Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a unique source of articulated information using international definitions of employment and unemployment and economic inactivity, together with a wide range of related topics such as occupation, training, hours of work and personal characteristics of household members aged 16 and over. The first LFS in the UK was conducted in 1973, under the terms of a Regulation derived from the Treaty of Rome, and the provision of information for the Statistical Office of the European Communities (SOEC) continues to be one of the reasons for carrying out the survey on an annual basis. The survey was carried out biennially in both Northern Ireland and Great Britain from 1973 to 1983 and was increasingly used by UK government departments to obtain information which would assist in the framing of social and economic policy. Following a change in the requirements of the EC regulation, from 1984 an annual survey was conducted and results referred to the spring months of each year. In March 1992 the GB portion of the survey moved onto a quarterly cycle and in December 1994 a quarterly survey was introduced in Northern Ireland. Two-fifths of each quarterly dataset over four quarters (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter) is combined to produce an annual dataset, which in turn is eight-fifths larger than a standard quarterly dataset (the standard QLFS quarterly datasets, which include the Northern Ireland quarterly data, are deposited at UKDA by the Office for National Statistics, and held under GN:33246). The survey aims to provide government and external customers with data relating to the socio-economic circumstances of the Northern Ireland population on a regular basis. The LFS is the biggest regular household survey in Northern Ireland, providing a rich source of information on the labour force using internationally agreed concepts and definitions. The LFS has been designed to provide robust estimates on the economic activity status of the Northern Ireland population as a whole. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) is responsible for ensuring that the survey is conducted in Northern Ireland and for the interpretation of the results. However, the day-to-day management of the fieldwork, including data collection and database creation, rests with the Central Survey Unit (CSU) of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). CSU are also in charge of the creation of a Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) questionnaire designed to mirror that in Great Britain, the sampling of addresses and the carrying out of fieldwork using a team of specialist interviewers. For further information, please see the Labour Force Survey User Guide.
Main Topics: The questionnaire comprises a <i>core</i> of questions which are included in every survey, together with <i>non-core</i> questions which vary from quarter to quarter. Topics covered include: information about household, family structure, basic housing information and demographic details of individuals in the households, economic activity, income, education and health. For further information, please see the Labour Force Survey User Guide.
One-stage stratified or systematic random sample
For Northern Ireland the source of the sample is the Valuation and Land Agency list of domestic properties used for rating purposes, excluding commercial units and known institutions. The sample is stratified by region to ensure proportional representation across Northern Ireland. Every selected address is interviewed on five successive occasions, such that in any one quarter, one fifth of the sample will be receiving their first interview, one fifth their second, and so on, with one fifth receiving their fifth and final interview. This results in an 80% overlap between quarters. As households are interviewed on 5 occasions at quarterly intervals this introduces a panel element to the survey. For further details see the Labour Force Survey User Guide.
Face-to-face interview
Telephone interview
The first interview was conducted face-to-face and subsequent interviews by telephone where possible.
