REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98
Date: 2012-11-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU statistics, Eurostat, data protection, employment statistics, personal data, sampling, statistical method, working population

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 28.11.2012  
COM(2012) 701 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98 on the organisation of the labour force sample survey in 
the  Community1  sets  minimum  standards  for  the  harmonised  production  of  labour  force 
surveys  in  the  European  Union  and  its  Member  States.  It  was  amended  in  2002,  2003  and 
20072. 

Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 577/98 states that: 
‘A report on the implementation of this Regulation shall be submitted by the Commission to 
the  Parliament  and  the  Council  every  three  years,  beginning  in  the  year  2000.  This  report 
shall  evaluate  in  particular  the  quality  of  the  statistical  methods  envisaged  by  the  Member 
States to improve the results or to lighten the survey procedures.’ 
This is the Commission's fifth report to the Parliament and the Council. 

Section 2 gives an overview of the European Union Labour Force Survey and its relevance to 
supporting European Union policies.  

Section  3  takes  stock  of  how  Regulation  (EC)  No  577/98  has  been  implemented  in  the 
Member States, in Candidate countries, in EFTA countries and in Switzerland.  

Section 4 focuses on ongoing initiatives launched by the European Statistical System3 (ESS) 
to improve the quality and reduce the burden of the Labour Force Survey. 

2. 

OVERVIEW OF THE LABOUR FORCE SURVEY 

2.1. 

General description 

The  European  Union  Labour  Force  Survey  (hereinafter  referred  to  as  EU-LFS)  is  a  large 
sample survey of residents in private households. It provides both quarterly and annual labour 
market statistics, on employment and unemployment, as well as on people outside the labour 
force. It  also  collects multi-annual information  from  ad  hoc  modules  and  provides  input  for 
model-based monthly estimates of unemployment and unemployment rates. 

The  national  statistical  institutes  of  the  Member  States  are  responsible  for  designing 
national questionnaires, drawing the sample, conducting interviews and sending results to the 

1 
2 

3 

OJ L 77, 14.3.1998, p. 3. 
Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  2104/2002  (OJ  L  324,  29.11.2002,  p.  14),  Regulations  (EC)  No 
1991/2002 (OJ L 308, 9.11.2002, p. 1), (EC) No 2257/2003 (OJ L 336, 23.12.2003, p. 6) and (EC) No 
1372/2007 (OJ L 315, 3.12.2007, p. 42) of the European Parliament and of the Council. 
The  ESS  is  the  partnership  between  the  European  statistical  authority,  which  is  the  European 
Commission (Eurostat), and the national statistical institutes and other national authorities responsible 
in each Member State for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics. 

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Commission  (Eurostat)  in  accordance  with  a  common  coding  scheme  established  by 
Commission Regulation (EC) No 377/20084.  

Eurostat  is  in  charge  of  monitoring  the  implementation  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  577/98, 
providing  assistance  to  national  statistical  institutes,  promoting  harmonised  concepts  and 
methods, and disseminating comparable national and European labour market statistics. 

The  EU-LFS  sample  size  is  1.8  million  people  every  quarter,  covering  33  participating 
countries5. This makes the EU-LFS the largest household survey in Europe. 

2.2. 

Relevance 

The  EU-LFS  is  the  most  important  source  of  official  statistics  on  labour  markets  in  the 
European Union. All in all, it collects more than 100 variables on labour status, employment 
characteristics,  working 
individuals, 
time,  educational  background  and 
complemented  by  thematic  yearly  ad  hoc  modules6.  Based  on  international  standards  and 
definitions,  it  has  relevance  beyond  European  Union  borders,  enabling  the  situation  in  the 
European labour market to be compared with that in other areas or countries.  

training  of 

Some key  EU  policy  initiatives  rely  on  EU-LFS  data  to  monitor  progress.  For  instance,  the 
EU-LFS  is  one  of  the  main  data  sources  for  monitoring  Member  States’  progress  under 
the employment guidelines in the context of Article 148 of the Treaty on the Functioning of 
the  European  Union7  (TFEU) and  the  EU’s  growth  strategy,  Europe  2020.  Two  of  the  five 
Europe 2020 headline targets are monitored with LFS indicators (75 % target for employment 
rate  20-64;  share  of  early  school  leavers  under  10 %;  at  least  40 %  of  30-34  years  to  have 
completed  tertiary  education). Many  other  LFS-based  indicators  are  used  under  the  Europe 
2020  Joint  Assessment  Framework.  The  EU-LFS  data  also  played  a  key  role  in  the  Lisbon 
Strategy (2000-2010).  

