Labour Force Survey performance quality monitoring report: January to March 2023 - Office for National Statistics

Labour Force Survey performance quality monitoring report: January to March 2023 - Office for National Statistics
Labour Force Survey performance quality monitoring report: January to March 2023
Response rates, sample size and quality assessment of the Office for National Statistics quarterly Labour Force Survey.
Cyswllt:
Data Advice and Relations Team
Last revised:
16 May 2023
Cynnwys
Executive summary January to March 2023
Summary of quality
Achieved sample
Response rates
Timeliness and punctuality
Accessibility and clarity
Comparability
Coherence
Summary of methods
Technical definitions
Related links
Cite this article
Argraffu'r
Methodoleg
Lawrlwytho fel PDF
Summary of achieved sample size
The achieved sample size for the UK Labour Force Survey (LFS) during January to March 2023 (JM23) was 57,876 individuals in 26,712 households. Please note that there were no NHS households in this period. Compared with the previous quarter October to December 2022 (OD22) this represents a decrease of 7.9% in achieved person interviews and decrease of 7.5% in household interviews.
Summary of response rates
Please note that
historical reports
can also be accessed.
In JM23, main response rates were as follows:
the total response rate for Great Britain excluding imputed cases (Table 4) was 16.9%; this is down 1.6 percentage points on the previous quarter
the response rate excluding imputed cases (Figure 3) was 28.7% in wave 1 and 13.7% in wave 5; this compares with 29.7% and 13.4% respectively in the previous quarter
the total response rate for Great Britain including imputed cases (Table 5) was 20.2%, down 2.2 percentage points on the previous quarter
of non-response in JM23 (Figure 5), non-contacts comprised 10.9% (down 3 percentage points on the previous quarter), circumstantial refusals were 2.5% (down 0.7% from the previous quarter), outright refusals comprised 34.6% (down 0.3 percentage points on the previous quarter) and other refusals comprised the remainder
the English region with the highest accumulated response rate across the five waves (Table 8) was the South West (25.3%); the lowest was Inner London (12.8%)
the overall proxy response rate (Table 9) was 38.2%; the highest proxy response rates occur in the 16 to 17 years age group (96.2%), in males (41.1%) and in the non-White ethnicity group (46.4%)
the average income response rate (Table 10) was 83%
the data on attrition rates are shown in Table 11; these data reveal in percentage change terms that those who drop out of the survey between waves 1 and 5 are over-represented in the 20 to 29 age bands, employees, in households with six or more people, and in the West Midlands Metropolitan Council region
A breakdown of main characteristic changes have been included in the "Respondent characteristics" section.
There have been a number of methodological and operational changes that may have affected response rates. More details on these changes are outlined in
Section 7: Comparability
Respondent characteristics
To identify any potential impact on the estimates, a range of characteristics have been investigated, including age, sex, and tenure. The main changes to respondent characteristics are:
Age
Proportions for all age brackets for wave 1 respondents have remained relatively stable since January to March 2022 (JM22) (see Table 1).
Tenure
The proportions for tenure of responding household reference person (HRPs) have remained relatively stable since JM22.
Country of birth
In JM23, 12.7% of wave 1 interviews comprised non-UK born respondents. This is up from 11.5% in the previous year (JM22). The current proportion of non-UK born respondents is similar to January to March 2020 (JM20) (see Figure A).
Waves 2 to 5
Looking at waves 2 to 5, there are some notable changes. For waves 2 to 5, proportions in each age band have remained relatively stable over the last year.
For waves 2 to 5, 49% of responding HRPs owned their property outright in JM23, compared with around 47% in JM22, while the proportion of renters has remained stable at 22% over the same time period.
Table 1: Age of respondents from January to March 2022 to January to March 2023, wave 1
Wave 1 responding
Under 16
16-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65 and over
JM22
17%
7%
10%
12%
12%
15%
27%
AJ22
17%
7%
10%
12%
13%
15%
27%
JS22
16%
7%
10%
11%
12%
16%
27%
OD22
17%
7%
10%
11%
13%
15%
27%
JM23
17%
7%
10%
12%
13%
14%
28%
Download this table
Table 1: Age of respondents from January to March 2022 to January to March 2023, wave 1
.xls
.csv
Table 2: Tenure of Household Reference Person from January to March 2022 to January to March 2023, wave 1
Wave 1
responding HRP
Owned
outright
Being bought with
mortgage or loan
Part rent
Rented
Rent free
JM22
45%
28%
1%
26%
1%
AJ22
45%
27%
1%
26%
1%
JS22
46%
26%
1%
27%
1%
OD22
45%
26%
1%
27%
1%
JM23
45%
26%
1%
27%
1%
Download this table
Table 2: Tenure of Household Reference Person from January to March 2022 to January to March 2023, wave 1
.xls
.csv
Figure A: Country of birth of respondents from January 2020 to March 2023, wave 1
Source: Labour Force Survey from the Office for National Statistics
Notes:
JM20 refers to January to March 2020; AJ20 refers to April to June 2020; JS20 refers to July to September 2020; OD20 refers to October to December 2020, JM21 refers to January to March 2021; AJ21 refers to April to June 2021; JS21 refers to July to September 2021; OD21 refers to October to December 2021; JM22 refers to January to March 2022; AJ22 refers to April to June 2022; JS22 refers to July to September 2022; OD22 refers to October to December 2022; JM23 refers to January to March 2023
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Figure A: Country of birth of respondents from January 2020 to March 2023, wave 1
Image
.csv
.xls
While some changes in the demographic coverage of the survey would be dealt with in the weighting processes, this only covers age, sex, and location. To mitigate the impact of the non-response bias in the LFS caused by changes to the way people were contacted for initial interviews since March 2020, the LFS has introduced housing tenure into the weighting methodology. While not providing a perfect solution, this has redressed some of the issues that had previously been noted in the survey results.
