 weeks. 

Sampling plan 

The set sample size is 69 600 households per quarter. 

The survey unit is the postal address (the telephone number in the far north of Scotland). For most of 
Great  Britain,  the  survey  base  is  the  Royal  Mail's  PAF  (Postcode  Address  File),  a  database  of  all 
addresses  receiving  mail.  The  list  is  limited  to  addresses  receiving  fewer  than  25  items  of  post  per 
day,  in  order  to  exclude  businesses.  Because  of  the  very  low  population  density  in  the  far  north  of 
Scotland  (north  of  the  Caledonian  Canal),  interviews  are  carried  out  exclusively  by  telephone  with 
telephone  directories  being  used  as  sampling  frames.  In  Northern  Ireland,  the  Rating  and  Valuation 
Lists (which serves for the administration of land taxes) is used.  

Most of Great Britain constitutes one stratum, while the far north of Scotland forms a separate stratum 
and Northern Ireland three strata: Belfast and eastern and western Northern Ireland. 

In Great Britain, a systematic sample is drawn each quarter from the three sampling bases, using a 
sampling  interval  of  1 440  units.  This  yields  16 600  PAF  addresses,  75  telephone  numbers  for  the 
north  of  Scotland  and  42  units  of  National  Health  Service  housing.  As  the  PAF  is  broken  down 
geographically, the systematic sampling produces a pseudo-stratification effect which ensures that the 
sample is representative at regional level. In Northern Ireland, a simple random sample is drawn each 
quarter from each of the three strata, giving 650 addresses in all. 

A  rotation  system  comprising  five  waves  is  used.  Respondents  are  questioned  5  times  at  13-week 
intervals and one-fifth of the sample is replaced each quarter. 

Weighting procedure 

The adjustment procedure is based on a three-stage a posteriori stratification. In each case, estimates 
are based on independent demographic estimates. 

(a) The stratification variable for the first stage is the Local Authority District or Unitary Authority. This 
stage makes it possible to make adjustments for different rates of non-response in the various 
local authority areas and ensures that the results are geographically representative. 

(b) The second-stage variables are sex and age group (0-15, each year of age in the 16-24 group and 
25  +).  This  stratification  is  intended  to  ensure  that  the  age  profile  of  the  16-24  year  olds  is 
correct at national level. 

(c) The variables in the third stage are region, sex and 5-year age group. 

The  three  stages  are  applied  by  means  of  an  iterative  procedure  designed  to  ensure  that  the 
estimates are consistent with the stratification variable sets. 

Data collection 

Interviews are carried out on a face-to-face basis with the help of portable computers (CAPI) for the 
interviews  in  the  first  wave.  In  the  far  north  of  Scotland  (north  of  the  Caledonian  Canal)  and  for 
interviews  in  the  second  to  fifth  waves  wherever  possible,  interviews  are  carried  out  by  telephone 
(CATI). All information is obtained by interview. 

Results for respondents who are not contacted in waves 2 to 5 are carried forward from the previous 
wave if an interview has been carried out in the previous wave. 

The field staff comprises 470 persons. 

32 % of the interviews were carried out by authorised third parties. 

The response rate is 77.5 % for the first wave, with 68 % of non-responses being due to refusals. 

29

 
BULGARIA 

General 

The survey started in 1993, providing quarterly results from 2000 based on a single reference week in 
March, June, September and December. Starting in 2003 a quarterly continuous Labour Force Survey, 
providing average quarterly results, is implemented instead of a survey with fixed reference period. All 
households, covered in the sample, are surveyed within three months with the reference period evenly 
spread throughout 12 weeks of the quarter. 

The survey covers the whole country. Only private households are included. Persons, living in student 
hostels or in workers’ hostels are treated as private households. 

Participation in the survey is voluntary. 

The resident population includes all persons usually residing in Bulgaria, including persons temporarily 
abroad (less than one year). The survey covers all the members of the selected households including 
conscripts  and  people  absent  from  home  due  to:  business  trip,  seasonal  or  temporal  work,  tourism, 
temporary (less than 6 months) stay in hospitals or other health institutions for medical cure and other. 
Members  of  collective  households  are  surveyed  if  they  maintain  a  relationship  with  the  selected 
household. 

A  household  is  defined  as  a  group  of  two  or  more  people  living  together  in  a  house  or  a  part  of  a 
house and having common budget. The person stating that they do not belong to any household and 
that they live on their own budget is considered as a single person household. 

Sampling plan 

The Labour force survey is based on two-stage stratified cluster sample. Clusters at the first stage are 
the  enumeration  districts  and  at  the  second  stage  -  households.  With  probability  proportional  to  the 
population in the districts 2 250 enumeration districts are selected, within which systematically equal 
number of households (8) are selected. 

The sample consists of three independent sub-samples of enumeration districts for each month of a 
quarter. The households from each of these sub-samples are evenly spread through the 4 weeks in a 
month.  Monthly  6 000  households  in  750  enumeration  districts  are  observed,  e.g.  1 500  households 
per week. 

The sample is stratified by districts (28 administrative districts), crossing with urban/rural area. 

The base for the LFS sample is provided by 2001 Population Census. The enumeration districts and 
households in the sample have been selected from the list roll of enumeration districts and households 
prepared during the March 2001 Population Census. 

The sample unit is the household. 

Overall sample rate in 2003 was 0.6 %. 

In 2003 the size of LFS sample was reduced from 24 000 in 2002, to 18 000 households. 

A 2-(2)-2-rotation pattern is used. According to the rotation scheme (applied since March 1996) 1/2 of 
households  (4  in  each  enumeration  districts)  stays  in  two  consecutive  quarters.  Respondents  are 
interviewed in two consecutive quarters, then temporarily are removed for the next two quarters and 
enter again for the following two quarters afterwards being definitely removed from the survey. 

Weighting procedure 

The current population estimates as of 31 December of 2002 are used for weighting the results from 
the  2003  labour  force  surveys.  These  data  do  not  exclude  institutional  population,  although  it  is  not 
covered  by  the  survey.  Data  obtained  by  the  survey  are  post-stratified  by  28  districts,  urban/rural 
areas, sex and 4 age groups (0 – 14, 15 – 24, 25 - 49 and 50 years and over). All persons in each of 
these  448  strata  have  the  same  weight.  The  weight  is  calculated  by  dividing  the  population  in  each 
stratum by the number of interviewed persons in the same stratum. 

30

 
Data collection 

The  data  are  collected  with  face-to-face  interviews,  using  paper  questionnaires.  All  persons  in  the 
household aged 15 years and over are interviewed. 

The interviews are carried out by about 400 interviewers (incl. those working part-time on LFS) who 
are mainly the staff of the regional offices of NSI. 

In 2003, 38.2 % of the interviews were by proxy. 

The average response rate in 2003 was 85.5 % with 25.3 % of the non-response due to refusals. 