The LFS-based monthly unemployment rate is an important short-term economic indicator. It 
is  one  of  the  Principal  European  Economic  Indicators8,  also  used  to  build  moving  annual 
averages  of  unemployment  rates  for  the  scoreboard  of  economic  and  financial  indicators  to 
detect  macroeconomic  and  competitiveness  imbalances.  The  EU-LFS  provides  input  for 
national accounts information on employed persons and on working time, and on other areas 
beyond the labour market, such as education. 

Finally,  the  EU-LFS  is  one  of  the  most  important  sources  of  statistical  microdata  for 
researchers in Europe. The large samples enable studies to be done on specific groups in the 
labour  market.  There  is  also  broad  coverage  of  demographic,  regional  and  educational 
background variables, among others. 

4 
5 

OJ L 114, 26.4.2008, p. 57. 
Participating  countries  are  the  27  Member  States,  Iceland,  Norway,  Switzerland,  Croatia,  the  Former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey. 
The ad-hoc modules in 2008, 2009 and 2010 were: 

6 
2008: Labour market situation of migrants and their immediate descendants 
2009: Entry of young people into the labour market 
2010: Reconciliation between work and family life. 
7 

See Council Decision 2011/308/EU of 19 May 2011 on guidelines for the employment policies of the 
Member States, OJ L 138, 26.5.2011, p. 56. 
See Principal European Economic Indicators — A statistical guide, Eurostat 2009. 

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3. 

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LABOUR FORCE SURVEY 

3.1. 

Accuracy 

Estimates  from  sample  surveys  are  subject  to two types of errors: sampling errors and non-
sampling  errors.  Together,  they  determine  the  accuracy  of  the  estimates.  Sampling  errors 
occur because only a subset of the whole population is surveyed. Non-sampling errors are all 
other  errors  introduced  that  are  not  the  result  of  sampling  (coverage  errors,  measurement 
errors, processing errors, non-response errors). 

As regards sampling errors, the size of the sample is the main determinant of sampling errors. 
Larger  samples  improve  the  accuracy  of  the  results.  The  table  below  shows  the  size  of  the 
sample  interviewed  each  quarter  in  each  participating  country,  in  absolute  terms  and 
compared  with  the  total  population.  The  sampling  rate9  ranges  from  0.2 %  (Belgium, 
Germany,  France,  United  Kingdom,  Croatia,  and  Turkey)  to  1.6 % (Malta). On average,  the 
quarterly sample size was 1.8 million individuals in 2010, 0.3 % of the total population in the 
33 countries taking part. 

European Labour Force Survey 
Achieved sample size and percentage of the total population (average 2010 quarters) 

Quarterly 
sample size 
 (thousand) 
26 
34 
59 
30 
174 
5 
62 
76 
172 
108 
166 
11 
9 
17 
5 
71 
7 

Percentage 
of  
 total 
population 
0.2 % 
0.4 % 
0.6 % 
0.5 % 
0.2 % 
0.4 % 
1.4 % 
0.7 % 
0.4 % 
0.2 % 
0.3 % 
1.4 % 
0.4 % 
0.5 % 
0.9 % 
0.7 % 
1.6 % 

   NL 
   AT 
   PL 
   PT 
   RO 
   SI 
   SK 
   FI 
   SE 
   UK 
IS 
   NO 
   CH 
   HR 
   MK 
   TR 
   EU27 
  TOTAL 

Quarterly 
sample size 
(thousand) 
96 
46 
104 
40 
61 
16 
26 
37 
65 
106 
3 
20 
32 
10 
14 
131 
1 626 
1 837 

Percentage 
of  
 total 
population 
0.6 % 
0.5 % 
0.3 % 
0.4 % 
0.3 % 
0.8 % 
0.5 % 
0.7 % 
0.7 % 
0.2 % 
1.0 % 
0.4 % 
0.4 % 
0.2 % 
0.7 % 
0.2 % 
0.3 % 
0.3 % 

