European Union Labour Force Survey (EU LFS)

Summary

The EU-LFS represents a key source for the analysis of the labour market and socio-economic indicators. One of the main advantages of this data source is the large sample sizes, being the largest European household sample survey, allowing the study of subgroups. Nevertheless, the anonymisation procedure of the microdata could result in limitations for detailed analysis by economic sector and/or occupation. The more standardised sets of questions and systems of classification adopted for the collection of EU-LFS data, allows for the comparative occupational patterns across countries, as well as the study of gender differences and the interactions by economic sector and occupation. In terms of comparability, there are still differences regarding the information that can be retrieved from EU-LFS datasets and the national statistical institutes. This could result in different estimates of employment or different coding for qualifications between the EU-LFS and the National Accounts Systems. The Module on Transitions from Work into Retirement allows for the analysis of the planned age of retirement of senior workers aged 50 or above, rather than the effective age of retirement. Therefore, it allows for the cross-national analysis of the expected retirement age compared to the statutory retirement ages. One of the limitations is the required knowledge for the analysis of the module given the complex national legislation behind the issue of retirement when data was collected. A second module on Transitions from Work into Retirement was conducted during 2012, but results, quality information and additional resources are not yet available. Once available, the joint analysis of the data would shed some light on the effects of the recent reforms in pension and retirement systems across Europe. A second ad-hoc module on transitions from work into retirement was conducted in 2012, but results are not yet available.

Type of data

Data Source
Survey

Type of Study
Crosssection regular

Data gathering method
Telephone
Face-to-face

Access to data

Conditions of access
Main indicators derived from the LFS are available online on the Eurostat website. Detailed results fully based on the EU-LFS and that had no adjustments or corrections applied could also be retrieved online. These contain information on the following subjects: Total population, activity and activity rates, employment, employment rates, self-employed, employees, temporary employment, full-time and part-time employment, population in employment having a second job, working time, total unemployment and inactivity. The user can access and extract statistics according to specific dimensions (variables) like sex, age, highest level of education, nationality or economic activity. Through direct queries, customised tabulations of EU-LFS results are available to users in electronic format. Basic downloadable tables and information is available on the Eurostat website. Access to microdata is only provided for research purposes. Individuals cannot be granted access to data.

Type of available data (e.g. anonymised microdata, aggregated tables, etc.)
Anonymised microdata

Formats available
XLS, CSV, HTML, SPSS, TSV, PDF, PC-AXIS

Coverage

Coverage Years of collection, reference years, and sample sizes
Since 2005, all Member States of the EU conduct a continuous survey and provide quarterly results. In 2010, Switzerland was the last participating country which moved to a continuous survey. Thus, since 2010 all ESS countries provide quarterly and annual data. Anonymised microdata is available from 1983 - 2011 Sample size: All definitions apply to persons aged 15 years and over living in private households. Persons carrying out obligatory military or community service are not included in the target group of the survey, which is also the case for persons in institutions/collective households. Sampling rates vary between 0.2 and 3.3% (around 1.5 million people per quarter).

First year of collection
The first EU-LFS was organised in the six original Member States in 1960 by Eurostat. Currently, microdata files are available from 1983.

Stratification if applicable
All countries, except Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta and Iceland, stratify the sample frame prior to the sampling. All countries but Denmark use the region, either at NUTS 2, NUTS 3, NUTS 4 level or nationally defined areas, as stratification variable. The degree of urbanization (France, Spain, Ireland, Cyprus, Latvia, Poland, Slovenia, Bulgaria) or the classification in “urban / rural area” (Romania) is also a common stratification variable. Other stratification variables include, for example, register status of individuals in employment/unemployment registers (Denmark), population of town/community (Greece), and auxiliary information about the characteristics (size, type) of the primary sampling units (Spain, France, Italy, Hungary).

Base used for sampling

Geographical coverage and breakdowns
The EU-LFS currently covers thirty-three countries (participating countries) providing Eurostat with data from national labour force surveys: the 27 Member States of the European Union, three EFTA countries (Iceland, which at the same time is a candidate country, Norway and Switzerland), and three acceding and candidate countries, i.e. Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey. The EU-LFS is conducted by the national statistical institutes in accordance with Council Regulation (EEC) No. 577/98 of 9 March 1998 and the data are centrally processed by Eurostat. The EU-LFS is designed to give accurate quarterly information at national level and accurate annual information at NUTS 2 regional level. The LFS microdata for scientific purposes contain data for all 27 Member States and in addition Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. Data for individual countries are available depending on their accession date. Subject to data availability with the exception of Germany (anonymised microdata is provided from 2002 onwards only) and Malta (from 2009 onwards only).