CROATIA 

General 

The Labour Force Survey in Croatia was carried out for the first time in November 1996 and in June 
1997. Since 1998 the survey is carried out every month when a part of the total sampled households is 
interviewed. Data are processed and published for each half-year period. 

Only private households are surveyed and participation is voluntary.  

The  reference  week  for  the  LFS  is  the  last  week  of  the  each  month  which  does  not  contain  public 
holidays. 

The Labour Force Survey covers the whole country since 2000. (Before 2000 the sample frame used 
was the one based on data from Census 1991 and in this period the parts of Croatian territory with still 
ongoing war operations at the time when survey was prepared, could not be included in the sample 
frame. 

The target population comprises all persons who usually reside in Croatia or intend to stay in Croatia 
for at least 12 months. 

Household  is  a  small  economic  group  of  persons  that  is  usually,  although  not  always,  the  group  of 
relatives living together and sharing costs of living (housing, food, etc.). 

Sampling Plan 

The  sampling  is  in  two  stages.  First  stage  sampling  frame  is  a  list  of  area  units  called  segments. 
Segments are created from one or more neighbouring 2001 population census areas and they do not 
cross  borders  of  municipalities.  Second  stage  sampling  frame  is  a  list  of  2001  population  census 
dwellings within selected segments. Dwellings on sampling frame are dwelling in which one or more 
private households have been found in Population census 2001. All members of all private households 
in dwellings are interviewed. 

Segments are selected by PPS systematic sampling, where measure of size of segment is number of 
private  households  in  segment  according  to  Population  census  2001.  They  are  used  for  whole  year 
2003. Within selected segments, dwellings are selected by simple random sampling. Different samples 
of dwellings are selected for two half years. After selecting a sample of segments, six non-overlapping 
sub-samples  of  segments  are  selected  from  sample  of  segments  by  systematic  sampling.  They  are 
allocated to six months in each half year. 

The sample is divided into 21 strata using proportional allocation. The strata are 20 counties and City 
of Zagreb area. 

In the year 2003, 717 segments are selected. From each selected segment, 12 dwellings are selected 
for  the  first  half  of  the  year,  and  12  dwellings  are  selected  for  the  second  half  of  the  year.  In  total, 
8 604 dwellings are selected for first half of the year, and 8 604 dwellings are selected for second half 
of the year, yielding an overall sampling rate of 0.59 % for each half year. 

No sample unit is carried over from previous years. 

Weighting Procedure 

The weights are calculated in several steps. 

31

 
First  design  weights  are  calculated  as  the  inverse  of  overall  sampling  probabilities.  Sampling 
probabilities  for  persons  are  sampling  probabilities  for  segments  times  sampling  probabilities  for 
dwellings  times  1  (all  households  are  selected)  times  1  (all  persons  are  interviewed).  (Obviously, 
design weights for dwellings, households and persons are the same.) 

Secondly,  the  non-response  weights  are  calculated  using  weighting  classes  method.  There  are  57 
weighting classes. In Croatia, municipalities are officially divided in two groups, according to the level 
of urbanisation. Weighting classes are 17 city quarters in City of Zagreb, and, in each of 20 counties, 
two  groups  of  two  types  of  municipalities.  (There  is  no  other  information  on  the sampling frame  that 
can  be  used  for  adjustment  for  non-response.)  Non-response  weights  are  inverses  of  weighted 
response rates (response rates are weighted by design weights). 

Overall weights are design weight times non-response weights. In each weighting stage and in each 
stratum,  weights  are  scaled  to  the  number  of  persons  aged  15  or  more  in  the  sample,  which  is 
population of interest. This ensures that for each strata mean weight is 1 and that non-weighted and 
weighted numbers of persons aged 15 or more are the same. 

At the end, two sets of weights are calculated, multiplying weights by two different factors. One set of 
weights,  i.e.  persons'  weights,  ensures  that  estimates  of  total  numbers  of  persons  are  the  same  as 
numbers  of  persons  in  private  households  obtained  from  Department  for  population  statistics.  The 
other set of weight, i.e. households' weights, ensures that estimated numbers of households are the 
same as numbers of households obtained from Department for population statistics. The second set of 
weights is only used for the estimation of certain national variables. 

Data Collection 

Data are collected by face-to-face interviews, using paper questionnaires.  

The number of field-workers was 190 interviewers and 28 controllers. 

In 2003 the average response rate was 86.5 % with 55 % of the non-response due to refusals. 

In the first and second half of 2003 28.9% and 35.2 %, respectively, of the interviews were by proxy. 

Further methodological information 

Croatian  questionnaire  does  not  differentiate  persons  who  have  found  a  job  to  start  working  in  «at 
most» and «more than» 3 months (codes 11 and 12). These are all coded as 11. 

ROMANIA 

General 

The  Romanian  Labour  Force  Survey  started  in  1993  with  a  pilot  survey,  with  two  annual  surveys  in 
1994 and 1995. In 1996, a continuous LFS started, providing quarterly results. 

The whole country is covered. Only private households are surveyed. 

The target population includes all the Romanian citizens, resident in Romania. The survey covers all 
the  members  of  the  selected  households  including  the  persons  absent  from  home  for  a  long  period 
(over 6 months), if they are preserving family relations with the household to which they belong, such 
as conscripts, pupils and students away for study, persons absent due to work, prisoners and persons 
temporarily in hospitals for medical cure. 

A  household  is  defined  as  a  group  of  two  or  more  persons,  usually  living  together,  being  generally 
relatives, managing the household in common, entirely or partly participating in income formation and 
spending. The person stating that he or she does not belong to any household, that he or she lives 
and manages the household all by him or herself is considered as a single person household. 

Sampling Plan 

The sampling plan is a two-stage probability sampling of clusters of housing units. 

In  the  first  stage,  a  stratified  random  sample  of  501  areas,  Primary  Sampling  Units  (PSUs),  was 
designed  after  the  1992  census,  using  as  stratification  criterion  the  residence  area.  This  is  the 

32

 
Multifunctional Sample of Territorial Areas, so called the master sample EMZOT. The EMZOT sample 
has 259 PSUs selected from urban areas and 242 PSUs selected from rural areas. 

In  the  second  stage,  6 012  clusters,  composed  of  three  housing  units  each,  are  systematically 
selected  from  the  initial  sample  of  PSUs.  The  final  sample  consists  of  18 036  dwelling  units.  All 
households within each sampling unit are included. 

Each sampling unit is observed for four quarters according to the rotation pattern 2-(2)-2. 

Weighting Procedure 

The  weights  are  calculated  in  three  steps.  The  first  step  assigns  the  inverse  of  the  selection 
probabilities  to  each  sampled  dwelling  unit.  The  second  step  adjusts  for  non-response,  categorising 
the responding dwelling units by the following characteristics: county (NUTS3), urban/rural residency, 
occupational  status  of  the  head  of  household.  The  third  and  final  steps  consists  of  calibrating  the 
secondary weights to the best latest available population totals by county / urban-rural residency, sex 
and 8 age groups, using the raking-ratio method as supplied by the French SAS Calmar macro. 