BE 
BG 
CZ 
DK 
DE 
EE 
IE 
EL 
ES 
FR 
IT 
CY 
LV 
LT 
LU 
HU 
MT 

Official  surveys,  such  as  the  EU-LFS,  use  probability  sampling.  This  makes  it  possible  to 
quantify  sampling  errors  that  can  be  expressed  in  terms  of  confidence  intervals.  The  table 
below  provides  the  estimates  and  95 %  confidence  intervals  reached  for  the  four  main 
indicators on aggregated EU-27 level. For example, the interval 215.5 – 216.5 covers the true 
value of employed persons with a 95 % probability. 

95 % confidence interval of the main LFS indicators for the EU27 (2010) 

9 

Defined as the ratio of the sample size (the number of sampling units in the sample) and the population 
size (the total number of sampling units in the target population). 

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Number of 
employed 
(million) 
216 ± 0.5 

Number of 
unemployed 
(million) 
22.9 ± 0.2 

Rate of 
unemployment 
(%) 
9.6 ± 0.1 

Average number 
of hours worked 
(hrs) 
37.3 ± 0.1 

These intervals correspond to the precision requirements set in Council Regulation (EC) No 
577/98. 

As  regards  non-sampling  errors,  Eurostat  and  participating  countries  regularly  monitor 
relevant  sources  of  non-sampling  errors  (non-response,  proxy  interviewing).  Participating 
countries  report  the  main  causes  of  errors  to  Eurostat  on  an  annual  basis,  along  with  the 
methods  applied  nationally  to  reduce  them.  A  summary  is  published  in  the  annual  quality 
report of the EU-LFS10. 

3.2. 

Timeliness and punctuality 

The  timeliness  of  statistics  is  defined  as  the  time  gap  between  the  reference  period  and  the 
availability  of  data  for  users.  For  the  EU-LFS,  this  time  span  depends  on  the  time  Member 
States  need  to  conduct  and  process  the  survey,  then  to  send  the  results  to  Eurostat,  and  for 
Eurostat to process, validate and publish the results. 

Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98 states that Member States have to deliver data to Eurostat 
within 12 weeks of the end of a reference quarter. Eurostat validates the national datasets as 
soon  as  they  are  received.  The  chart  below  shows  the  time  span  between  the  end  of  the 
reference  quarter  and  the  availability  of  data  for  Eurostat’s  users  for  the  period  2008-2010, 
compared to the last year covered by the previous report (2007). 

Dissemination of LFS data by Eurostat
Timeliness in 2007-2010

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100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

2007

2008

2009

2010

Q+12

Q+13

Q+14

Q+15

Q+16

>Q+16

Weeks after the end of the reference quarter

10 

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/product_details/publication?p_product_code=KS-
RA-12-021. 

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This shows that timeliness of LFS data has improved consistently over the period examined. 
In  2007,  Eurostat  published  90 %  of  Member  State  datasets  16  weeks  after  the  end  of  the 
reference  quarter.  By  2010,  this  ratio  was  reached  two  weeks  earlier.  Building  on  this 
improvement, Eurostat is now able to announce the dates of publication of its main quarterly 
indicators  for  Member  States  and  the  EU  aggregates.  Because  there  is  a  target  publication 
date,  Eurostat  can  measure  the  punctuality  of  statistics,  defined  as  the  time  lag  between  the 
release  date  announced  and  the  actual  release  date.  Eurostat  has  consistently  met  its 
publication date deadlines since the LFS release calendar was introduced. 

The timeliness of LFS data is also a key point for estimating monthly unemployment rates. As 
soon as national data are processed by Eurostat, they are used in the compilation of the next 
monthly  unemployment  rate  calculation.  The  monthly  unemployment  rate  is  published 
approximately 31 days after the end of the month. 

3.3. 

Accessibility and clarity 

Eurostat  disseminates  EU-LFS  statistics  in  several  ways.  The  main  tool  is  Eurostat’s  online 
database,  offering  more  than  350  tables  of  detailed  EU-LFS  data.  Headline  Europe  2020 
indicators are also published in a specific section of the website11. These tables cover only the 
most  important  LFS  results.  Eurostat  produces  other  combinations  of  EU-LFS  variables  as 
tailor-made tabulations on demand. 