As a result, we have moved to using the new tenure weighting from January to March 2020 onwards for all LFS and APS microdata, to help ensure they are produced on a consistent basis. There may also be further refinements to the methodology, such as constraining the tenure weighting within region, that lead to further improvements and revisions in the future. We will continue investigating these options and implement them if they are of sufficiently significant benefit.
Because of the sharp decrease in response rates with the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the LFS wave 1 sample was doubled from July to September 2020 (JS20) onwards, to ensure achieved sample sizes could be maintained. As all interviewing had to be conducted over the phone since March 2020, phone contact details had to be obtained for the wave 1 sample. To reduce the un-productive case work rotated forward into future waves, and with that the interviewer burden, a decision was taken to code out wave 3 cases as refusals from January to March 2021 (JM21) that were unproductive in the previous two waves.
This change in methodology is now reflected in the refusal rates for wave 2, wave 3, wave 4 and wave 5 cases in April to June (AJ22) (see Tables 4 to 7 and Figure 5). A large increase in refusals to HQ can be seen for wave 2, wave 3, wave 4 and wave 5 cases resulting from cases that were unproductive in wave 1 (July to September 2021), wave 2 (October to December 2021), wave 3 (January to March 2022) and wave 4 (April to June 2022) being intentionally coded as refusal to influence case rotation.
More information on the work being carried out and an
outline of changes to other ONS surveys during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
are available.
The
impact of changes made to the LFS in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and the methods used to adjust the data
is available.
Indicative estimates of the LFS reweighting methodology on key indicators
for January to March 2020 to October to December 2020.
New population weights using PAYE Real-Time Information data
to allow for changes to LFS collection methods, and changes to population movements in 2020, applied to LFS results from July 2021.
Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys
Relevance
(The degree to which the statistical product meets user needs for both coverage and content.)
Primary purpose
The primary purpose of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) is "the prompt publication of key aggregate, whole economy indicators, for the integrated assessment of labour market conditions" (Review of the Labour Force Survey, Office for National Statistics (ONS), 2002). The labour market covers all aspects of people's work, including the education and training needed to equip them for work, the jobs themselves, job-search for those out of work, and income from work and benefits.
Users and uses
Users of LFS data often combine them with related data from other sources to provide an overall view of the state of the labour market. One of the most important users of this sort of assessment is the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, that sets interest rates to meet the government's inflation target.
Other important users of LFS data are HM Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions. Because they are responsible for UK economic and labour market policy, they are interested in a variety of indicators of the state of the labour market, including the number of people in employment, the number of hours worked and the number of unemployed people (defined according to the International Labour Organization (ILO)). They often analyse these series by age groups, by regions and by sex. Other government users include the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) (to be superseded by the Department for Business and Trade, the Home Office, the Health and Safety Executive, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government.
At the international level, LFS data are used by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Other users include local authorities, the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the Employer's Association, the Confederation of British Industry, the Institute of Employment Studies, the Institute for Public Policy Research, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, the Policy Studies Institute, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, academic researchers, the media, and the general public.
Strengths and limitations
The main strengths of the LFS include that:
it has the largest coverage of any household survey in the UK and can therefore generate statistics for small geographical areas
the sampling errors are relatively small, as a result of the wave structure and the size of the survey
the survey covers a large range of employment-related variables and non-employment-related variables, allowing cross-linking analyses to be undertaken (for example, earnings against educational attainment)
The main limitations of the LFS include that:
the sample design provides no guarantee of adequate coverage of any industry, as the survey is not industrially stratified
the LFS coverage omits communal establishments, except NHS housing and students in halls of residence and at boarding schools; members of the armed forces are only included if they live in private accommodation and workers aged 16 years and under are not covered
while the LFS data are used alongside other sources to feed into the estimates of population change, the main focus of the survey is to collect labour market information and as such is not designed to measure migration flows
Main definitions
The definitions of the three economic activity groups - employed, unemployed and economically inactive - that are used in the LFS are the standard ILO definitions. It should be noted that although the LFS uses ILO definitions, these definitions are not interpreted and applied in exactly the same way in different countries. For example, although "working age" is a common term, different countries have different statutory school leaving and retirement ages. However, Eurostat collects data from member states and adjusts them to produce comparable estimates.
Accuracy
(The closeness between an estimated result and the (unknown) true value.)
The main threats to accuracy are sources of error, namely sampling error and non-sampling error, where non- sampling error includes:
coverage error
non-response error
measurement error
processing error
model assumption error
Many of the sources of non-sampling error are difficult to measure. However, the LFS publishes detailed response rates for all waves of the survey and an overall response rate, including data time series (Tables 4 to 7 and Figures 3 and 5). Response rates are also published by government region for each wave during the particular quarter (Table 8). The LFS also publishes proxy response rates (Table 9), response rates for income questions by National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC) (Table 10), and attrition rates (Table 11).
Surveys, such as the LFS, provide estimates of population characteristics rather than exact measures. In principle, many random samples could be drawn, and each would give different results, because each sample would be made up of different people, who would give different answers to the questions asked. The spread of these results is the sampling variability, that generally reduces with increasing sample size.