The calibration is achieved separately, for each county (NUTS-3 level) and following classes: 

- area (urban, rural); 

- gender (male, female); 

- eight age classes: (0-14, 15-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65-74, 75+). 

In the calculation of weighting factors the totals known at population level from current demographic 
statistics, recalculated on 2002 Census population, available twice a year (1st of January and 1st of 
July) are used. 

The  current  demographic  statistics  used  to  calibrate  the  LFS  estimates  include  the  institutional 
population. 

Data Collection 

The  data  are  collected  by  approximately  500  field  workers  with  face-to-face  interviews  using  paper 
questionnaires 

The average response rate in 2003 was 95.1 %, with 30.4 % of the non-response due to refusals. 

In 2003 approximately 27.9 % of the interviews were by proxy. 

Further methodological information 

In the case of the self-employed and family workers in agriculture the threshold for employment is set 
at 15 hours in the reference week instead of 1 hour. 

TURKEY 

General 

Labour Force Surveys in Turkey started in 1966, while regular annual Labour Force Surveys applying 
ILO recommendations started in October 1988. The Turkish LFS was carried out in April and October 
each  year  from  1989  to 1999 with  major changes  in  design  introduced  in October 1994. From  2000 
onwards the survey has produced quarterly results. 

The survey covers the whole country. Only private households are surveyed. 

The  population  surveyed  comprises  all  persons  in  the  country  excluding  persons  who  are  not  of 
Turkish origin and residents of collective households. Villages with fewer than 100 inhabitants are not 
in the sampling frame. Participation in the survey is compulsory. 

A  household  is  one  person  or  group  of  persons  with  or  without  a  family  relationship  who  live  in  the 
same house or in the same part of the house, who share their meals, earnings and expenditures and 
who take part in the management of the household and who render services to the household. 

33

 
Sampling Plan 

The Turkish LFS sample is based on a five-year master sampling plan starting in 2000. The sampling 
frame  is  based  on  the  1995  Dwelling  Enumeration  Study.  The  total  number  of  eligible  households 
each quarter is approximately 23 000. 

The sampling design is a two stage stratified probability clustered sample of addresses. 

The strata are defined by 7 geographical regions and rural-urban classification. Moreover each of the 
9  province  centres  forms  a  separate  stratum.  An  urban  area  is  a  settlement  with  more  than  20 000 
inhabitants. 

In the first stage of sampling the primary sampling units are defined in urban areas and larger villages 
as  blocks  of  addresses  containing  approximately  100  households.  These  are  selected  with  equal 
probability using systematic sampling. Medium sized villages are sampled with probability proportional 
to size. 

The final sampling units are addresses. In urban PSUs these are selected with equal probability using 
systematic sampling. In medium sized villages the households are selected with probability inversely 
proportional  to  size.  The  number  of  units selected  from  each  PSU  is  determined so  as  to achieve  a 
uniform overall sampling rate. All households within an address are taken into the sample. 

Villages  too  small  to  permit  sub-sampling  of  households  are  selected  directly  with  equal  probability 
using systematic sampling and all households within them taken into the sample. 

Each household participates in the survey according to the rotation pattern 2-(2)-2. 

Weighting Procedure 

The  results  are  weighted  to  the  projections  of  the  General  Population  Census  2000,  using  a  three-
stage procedure. 

In the first stage each sampling unit is assigned the design weights, which then are normalised to give 
an  average  weight  of  1.0  per  unit.  In  the  second  stage  the  initial  weights  are  adjusted  for  non-
response. These weights are also normalised. 

In the final stage the weights are calibrated to the projected population distributions, using a three-step 
raking ratio method. The first step uses the distribution of 7 geographical regions; the second step the 
rural-urban  by  age  group  distributions  and  the  final  step  the  sex  by  age  group  distributions.  The 
calibration  is  iterated  until  any  relative  changes  in  the  weights  are  within  a  pre-specified  range.  The 
final weights are then inflated by an overall inflation factor, i.e., the projected population divided by the 
sample size. 

Data Collection 

The data are collected each month by approximately 120 interviewers, starting on the 8th day of the 
month  and  finishing  within  15  days.  The  reference  week  is  a  moving  seven-day  period  immediately 
preceding the day of the interview. 

The average response rate for the year 2003 was 89 %. 

Further methodological information 

The Turkish LFS uses a period of job search of three months instead of four weeks. The question on 
methods  of 
two  active  methods—“Studied 
advertisements in newspapers or journals” and “Took a test, interview or examination”—are not asked 
for in the Turkish questionnaire. 

job  search  only  enumerates  active  steps  and 

ICELAND 

General 

The survey covers persons aged 16-74 years old in private households and collective households. 

34

 
Starting  in  2003  the  Icelandic  LFS  is  a  continuous  survey,  having  the  reference  week  is  distributed 
uniformly throughout the year. 

The  resident  population  comprises  persons  registered  with  domicile  in  Iceland,  excluding  persons 
attached  to  foreign  missions  and  registered  persons  living  abroad  for  more  than  6  months,  but 
including Icelandic personnel in missions abroad. 

The definition of private household used is the one of housekeeping unit. 

Sampling plan 

The sample size each quarter is 4 030 individuals, giving an average survey rate of 2.0 %. 

The survey unit is the individual. 

The  survey  frame  is  the  National  Population  Register;  all  persons  aged  16-74  years  of  age  with 
domicile in Iceland. 

The sampling plan is a one-stage simple random sample without stratification. 

The survey follows a rotating panel sample design, according to the rotation design 3-(2)-2. 

Weighting procedure 

The a posteriori stratification variables are 5-year age groups and sex. 

The weighting factors are calculated as follows: 

w = N(sa)/[n(sa) + n'(sa)] 

where  N  =  population,  s  =  sex,  a  =  age,  n  =  sample  size  and  n'  =  over-coverage  (i.e.  registered 
persons living abroad for more than 6 months) 

Data collection 

Interviews  are  carried  out  by  telephone  with  the  aid  of  computers  (CATI).  Information  on  sex,  age, 
years of residence, citizenship and marital status are obtained from administrative sources (National 
Population Register). 

The field staff comprises 25 persons. 

Approximately 1 % of the interviews were carried out by authorised third parties. 

The average response rate in 2003 was 83.0 %. 

NORWAY 

General 

The survey is a continuous survey providing quarterly results. 

It covers collective households. 

Participation in the survey is compulsory. 

The definition of household used is concept of housekeeping unit, but only to cover the structure of the 
household (household members who don’t belong to the family unit are not asked any questions about 
their labour market participation). 

The definition of resident population is the de jure one based on the Central Population Register. 

Sampling plan 

The sample size is 24 000 persons per quarter, which gives an overall sample rate of 0.8 %. 