LFS  microdata  are  also  highly  relevant  for  scientific  purposes.  More  and  more  researchers 
from  universities,  research  institutes and  national  statistical  institutes  across  Europe and 
beyond  request LFS microdata. Eurostat  has  been  providing  this  microdata free  of  charge 
since 2011. Access is granted in accordance with the terms set out in Commission Regulation 
(EC)  No  831/200212  to  ensure the  protection  of  survey  respondents'  personal  data.  The 
datafiles, consisting of individual records, are ‘anonymised’ to prevent unlawful disclosure of 
personal data. 

Detailed  documentation  (metadata)  is  provided  to  users  through  various  dissemination 
channels. General information is disseminated for the public at large on the LFS section of the 
Eurostat website13. Specific information on the content and quality of statistics is described in 
the  metadata  attached  to  each  table  in  the  database.  Finally,  more  advanced  methodological 
documentation  is  provided  in  specialised  publications  (e.g.  the  annual  quality  report,  and  a 
publication on the characteristics of national surveys, etc.). 

3.4. 

Comparability 

The EU-LFS draws on a high degree of harmonisation of concepts, definitions, classifications 
and  methodologies.  Regulation  (EC)  No  377/2008  defines  a  common  coding  scheme, 
ensuring  that  all  participating  countries  use  the  same  variable  definitions.  Common 
classifications  are  used  (e.g.  NACE  for  economic  activity,  ISCO  for  occupations)  and 
whenever  these  classifications  are  revised,  Eurostat  ensures  that  all  countries  taking  part 
coordinate  implementation.  In  addition,  common  explanatory  notes  provide  detailed 
guidelines  on  the  purpose,  coding  and  implementation  by  national  statistical  institutes. 
Methodological  issues  are  discussed  in  a  dedicated  working  group,  the  Working  Group  on 

11 
12 
13 

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/europe_2020_indicators/headline_indicators. 
OJ L 133, 18.5.2002, p. 7. 
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/employment_unemployment_lfs/introduction. 

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Labour  Market  Statistics,  which  fosters  the  exchange  of  experience  and  common  practices 
among all participating countries. 

To  ensure  that  the  measurement  of  unemployment  is  harmonised  across  all  countries 
participating,  Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  1897/200014  lays  down  an  operational 
definition of unemployment, as well as principles to be followed for formulating the survey 
questions  on  labour  status.  The  definition  of  unemployment  is  consistent  with  International 
Labour Organisation (ILO) standards, which were adopted by the 13th and 14th International 
Conferences  of  Labour  Statisticians.  This  ensures  that  EU-LFS  statistics  are  comparable  to 
those from other countries, especially those of other OECD members. 

Countries  regularly  improve  the  LFS,  either  in  its  methodology  or  processes.  If  such 
improvements  lead  to  breaks  in  LFS  data,  the  national  statistical  institute  involved  informs 
Eurostat.  Significant  breaks  are  documented  and  labelled  in  Eurostat  publications.  Eurostat 
publishes a special dataset called ‘LFS main indicators’, in which past series are adjusted for 
possible breaks and occasional data gaps are filled. 

3.5. 

Coherence 

Coherence between population estimates based on EU-LFS and from demographic statistics is 
an  important  aspect  of  overall  quality.  Being  a  sample  survey,  the  EU-LFS's  results  are 
calculated  from  the  responses  of  a  sub-set  of  the  population.  The  responses  are  then 
benchmarked  against  the  entire  population.  The  data  for  population  are  based  on  the  best 
estimates available at the time (broken down by sex and age groups to improve the accuracy 
of the procedure). In principle, this benchmarking procedure ensures coherence between EU-
LFS  and  demographic  statistics.  Differences  may,  however, occur under exceptional 
circumstances.  For 
instance,  every  10  years,  new  population  census results become 
available. If a new census yields figures that differ from previous population estimates, a past 
series  may  have  to  be  revised.  If  so,  the  revision  policy  for  demographic  statistics  and  EU-
LFS  may  differ  as regards 
the  availability 
timing,  constrained  by 
of detailed information on the population for the 10 years between censuses. 

length  and 

As  regards  coherence  of  unemployment  estimates,  many  countries  also  publish  statistics  on 
the number of persons registered at the public employment office and looking for work. The 
LFS  unemployment  figures  and  the  number  of  registered  job  seekers  differ  because  of  the 
different nature of the data collected. While the EU-LFS draws on a harmonised methodology 
to  survey  households  as  regards  their  employment  activities  and  availability  for  work,  the 
public employment offices' administrative records comprise an exhaustive list of individuals 
registered and eligible  for  unemployment benefits. As the criterion to be registered depends 
on  national  social  policies,  statistics  on  registered  job  seekers  are  not  comparable  across 
countries nor over time. 