A confidence interval is a range of values, defined by a lower and upper bound, that indicates the variability of an estimate. Statistical methods are used to calculate the sampling variability from which the confidence interval can be determined. For example, with a 95% confidence interval, it is expected that in 95% of the survey samples, the resulting confidence interval will contain the true value that would be obtained by surveying the whole population.
The LFS routinely publishes details of achieved sample sizes in terms of achieved number of household and person interviews (Table 3 and Figures 1 and 2) and sampling variability for estimates of main variables. Sampling variability (95% confidence intervals) can be found in the Sampling variability section (Dataset A11) of our
Labour market statistical bulletin
Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys
Table 3: Achieved sample by type of household, January to March 2023
GB
UK
Includes imputed
Excludes imputed
Includes imputed
Excludes imputed
Private households
23,957
20,015
26,712
22,655
Individuals in
private households
51,513
41,842
57,876
47,910
NHS Households
Individuals in
NHS households
Total households
23,957
20,015
26,712
22,655
Total individuals
51,513
41,842
57,876
47,910
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Table 3: Achieved sample by type of household, January to March 2023
.xls
.csv
Figure 1: Country of birth of respondents from January 2020 to March 2023, wave 1
Great Britain and UK, January to March 2013, to January to March 2023
Source: Labour Force Survey from the Office for National Statistics
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Figure 1: Country of birth of respondents from January 2020 to March 2023, wave 1
Image
.csv
.xls
Figure 2: Achieved number of person interviews
Great Britain and UK, January to March 2013, to January to March 2023
Source: Labour Force Survey from the Office for National Statistics
Download this chart
Figure 2: Achieved number of person interviews
Image
.csv
.xls
Nôl i'r tabl cynnwys
Table 4: Wave specific response rates, Great Britain, excluding imputed households, January to March 2023
Wave 1
in JM23
Wave 2
in JM23
Wave 3
in JM23
Wave 4
in JM23
Wave 5
in JM23
Total
Eligible
households
found at
selected
units
24,304
100
23,779
100
23,779
100
23,698
100
22,772
100
118,332
100
Responding
units
Total
6,970
28.7
3,507
14.7
3,290
13.8
3,132
13.2
3,115
13.7
20,014
16.9
Full
6,595
27.1
3,200
13.5
3,052
12.8
2,888
12.2
2,874
12.6
18,609
15.7
Partial
375
1.5
307
1.3
238
1.0
244
1.0
241
1.1
1,405
1.2
Non-
responding
units
Circumst-
antial
refusal
1,262
5.2
899
3.8
698
2.9
630
2.7
438
1.9
3,927
3.3
Outright
refusal
6,094
25.1
6,660
28.0
6,482
27.3
7,083
29.9
6,327
27.8
32,646
27.6
Refusal
to HQ
1625
6.7
10,385
43.7
11,653
49.0
11,254
47.5
11,285
49.6
46,202
39.0
Non-contact
8,353
34.4
1,679
7.1
1,016
4.3
865
3.7
758
3.3
12,671
10.7
Addresses
not
issued for
interviewing
Refusal to
re-interview
n/a
n/a
649
2.7
640
2.7
734
3.1
849
3.7
2,872
2.4
Co-operation
rate
43.7
16.3
14.9
14.2
14.7
19.5
Contact rate
58.9
47.8
45.2
47.2
45.1
49.0
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Table 4: Wave specific response rates, Great Britain, excluding imputed households, January to March 2023
.xls
.csv
Figure 3: Wave-specific response rates
Great Britain, excluding imputed households, January to March 2013, to January to March 2023
Source: Labour Force Survey from the Office for National Statistics
Notes:
The total response rate is the cumulative response rate for the quarter across all waves, based on all eligible, in-scope households.
For a full definition of response categories and the method used to calculate the response rates, see Section 10 Technical definitions.
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Figure 3: Wave-specific response rates
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.csv
.xls
Table 5: Wave specific response rates, Great Britain, January to March 2023, including imputed households
Wave 1
in JM23
Wave 2
in JM23
Wave 3
in JM23
Wave 4
in JM23
Wave 5
in JM23
Total
Eligible
households
found at
selected
units
24,304
100
23,779
100
23,779
100
23,698
100
22,772
100
118,332
100
Responding
units
Total
6,970
28.7
5,321
22.4
4,163
17.5
3,862
16.3
3,641
16.0
23,957
20.2
Full
6,595
27.1
3,200
13.5
3,052
12.8
2,888
12.2
2,874
12.6
18,609
15.7
Partial
375
1.5
307
1.3
238
1.0
244
1.0
241
1.1
1,405
1.2
Imputed
1814
7.6
873
3.7
730
3.1
526
2.3
3,943
3.3
Non-
responding
units
Circumst-
antial
refusal
1,262
5.2
191
0.8
318
1.3
320
1.4
237
1.0
2,328
2.0
Outright
refusal
6,094
25.1
6,660
28.0
6,482
27.3
7,083
29.9
6,327
27.8
32,646
27.6
Refusal
to HQ
1625
6.7
10,385
43.7
11,653
49.0
11,254
47.5
11,285
49.6
46,202
39.0
Non-contact
8,353
34.4
573
2.4
523
2.2
445
1.9
433
1.9
10,327
8.7
Addresses
not
issued
for
interviewing
Refusal to
re-interview
n/a
n/a
649
2.7
640
2.7
734
3.1
849
3.7
2,872
2.4
Co-operation
rate
43.7
23.6
18.4
17.1
16.9
22.8
Contact rate
58.9
52.6
47.4
49.1
46.5
51.0
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Table 5: Wave specific response rates, Great Britain, January to March 2023, including imputed households
.xls
.csv
Figure 4: Wave-specific response rates by week
Great Britain, excluding imputed households, January to March 2023
Source: Labour Force Survey from the Office for National Statistics
Notes:
All selected addresses are distributed equally across the 13 weeks of the quarter.