The survey base is the Central Population Register. 

The sampling unit is the family. 

35

 
Region (county of residence, NUTS 3) is used for stratification. 

Each family participates in the survey 8 times at 3-monthly intervals during a period of 8 quarters. 

Weighting procedure 

The  initial  weights  are  adjusted  by  post-stratification  according  to  age,  sex  and  employment  status, 
altogether 96 (=2*12*4) post-strata. The variables used for post-stratification are based on information 
from  the  Central  Population  Register,  the  Register  of  Employees  and  the  Tax  Register.  Finally,  the 
post-stratification adjusted weights are calibrated within each of the 19 counties, which is equivalent to 
the  NUTS3  level,  with  respect  to  the  marginal  totals  of  the  same  auxiliary  variables.  The  expansion 
factors  are  calculated  according  to  the  population  totals  aged  16-74,  i.e.  the  institutional  population 
included. 

Data collection 

Interviews  are  carried  out  mainly  by  telephone,  using  portable  computers  (CATI).  Only  2-3 %  of  the 
interviews are done by CAPI. Information on age, sex, county of residence, children below 16 years, 
nationality and years of residence are obtained from administrative sources (population register). 

The field staff comprises round 180 interviewers. 

Approximately 16 % of the interviews were carried out by authorised third parties. 

The average response rate in 2003 was 89.7 %, with 26.4 % of non-responses being due to refusals. 

SWITZERLAND 

General 

Only private households are covered. 

The  survey  is  conducted  in  the  second  quarter  of  each  year  (April-June)  and  there  is  only  one 
reference week. 

The  survey  population  consists  of  all  persons  living  in  private  households  aged  15  years  and  older. 
The  SFLS  covers  only  the  permanent  resident  population  in  Switzerland  and  excludes  some 
categories  of  foreign  persons.  The  permanent  resident  population  includes  all  persons  who  officially 
reside in Switzerland for the entire year. Swiss citizens, foreign citizens holding a permanent residence 
permit or a residence permit valid for at least one year, international civil servants, diplomats and their 
family members all fall into this category. 

The participation in the survey is voluntary 

A household comprises either a person living alone or two or more persons, whether or not they are of 
the same family, who usually occupy the same dwelling (dwelling concept). 

Sampling plan 

Since 2003 the Swiss LFS is divided in two parts: 

a) Standard sample (2003: 42 000 households/persons) The base used for the standard sample are 
the registered phone numbers which covers until now more than 90 % of the Swiss population. 

b) Extra sample of foreign persons (since 2003: 15 000 persons). The base used for the extra sample 
is the register of foreign persons in Switzerland. The register allows stratifying the sample according 
individual characteristics (region, nationality). 

The  standard-sample  is  stratified  by  region  and  the  number  of  persons  (population)  by  region;  the 
extra sample of foreign persons is stratified by region, nationality-groups and the number of persons in 
this categories. 

The sampling  unit  is  the  household  for the  standard sample (but only  one  person  is  interviewed  per 
household); in the extra sample the sampling unit is the individual (as it is selected from the register of 
foreign persons) 

36

 
The  sampling  plan  is  in  two  stages.  Stratification  is  carried  out  by  administrative  (Swiss  cantons) 
regions  in  a  first  level  and  by  number  of  persons  (population)  living  in  administrative  regions  in  a 
second level. 

The sampling rate for the total sample: 0.6 % of all persons aged 15 years and older. 

In  the  SLFS  a  rotation  system  comprising  five  waves  is  used.  Each  unit  (person)  remains  in  the 
sample for five consecutive years. The size of the first wave is normally 27-29 % of the total sample 
size. 

Weighting procedure 

The weighting procedure is based out on a two-phase process: At first the base weights are obtained 
as  the  reciprocal  of  the  inclusion  probability  of  the  sample  units.  Then  the  sample  is  stratified  a 
posteriori by region (NUTS 2), marital status, 5-years  age-groups, sex, nationality-groups (North-EU, 
South-EU, West-Balkan, Other). This procedure is applied iteratively. The expansion factor is a factor 
to total population (15 years and older) 

Data collection 

Interviews  are  carried  out  by  computer-assisted  telephone  interviewing  (CATI)  by  a  private  market-
research institute commissioned by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office. All information is obtained by 
interview. 

The field staff comprises around 400 persons. 

0.9 % of the interviews in the standard sample were carried out by authorised third parties, but 0.5 % 
of the extra sample. 

The response rate in 2003 was 80.7 % with 39.4 % of non-responses being due to refusals. 

37

 
 
IT 

2003 

Table 1.  Interviews of persons aged 15-74 in private households by reference week 2003. 
LU  HU  MT 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
3.4 
. 
3.3 
. 
2.2 
. 
. 
. 
3.0 
. 
3.5 
. 
2.2 
. 
. 
3.7 
. 
3.4  25.6 
. 
1.8 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
3.8 
. 
3.3 
. 
1.9 
. 
. 
. 
3.0 
. 
3.3 
. 
1.8 
. 
. 
. 
2.7 
. 
3.2 
2.2  25.2 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
4.0 
. 
2.8 
. 
1.4 
. 
. 
. 
3.1 
. 
3.1 
. 
1.9 
. 
. 
. 
2.3 
3.3 
. 
2.4  25.7 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
.  23.5 
. 
. 
. 
100 
18 

IE 
. 
. 
. 
1.9 
. 
. 
1.9 
. 
. 
1.9 
. 
. 
2.0 
. 
. 
2.0 
2.0 
2.1 
2.0 
1.8 
1.8 
2.0 
1.8 
2.0 
2.0 
2.1 
1.9 
2.1 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.8 
2.0 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.8 
2.0 
2.0 
1.7 
1.9 
2.0 
1.7 
1.8 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
2.1 
2.0 
2.0 
2.0 
2.1 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.6 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.8 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.8 
1.8 
1.9 
1.9 
1.7 
2.0 
2.0 
1.6 
1.9 
1.8 
1.9 
2.0 
1.8 
1.9 
1.9 
1.8 
2.0 
1.7 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.8 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.7 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.8 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.8 
2.0 
1.9 
1.8 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.1 
2.0 
1.8 
2.0 
1.8 
1.8 
2.0 
1.9 
1.8 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
2.2 
1.7 
. 
2.1 
1.9 
. 
1.9 
1.9 
. 
2.1 
1.9 
. 
1.9 
1.9 
100  100  100  100  100  100  100  100  100 
16  229  543  248  292 

LT 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
2.1 
2.0 
2.1 
2.0 
2.0 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.7 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.1 
2.0 
2.2 
1.9 
2.1 
1.8 
1.9 
1.7 
1.8 
1.8 
1.8 
1.8 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
2.1 
1.8 
2.0 
1.8 
1.8 
2.0 
1.8 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.1 
2.1 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.7 
1.8 
3.0 
1.8 
3.3 
1.9 
1.7 
1.9 
100  100  100  100  100 
50  274 
38 

