The Monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS)

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Labour and Income, Social Statistics
Daniel F. Gustafsson

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The Monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS) 2024 Month 09

The monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS) supplements the quarterly survey with a higher frequency of numbers on employment and unemployment and is published earlier.

Statistical presentation

The monthly labor force survey sheds light on the 15-74-year-old population's attachment to the labor market. Here, the population is divided into two main groups, namely people in the labor force and people outside the labor force. Persons in the labor force are further divided into two groups: employed and unemployed (LFS unemployed).

Statistical processing

The monthly Labour Force Survey is based on sample with interviews and the figures are weighted with administrative resources. Due to the smaller sample size, the calibration of the weights is carried out using slightly more aggregated data than the quarterly LFS. Following the calibration, the series are benchmarked to their quarterly counterpart and seasonally adjusted.

The figures for the labour market status in December 2024 are partly based on information from administrative registers.

Relevance

The monthly LFS supplements the quarterly LFS. Due to the smaller sample size in the monthly LFS, only aggregated series on the unemployment rate, employment rate and labour market participation rate are published.. The monthly results give a quick on going update on the development in the employment and unemployment. The monthly results are used by different users e.g. ministries, international organizations and journalists, but mainly by Eurostat.

Accuracy and reliability

As a result of the smaller sample size and the lack of persons overlapping over between months the quality is lower in the monthly results compared to the quarterly results. This means that only selected key numbers on employment and unemployment are published.

Timeliness and punctuality

The Monthly Labour Force Survey is published at the end of the following month from the reference month. The survey is published without any delays in relation to the scheduled date.

Comparability

In Eurostat's database the Monthly LFS exists back to 1983. This series, however, has a starting point in January 2008. This constitutes a break in series, which must be taken into consideration if long time series are constructed. Data is delivered to the Statistical Office of the European Union Eurostat monthly, where data for all EU countries can be found. Concerning this, one has to be aware of the methodological differences in producing the monthly data in all the EU countries .

Accessibility and clarity

The Monthly LFS is published in the table AKU111M: Labour force status in percentage by seasonally adjustment and employment status

The difference between the two unemployment figures is described here Unemployment concepts.

Data is every month and every quarter delivered to the Statistical Office of the European Union, Eurostat, where data for all EU countries can be found.