Another  area  in  which  statistical  coherence  is  important  concerns  the  estimation  of 
employment, which can be provided both from LFS and from national accounts. Estimates are 
not  necessarily  the  same.  This  is  due  to  differences  in  methodologies  (the  concepts  and 
coverage of the population are not identical), but also to different compilation processes.  

14 

OJ L 228, 8.9.2000, p. 18. 

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National  accounts  are  compiled  by  comparing  and  combining  all  relevant  data  sources 
available  in  a  country,  taking  the  best  from  each  source  so  as  to  obtain  a  comprehensive 
result. They also seek coherence between employment and production (GDP).  

The LFS is one data source in that process, as well as business surveys, employment registers 
or  social  security  registers.  The  consistency  between  LFS  and  national  accounts  has  been 
addressed by the Labour Market Statistics Working Group. Eurostat monitors the differences 
between the two estimates, and several national statistical institutes have analysed the causes 
and  the  size  of  the  differences.  In  some  cases,  they  have  published  reconciliation  tables 
between the two datasets.  

All in all, national accounts are judged to be more suitable for measuring employment levels, 
employment growth and industry breakdowns.  

LFS is more  suitable  for measuring participation in the labour  market (i.e. employment and 
unemployment  rates,  activity  rates,  etc.),  or  for  analysing  the  situation  of  specific  socio-
economic groups in the population (e.g. by age, gender or educational level). 

4. 

INITIATIVES TO FURTHER IMPROVE THE LABOUR FORCE SURVEY 

4.1. 

Task Force on the quality of the LFS and follow-up actions 

In 2007, Eurostat and the Member States launched a quality review of the EU-LFS. A Task 
Force was set up to identify possible weaknesses, and to recommend appropriate actions for 
all dimensions of the quality framework for ESS statistical output. In its final report (2009)15, 
the Task Force formulated over 40 recommendations for improving the design, organisation 
and conduct of the survey. The recommendations vary in terms of complexity, scope, resource 
implications  and  the  time  needed  for  implementation.  Participating  countries  assessed 
themselves against the recommendations, and in 2010, each defined a national action plan to 
implement the recommendations. Progress on this is assessed regularly by the Labour Market 
Statistics Working Group. 

4.2. 

Developing new statistical products 

One way to extend the use of LFS results is to improve the use of the microdata available, for 
instance, by providing users with new indicators. For example, there are now new indicators 
to supplement the unemployment rate.  

Unemployment,  as  defined  by 
simultaneously:  

the  ILO,  requires 

three  conditions 

to  be  fulfilled 

not having worked even for one hour in the reference week; 
active job search; 
availability for work.  

Many  people  only  partially  meet  these  requirements,  so  they  are  not  considered  as 
unemployed  in  the  unemployment  statistics.  To  provide  indicators  on  these  specific  groups, 
and  hence  a  richer  picture  of  unmet  labour demand,  Eurostat  and  the  national  statistical 
institutes  of  the  Member  States  have  developed  definitions  of  three  new  indicators.  One 

15 

Task Force on the quality of the Labour Force Survey — Final report, Eurostat 2009. 

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indicator  concerns  underemployment  and  the  other  two  look  at  specific  situations  of 
joblessness  with  some  attachment  to  the  labour  market.  Data  on  these  groups were  first 
published in 2011. 

Another example is the new indicator on young people who are neither in employment nor in 
education/training (NEET). This is relevant for monitoring young adults at risk of being left 
behind by society. It combines information about education and about the labour market, both 
derived from EU-LFS data. 

