RE-INSTATEMENT OF THE LABOUR FORCE SURVEY SAMPLE
On 13 May 2009, following the Federal budget announcement of an additional $15m in funding for the ABS, the Australian Statistician announced the full re-instatement of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) sample.
The LFS re-instatement occurred progressively over four reference months, from September to December 2009. The December 2009 estimates, released on 14 January 2010, were the first under the fully re-instated sample. The reversal of the 24% reduction in sample size (the reduction was in place from July 2008 to August 2009) is expected to decrease standard errors by approximately 15%.
For further information on the sample re-instatement, refer to the information paper Labour Force Survey Sample Design, Nov 2007 (third edition) (cat. no. 6269.0), released on 1 October 2009. This paper discusses the expected sample size, the re-instated sampling fractions, and the impact of the sample re-instatement on labour force estimates and products and on associated surveys.
For more information please contact Susan Schemen on (02) 6252 5171 or email <susan.schemen@abs.gov.au>.