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Figure 4: Wave-specific response rates by week
Image
.csv
.xls
Figure 5: Composition of non-response
Great Britain, including imputed households, January to March 2023
Source: Labour Force Survey from the Office for National Statistics
Notes:
For definitions of the types of non-response, see Section 10 Technical definitions. Figures are based on the aggregate response for the quarter covering all waves.
JM23 refers to the period January to March 2023
OD22 refers to the period October to December 2022
JM22 refers to the period January to March 2022
JM21 refers to the period January to March 2021
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Figure 5: Composition of non-response
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.csv
.xls
Table 6: Wave-specific response rates, UK, January to March 2023, excluding imputed households
Wave 1
in JM23
Wave 2
in JM23
Wave 3
in JM23
Wave 4
in JM23
Wave 5
in JM23
Total
Eligible
households
found at
selected
units
25,488
100
24,916
100
24,932
100
24,835
100
23,899
100
124,070
100
Responding
units
Total
7,597
29.8
4,068
16.3
3,786
15.2
3,604
14.5
3,599
15.1
22,654
18.3
Full
7,163
28.1
3,720
14.9
3,523
14.1
3,329
13.4
3,320
13.9
21,055
17.0
Partial
434
1.7
348
1.4
263
1.1
275
1.1
279
1.2
1,599
1.3
Non-
responding
units
Circumst-
antial
refusal
1,332
5.2
941
3.8
729
2.9
654
2.6
451
1.9
4,107
3.3
Outright
refusal
6,392
25.1
6,765
27.2
6,555
26.3
7,116
28.7
6,351
26.6
33,179
26.7
Refusal
to HQ
1,633
6.4
10,386
41.7
11,653
46.7
11,255
45.3
11,285
47.2
46,212
37.2
Non-contact
8,534
33.5
1,818
7.3
1,132
4.5
961
3.9
842
3.5
13,287
10.7
Addresses
not
issued for
interviewing
Refusal to
re-interview
n/a
n/a
938
3.8
1,077
4.3
1,245
5.0
1,371
5.7
4,631
3.7
Co-operation
rate
44.8
18.4
16.7
15.9
16.6
21.3
Contact rate
60.1
49.1
46.4
48.2
46.2
50.2
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Table 6: Wave-specific response rates, UK, January to March 2023, excluding imputed households
.xls
.csv
Table 7: Wave-specific response rates, UK, January to March 2023, including imputed households
Wave 1
in JM23
Wave 2
in JM23
Wave 3
in JM23
Wave 4
in JM23
Wave 5
in JM23
Total
Eligible
households
found at
selected
units
25,488
100
24,916
100
24,932
100
24,835
100
23,899
100
124,070
100
Responding
units
Total
7,597
29.8
5,918
23.8
4,688
18.8
4,360
17.6
4,149
17.4
26,712
21.5
Full
7,163
28.1
3,720
14.9
3,523
14.1
3,329
13.4
3,320
13.9
21,055
17.0
Partial
434
1.7
348
1.4
263
1.1
275
1.1
279
1.2
1,599
1.3
Imputed
1,850
7.4
902
3.6
756
3.0
550
2.3
4,058
3.3
Non-
responding
units
Circumst-
antial
refusal
1,332
5.2
224
0.9
341
1.4
337
1.4
248
1.0
2,482
2.0
Outright
refusal
6,392
25.1
6,765
27.2
6,555
26.3
7,116
28.7
6,351
26.6
33,179
26.7
Refusal
to HQ
1633
6.4
10,386
41.7
11,653
46.7
11,255
45.3
11,285
47.2
46,212
37.2
Non-contact
8,534
33.5
685
2.7
618
2.5
522
2.1
495
2.1
10,854
8.7
Addresses
not
issued for
interviewing
Refusal to
re-interview
n/a
n/a
938
3.8
1,077
4.3
1,245
5.0
1,371
5.7
4,631
3.7
Co-operation
rate
44.8
25.4
20.2
18.9
18.8
24.6
Contact rate
60.1
53.8
48.6
50.1
47.7
52.2
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Table 7: Wave-specific response rates, UK, January to March 2023, including imputed households
.xls
.csv
Table 8: Wave specific response rates, January to March 2023, including imputed households, by region
Wave 1
in JM23
Wave 2
in JM23
Wave 3
in JM23
Wave 4
in JM23
Wave 5
in JM23
Total
Region
Tyne & Wear
35.1
25.6
21.4
20.8
17.7
24.2
Rest of North East
36.1
32.1
20.1
16.2
18.6
24.7
Greater Manchester
22.0
19.3
16.0
14.0
10.6
16.4
Merseyside
16.8
13.7
13.9
8.7
11.0
12.9
Rest of North West
28.4
22.6
17.4
16.0
16.7
20.3
South Yorkshire
25.1
25.2
19.3
19.4
15.0
20.9
West Yorkshire
28.1
24.2
17.9
16.6
10.5
19.6
Rest of Yorkshire
and Humberside
38.5
20.0
20.7
20.4
20.1
24.0
East Midlands
35.5
27.6
18.1
19.3
15.9
23.4
West Midlands
Metropolitan Council
24.3
