Relevance
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is an ongoing survey conducted among private households to gather labour market data under European Framework Regulation (EC) No. 2019/1700, which establishes a common framework for European statistics on persons and households (IESS regulation). Its primary goal is to classify the 15+ population into three mutually exclusive groups: employed, unemployed, and inactive.
The LFS is conducted quarterly using a random sample of 3,200 private households. This ensures a continuous assessment of labour market trends. Reference weeks are evenly distributed over the 13 weeks of each quarter.
All families living in private households are eligible for this survey. The LFS follows a panel rotation system: 800 new households (first panel) participate for two consecutive quarters, exit for two quarters, and return after a year (2-(2)-2). Each household is contacted four times over a period of one year and a quarter.
Data collection modes include Computer-Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI) and Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI). The first panel is preferably interviewed via personal visits, though telephone interviews have increasingly become more common post-COVID. Subsequent panels are primarily surveyed by telephone.
Accuracy and Reliability
Information on the accuracy and reliability of data can be viewed in a dedicated quality report available on the NSO’s metadata website.
Timeliness and Punctuality
The Labour Market Statistics Unit publishes a quarterly LFS news releasee, as scheduled in the Advance Release Calendar. LFS datasets for a given quarter are submitted to Eurostat within eight weeks of data collection, consistently meeting deadlines.
Accessibility and Clarity
Annually, a news release titled ‘Key Indicators on the Labour Market’ provides insights into labour market trends.
Information gathered on ad hoc topics covered in the LFS are also published on an annual basis. Topics covered include job skills, the labour market situation of migrants and their immediate descendants, working time flexibility, job autonomy, commuting time, the reconciliation between work and family life, shift employment, young people in the labour market and self-employment.
In addition, a quality report is submitted to Eurostat each year, detailing methodological aspects of the survey. A national version is available on the NSO’s metadata website. Additional LFS outputs are released periodically.
Coherence and Comparability
Quarterly and annual LFS data are consistent and fully comparable with EU Member States, as they adhere to the same regulations. At the national level, key indicators are comparable from 2005 onwards.
Comparability may be influenced by classification changes. In 2012, occupation coding transitioned from ISCO 88 to ISCO 08, and economic activity classification shifted from NACE Rev 1.1 to NACE Rev 2 in 2008. Measurement comparability may also be affected by changes in the sampling frame following the 2021 Census of Population and Housing, replacing the 2011 Census.
LFS data is not directly comparable with administrative unemployment sources due to definitional differences.