BE  CZ  DK  DE 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
2.0 
. 
2.0 
. 
2.1 
. 
2.0 
. 
2.0 
. 
2.0 
. 
2.1 
. 
2.0 
. 
2.1 
. 
2.0 
. 
2.1 
. 
2.1 
. 
2.0 
. 
2.1 
. 
2.0 
. 
1.9 
. 
2.1 
2.0 
. 
2.0  100 
. 
2.0 
. 
1.9 
. 
1.8 
. 
2.0 
. 
1.9 
. 
1.9 
. 
1.8 
. 
1.8 
. 
1.8 
. 
1.9 
. 
1.9 
. 
1.8 
. 
1.9 
. 
1.9 
. 
1.9 
. 
1.8 
. 
1.9 
. 
1.8 
. 
2.0 
. 
1.7 
. 
1.9 
. 
1.8 
. 
1.9 
. 
1.9 
. 
1.9 
. 
1.9 
. 
1.9 
. 
1.8 
. 
1.8 
. 
1.8 
. 
1.9 
. 
1.8 
. 
1.8 

EE  GR  ES 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 

2002  48 
49 
50 
51 
52 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 
33 
34 
35 
36 
37 
38 
39 
40 
41 
42 
43 
44 
45 
46 
47 
48 
49 
50 
51 
52 

. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
25.2 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
25.0 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
24.9 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
25.0 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
100 
596 

CY 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
9.7 
7.6 
7.1 
7.2 
6.9 
7.2 
7.5 
7.4 
8.5 
7.2 
7.6 
8.3 
7.9 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 

FR 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
2.0 
2.1 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
1.8 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.8 
1.8 
1.9 
1.9 
1.7 
1.8 
1.8 
1.8 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.8 
2.0 
2.1 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 

LV 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
1.9 
1.8 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.1 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.8 
1.9 
1.9 
1.8 
1.8 
1.8 
1.8 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.8 
2.1 
1.9 
2.1 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.8 
1.8 
2.1 
1.8 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 

. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
0.5 
0.6 
1.4 
2.0 
1.5 
1.7 
3.5 
1.0 
1.8 
2.2 
1.0 
1.7 
3.4 
3.7 
1.5 
3.0 
2.7 
1.9 
2.3 
2.5 
2.0 
2.4 
2.6 
1.7 
2.3 
2.4 
2.5 
2.5 
2.3 
1.7 
2.1 
1.7 
2.7 
2.3 
2.2 
2.3 
2.7 
1.6 
2.3 
2.3 
2.3 
2.5 
2.3 
0.1 
2.2 
2.0 
1.2 
1.1 
0.4 
0.1 
0.7 
0.5 

. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
2.2 
1.9 
2.1 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
2.0 
2.0 
1.8 
1.8 
1.8 
1.8 
2.0 
2.2 
1.9 
2.1 
1.8 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
1.8 
1.8 
1.7 
1.8 
2.0 
2.1 
2.0 
2.1 
1.8 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.8 
1.8 
1.7 
1.8 
2.0 
2.1 
2.0 
2.1 
1.8 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.7 
1.8 
1.7 
1.8 
2.0 

. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
1.9 
1.8 
1.9 
1.8 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 

. 
. 
3.7 
2.8 
1.7 
. 
2.9 
3.2 
1.9 

All 
x1000 

88  190 

44  250 

19 

8 

38

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2003 

NO  CH 

PL 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
2.0 
1.9 
1.8 
1.9 
1.8 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.8 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 

NL  AT 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
2.4 
9.0 
8.9 
6.0 
0.2 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
0.0 
7.6 
7.2 
8.6 
0.6 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
7.5 
8.6 
8.2 
1.4 
0.1 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
8.2 
8.1 
6.6 
0.7 

.  48  2002 
. 
. 
.  49 
. 
. 
.  50 
. 
. 
.  51 
. 
. 
.  52 
. 
. 
1 
. 
2.0 
0.7 
2 
. 
2.0 
2.1 
3 
. 
2.0 
2.4 
4 
. 
2.0 
2.5 
5 
. 
2.0 
1.5 
6 
. 
2.0 
2.0 
7 
. 
1.9 
2.5 
8 
. 
1.9 
2.8 
. 
9 
2.0 
1.1 
.  10 
2.0 
1.7 
.  11 
1.9 
2.0 
.  12 
1.9 
2.5 
1.7  19.1  13 
1.7 
1.9  14.9  14 
1.5 
1.9 
4.8  15 
2.6 
1.9  19.4  16 
2.6 
1.9  13.5  17 
1.5 
8.8  18 
1.9 
1.2 
7.2  19 
1.9 
1.5 
4.3  20 
1.9 
2.1 
2.8  21 
1.9 
2.6 
1.9  22 
1.9 
0.9 
1.8  23 
1.9 
1.5 
1.0  24 
1.8 
1.5 
0.5  25 
1.8 
2.2 
.  26 
1.7 
2.0 
.  27 
2.0 
1.6 
.  28 
2.0 
2.1 
.  29 
2.0 
2.0 
.  30 
1.9 
2.1 
.  31 
2.0 
1.5 
.  32 
2.0 
1.4 
.  33 
1.9 
1.8 
.  34 
1.9 
2.4 
.  35 
1.9 
2.1 
.  36 
2.0 
1.5 
.  37 
1.9 
2.1 
.  38 
1.8 
2.3 
.  39 
1.8 
1.7 
.  40 
2.0 
0.6 
.  41 
2.0 
2.2 
.  42 
1.9 
2.0 
.  43 
1.9 
2.5 
.  44 
1.9 
2.1 
.  45 
2.0 
2.1 
.  46 
2.0 
2.5 
.  47 
2.0 
2.7 
.  48 
2.0 
1.6 
.  49 
2.0 
2.0 
.  50 
1.9 
2.1 
.  51 
1.8 
2.7 
.  52 
1.8 
0.9 
100  100  100  100  100  100  100  100  100  100  100  100  100  100 
85 
305  161  180  145 

SE  UK  BG  HR  RO 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
0.0 
7.8 
1.1 
2.2 
2.5 
2.1 
1.5 
2.3 
3.0 
2.0 
0.7 
1.6 
2.5 
2.1 
1.8 
1.4 
2.3 
2.3 
1.9 
1.4 
2.2 
2.4 
2.1 
1.3 
1.6 
2.5 
2.1 
1.7 
1.4 
2.0 
2.4 
2.0 
1.3 
1.9 
2.3 
2.2 
1.5 
1.3 
2.2 
2.4 
1.8 
1.2 
2.0 
2.5 
2.2 
1.4 
2.0 
2.8 
1.6 
1.3 

IS 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.8 
1.7 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.8 
1.9 
1.8 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.8 
1.9 
1.8 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 

