Vacancy Survey, 2005-2024: Secure Access

DOI

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The Vacancy Survey (VS) is a statutory, monthly survey of businesses in Great Britain, which asks the single question, how many job vacancies did a business have in total on a specified date for which they were actively seeking recruits from outside their organisation. Vacancy statistics provide important information about the demand for labour, and give an early indication of what is happening in the labour market. They are used for monitoring and policy-making purposes by UK government departments and Eurostat.Questionnaires are sent to a sample of approximately 6,000 businesses on the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) every month, approached mainly via head offices rather than by local offices. The IDBR is a live register of data on businesses collected by HM Revenue and Customs via VAT and Pay As You Earn (PAYE) records. Businesses return their Vacancy Survey data to the Office for National Statistics using key presses on a telephone rather than returning a paper questionnaire. A small number of businesses have elected to receive a paper questionnaire which is returned in the pre-paid envelope provided.The survey covers all sectors of the economy, with the exception of employment agencies and agriculture, forestry and fishing.Linking to other business studiesThese data contain IDBR reference numbers. These are anonymous but unique reference numbers assigned to business organisations. Their inclusion allows researchers to combine different business survey sources together. Researchers may consider applying for other business data to assist their research.Latest edition informationFor the twenty-eighth edition (September 2024), two new data files have been added to the study (February to May 2024 and March to June 2024). The Excel Data Dictionary has also been updated to the latest version.

Main Topics:

The Vacancy Survey data files held under SN 7421 include the following information for each business surveyed each month:returned or imputed number of vacanciesnumber of employees, from the IDBRStandard Industrial Classification codedesign, calibration and outlier weightsIDBR reporting unit reference number

One-stage stratified or systematic random sample

Postal survey

Identifier
DOI https://doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-7421-28
Metadata Access https://datacatalogue.cessda.eu/oai-pmh/v0/oai?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_ddi25&identifier=f5daf33ea9b7a5fbace88f4574a8c69c54e90471dc9b57289dcfa0b6bfb03cc5
Provenance
Creator Office for National Statistics
Publisher UK Data Service
Publication Year 2014
Funding Reference Office for National Statistics
Rights <a href="https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/re-using-public-sector-information/uk-government-licensing-framework/crown-copyright/" target="_blank">© Crown copyright</a>. The use of these data is subject to the <a href="https://ukdataservice.ac.uk/app/uploads/cd137-enduserlicence.pdf" target="_blank">UK Data Service End User Licence Agreement</a>. Additional restrictions may also apply.; <p>The Data Collection is available to users registered with the UK Data Service.</p><p>Commercial use is not permitted.</p><p>Use of the data requires approval from the data owner or their nominee. Registered users must apply for access via a DEA Research Project Application.</p><p>Registered users must complete the Safe Researcher Training course and gain <a href="https://uksa.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/digitaleconomyact-research-statistics/better-useofdata-for-research-information-for-researchers/" target="_blank">DEA Accredited Researcher Status</a>.</p><p>Registered users must be based in the UK when accessing data.</p><p>The Data Collection must be accessed via a secure connection method in a safe environment approved by the UK Data Service.</p>
OpenAccess true
Representation
Resource Type Numeric
Discipline Economics; Social and Behavioural Sciences
Spatial Coverage Great Britain