Age range
15+ except those living in collective or institutional households (demographic data are gathered for all age groups, questions relating to labour market status are restricted to persons in the age group of 15 years or older). However, in several countries members of collective households are also sampled, either directly (register based sampling frames) or indirectly through their relationship with the sampled household. For Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, population data are not provided for the age-groups outside the scope of labour market questions.

Statistical representativeness
Population representative

Coverage of main and cross-cutting topics
The European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) provides population estimates for the main labour market characteristics, such as employment, unemployment, inactivity, hours of work, occupation, economic activity and other labour related variables, as well as important socio-demographic characteristics, such as sex, age, education, household characteristics and regions of residence. While demographic data are gathered for populations of all ages, questions relating to labour market status are restricted to persons in the age group 15 years or older. The EU-LFS is a key data source for the analysis of the situation and trends in the labour market. The survey provides quarterly and annual results on labour participation of people aged 15 and over, as well as on persons outside the labour force. By dividing the resident population at working age into three mutually exclusive and exhaustive groups (employed, unemployed, and economically inactive), the survey collects different variables depending on the status at the time of the survey. For the inactive population, search for employment, methods to find work, and previous work experience are gathered. For employed persons, the survey collects information on the employment characteristics of their main job, such as the principle activities, professional status, and working conditions. Finally, for unemployed persons, the duration of the unemployment status, the search for employment, methods to find work, as well as previous work experience are collected.

Linkage

Standardisation
General aggregation and anonymisation criteria agreed to by Eurostat and the NSIs of the Member States: Age: 5-year groups Nationality/country of birth: Up to 15 categories since 2009 NACE: 1 digit ISCO: 3 digits ISCED 97

Possibility of linkage among databases
Anonymised LFS microdata do not yet contain the information which would allow tracking people across waves. Household numbers are randomised per dataset. EU-LFS microdata, as received by Eurostat from the national statistical institutes, does not contain any administrative information that would allow direct identification.

Data quality

Entry errors if applicable
There are no estimates available on the rate of processing errors in the EU-LFS.

Breaks
The EU-LFS uses output harmonisation. This means that the EU issues standards for the output of the LFS in the Member States, but those standards do not impose a single way of designing or conducting the survey. The standards were established in the EU-LFS Regulation 577/1998. Based on the Regulation 577/98, most participating countries changed their labour force surveys into continuous surveys in the period 1998 to 2004. Since 2010, all countries conduct the LFS as a continuous survey, except Turkey. Until 1997, EU-LFS data was mainly collected on a yearly basis, usually in the spring of a reference year. Between 1998 and 2005, the transition to a quarterly continuous survey took place. In 2006, the structure of the LFS changed significantly to reduce the burden on respondents; since then, all variables have to be collected on a yearly basis (structural variables), but only a selection of them on a quarterly basis. To comply with the new structure, LFS data are basically divided into 2 databases: • Quarterly datasets containing only the quarterly variables (as defined in regulations 430/2005 and 377/2008) • Yearly datasets containing all variables of the core LFS survey, the quarterly and the structural ones (cp. the regulations mentioned above) Due to methodological changes, from 2011 onwards the results for Portugal are not comparable with the results for the previous series. Before 1998, education and training was related only to the activities relevant for the current or future possible job of the respondent. At this time, the information collected in the LFS relates to all education and training, whether relevant to the respondent's current or possible future job or not. It includes formal and non-formal education and training, which means in general activities in the school/university systems, but also courses, seminars workshops, etc. outside the formal education, regardless of their topic.

Consistency of terminology or coding used during collection
To ensure the comparability of the statistical results across countries and along time the EU-LFS • uses the same concepts and definitions • follows International Labour Organization guidelines • uses common classifications (NACE, ISCO, ISCED, NUTS) • records the same set of characteristics in each country

Governance

Contact information
Ms. Nicoletta Schweikle-Hilgner (for research contracts)
European Commission, Eurostat – Unit B1
5, rue Alphonse Weicker
2721 Luxembourg Luxembourg Phone:
Email: For research contracts: estat-microdata-access(at)ec.europa.eu; For other organisations: estat-entities-assessment(at)ec.europa.eu
Url: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/employment_unemployment_lfs/data/database

Timeliness, transparency
Data transmission deadlines: Quarterly data: 12 weeks after the reference quarter. Annual results for year N (particularly weights in case of a subsample of yearly variables): together with quarter 4 data in March N+1. LFS data for ad-hoc modules are released after the end of the reference period once data processing and validation is terminated. This is not scheduled in a release calendar.