CELEX: 51988PC0186
Language: en
Date: 1988-04-19
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) on the organization of a labour force sample survey in the Spring of 1989 (submitted by the Commission)

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COM (88) 186
Vol. 1988/0058
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 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                      COM(88 ) 186 final
                                      Brussels, 19 April 1988
                          Proposai for a
                     COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC )
     on the organization of a labour force sample survey in
                        the Spring of 1989
                  ( submitted by the Commission )
                       /
 ---pagebreak---                                EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1. For the purposes of Community action programmes , the sériés of Labour
   force sample surveys is currently the sole source of statistics on the
   structure and development of employment and unemployment compiled by
   uniform methods and based on common définitions . Its results , reflecting
   as they do the problems of employment and unemployment from different
   points of view , thus make a considérable contribution to statistical
   documentation requirements for social , économie , régional , industrial and
   agricultural policies , as well as for éducation ,            compétition and
   envi ronmental policy .
2. The challenge of the Single European Act , and the Commission 's proposal to
   double in real terms by 1992 the budgetary resources earmarked for the
   structural Funds mean that the information provided by this survey is all
   the more important . It will provide the basic statistics required for four
   of the five objectives of the structural Funds :
   . achieving growth and adaptation in regional economies showing structural
      backwardness , so that they can be fully integrated into the Community
      area ( Objective No 1 );
   . converting declining , sometimes devastated , industrial regions ,         by
      helping them to develop new activities ( Objective No 2 );
   . combatting long-term unemployment , which is now affecting ail âge groups
      of Europe' s working population ( Objective No 3 );
   . intégration into employment of young people ( Objective No 4 ) .
3. As the harmonization of national statistics is limited by national laws
   and practices , the Community surveys have been able to provide a more
   reliable basis for comparative analysis at Community , Member State and , in
   some cases , regional levels . The results of these surveys can also be used
   to establish consistent estimates and thus make it possible to use non-
   harmonized national statistics for Community purposes .
4. The survey results basically allow analysis of :
   a ) the structure of the population with regard to activity , such as
       persons in employment , persons with work experience , persons undergoing
       training ;
   b ) the   structure   of   employment   according   to its  occupational    and
       démographie cha racteri st i es ;
   c ) the    structure    of    unemployment   according  to   its    demographic
       characteristics , work experience and characteristics of job search .
   The survey is also the sole instrument avai labié for analysing the socio-
   economic situation of households .
                                                                                   2
 ---pagebreak---                                           2
5.  In a period of major structural changes in employment and continuing
   difficulties in the labour market , a labour force sample survey must be
   carried out every year in order to ensure that the information on changes
   is as up - to - date as possible .    The sixth statistical programme of the
   Statistical     Office   of  the  European  Communities  provides for   annual
   surveys .
6.  In order to ensure that analysis of the employment situation and the
   position of the labour market , over a period of time , is reliable , these
   surveys must be based on the same pattern over a number of years . As in
   1984 , 1985 , 1986 , 1987 and 1988 , the content of the 1989 survey will be
   the same as that of the 1983 survey , which marked the beginning of a new
   series .
7. The Member States will receive a lump-sum contribution to the fixed costs
   and a flat-rate contribution for each household taking part in the survey
   on the basis of     the total number of households  laid down in Article 3 of
   the Council Regulation . The lump-sum contribution amounts to 100,000 ECU
   for all Member States except Luxembourg and to 75,000 ECU for Luxembourg ;
   the flat-rate contribution per household participating in the survey
   amounts to 3,70 ECU . This breakdown of the contribution is intended to
   better compensate the smaller countries for the relatively greater
   financial burden . In view of the number of households provided for in the
   samples of the various Member States , the total amount for the Member
   States will be 3,890,000 ECU , which will be entered in Article 351 of the
   preliminary draft budget for 1989 .
                                                                                  J
 ---pagebreak---                                                Proposai for    a
                                        COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) *
                    on the organization of a labour force sample sur/ey in the Spring of 19ig>;
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                         one member of a household provides information for
                                                                 other members, this shall be clearly indicated .