Another  request  that  users  made  concerns  statistics  on  labour  market  dynamics.  This  is 
information  about  transitions  between  labour  statuses,  for  instance,  on  how  many  people 
became unemployed or found a job over a specified period. This makes it possible to identify 
groups  that  have  a  better  chance  of  finding  a  job,  or  vulnerable  groups  more  at  risk  of 
remaining unemployed.  

Meeting this data need with the EU-LFS is not straightforward, as the survey was originally 
designed to gather stock information (e.g. number of unemployed persons at a given point in 
time), rather than capturing flows. Flow estimates are, however, possible, though they are not 
as  accurate  as  stock  estimates  and  need  to  meet  certain  conditions.  In  most  participating 
countries,  the  LFS  is  designed  as  a  rotational  panel,  that  is,  where  the  same  person  is 
interviewed  several  times  in  consecutive  quarters.  This  design  enables  the  LFS  to  derive 
indicators  on  labour  market  transitions.  Some  countries  regularly  publish  this  kind  of  data 
already, using this panel aspect of the LFS.  

Action is needed to enable the same to be done at EU level. First, participating countries that 
do not have a rotational panel need to design a system on these lines. Second, the rotational 
patterns  differ  between  countries,  and  more  harmonisation  is  preferable.  Finally,  some 
remaining  methodological  challenges  need  to  be  overcome,  such  as  the  consistency  needed 
between stock-data and flows. In collaboration with Member States, Eurostat is working on 
the prerequisites needed for the EU-LFS to produce labour dynamics statistics in the future. 

4.3. 

The LFS in a modernised system of social statistics 

Building on the Commission's 'Communication on the production method of EU statistics: a 
vision  for  the  next  decade'16,  an  initiative  to  modernise  European  social  statistics  has  been 
launched.  In  the  2011  Wiesbaden  Memorandum17,  a  strategy  was  set  out  to  make  this 
concrete. It was agreed that, while maintaining high quality standards, efficiency gains in the 
production of social statistics were essential; and that to achieve these, joint progress towards 
a  common  architecture  for  European  social  statistics  was  necessary.  The  main  aims  of  the 
strategy are to: 

improve the sampling frames; 
streamline social surveys; 
make more use of new and existing data sources, particularly administrative sources. 

Modernising the organisation of social statistics will also have an impact on the Labour Force 
Survey. 

16 
17 

COM(2009) 404 of 10 August 2009. 
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/pgp_ess/0_DOCS/de/DGINS2011_memorandum.pdf  

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Making more use of new technologies will also be important in this strategy. In the case of 
social statistics, using the internet to collect data appears to be a promising way to improve 
the  efficiency  of  data  collection  and  to  maintain  the  good  will  of  respondents.  Several 
countries  are  carrying  out  projects  in  this  area.  To  stimulate  international  collaboration  and 
develop common tools, a joint ESS project18 was launched in 2012. The LFS will be the pilot 
survey for this project. 

Finally, Eurostat is currently evaluating LFS ad hoc modules. Each year, an ad hoc module on 
varying  topics  is  included  in  the  LFS.  The  process  of  compiling  it  could  be  made  more 
efficient and the quality of the results improved. One possible approach would be to introduce 
a  system  of  repeating  modules,  selected  from  a  shortlist  of modules,  with  the  possibility  to 
also  respond  to  emerging  policy  needs.  This  would  enable  better  monitoring  of  topics  on  a 
multi-annual basis.  

5. 

CONCLUSION 

Eurostat  monitors  compliance  with  the  legal  basis.  The  Commission  considers  the 
implementation of Regulation (EC) No 577/98 to be satisfactory. Member States are fully or 
almost fully complying with the Regulation. Open issues are discussed with Member States, 
and, if necessary, action plans are jointly defined. The overall quality of the EU-LFS is good. 

The European Statistical System is making efforts to introduce ongoing improvements in EU-
LFS processes and methods, and has kept up the momentum despite a difficult environment, 
with scarce resources and deep budget cuts. A review of EU-LFS methodology is under way 
to  adapt  to  changes  in  user  needs  and  to  new  challenges  (e.g.  improved  timeliness 
requirements,  estimates  on  labour  market  transitions).This  work  will  be  part  of  the  overall 
modernisation of social statistics.  

18 

‘Data collection for social surveys using multiple modes’. 

EN 

10 

   EN