SK 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
1.8 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.1 
2.0 
2.1 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
2.0 
1.7 
1.8 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.1 
2.1 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.7 
1.8 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.1 
2.0 
1.8 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.8 
1.8 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
2.1 
2.0 
1.9 
1.8 
2.0 
1.9 
1.7 
1.5 

PT 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
2.0 
1.8 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.8 
1.9 
2.0 
1.8 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.8 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.8 
1.9 
1.8 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.8 
1.8 
1.9 
1.8 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
2.1 
2.1 
2.0 
2.1 
2.0 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
2.0 

FI 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
2.1 
2.1 
2.1 
2.1 
2.0 
2.1 
2.1 
2.1 
1.7 
1.8 
1.7 
1.7 
1.7 
2.1 
2.1 
2.0 
2.0 
2.1 
2.1 
2.1 
2.0 
1.7 
1.7 
1.7 
1.7 
1.7 
2.1 
2.0 
2.0 
2.0 
2.1 
2.1 
2.0 
2.1 
1.7 
1.7 
1.7 
1.6 
1.6 
2.1 
2.1 
2.1 
2.0 
2.1 
2.1 
2.1 
2.1 
1.7 
1.7 
1.7 
1.7 
1.7 

SI 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
0.1 
3.3 
3.3 
1.8 
2.7 
1.7 
2.3 
1.8 
2.2 
2.0 
2.3 
1.8 
0.1 
2.3 
1.8 
2.3 
1.7 
2.7 
1.9 
2.5 
1.6 
2.2 
1.8 
2.3 
1.4 
0.2 
2.3 
2.4 
2.3 
1.2 
2.2 
2.1 
2.5 
1.6 
2.3 
2.5 
2.2 
1.3 
0.1 
2.1 
1.9 
2.4 
1.9 
2.5 
1.7 
2.5 
1.7 
2.6 
3.5 
2.0 
. 
. 

. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
8.3 
. 
. 
. 
8.4 
. 
. 
. 
. 
8.6 
. 
. 
9.0 
. 
. 
. 
. 
8.4 
. 
. 
8.4 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
7.9 
. 
. 
. 
. 
8.0 
. 
. 
. 
8.4 
. 
. 
. 
8.4 
. 
. 
. 
. 
8.0 
. 
. 
8.3 
. 

. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
2.2 
2.2 
2.1 
2.1 
2.2 
2.2 
2.2 
2.0 
2.3 
2.2 
2.1 
2.0 
. 
2.2 
2.1 
2.0 
1.9 
2.1 
2.2 
2.2 
1.9 
2.2 
2.2 
2.0 
1.9 
. 
2.1 
2.1 
2.0 
2.0 
2.1 
2.1 
2.1 
1.8 
2.2 
2.1 
2.2 
1.9 
2.2 
2.1 
2.0 
2.1 
2.2 
2.1 
2.1 
1.9 
2.2 
2.1 
2.0 
2.0 
. 

1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.8 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
2.0 
1.9 
1.8 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
1.9 
. 
. 
. 
. 
. 

. 
. 
. 
. 
. 
2.1 
2.1 
2.1 
2.0 
2.1 
2.1 
2.1 
2.1 
1.7 
1.7 
1.7 
1.7 
1.7 
2.1 
2.1 
2.1 
2.0 
2.1 
2.1 
2.1 
2.0 
1.7 
1.7 
1.7 
1.6 
1.6 
2.1 
2.1 
2.1 
2.0 
1.9 
2.1 
2.1 
2.0 
1.7 
1.7 
1.7 
1.6 
1.6 
2.1 
2.1 
2.1 
2.0 
2.1 
2.1 
2.1 
2.0 
1.7 
1.7 
1.7 
1.6 
1.6 

92  148  223  375  122 

All 
x1000 

100 
52 

31  132 

13 

66 

39

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNEX I. Explanatory notes for Education and training from 2003 

Col. 293: Student or apprentice in regular education during the last four weeks 

This variable only covers the regular education system (formal education, including schools, colleges 
and universities) and which the respondent has attended sometime during the last 4 weeks. A special 
code was added for students in regular education but on holidays during the four weeks preceding the 
week of reference. 

Formal education is defined as education and training with the following characteristics: 

(cid:131)  purpose and format are predetermined.  

(cid:131)  provided in the system of schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions  

(cid:131) 

(cid:131) 

(cid:131) 

it normally constitutes a continuous ladder of education.  

it is structured in terms of learning objectives, learning time and learning support 

it is normally intended to lead to a certification recognised by national authorities qualifying for 
a specific education/programme).  

(cid:131) 

corresponds to the programmes covered by the UOE-questionnaires. 

The list of national programmes covered by the UOE-questionnaire is found at the address:  

http://forum.europa.eu.int/Public/irc/dsis/edtcs/library?l=/public/unesco_collection/programmes_isced9
7/school_1999_2000 

These lists may be updated by countries.  

SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ON CODING 

If  the  interviewee  is  enrolled  as  a  student  or  an  apprentice  in  a  programme  within  the  regular 
education system the answer is code 1.  

This includes modules (short programmes/courses) which may be part of a longer regular education 
programme  and  are  taken  and  completed,  giving  to  their  graduates  the  corresponding  academic 
credit, independent of whether the person continues to complete the full programme or not. The field 
and  level  of  the  short  programmes/courses  will  be  the  same  as  the  programme  of  which  they  form 
part. 

For apprentices who in the past 4 weeks are in a period of only 'on-the-job training' or alternate ‘on-
the-job’  and  ‘in-school  learning’  within  the  framework  of  an  alternate  (e.g.  dual)  programme,  the 
answer is code 1, since the person is enrolled in a qualifying programme. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE QUESTIONNAIRE 

Instead of using a general statement, the corresponding national names should be used to make the 
question more recognisable. 

A  national  list  of  widely  known  educational  programmes  or  schools,  colleges,  universities  and 
institutions providing formal education could be used for asking this question. 

Col. 294: Level of this education or training 

Level refers to the programme mentioned in Col. 121 

Level is coded according to the International Standard Classification of Education 1997 and consists 
of  only  levels  without  destination  (educational  or  labour  market:  A-C)  or  orientation  (general,  pre-
vocational, vocational).  

(cid:131) 

(cid:131) 

(cid:131) 

(cid:131) 

ISCED 1 Primary education 

ISCED 2 Lower secondary education 

ISCED 3 Upper secondary education 

ISCED 4 Post secondary education, non-tertiary 

40

 
(cid:131) 

(cid:131) 

ISCED 5 Tertiary education 

ISCED 6 Postgraduate education 

If the respondent has been enrolled in several educational programmes during the reference period he 
or she should only give information on the most recent educational programme. 

SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ON CODING 

Level 4 may not exist in some countries. See national ISCED-Mapping 

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE QUESTIONNAIRE 

The  questionnaire  could  consist  of  detailed  list  of  national  names  of  the  programmes  which  would 
imply a post-coding the answers to make them corresponding to the Col. 294. 

