France

Title of the survey:

Annual Employment Survey (Enquête Annuelle Emploi).

Organization responsible for the survey:

Planning and conduct of the survey:

National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE).

Analysis and publication of the results:

INSEE.

Topics covered:

Employment, unemployment, underemployment, hours of work, wages, duration of employment and unemployment (length of service), discouraged workers, industry, occupation, status in employment, education/qualification, other jobs.

Coverage of the survey:

Geographical:

Metropolitan France.

Population groups:

Persons aged 15 years and over living in main residences. Excluded are persons living in communal establishments, with the exception of persons having links with an ordinary household because they regularly return to it (school boarders, students in university residence halls, etc.).

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:

Annually.

Publication of results:

Annually.

Reference periods:

Employment:

One week (moving).

Seeking work:

One month (moving).

Availability for work:

Two weeks (moving).

Concepts and definitions:

Employment:

Persons aged 15 years and over who state that they were active or worked for at least one hour during the reference week (the week preceding the survey), provided they had an actual job, or that they did not work during the reference week but had a formal attachment to their job (vacation, maternity leave, etc.), without application of the remuneration criterion.

Included are:

1. persons temporarily absent from work owing to illness or accident for a period of less than one year, annual leave, maternity or paternity leave, absence without leave, labour management dispute, bad weather, mechanical breakdown, etc.;
2. full-time or part-time workers seeking other work during the reference period;
3. persons who performed some work for pay or profit during the reference period 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 or unpaid apprentices and trainees, if they actually participate in the firm’s production;
6. unpaid family workers who were working during the reference period;
7. the armed forces (volunteers, career members and conscripts) and persons on civilian service equivalent to military service.

Unemployment:

Persons aged 15 years and over who were without work during the reference week, had taken steps to find work during the last month and were available for work within two weeks.

Underemployment:

Time-related underemployment:

There are two distinct categories:

1. part-time workers who are seeking a job in order to work more (either full time or additional part-time hours) or not seeking another job but want to work more and are available;
2. full-time workers who have unintentionally worked less than normal (partial lay-off, etc.).

No hours-of-work threshold is taken into account in the determination of underemployment.

Inadequate employment situations:

For employed persons, there is in the survey a question on the main reason for seeking another job (pay, qualifications, desire to work more, etc.).

Hours of work:

Actual hours worked during the reference week and usual number of hours per week in the main job only.

Employment-related income:

Income from paid employment:

Not measured.

Income from self-employment:

Not measured.

Informal sector:

Not applicable.

Usual activity:

Not applicable.

Classifications:

Branch of economic activity (industry):

Title of the classification:

French Industry Classification (NAF).

Population groups classified by industry:

Employed persons.

Number of groups used for coding:

696 classes, including 334 for industry.

Links to ISIC:

Table of correspondence between NAF, NACE (Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community) and ISIC.

Occupation:

Title of the classification:

Occupations and Socio-occupational Categories (PCS).

Population groups classified by occupation:

Employed persons.

Number of groups used for coding:

455 classes.

Links to ISCO:

ISCO-1988.

Status in employment:

Title of the classification:

National classification.

Population groups classified by status in employment:

Employed persons.

Groups used for coding:

Own-account worker; employee and head of own business; government or local authority employee; other employee.

Links to ICSE:

No.

Education:

Title of the classification:

National classification.

Population groups classified by education:

No information.

Groups used for coding:

Level attained in: general education (12 modalities), technical education (13 modalities) and higher education (10 modalities).

Links to ISCED:

No.

Sample size and design:

Ultimate sampling unit:

Dwelling.

Sample size (ultimate sampling units):

105,000 dwellings.

Overall sampling fraction:

1/300 of dwellings.

Sample frame:

Last available census and SITADEL (automated information and processing system for basic data on dwellings and premises) files operated by the Ministry of Infrastructure to establish the sample of specific employment clusters (GSEs) representing dwellings constructed under permits for 10 dwellings or more since the time of the last population census.

Updating of the sample:

By one third at each survey.

Rotation:

Scheme:

No information.

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

No information.

Maximum number of interviews per sample unit:

No information.

Length of time for complete renewal of the sample:

Three years.

Field work:

Type of interview:

Face-to-face interviews conducted using a portable input device.

Number of ultimate sampling units per sample area:

No information.

Duration of field work:

Total:

Five weeks from the beginning of March.

Per sample area:

No information.

Survey organization:

Survey administered by the General Directorate and regional directorates of INSEE.

Number of field staff:

Approximately 250 persons at INSEE (not full time) and approximately 750 interviewers.

Substitution of non-responding ultimate sampling units:

No.

Estimation and adjustments:

Total non-response rate:

11 per cent of dwellings.

Adjustment for total non-response:

Yes.

Imputation for item non-response:

No information.

Adjustment for areas/population not covered:

No information.

Adjustment for undercoverage:

Yes.

Adjustment for overcoverage:

Yes.

Adjustment for seasonal variations:

No.

History of the survey:

Title and date of the first survey:

1950 Employment Survey.

Significant changes or revisions:

1982: transition to the PCS Classification for coding occupations.

1990: classification of conscript members of the armed forced as employed persons.

Documentation and dissemination:

Documentation:

Survey results:

INSEE-Première and INSEE-Résultats (annually).

Survey methodology:

INSEE-Résultats (annually).

Dissemination:

Time needed for initial release of survey results:

Approximately three months (the results of the March 2000 Survey were published in June 2000).

Advance information of public about date of initial release:

No.

Availability of unpublished data upon request:

Yes.

Availability of data in machine-readable form:

CD-ROM.

Website:

http://www.insee.fr/.