Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in
particular Article 213 thereof,
Having regard to the draft Regulation presented by the Commission,
Whereas, in order to carry out the tasks assigned to it, the Commission needs
comparable statistical information on the level and pattern of and trends in
employment and unemployment in the Member States;
Whereas the best method of obtaining such information at Community level is to
conduct harmonised labour force surveys;
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 3711/91 of 16 December 1991 on the
organisation of an annual labour force sample survey in the Community laid
down that, starting in 1992, a survey was to be conducted in the spring of each
year;
Whereas, although a continuous survey is preferable to an annual spring survey
for ensuring the availability and harmonisation of data and measuring the volume
of work, it is difficult to implement a continuous survey on the same dates in
all the Member States;
Whereas the use of existing administrative sources should be encouraged insofar
as they can usefully supplement the information obtained through interviews or
serve as a sampling basis;
Whereas the data in the survey, as fixed by this Regulation, may be extended to
include a further set of variables forming part of a programme of ad hoc modules
which covers several years, and which will be drawn up under an appropriate
procedure as part of the implementation arrangements;
Whereas the principles of relevance and cost-effectiveness, as these are defined
in Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 of 17 February 1997 on Community statistics, which constitutes the legislative framework for the production of Community
statistics, will also apply to this Regulation;
Whereas statistical confidentiality is governed by the rules set out in
Regulation (EC) No 322/97 and in Council Regulation (Euratom, EEC) No 1588/90 of
11 June 1990 on the transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality
to the Statistical Office of the European Communities;
Whereas the Statistical Programme Committee established by Decision 89/382/EEC,
Euratom has been consulted by the Commission in accordance with Article 3 of
the aforesaid Decision,
A labour force sample survey, hereinafter referred to as 'the survey`, shall be
conducted by the Member States each year.
The survey is a continuous survey providing quarterly and annual results;
however, those Member States which are not in a position to implement a
continuous survey may carry out an annual survey only, to take place in the
spring.
The information collected during the survey relates generally to the situation
during the course of the week (taken to run from Monday to Sunday) preceding the
interview, known as the reference week.
In the case of a continuous survey:
the reference weeks are spread uniformly throughout the whole year;
the interview normally takes place during the week immediately following the
reference week. The reference week and the date of the interview may not be more
than five weeks apart, except in the third quarter,
the reference quarters and years are respectively groups of 13 or 52
consecutive weeks. A list of the weeks making up a given quarter or year is
drawn up according to the procedure laid down in Article 8.
The survey shall be carried out in each Member State in a sample of
households or of persons residing in the economic territory of that State at the
time of the survey.
The principal scope of the survey consists of persons residing in private
households on the economic territory of each Member State. If possible, this
main population of persons living in private households, is supplemented by
persons living in collective households.
Wherever possible, collective households are covered by means of samples
specially drawn to permit direct observation of the persons concerned. If this
is not possible, then persons in these groups who continue to have an
association with a private household are included in connection with that
household.
The variables used to determine labour status and underemployment must be
obtained by interviewing the person concerned, or, if this is not possible,
another member of the household. Other information may be obtained from
alternative sources, including administrative records, provided that the data
obtained are of equivalent quality.
Regardless of whether the sampling unit is an individual or a household,
information is usually collected for all individuals of the household. However,
if the sampling unit is an individual, the information concerning the other
members of the household
may exclude the characteristics listed under Article 4(1)(g), (h), (i) and
(j),
and may be collected from a sub-sample defined in such a way that:
the reference weeks are uniformly distributed throughout the whole year,
the number of observations (individuals sampled plus the members of their
household) satisfies, for the annual estimates of levels, the reliability
criteria defined in Article 3.
For a group of unemployed people representing 5 % of the working age
population the relative standard error for the estimation of annual averages (or
for the spring estimates in the case of an annual survey in the spring) at NUTS
II level shall not exceed 8 % of the sub-population in question.
Regions with less than 300 000 inhabitants shall be exempt from this
requirement.
In the case of a continuous survey, for sub-populations which constitute 5 %
of the working age population the relative standard error at national level for
the estimate of changes between two successive quarters, shall not exceed 2 % of
the sub-population in question.
For Member States with a population of between one million and twenty million
inhabitants, this requirement is relaxed so that the relative standard error for
the estimate of quarterly changes shall not exceed 3 % of the sub-population in
question.
Member States whose population is below one million inhabitants are exempt from
these precision requirements concerning changes.
Where the survey is carried out only in the spring, at least a quarter of the
survey units are taken from the preceding survey and at least a quarter form
part of the following survey.
These two groups shall be identified by a code.
Where non-response to certain questions results in missing data, a method of
statistical imputation shall be applied where appropriate.
The weighting factors are calculated taking into account in particular the
probability of selection and external data relating to the distribution of the
population being surveyed, by sex, age (five-year age groups) and region (NUTS
II level), where such external data are held to be sufficiently reliable by the
Member States concerned.
Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat) with whatever
information is required concerning the organisation and methodology of the
survey, and in particular, they shall indicate the criteria adopted for the
design and size of the sample.
date of birth in relation to the end of the reference period,
marital status,
relationship to reference person,
sequence number of spouse,
sequence number of father,
sequence number of mother,
nationality,
number of years of residence in the Member State,
country of birth (optional),
nature of participation in the survey (direct participation or proxy through
another member of the household);
labour status:
labour status during the reference week,
reason for not having worked though having a job,
search for employment for person without employment,
type of employment sought (self-employed or employee),
methods used to find a job,
availability to start work;
employment characteristics of the main job:
professional status,
economic activity of local unit,
occupation,
number of persons working at the local unit,
country of place of work,
region of place of work,
year and month when the person started working in current employment,
permanency of the job (and reasons),
duration of temporary job or work contract of limited duration,
full-time/part-time distinction (and reasons),
working at home;
hours worked:
number of hours per week usually worked,
number of hours actually worked,
main reason for hours actually worked being different from person's usual
hours;
second job:
existence of more than one job,
professional status,
economic activity of the local unit,
number of hours actually worked;
visible underemployment:
wish to work usually more than the current number of hours (optional in the
case of an annual survey),
looking for another job and reasons for doing so,
type of employment sought (as employee or otherwise),
methods used to find another job,
reasons why the person is not seeking another job (optional in the case of an
annual survey),
availability to start work,
number of hours of work wished for (optional in the case of an annual survey);
search for employment:
type of employment sought (full-time or part-time),
duration of search for employment,
situation of person immediately before starting to seek employment,
registration at public employment office and whether receiving benefits,
willingness to work for person not seeking employment,
reasons why person has not sought work;
education and training
participation in education or training during previous four weeks:
purpose,
level,
type,
total length,
total number of hours,
highest successfully completed level of education or training,
year when this highest level was successfully completed,
non-tertiary vocational qualification obtained;
previous work experience of person not in employment:
existence of previous employment experience,
year and month in which the person last worked,
main reason for leaving last job or business,
professional status in last job,
economic activity of local unit in which person last worked,
occupation of last job;
situation one year before the survey (optional for quarters 1, 3, 4)
main labour status,
professional status,
economic activity of local unit in which person was working,
country of residence,
region of residence;
main labour status (optional);
income (optional);
technical items relating to the interview
year of survey,
reference week,
interview week,
Member State,
region of household,
degree of urbanisation,
serial number of household,
type of household,
type of institution,
weighting factor,
sub-sample in relation to the preceding survey (annual survey),
sub-sample in relation to the following survey (annual survey),
sequence number of the survey wave.
A further set of variables, hereinafter referred to as an 'ad hoc module`,
may be added to supplement the information described above in paragraph 1.
A programme of ad hoc modules covering several years shall be drawn up each year
according to the procedure laid down in Article 8:
this programme shall specify for each ad hoc module, the subject, the
reference period, the sample size (equal to or less than the sample size
determined according to Article 3) and the deadline for the transmission of the
results (which may be different from the deadline according to Article 6),
the Member States and regions covered and the detailed list of information to
be collected in an ad hoc module shall be drawn up at least twelve months before
the beginning of the reference period for that module,
the volume of an ad hoc module shall not exceed the volume of the module c
described under paragraph 1.
The definitions, the edits to be used, the codification of the variables, the
adjustment of the list of survey variables made necessary by the evolution of
techniques and concepts, and a list of principles for the formulation of the
questions concerning the labour status, are drawn up according to the procedure
laid down in Article 8.
Within twelve weeks of the end of the reference period in the case of a
continuous survey (and within nine months of the end of the reference period in
the case of a survey in the spring), the Member States shall forward to Eurostat
the results of the survey, without direct identifiers.
A report on the implementation of this Regulation shall be submitted by the
Commission to the Parliament and the Council every three years, beginning in the
year 2000. This report shall evaluate in particular the quality of the
statistical methods envisaged by the Member States to improve the results or to
lighten the survey procedures.
The Commission shall be assisted by the Statistical Programme Committee,
hereinafter referred to as 'the Committee`.
The representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee a draft of
the measures to be taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft
within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of
the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority laid down in Article
148(2) of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the Council is required to
adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the
Member States within the Committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in
that Article. The chairman shall not vote.
The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if they are in accordance with
the opinion of the Committee.
If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the opinion of the
Committee, or if no opinion is delivered, the Commission shall, without delay,
submit to the Council a proposal relating to the measures to be taken. The
Council shall act by a qualified majority.
If, on the expiry of a period of three months from the date of referral to the
Council, the Council has not acted, the proposed measures shall be adopted by
the Commission.