17.7
13.3
11.1
11.4
15.6
Rest of West Midlands
31.5
23.2
18.6
16.6
18.2
21.7
East of England
31.3
23.6
20.8
18.9
17.4
22.5
Inner London
17.2
15.5
10.9
12.0
8.5
12.8
Outer London
20.3
14.8
12.7
12.1
13.3
14.7
South East
28.6
22.4
16.7
16.3
17.4
20.4
South West
36.2
27.3
21.2
20.8
20.5
25.3
England
28.8
22.3
17.4
16.4
15.7
20.2
Wales
28.9
22.9
17.8
15.8
20.8
21.2
Strathclyde
22.0
20.6
20.1
14.6
13.3
18.2
Rest of Scotland
31.7
24.4
17.6
16.0
18.1
21.6
Scotland
27.6
22.8
18.7
15.4
16.0
20.2
Northern Ireland
53.0
52.5
45.5
43.8
45.1
48.0
Download this table
Table 8: Wave specific response rates, January to March 2023, including imputed households, by region
.xls
.csv
Table 9: Proxy response, Great Britain, January to March 2023
All
responses
Proxy
Age
Total (16+)
43,080
16,470
38.2
16-17
1,038
999
96.2
18-19
801
727
90.8
20+
41,241
14,744
35.8
Sex
Total
43,080
16,470
38.2
Male
20,745
8,519
41.1
Female
22,335
7,951
35.6
Ethnicity
Total
43,080
16,470
38.2
White
38,735
14,452
37.3
Non-white
4,314
2,001
46.4
Refused
31
17
54.8
Economic
activity
(INECAC05)
Total
43,080
16,470
38.2
Employees
20,841
8,431
40.5
Self-Employed
3,669
1,403
38.2
Government
schemes
48
17
35.4
Unpaid family
workers
85
23
27.1
ILO Unemployed
785
361
46.0
Inactive
17,652
6,235
35.3
Download this table
Table 9: Proxy response, Great Britain, January to March 2023
.xls
.csv
Table 10: Income response rates by NS-SEC, Great Britain, January to March 2023
Wave 1
in JM23
Wave 5
in JM23
Total
NS-SEC
Higher managerial
and professional
83.6
90.1
85.5
Lower managerial
and professional
83.2
88.8
85.0
Intermediate
occupations
82.2
86.3
83.4
Small employers
and own account workers
76.5
89.5
83.3
Lower supervisory
and technical
75.5
84.0
77.9
Semi-routine occupations
75.4
89.2
79.2
Routine occupations
76.8
81.4
78.0
Total
81.0
87.7
83.0
Download this table
Table 10: Income response rates by NS-SEC, Great Britain, January to March 2023
.xls
.csv
Table 11: Summary of attrition by key characteristics, Great Britain, January to March 2023
Wave 1
in JM22
Wave 5
in JM23
Responds
Responds
Responds all waves
Non-responder
Age
<16
19.1
14.0
12.1
21.8
16-19
3.8
2.4
2.2
4.6
20-29
8.9
5.8
5.3
10.4
30-39
12.9
8.7
7.3
15.1
40-49
12.9
11.1
10.8
13.8
50-59
15.6
16.1
15.7
15.3
60-69
16.8
25.5
28.2
12.4
70+
9.9
16.3
18.3
6.6
Sex
Male
48.8
49.3
49.5
48.5
Female
51.2
50.7
50.5
51.5
Economic
Activity
(INECAC05)
Employees
43.0
37.8
35.8
45.7
Self
Employment
7.5
7.6
7.1
7.5
GovTraining
Scheme
0.1
0.0
0.0
0.1
UPFW
(Unpaid
Family
Workers)
0.2
0.3
0.3
0.1
ILO
Unemployment
1.3
1.1
1.0
1.4
Inactive
28.8
39.3
43.6
23.4
Number
of
people
in
household
(TOTNUM)
10.6
14.7
16.6
8.5
34.8
43.3
47.0
30.4
20.1
17.1
14.9
21.7
22.2
17.0
15.1
24.8
8.5
6.1
5.5
9.7
6 or
more
3.9
1.7
0.9
5.0
Region
(GOVTOR)
Tyne &
Wear
2.1
2.1
2.4
2.1
Rest of
North
East
3.3
3.3
3.2
3.2
Greater
Manchester
3.5
2.8
2.8
3.9
Merseyside
1.3
1.5
1.7
1.3
Rest of
North
West
5.3
5.3
5.0
5.3
South
Yorkshire
2.0
1.9
1.8
2.0
West
Yorkshire
3.4
2.4
2.2
3.9
Rest of
Yorkshire
and
Humberside
3.4
3.7
3.9
3.2
East
Midlands
8.6
8.0
8.3
8.9
West
Midlands
Metropolitan
Council
4.3
2.9
2.8
5.0
Rest of
West
Midlands
5.2
5.8
6.3
4.9
East of
England
9.2
9.6
10.5
9.0
Inner
London
2.9
2.2
1.8
3.3
Outer
London
6.9
6.5
6.2
7.1
South
East
14.7
16.7
16.6
13.7
South
West
10.2
11.4
11.2
9.5
Wales
5.3
5.8
5.1
5.0
Strathclyde
3.6
3.0
3.1
3.9
Rest of
Scotland
4.9
4.9
4.9
4.8
Download this table
Table 11: Summary of attrition by key characteristics, Great Britain, January to March 2023
.xls
.csv
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(Timeliness refers to the lapse of time between publication and the period to which the data refer. Punctuality refers to the time lag between the actual and planned dates of publication.)
To the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Labour Market Division (LMD)
Scheduled delivery date for file: 21st April 2023.
Achieved delivery date for file: 21st April 2023.
