1288.0 - Standards for Labour Force Statistics, 1996  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 13/11/1996   
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Contents >> Labour Force Status >> Collection methods

COLLECTION METHODS

STANDARD QUESTION MODULE

22. Details of the full labour force questionnaire are presented in the Information paper: Questionnaires used in the Labour Force Survey, 2001 (cat. no. 6232.0). The minimum question set is detailed in The Labour Force Framework - Collection methods.

Household based surveys

23. The questions relevant to measuring 'Labour Force Status' in the ABS's Household based surveys are:

  • The maximum set:
    Questions 6, 18-24, 30, 34, 39, 53-59, 73-83 in the full Labour Force Survey module. Information paper: Questionnaires used in the Labour Force Survey, 2001 (cat. no. 6232.0) provides detailed guidelines for deriving labour force status from the Labour Force Survey questionnaire.
  • The minimum set:
    Questions 1-4, 12, 13-15 in the shortened version of the labour force module (see The Labour Force Framework - Collection methods) determine 'Labour Force Status'.

Self enumerated surveys

24. Questions 1, 3, 4-5 in the Self enumerated module determine 'Labour Force Status' (see The Labour Force Framework - Collection methods).

Single Question Module for Administrative Data Collections

25. This question is not used by the ABS. For more information regarding its recommended use, see The Labour Force Framework - Collection methods, paragraphs 23 and 24.


STANDARD INPUT CATEGORIES AND DERIVATION OF INPUT CATEGORIES

26. The input categories are derived from the answers to the relevant questions in the questionnaire module. The input categories are:
  • Employed
  • Unemployed
  • Not in the Labour Force

27. The principles for derivation of employed, unemployed and not in the labour force from the maximum question set is detailed in Information Paper: Questionnaires used in the Labour Force Survey (cat. no. 6232.0). These derivations mirror the definitions presented in The Labour Force Framework - Underlying Concepts.

28. Using the minimum set, labour force status is derived:
  • employed persons are those who respond 'yes' to questions 2, 3, or 4 and have worked more than 1 hour as reported in Q12;
  • unemployed persons are those who respond 'no' to questions 2, 3 and 4, answer 'yes' to Q13, indicate in Q14 that they have been engaged in active job search, and answer 'yes' or 'don't know' to Q15;
  • persons not in the labour force are derived as the residual population, not identified as employed or unemployed as identified above.

29. Labour force status is derived from the self-enumeration question module:
  • employed persons are those who answer 'yes, worked for payment or profit'; 'yes, but absent on holidays, on paid leave, on strike or temporarily stood down'; or 'yes, unpaid work in family business'.
  • unemployed persons are those who answer 'yes' in Q4 and 'yes' in Q5.
  • persons not in the labour force are derived as the residual population, not identified as employed or unemployed as defined above.



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