Col. 295/297: Field of this education or training 

For the coding of Col. 295/297 see Col. 309/311. 

If the respondent has been enrolled in several educational programmes during the reference period he 
or she should only give information on the most recent educational programme.  

SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ON CODING 

See under Col. 309/311 

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE QUESTIONNAIRE 

See under Col. 309/311 

A  question  on  this  variable  could  be:  "Which  was  the  main  subject/content  of  the  educational 
programme".  

The  subject/content  of  the  educational  programme  is  coded  to  the  field  of  education/training  that 
applies. 

If the interviewer can not code the answer with one of the 15 codes an open answer and post-coding 
is recommendable.  

Col.  298:  Participation  in  courses,  seminars,  conferences  etc.  outside  the  regular  education 
system 

This variable covers all organised learning activities outside the regular education.  

This is what may be called non-formal education and training. 

A non-formal learning activity is defined as being organised like a course, a conference or seminar for 
which the interviewee has applied and has participated in. 

It could be for a short or a longer period also with minor breaks.  

A non-formal learning activity may exceed the reference period (starting before or finishing later)   

It includes the following activities: 

(cid:131)  Attending a course or a seminar to get or to improve skills, knowledge and competence. This 
includes  both  courses  leading  to  certificates  and  courses  not  leading  to  certificates.  The 
courses  can  be  attended  to  improve  job  related  knowledge  or  improve  skills  for  social  and 
personal purposes. 

(cid:131)  Attending a seminar, a course or a lecture to gain vocational guidance and to give a first step 
to working life, which isn’t leading to a recognised qualification. This includes measures which 
show  and  analyse  the  labour  market,  his  or  hers  needs  and  possibilities  and  which  help  to 
choose  a  job  and  also  measures  which  improve  basic  skills/key  skills  in  public  or  private 
institutions. The training is taught and within a group on full time basis (or maybe part time) for 
a shorter period. 

41

 
(cid:131)  Attending  a  correspondence  course,  a  tele-teaching  or  a  comparable  measure  of  teacher-

supported distance learning to improve skills, knowledge or competence. 

(cid:131)  Private lessons to improve skills, knowledge and competence, especially as a supplement to 
formal education.  This  includes supplementary course by  a  private  tutor.  Leisure  classes  for 
example  studying  a  language  for  ‘leisure’  purposes,  even  if  the  qualifications  achieved  may 
correspond to (part of) A-level the attendance should be considered as a non-formal 'course'.  

It  is  recommended  that  the  operational  definition  contain  examples  from  the  national  learning 
environment. Below follows some examples; 

(cid:131)  Taught courses in job-related skills provided by the employer at the workplace or in other units 
belonging to the employer. Attending a course, seminar, conference provided by the employer 
at the workplace or in any of the employer's premises. 

(cid:131)  Courses, seminars etc provided by an external enterprise (not the employer) with education as 

its main activity  

(cid:131)  Courses,  seminars  etc  provided  by  an  external  enterprise  (not  the  employer)  which  main 

activity is production of goods and services. 

(cid:131)  Participation in study circles. The study circle is defined as a small group of people who meet 
regularly over a long period of time, plan and organise their studies under the guidance of an 
approved leader. It can also be provided by adult education associations. 

(cid:131)  Participating  in  preparatory  labour  market  training  as  part  of  a  labour  market  policy 

programme. 

(cid:131)  Attending a course, seminar conference provided by trade unions or employers' associations 

(cid:131)  Attending labour market training provided by the Employment Service Agency 

(cid:131)  Attending an foreign language course 

(cid:131)  Attending correspondence courses provided by correspondence institutes 

(cid:131)  Attending  art  courses,  piano  lessons,  courses  in  Chi  gong,  riding  lessons  etc.  (courses  for 

personal/social reasons). 

(cid:131)  Music school, driving school or provider of courses in parenthood, hobby activities for example 

weaving and sports. 

(cid:131)  Received instructions or private lessons from a teacher, tutor or adviser 

(cid:131)  Other educations, courses, seminars or conferences 

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE QUESTIONNAIRE 

A national list of widely known courses or institutions providing non-formal education could be used for 
asking  this  question  (e.g.  Adult  education  institutions).  This  could  be  completed  with  a  reference  to 
well known national examples of seminars, conferences etc. 

Col. 299/301: Number of hours spent in all taught learning activities within the last 4 weeks 

Duration in number should reflect the number of taught hours only. 

The definition of total time spent in taught learning by the individual is the total number of hours that 
the  individual  has spent  on  participating  in  classes,  seminars,  conferences,  lectures,  tutorials  etc.  or 
receiving instruction or advice. Only the hours of instruction should be included in the total time spent 
in taught learning, which means that travelling time and homework should be excluded. 

Col. 302: Purpose of the most recent taught activity 

The following definitions apply: 

Job-related  (professional):  the  respondent  takes  part  in  this  activity  in  order  to  obtain  knowledge 
and/or  learn  new  skills  for  a  current  or  a  future  job,  increase  earnings,  improve  job-  and/or  carrier 
opportunities in a current or another field and generally improve his/her opportunities for advancement 
and promotion. 

42

 
Non  job-related  (personal/social):  the  respondent  take  part  in  this  activity  in  order  to  develop 
competencies required for personal, community, domestic, social or recreational purposes. 

Col. 303/305: Field of the most recent taught learning activity 

Although  the  classification  used  does  not  cover  the  very  broad  offer  of  subjects  in  courses, 
conferences, seminars etc, it is coded in the same way as programmes under Col. 309/311 and Col. 
295/297 to facilitate implementation and allow aggregation. 

According to the manual on fields of education and training the main subject content of the programme 
decides which field it should be classified into. "Thus, the distinction between fields does not take into 
account the personal purposes of the participation in the programmes (pleasure, leisure, to get a job 
etc.), nor is the intended occupation explicitly taken into account.  

As  not  many  detailed  codes  (3  digits)  and  narrow  codes  (2  digits)  are  used  in  this  coding  the  most 
precise code available should be used (put in brackets below). 

In the following some examples of coding courses according to the principle of the theoretical content 
as the most important criteria are shown (with the code to be used in this connection in brackets) in 
other words: the answer for each activity should be coded with the most detailed code possible and 
only with one code. 

Courses  attended  for  personal  reasons  that  are  not  possible  to  allocate  to  specific  codes  should  be 
coded as ‘General Programmes’ (000). 