Time lag between achieved delivery date and the end of the reference period: 12 days.
Data file for other users
Scheduled availability date for regional public and government normal release user files: 16 May 2023.
Recipients
Bank of England
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (to be superseded by Department for Business and Trade)
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Department for Education
Department for Enterprise, Trade and Investment (Northern Ireland)
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Department for Transport
Department for Work and Pensions
Department of Finance and Personnel (Northern Ireland)
Economic and Social Research Council and Data Archive
Health and Safety Executive
HM Treasury
Home Office
Low Pay Commission
Office for Standards in Education
Office of Manpower Economics
Scottish Government and Scottish Executive
Small Business Service
Welsh Government
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(Accessibility is the ease with which users are able to access the data, also reflecting the format(s) in which the data are available and the availability of supporting information. Clarity refers to the quality and sufficiency of the metadata, illustrations and accompanying advice.)
The
UK Data Archive
at the University of Essex provides free access to the various Labour Force Survey (LFS) datasets.
The
National Online Manpower Information System (NOMIS)
provide a free but highly disaggregated dataset, that covers a wealth of data for local areas.
Our Social Surveys Team provide
LFS data for a fee
and can be contacted by phone on +44 1633 455678 or email at
socialsurveys@ons.gov.uk
Labour market data
, including data from the LFS, are published every month through statistical bulletins. These include text, tables, and charts. Data contained within the bulletins are available to download, free of charge.
For questions relating to labour market statistics, please contact
labour.market@ons.gov.uk
For general queries about the LFS, please contact
lfs@ons.gov.uk
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(Comparability is the degree to which data can be compared over time and domain.)
Background
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) began in 1973 and was carried out every two years until 1983. Between 1984 and 1991, data were collected annually, and the survey has been running in its present form, with quarterly sampling, since spring 1992.
During the UK's membership of the European Union, the survey was carried out under European Union regulations, that specified the way the survey should be conducted, the quality of the results that member states supply to Eurostat and the timetable for supplying results. Since the UK's exit from the European Union, these regulations do not apply anymore. Although the LFS began as a survey designed to meet international obligations, its primary purpose is now "the prompt publication of key aggregate, whole economy, indicators, for the integrated assessment of labour market conditions" (Review of the Labour Force Survey, Office for National Statistics, 2002).
Definitions
The definitions of the three economic activity groups - employed, unemployed and economically inactive - that are used in the LFS are the standard International Labour Organization (ILO) definitions.
Economically active
Those aged 16 years and over, who are either employed or unemployed in the survey reference week.
Employed
Those aged 16 years and over, who are regarded as in employment if they did at least one hour of work in the reference week (as an employee, self-employed, unpaid workers in a family business or participants in government-supported training schemes) and those who had a job that they were temporarily away from (for example, if they were on holiday).
Unemployed
Those aged 16 years and over, who are without work, want a job, have actively sought work in the last four weeks and are available to start work in the next two weeks, or are out of work but have found a job and are waiting to start it within the next two weeks.
Economically inactive
Those who are neither in employment nor unemployed. This group includes, for example, all those who are looking after a home or family, have a long-term illness or disability that prevents them working, or are retired.
Unpaid family workers
Those who are doing unpaid work in a family business.
January to March 2023 questionnaire changes
Deleted questions: EvrFur
Amended questions: not applicable
Please see
User Guide Volume 2 and 3 2022
for further details.
Fieldwork and operational changes
A timeline of significant operational changes that may have had an impact on response include:
July 2010 - households with residents aged 75 years and over are removed after their initial interview from October to December 2010 (OD10); this affects response rates, as these households generally have high response rates; see the "Questionnaire changes" section for more details.
January 2011 - a proportion of initial interviews were conducted by the telephone unit rather than face-to-face as an efficiency measure.
June 2017 - introduction of £5 and £10 incentives randomly allocated across the sample.
January 2018 - from January to March 2018 (JM18) onwards all initial interviews have been face-to-face, except for respondents north of the Caledonian Canal (NOCC).
January 2018 - around 10% to 15% of the wave 1 sample moved from telephone operations to face-to-face.
April 2018 - introduction of new administrative systems for recording field time and expenses.
June 2018 - changes to advance materials and procedures because of the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation.
July 2018 - change of incentive type from a paper voucher to a card voucher.
October 2018 - launch of a new fieldwork management tool for use in face-to-face mode.
March 2019 - issues with the telephone system used for some cases in waves 2 to 5 resulted in poor connectivity, that may affect response rates.
March 2020 - social distancing measures were implemented in the UK; face-to-face data collection paused, and all interviewing moved to telephone mode.
May 2020 - unconditional incentive increased to £10 for all wave 1 households in Great Britain.
July 2020 - wave 1 LFS sample size doubled to account for lower response rates.
July 2020 - Northern Ireland moved from unconditional to conditional incentives for waves 1, 2 and 5 and increased the amount from £10 to £20 in wave 1.
April 2021 - wave 1 sample reduced to 160%; Knock-to-Nudge introduced.
October 2021 - wave 1 sample reduced to 150% of pre-coronavirus level.
April 2022 - wave 1 sample increased to 155% of pre-coronavirus level.
November 2022 - roll out of
knock-to-nudge for the transformed LFS parallel run
, affecting capacity being stretched in the field.
November to December 2022 - Royal Mail strikes resulted in advance letters to respondents being delivered late.