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Economic Community, and in particular Article 213
thereof,
                                                                                            Article 3
Having regard to the draft Regulation submitted by the
Commission,                                                     The sample shall compromise between 60 000 and
                                                                 i 00 000 households in Germany, France, Italy, the United
Whereas in order to carry out the tasks which are                Kingdom and Spain, between 30 000 and 50 000 in
assigned to it by the Treaty, and in particular by Articles      Beigium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Gretce and Portugal,
2, 92, 117, 118 , 122 and 123 thereof, the Commission            between 15 000 and 30 000 in Denmark and approxima-
must be acquainted with the situation and developments           tely 10 000 in Luxembourg.
in employment and unemployment ;
Whereas the statistical information available in each of                                    Article 4
the Member States does not provide a suitable basis for
comparison, particularly because of the differences             The survey shall cover :
between the laws, rules and administrative practices of the
Member States on which those statistics are based ;             (a) the individual characteristics of all members of the
                                                                      household questioned, namely : sex, age, marital
Whereas the best method of ascertaining the level and the             status, nationality, type of household in which the
structure of employment and unemployment consists in                  person is living and surveyed, type of family relation¬
carrying out harmonized and synchronized Community                    ship within the household. The members of one
labour force sample survey, as has been done regularly in             household shall be identified by a joint serial number
the past ;                                                            and a code designating the State and region in which
                                                                      the household is questioned ;
Whereas in a period of continuing and increasing diffi¬
culties on the labour market and of structural changes in       (b) situation with regard to economic activity of these
the employment sector, fully up-to-date information must              persons at the time of the survey and characteristics of
be made available ;                                                   their work as follows : occupation , status, economic
                                                                      activity, number of hours usually and actually worked
Whereas only the repetition in 1988^of the survey carried             and reasons for any difference between the two ; full
out in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 and- 1987, will enable this             or part-time work, permanent or temporary work and
information to be obtained.                        HS ?               any paid second job ;
                                                                (c) attempts to find work, with, in particular the following
                                                                      information : the type and extent of the work sought,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :                                         the conditions and reasons, methods and length of
                                                                      time spent seeking work, whether unemployment
                                                                      benefit or aid is being received, the situation directly
                           Article 1                                  preceding the start of the search for work and the
                                                                      availability for work or the reasons for not being avai¬
In the Spring of \ 98jf the Statistical Office of the Euro¬           lable ;
pean Communities shall conduct a labour force sample
survey for the Commission based on a sample of house¬           (d) the highest level of education or training completed :
holds in each of the Member States.                                   the type and purpose of educational and training
                                                                      courses in which persons aged from 14 to 49 have
                                                                      recently taken part ;
                           Article 2
                                                                (e) work experience of persons of working age without
The survey shall be carried out in each of the Member                work including the characteristics of the last job and
States in a sample of households having their residence in           the time of, and reasons for, its coming to an end ;
 the territory of those States at the /time of the survey. The
Member States shall take measures to prevent double             (f) the situation of the members of the household one
counting of persons with more than one residence.                    year before the present survey, including : country and
                                                                     region of residence, position with regard to economic
The information shall be collected for each member of                activity and, if employed, economic activity and occu¬
 the households induded in the sample. In cases where                pational status of the job held.
 ---pagebreak---                          Article 5                             comparative analysis at Community level as well as at thè
                                                               level of thè Member States and certain regions. The statis¬
The information shall be gathered by the statistical           tica! Services of thè Member States shall forward to thè
services of the Member States on the basis of the list of
                                                               Statistica! Office of thè European Communities thè
questions drawn up by the Commission in cooperation            results of thè survey, duly checked, for each person ques-
with the competent services of the Member States.              tioned, without any indication of name or address.
