Employment
Skills
Wellbeing
Citizenship
Economic Development
Education
Young People
Economic Status
Ownership
Financial Status
Condition
Housing
Description
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a unique source of information using international definitions of employment and unemployment and economic inactivity, together with a wide range of related topics such as occupation, training, hours of work and personal characteristics of household members aged 16 years and over. It is used to inform social, economic and employment policy. The LFS was first conducted biennially from 1973-1983. Between 1984 and 1991 the survey was carried out annually and consisted of a quarterly survey conducted throughout the year and a 'boost' survey in the spring quarter (data were then collected seasonally). From 1992 quarterly data were made available, with a quarterly sample size approximately equivalent to that of the previous annual data. The survey then became known as the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS). From December 1994, data gathering for Northern Ireland moved to a full quarterly cycle to match the rest of the country, so the QLFS then covered the whole of the UK (though some additional annual Northern Ireland LFS datasets are also held at the UK Data Archive). Further information on the background to the QLFS may be found in the documentation.
The LFS household datasets cover:
characteristics of the household: number of people of working age; number of people over working age; number of children aged 0 to 4; number of children aged 5 to 15; number of dependent children (i.e. those in full-time education) aged 16 to 18
economic activity in the household: number of people in employment; number of people in full-time employment; number of people in part-time employment; unemployed; economically inactive; students; sick or disabled; economically inactive but would like to work and are not seeking work because they do not believe there is work available ('discouraged workers'); care of dependants