Survey methodology changes
Changes to State Pension age were introduced in 2010, that affected labour market and LFS publications as well as other social surveys. Under the Pensions Act 2011, the State Pension age of women was expected to increase more quickly (than originally planned) to aged 65 years between April 2016 and November 2018. From December 2018, the State Pension age for both men and women started to increase, expected to reach age 67 years by 2028.
From July to September 2010 (JS10), households that only contain respondents aged 75 years and over are removed from the sample after their wave 1 interview. This change was introduced to reduce the cost of the survey and reduce the burden on respondents. Households only containing individuals aged 75 years and over are largely economically inactive. Therefore, the value of interviewing these households is greatly reduced when considering the main aims of the LFS. The wave 1 interviews from aged 75 years and over households will receive a larger weight to make them representative of the UK population. This change results in around a 10% reduction in the household sample size and a 7% reduction in the individual sample size.
From JS10, the treatment of "concealed multi-households" on the LFS has also changed. Previously, if one sampled address turned out on inspection to be, for example, not one house but six flats, all six flats would be recorded as households and interviews would be attempted with each household. The number of households encountered could be in the hundreds. This would not be a practical approach. We decided to harmonise the approach to multi-households across all our social surveys. From JS10, if a concealed multi-household is recorded, only one household will be randomly selected to be interviewed.
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(Coherence is the degree to which data that are derived from different sources or methods, but that refer to the same phenomenon, are similar.)
Data sources
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is one of a number of sources of data about the labour market. Some sources provide data that overlap with LFS data on employment, unemployment and earnings. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published guidance about the strengths and limitations of each source in relation to these topics and has indicated which source is the most appropriate for different purposes. Details can be found in our
Labour market statistics guide
Employment, unemployment and economic inactivity
The LFS is the source recommended by the ONS for certain employment-related statistics (for example, estimates of the number of people in employment or unemployed). The LFS is also a unique source of comprehensive, coherent information about economic inactivity, where it provides information separately about people who want a job and those who do not.
Number and industrial composition of jobs
The workforce jobs (WFJ) series provides estimates of the number of jobs in the UK economy and is the source recommended by the ONS for both the number of jobs and the industrial composition of jobs. Workforce jobs consist of the sum of employee jobs, self-employment jobs, jobs in the armed forces and government-supported trainees. Civilian workforce jobs are available by geographical region, sex and broad industry. Total workforce jobs are available by sex and broad industry.
Earnings
For estimates of change in earnings (for example, pay growth in the economy), a non-LFS source, the Average Weekly Earnings (AWE) measure (formerly the Average Earnings Index (AEI)), is the most suitable source. It provides industry and whole-economy information but excludes small employers, the self-employed and government-supported trainees. Pay, commission, bonuses, overtime and pay award arrears are included, but redundancy payments and benefits in kind are excluded.
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) includes information about the levels, distribution, and make-up of earnings and hours worked for employees in different occupations, industries, ages and regions. It should be used when the information required is not available from the AWE (such as for occupational groups, or regional analyses) and is the preferred source of the earnings of full-time employees and of the average hourly earnings of all employees. The LFS should be used when the information is not available from the AWE or from the ASHE and is the preferred source of data about the earnings of part-time and low-paid employees. There is an ONS
guide to sources of data on earnings and income
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The Labour Force Survey (LFS) covers private households, including persons who are temporarily absent. The resident population is made up of persons who regard the sample address as their main address and those who have lived in the dwelling for more than six consecutive months, even if they do not regard this as their principal dwelling. Persons absent for more than six months are not regarded as members of the resident population.
A private household comprises of one or more persons (not necessarily related) living at the same address who share cooking facilities and share a living room, sitting room or dining area. Students living in halls of residence and pupils at boarding schools are sampled through the private households of their parents. In Great Britain, an additional sample is drawn from persons living in NHS accommodation.
The year is divided into quarters of 13 weeks. Before January 2006, these were seasonal quarters:
winter (December to February)
spring (March to May)
summer (June to August)
autumn (September to November)
From January 2006, the LFS has been conducted based on calendar quarters:
Quarter 1 - January to March
Quarter 2 - April to June
Quarter 3 - July to September
Quarter 4 - October to December
For most of Great Britain, the survey base is the Royal Mail's Postcode Address File (PAF), a database of all addresses receiving mail. The list is limited to addresses receiving fewer than 25 items of post per day, to exclude businesses. Because of the very low population density in the far north of Scotland (north of the Caledonian Canal), telephone directories are used as sampling frames. Interviews in the far north of Scotland are also carried out by telephone because face-to-face interviews would be too expensive. In Northern Ireland POINTER, which is the government's central register of domestic properties, is used.
In Great Britain, a systematic sample is drawn each quarter from the three sampling bases, yielding 16,640 PAF addresses, 75 telephone numbers for the north of Scotland and 36 units of NHS housing. As the PAF is broken down geographically, the systematic sampling ensures that the sample is representative at regional level. In Northern Ireland, a simple random sample is drawn, each quarter, from each of three strata, giving 650 addresses in all.
A rotation system made up of five waves is used. Respondents are interviewed five times at 13-week intervals and one-fifth of the sample is replaced each quarter. Interviews are carried out on a face-to-face (CAPI) or telephone (CATI) basis with the help of portable computers for the interviews in the first wave. In the far north of Scotland (north of the Caledonian Canal) and for interviews in the second to fifth waves, wherever possible, interviews are carried out by telephone.
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Imputation
If a household (or someone within a household) is unavailable for interview but was interviewed in the previous wave, responses from the previous wave are rolled forward. This is referred to as "imputation". Imputation is carried out to minimise non-response bias in estimates while simultaneously improving precision by boosting the sample size. The rationale is that most Labour Force Survey (LFS) variables do not change from one quarter to another for most people.