Do-it-your-self (unspecified): 090 (000) 

Tango, waltz, other dances: 212 (200) 

Home furnishing: 214 (200) 

Weaving (Craft): 215 (200) 

Embroidery (Craft):215 (200) 

Needlecraft: 215 (200) 

Feng Shui (spiritual belief):221 (200) 

Basic programmes in reading, writing etc. for immigrants (for example Swedish for immigrants):222 

Foreign languages: 222   

Education in the German society, like norms, behaviour, laws etc.:310 (300) 

Mediation (in public conflicts etc.): 313 (300) 

Inter-religious or inter-cultural dialogue: 313 (300) 

Genealogy: 322 (300) 

Weaving (industrial): 542 (500) 

Embroidery and needlework (industrial): 542 (500)   

Sewing (industrial): 542 (500) 

Computer science: 481 

Computer use (most of the activities probably has to be coded under ‘Computer use’): 482   

Anti-stress, relaxation, relaxing, how to manage stress: 726 (700) 

Courses in psycho-body-mental therapy not leading to an official certificate: 726 (700) 

Courses for parents in educational questions are to be coded as ‘Child care and youth services’: 761 
(700)  

Cooking (hotels, restaurants): 811 (800) 

Social games, round games, like monopoly, bridge, chess (recreation and leisure):812 (800) 

For collectors of special objects (e.g., stamps, coins etc.): (Leisure): 812 (800) 

43

 
Sports and other physical activities with the purpose to stay healthy: 813 (800) 

Yoga, ayurveda: 813 (800) 

Qigong, shiatsu: 813 (800) 

Riding lesson: 813 (800) 

Needlework (home): 814 (800) 

Sewing (home): 814 (800) 

Cooking (home): 814 (800) 

Prevent stress at the workplace: 862 (800) 

Col. 306: Did the most recent taught learning activity take place during paid working hours 

This  variable  informs  on  the  support  to  the  course  by  the  employer.  It  refers  to  the  degree  that  the 
activity takes place during paid working hours meaning that the working hours are used to attend the 
activity  instead  of  working.  It  also  includes  the  case  of  where  a  number  of  working  hours  are  being 
replaced by learning activity even if the activity itself takes place outside normal working time of the 
respondent. 

If  the  learning  activity  takes  place  outside  normal  working  time  and  the  respondent  has  received 
payment for the hours or additional leisure hours, the activity should be coded as during paid working 
hours. 

The answer should only reflect the participation in the course itself and not homework. 

Self-employed should be treated as employed. 

Contributing  family  workers  (those  workers  who  hold  a  'self-employment'  job  in  a  market-oriented 
establishment operated by a related person living in the same household), who cannot be regarded as 
partners, voluntary social workers and others working without being paid but attending a course within 
that area should be coded as "4: Only outside paid hours", as there are no paid working hours. 

If a person attends a long course (within the reference period) and does not have a job all the time of 
the  course,  there  will  be  two  periods  of  the  course:  the  period  where  the  person  is  in  job  and  the 
period where the person is not in job. The answer and coding should reflect the situation in the longest 
period of the course (again within the reference period)  

Col. 309/311: Field of education 

Field is coded according to the manual on Fields of Education and Training, EUROSTAT 1999. 

Fields of Education 

ISCED 97 contains 25 two-digit fields of education. The classification used here goes up to a three-
digit  code  in  a  hierarchical  system  for  classifying  fields  of  education,  where  the  two-digit  level  is  the 
ISCED  97  fields  of  education.  It  is  mainly  the  first  two  digits  that  are  used  in  international  data 
collection. However, the third digit gives a more flexible system, and other aggregations based on the 
third digit may be used in ad hoc data collections to suit specific purposes.  

There are 9 broad fields, (1-digit), 25 narrow fields, 2-digit) and about 80 detailed fields (3-digit). 

The  coding  used  here  is  in  broad  fields  (1  digit)  except  for  foreign  languages  within  ‘Humanities, 
languages and arts’ (200) and a few fields of particular policy relevance under ‘Science, mathematics 
and computing’ (400) where 2 and 3 digits are used. The rule is that the field should be coded at the 
most detailed level and only once. 

The rule for coding is that the respondents should be coded with the most detailed code possible and 
only with one code. 

The broad field 200: ‘Humanities, languages and arts’ includes the detailed fields ‘Foreign languages’ 
with code 222. So respondents, having ‘Foreign languages’, should be coded with 222, and not with 
code 200. All other respondents with field of attainment within ‘Humanities, languages and arts’ should 
be coded with 200. 

44

 
Similarly the broad field 400 : ‘Science, Mathematics and Computing’ includes the narrow fields: ‘Life 
science’ (including ‘Biology and Environmental science’) with  codes 420, ‘Physical science’ (including 
‘Physics, Chemistry and Earth science’) with code 440, ‘Mathematics and statistics’ with code 460 and 
the  detailed  fields:  ‘Computer  science’  with  code  481  and:  ‘Computer  use’  with  code  482.  So  all 
respondents, having any of those narrow or detailed fields as their attainment field, should be coded 
with  the  corresponding  code.  All  other  respondents  with  field  of  attainment  within  ‘Science, 
mathematics and computing’ should be coded with 400. 

Respondents with field of attainment in any other broad field should be coded with 1 digit + ‘00’. 

SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ON CODING 

Inter-disciplinary programmes 

‘Inter-disciplinary programmes’ has here the meaning of programmes combining (generally two) fields 
of education and training. For these programmes (see example 1 to 4), the ‘majority rule’ should be 
used, that is the subject that dominates decides into which field the programme should be classified. 
The dominating criterion is normally the time used on the subject. 

Example 1:  A programme consisting of both Computer science (481) and Computer use (482) should 
be classified according to which of the subjects dominates, that is on which subject most of the time is 
spent. 

In  Example  2  subjects  fall  into  the  same  broad  field  but  in  two  different  narrow  fields.  Also  in  this 
example,  use  the  majority  rule.  The  programme  is  not  broad  enough  to  be  considered  as  a  ‘broad 
programme’. 

Example  2:  A  programme  combining  study  of  life  science  with  study  of  physical  science  should  be 
classified according to which of the fields dominates; 420 ‘Life science’ or 440 ‘Physical science’. 

In Example 3 subjects fall into two different broad fields (3 and 8). Use the majority rule; you are more 
or less obliged to do that as there is no other solution (except 999). 

Example 3: A programme that mainly includes subjects within the area of social sciences should be 
allocated to field 300 (‘Social sciences, Business and Law’) even if a certain amount of services within 
environmental protection technology (field 851 ‘environmental protection technology’) is included. 

Programmes aiming at one specific vocational field consisting also of supporting subjects from other 
fields are not considered as broad programmes in this context. 

Example  4:  In  a  programme  in  physics,  more  time  may  be  devoted  to  other  supporting  subjects 
(language, mathematics, statistics etc.) than the intended subject. However, this programme should be 
classified as 440 ‘Physical science’ and not as a broad programme. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE QUESTIONNAIRE 

In order to be sure that the most detailed field is found in case both broad and narrow/detailed fields 
are possible codes, the most detailed codes could precede the less detailed ones in the questionnaire. 

If the interviewer can not code the answer with one of the 15 codes an open answer and post-coding 
is recommended. 

45