Belgium

Title of the survey:

Labour Force Survey (Enquête sur les Forces du Travail).

Organization responsible for the survey:

Planning and conduct of the survey:

National Institute of Statistics.

Analysis and publication of the results:

National Institute of Statistics.

Topics covered:

Employment, unemployment, underemployment, hours of work, wages, income, duration of employment and unemployment, discouraged and occasional workers, industry, occupation, status in employment, education or qualification level, other jobs, place of work, reasons for part-time work, non-standard working hours, last job, training, etc.

Coverage of the survey:

Geographical:

Whole country.

Population groups:

Persons aged 15 years and over. Excluded are institutional populations and persons living abroad.

Availability of estimates from other sources for the excluded areas/groups:

Not applicable.

Groups covered by the survey but excluded from the published results:

Not applicable.

Periodicity:

Conduct of the survey:

Continuous survey.

Publication of results:

Annually.

Reference periods:

Employment:

One week (moving).

Seeking work:

Four weeks (moving).

Availability for work:

Two weeks (moving).

Concepts and definitions:

Employment:

Persons aged 15 years and over who during the reference week were in one of the following categories:

(1) Paid employment:

persons at work: persons who during the reference week performed some work (with or without a formal contract) for wage or salary or remuneration in cash or in kind;

persons with a job but not at work: persons who, having already worked in their present job, were absent from work during the reference week (owing to vacation, illness, maternity leave, labour management dispute, bad weather or other reasons) and had a formal attachment to their job.

Apprentices who received pay in cash or in kind are considered to be paid employees.

(2) Self-employment: persons at work: persons who during the reference week performed some work for profit or family gain in cash or in kind (unpaid family helpers are considered to be self-employed persons);

persons with an enterprise but not at work: persons with an enterprise (an industrial or business enterprise, a farm or a service undertaking) who were temporarily not at work during the reference week for any specific reason.

In practice, the notion of work performed during the reference week is interpreted as work for at least one hour. Accordingly, a person undertaking very little part-time work is considered to be employed.

Included are:

1.  persons temporarily absent from work, for a period of less than three months, owing to illness or accident, parental leave, educational or training leave, absence without leave, labour management dispute, bad weather or mechanical breakdown, and persons on annual leave or on maternity or paternity leave;

2.  persons laid off for a period of less than three months;

3.  persons who performed some work for pay or profit during the reference week but were subject to compulsory schooling, or retired and receiving a pension, or registered as job-seekers at an employment office, or receiving unemployment benefit;

4.  full-time or part-time students working full or part time;

5.  paid apprentices and trainees;

6.  unpaid family workers who were working during the reference week;

7.  volunteer and career members of the armed forces.

Unemployment:

Persons aged 15 years and over who during the reference week were without work, available for work and seeking work.

Underemployment:

Time-related underemployment:

Persons wanting to work more in their current job or in another job.

Inadequate employment situations:

Persons seeking other conditions of work such as pay, working hours, travel, etc.

Hours of work:

Actual and usual hours.

Employment-related income:

Income from paid employment:

Net monthly wage or salary and other earnings, paid on an annual basis, such as end-of-year bonuses, holiday bonuses, profit sharing, etc.

Income from self-employment:

Not covered by the survey.

Informal sector:

Not applicable.

Usual activity:

Not applicable.

Classifications:

Branch of economic activity (industry):

Title of the classification:

Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE).

Population groups classified by industry:

Employed persons and persons who left their job at most eight years previously.

Number of groups used for coding:

60 groups.

Links to ISIC:

ISIC Rev.3.

Occupation:

Title of the classification:

National classification based on ISCO.

Population groups classified by occupation:

Employed persons and persons who left their job at most eight years previously.

Number of groups used for coding:

Approximately 300 groups.

Links to ISCO:

ISCO-88.

Status in employment:

Title of the classification:

National classification.

Population groups classified by status in employment:

Employed persons and persons who left their job at most eight years previously.

Groups used for classification:

Paid employees (wage earners, salaried workers and civil servants) and self-employed persons (own-account workers, employers and family helpers).

Links to ICSE:

No information.

Education:

Title of the classification:

No information.

Population groups classified by education:

Persons aged 15 years and over.

Groups used for classification:

13 categories: primary (or no qualification); general lower secondary; technical, arts or vocational lower secondary; general upper secondary; technical upper secondary; arts upper secondary; vocational upper secondary; post-secondary non-tertiary; non-university tertiary (short or long courses); university; university second stage; post-graduate.

Links to ISCED:

ISCED-1976.

Sample size and design:

Ultimate sampling unit:

Household.

Sample size (ultimate sampling units):

Approximately 47,000 households (i.e. 11,960 households per quarter).

Overall sampling fraction:

Approximately 1.1 per cent.

Sample frame:

National register of persons, produced from the population registers of the administrative districts.

Updating of the sample:

No information.

Rotation:

Scheme:

A first interview is followed by a second interview 13 weeks later.

Percentage of units remaining in the sample for two consecutive survey rounds:

50 per cent.

Maximum number of interviews per sample unit:

No information.

Length of time for complete renewal of the sample:

Thirteen weeks.

Field work:

Type of interview:

Households are canvassed twice: initial face-to-face interview and a second survey three months later, by post or telephone, based on a simplified questionnaire.

Number of ultimate sampling units per sample area:

Approximately 2,390 groups of 20 households.

Duration of field work:

Total:

One year.

Per sample area:

No information.

Survey organization:

Permanent organization.

Number of field staff:

Approximately 10 supervisors and 300 interviewers.

Substitution of non-responding ultimate sampling units:

Yes.

Estimation and adjustments:

Total non-response rate:

Approximately 17 per cent.

Adjustment for total non-response:

Yes.

Imputation for item non-response:

No.

Adjustment for areas/population not covered:

No.

Adjustment for undercoverage:

Yes.

Adjustment for overcoverage:

Yes.

Adjustment for seasonal variations:

No.

History of the survey:

Title and date of the first survey:

1968 Economically Active Population Survey.

Significant changes or revisions:

Since January 1999, transition to a continuous survey system and adoption of the “one hour of work” criterion in the new questionnaire.

Documentation and dissemination:

Documentation:

Survey results:

Emploi et chômage: enquête sur les forces de travail & Statistiques sociales (annually).

Survey methodology:

Emploi et chômage: enquête sur les forces de travail & Statistiques sociales (annually).

Dissemination:

Time needed for initial release of survey results:

Approximately four months after the reference year for initial results and ten months for detailed results.

Advance information of public about date of initial release:

No.

Availability of unpublished data upon request:

Yes.

Availability of data in machine-readable form:

Website:

http://www.statbel.fgov.be/.