Responses are rolled forward for one wave only. Data are not rolled forward after a second consecutive non- response. Tables and charts (at person or household level) containing responses that have been rolled forward from the previous wave are denoted by the term "including imputed". Tables and charts that do not contain responses that have been rolled forward from the previous wave are denoted by the term "excluding imputed".
Method of calculating sampling variability
See
Section 2: Summary of quality
for information on the method of calculating sampling variability.
Method of calculating response rates
The response rate indicates how many interviews were achieved as a proportion of those eligible for the survey. The formula used is as follows:
RR equals (FR plus PR) divided by (FR plus PR plus OR plus CR plus RHQ plus NC plus RRI*).
Where RR is response rate, FR is full response, PR is partial response, OR is outright refusal, CR is circumstantial refusal, RHQ is refusal to HQ, NC is non-contact, RRI is refusal to re-interview, and the asterisk (*) applies to waves 2 to 5 only.
Definitions of response outcome categories
Full response
A household in which each household member has answered all applicable questions.
Partial response
A household in which questions were not completed because someone refused to be interviewed, refused part way through the questionnaire, or refused to let someone else answer on his or her behalf. However, at least one question block must have been completed. If only part of the information has been collected for a one-person household, it is coded as a refusal or non-contact.
Outright refusal
A household that refuses to respond to the survey and the interviewer feels that there is no chance of an interview at the current or in any future wave.
Circumstantial refusal
A household where the respondent refuses to respond because of a temporary circumstance (for example, going on holiday or being too busy during the field period). A circumstantial refusal enables an interviewer to call back at the next wave.
Refusal to HQ
A household that contacts headquarters to refuse to participate in the survey in response to the advance letter.
Non-contact
When an address is occupied, but where it has not been possible to contact any member of the household in the field period.
Refusal to re-interview
A household that takes part in the survey (at one or more of waves 1 to 4) but that, when asked to take part in the next wave (waves 2 to 5), refuses.
Method of calculating income response rates
The income question is asked at waves 1 and 5 only. Individuals aged 16 to 69 years, who are in employment in the reference week, form the sub-set of respondents who are eligible for these questions. The percentage response rates for the income questions are based on all eligible, in-scope respondents at wave 1 and all eligible, in-scope respondents at wave 5. The total response rate is the aggregate response rate for income for the quarter (wave 1 and wave 5), based on all eligible, in-scope respondents.
NS-SEC
NS-SEC is the
National Statistics Socio-economic Classification
, which replaces previous classifications that were based on social class and social and economic group.
Standard Occupational Classification
An issue was identified with some occupational data on a number of Office for National Statistics (ONS) surveys, including the LFS. This was caused by the implementation of the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) from SOC 2010 to SOC 2020. A full
public statement on the impact of SOC miscoding
, including a list of affected variables, was published on 26 September 2022. The article includes a link to
the list of four-digit SOC codes
and their estimated impact level.
The issue affects all LFS and Annual Population Survey (APS) datasets from January 2021 to September 2022. In October 2022, a revised SOC 2020 coding frame was introduced, correcting the error for collecting new data from that point.
Proxy response
The LFS has to complete fieldwork to a tight timetable, and interview as many of the sampled households as possible, which leaves limited time for recalls. LFS interviewers try to interview every adult (aged 16 years and over) in each sampled household. However, when a household member is unavailable for interview, interviewers accept information by proxy from another responsible adult in the household. The proxy respondents are normally people living with a partner on behalf of their partner, and parents on behalf of their adult offspring who live with them.
Attrition
Attrition is the term applied to respondents who begin the survey but subsequently drop out. It has been known for some time that these respondents tend to have different characteristics to those who remain in all waves of the survey, that can, therefore, result in attrition bias. For example, if respondents in a particular age group have a higher tendency to drop out (attrition rate) than respondents in other age groups, then they will be under-represented in subsequent waves of the survey and in estimates.
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More information on the Labour Force Survey (LFS) is available:
Labour Force Survey user guidance
Methodology | Last revised 18 April 2023
Guidance about the background and methodology of the Labour Force Survey (LFS).
Labour market overview, UK Statistical bulletins
Bulletin | Monthly
Estimates of employment, unemployment, economic inactivity and other employment-related statistics for the UK.
Labour Force Survey Quality and Methodology Information (QMI)
Methodology | Last revised 13 January 2015
Quality and Methodology Information for the Labour Force Survey, detailing the strengths and limitations of the data, methods used, and data uses and users.
Methodology for the calculation of sampling variability in the Labour Force Survey (PDF, 175KB)
Technical note
The formulas used for the calculation of standard errors (SEs) on the quarterly LFS and describe how the impact of the sample design and weighting are captured in these calculations.
The National Online Manpower Information System (NOMIS)
Nomis is a service provided by the Office for National Statistics to give you free access to the most detailed and up-to-date UK labour market statistics from official sources.
Labour market QMI
Methodology | Last revised 31 October 2011
Quality and Methodology Information for labour market statistics in the UK, detailing the strengths and limitations of the data, methods used, and data uses and users.
UK Data Archive, University of Essex
Home to the UK's largest collection of social, economic and population data for over 50 years.
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Office for National Statistics (ONS), released 16 May 2023, ONS website, article,
Labour Force Survey performance and quality monitoring report: January to March 2023
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Manylion cyswllt ar gyfer y
Methodoleg
Data Advice and Relations Team
socialsurveys@ons.gov.uk
Ffôn: +44 1633 455329