The Commission shall determine , jn collaboration with
the Member States , the details of the survey, in particular                             Article 7
the starting and closing dates and the deadlines for trans¬    Items of information relating to individuals provided in
mission of the results. The statistical services of the
                                                               the context of the survey may be used for statistical
Member States shall ensure the representative nature of        purposes only. They may not be used for fiscal or other
the sample according to practice in the Member States,
                                                               purposes and may not be communicated to third parties.
which may, in certain cases, make the provision of replies
compulsory. They shall also ensure that at least a quarter     The Member States and the Commission shall take the
of the survey units are taken from the 1 98)['survey and       requisite steps to penalize any infringement of the obliga¬
that a proportion of e* least a quarter may form part of a     tion under the first paragraph to preserve the confidentia¬
subsequent survey. These two groups shall be identified        lity of the information gathered .
by a code.
                                                                                         Article 8
                         Article 6
                                                               The Member States shall receive a contribution towards
The Member States shall endeavour to ensure that the           the conduct of the survey. The amount of the contribu ¬
information requested is furnished truthfully and in its       tion shall be set off against the appropriations provided
entirety within the period specified . They shall ensure       for this purpose in the budget of the European Commu¬
that the survey provides a reliable foundation for a           nities .
                This Régulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in ail Member
                States .
                Done at Brussels,
                                                                           For the Council
                                                                             The President
                                                                                                                           S
 ---pagebreak---                                 FINANCIAL REPORT
1. Budget heading concerned :
   Article 351 " Statistical studies and surveys "
2. Legal basis
   Council Regulation ( EEC ) . .
3. Proposed classification as compulsory / non-compulsory expenditure
   Non-compulsory
4. Description of work and justification for it :
   4.1 . Purpose
         To conduct a labour force sample survey in the Member States in the
         spring of 1989 to determine the structure and level of employment
         and unemployment in Member States on a comparable and harmonized
         basis .
   4.2 . Persons concerned
         a ) Survey unit : private households
         b ) Responsible for survey : statistical offices of the Member States .
5. Type of expenditure and method of calculation :
   5.1 . Calculation
         Each Member State receives - as in 1984 , 1985 , 1986 , 1987 and 1988 -
         a lump-sum contribution and a flat-rate contribution for each
         household taking part in the survey .         This breakdown of the
         contribution is intended to better compensate the smaller countries
         for their relatively greater financial burden .
                                                                                 4
 ---pagebreak---                                         2
   5.2 . Amount
         Lump-sum :
         Luxembourg :                                           75,000    ECU
         Each other Member State :                           100,000      ECU
         Contribution per household questioned :                     3,70 ECU
         Estimated number of households included in all
         national samples :                                  733,000
         Total contribution :                              3,890,000      ECU
6. Financial conséquences of the work on intervention appropri at ions :
   6.1 . Commitment and payment appropriations periods
                              CA ( Mio ECU )     PA ( Mio ECU )
         1988                 3,890              3,890
         1989                                    depending on the date on which
                                                 the data are supplied certain
                                                 balances may be paid
   6.2 . Community contribution ( as % ) to the total cost of the work
         Dépends on the Member State ( on average does not exceed 20 - 25 % ).
   6.3 . System of financing during the current year
         In principle , the Commission requires data to be supplied during
         1989 , but , in the case of some Member States , data may have to be
         supplied at the beginning of 1990 . The data on which the final
         payment is made depends on the supply date .
7. Comments
   Same form of financing as for 1984 to 1988 surveys conducted in accordance
   with Council Regulations . The sum provided for the 1988 survey was
   3.890.000 ECU , corresponding to a sample of 733,000 households , since not
   all Member States were yet in a position to reach the ideal maximum sample
   size foreseen in the regulation ( 790,000 ), which the Commission considers
   necessary to ensure the reliability of the results , particularly at the
   level of certain regions .
                                                                                1
 ---pagebreak---          С.РИРЕТ1ПУЕЙЕ83 ^N0 ЕМРЦЗУПЕЙТ 1Г1РАСТ.. ВТЙТЕМБ.МТ
The Community labour force survey is addressed to the inhabitants
of a sample of private households in all member states , and as
such has no direct impact on small and medium-sized enterprises .