Czech Republic
Title of the survey:
Labour Force Sample Survey
Organization responsible for the survey:
Planning and conduct of the survey:
Czech Statistical Office.
Analysis and publication of the results:
Czech Statistical Office.
Topics covered:
Employment, unemployment, underemployment, hours of work, duration of employment, duration of unemployment, discouraged workers, occasional workers, industry, occupation, status in employment, educational level, usual main status, second jobs.
Coverage of the survey:
Geographical:
Whole country.
Population groups:
All the population aged 15 and above living in households. More specifically, it covers all persons living in dwellings continuously for at least three months, disregarding the status of their staying there (permanent, temporary or non-registered). The exceptions are conscripts who are surveyed at their place of residences prior to their military service.
The survey does not cover persons living in collective accommodation establishments for a long period of time, which is why data on certain population groups (foreign nationals living and working in the CR in particular) are rather scarce.
Availability of estimates from other sources for the excluded areas/groups:
No.
Groups covered by the survey but excluded from the published results:
None.
Periodicity:
Conduct of the survey:
Continuously.
Publication of results:
Quarterly.
Reference periods:
Employment:
One week (last seven days prior to the date of the interview).
Seeking work:
Four weeks prior to the date of the interview.
Availability for work:
Two weeks following the date of the interview.
Concepts and definitions:
Employment:
All persons aged 15 years and over who, during the reference week, did any work for at least one hour, and were in the following categories:
- paid employment:
At work: persons who executed any work during the reference week for wage salary, in cash or in kind. Work may be permanent, temporary, seasonal, occasional or referring to first or second jobs; With a job but not at work: persons temporarily absent from their job, during the reference week, and have a formal link with their job, such as a working contract, etc.
- employed in their own enterprise:
At work: persons who executed any work, during the reference week, for profit or family income, in cash or in kind;
With their enterprise but not at work: persons with an enterprise who were temporarily absent from work during the reference week for any specific reason.
Also included in the employed are the armed forces (career members and conscripts) as well as apprentices, students, domestic personnel, etc., who receive wage, salary or remuneration. However, persons on additional child-care leave are not automatically classified as employed.
Excluded are persons engaged in the production of goods for their own household, such as housework, repairing, painting, etc.
Unemployment:
All persons aged 15 years and over who met the following three conditions during the reference week: (i) had no work; (ii) were actively looking for work. The active form of seeking work includes registration with an employment office or private employment exchange, checking at work sites, farms, markets or other assembly places, placing or answering newspaper advertisements, taking own steps to establish own business, applying for work permit and license, or looking for a job in a different manner and (iii) were currently available for work - i.e., were available during the reference period for paid employment or self-employment either immediately or within the two weeks following the date of the interview.
If persons fail to meet even one of the above conditions, they are classified as employed or inactive. The only exception refers to persons who do not seek work, because they have already found a job, but their commencement of work is fixed for a later date. According to Eurostat definition, these persons are classified as unemployed.
Underemployment:
Time-related underemployment:
Persons who, during the reference week, involuntary worked less than the normal duration of working hours established for a given type of activity. Excluded are persons not working for more than four weeks.
Inadequate employment situations:
Not applicable.
Hours of work:
Usual and actual hours worked in the main job. Actual hours worked for in the secondary job(s).
Employment-related income:
Income from paid employment:
Not applicable.
Income from self-employment:
Not applicable.
Informal sector:
Not applicable.
Usual activity:
The following population groups are subject to questions about their usual economic status: apprentices, students at secondary schools, university students, persons on maternity and child-care leave (parental leave), housewives, retired persons, retired persons due to disability, retired persons due to partial disability, unemployed, conscripts, persons engaged in community service, children under 15 years.
Classifications:
Branch of economic activity (industry):
Title of the classification:
CZ-NACE.
Population groups classified by industry:
Employed persons and unemployed persons with previous job experience.
Number of groups used for coding:
No information provided.
Links to ISIC:
ISIC-Rev.3 (4 digit level).
Occupation:
Title of the classification:
CZ-ISCO-88.
Population groups classified by occupation:
Employed persons and unemployed persons with previous work experience.
Number of groups used for coding:
No information provided.
Links to ISCO:
ISCO-88 (4 digit level).
Status in employment:
Title of the classification:
CZ-ICSE.
Population groups classified by status in employment:
Employed and unemployed persons.
Groups used for classification:
5 groups (employees, employers, own-account worker, members of producers’ co-operatives, contributing family workers).
Links to ICSE:
ICSE-1993.
Education:
Title of the classification:
National Classification of Education Subjects (KKOV), 2nd edition, 1991 and ISCED-1997.
Population groups classified by education:
All population groups.
Groups used for classification:
No information provided.
Links to ISCED:
ISCED-1997.
Sample size and design:
Ultimate sampling unit:
Dwelling.
Sample size (ultimate sampling units):
About 25,000 dwellings covering approximately 63,000 persons.
Overall sampling fraction:
0.6 per cent of permanently occupied dwellings.
Sample frame:
The sample frame is built on the basis of the Population Census conducted in 1991.
Updating of the sample:
Quarterly.
Rotation:
Scheme:
The panel of selected dwellings varied during the survey. One fifth of the panel is rotated every quarter.
Percentage of units remaining in the sample for two consecutive survey rounds:
80 per cent.
Maximum number of interviews per sample unit:
Five quarters.
Length of time for complete renewal of the sample:
Five quarters.
Field work:
Type of interview:
Paper and pencil, telephone and CAPI/CATI where possible.
Number of ultimate sampling units per sample area:
300 dwellings per quarter.
Duration of field work:
Total:
Continuously.
Per sample area:
Each interviewer works 4 days per week plus one day for questionnaire supplements.
Survey organization:
Permanent survey organization.
Number of field staff:
113 interviewers and 14 supervisors.
Substitution of non-responding ultimate sampling units:
No.
Estimation and adjustments:
Total non-response rate:
24 per cent.
Adjustment for total non-response:
Yes.
Imputation for item non-response:
No.
Adjustment for areas/population not covered:
No.
Adjustment for undercoverage:
No.
Adjustment for overcoverage:
No.
Adjustment for seasonal variations:
No.
History of the survey:
Title and date of the first survey:
Czech Labour Force Sample Survey, December 1992.
Significant changes or revisions:
Since 1993 the database has been corrected in the framework of the preparation of historical data. More specifically the following should be noted:
- removal of differences in the reference periods: all data from 1993 to 1997, when the survey was conducted in seasonal quarters, were converted to calendar quarters;
- inclusion of (i) conscripts and (ii) women on maternity and childcare leave into the 1992 and 1993 survey results;
- re-weighting of 1993-1996 data retrospectively on the basis of the latest demographic data.
- Full harmonization of the survey questionnaire with the Eurostat questionnaires for the survey rounds beginning in January 2002.
Documentation and dissemination:
Documentation:
Survey results:
Employment and Unemployment in the Czech Republic as Measured by the Labour Force Survey (quarterly); Labour Market in the Czech Republic: Time series LFSS (1993-1999).
Survey methodology:
Employment and Unemployment in the Czech Republic as Measured by the Labour Force Survey.
Dissemination:
Time needed for initial release of survey results:
No information provided.
Advance information of public about date of initial release:
Yes.
Availability of unpublished data upon request:
Yes.
Availability of data in machine-readable form:
Diskettes, Internet and e-mail.
Website:
http://www.czso.cz/.