Labour force sample survey in the Community

OBJECTIVE: to establish comparable statistics on the level and structure of employment and unemployment in the EU. COMMUNITY MEASURE: Council Regulation 577/98/EC on the organization of a labour force sample survey in the Community. SUBSTANCE: Council Regulation 3711/91/EC of 16 December 1991 provides for an annual labour force sample survey in the Community to be carried out in each Member State in the spring of each year from 1992. The new regulation, which repeals and replaces Regulation 3711/91/EC, lays down the arrangements for a 'continuous' annual statistical survey on the labour force in the Union. This continuous survey would supply quarterly and annual results and would be conducted among a sample of households or individuals residing in the economic territory of each Member State. However, the regulation authorizes Member States which would not be able to carry out a continuous survey to conduct an annual survey (in spring) as provided by the former regulation. Apart from laying down the units (individual or household) and scope of the survey (the employment situation and survey of under-employment), the regulation lays down: - the rates to ensure the representativeness of the sample (setting standard variations depending on the regions where the surveys are conducted); - the characteristics of the survey: demographic context (civil status, sex, etc.), employment situation (e.g. type of current work), characteristics of the employment (e.g. professional status, job permanence), length of work, former professional experience, characteristics of under-employment (e.g. type of job sought, number of working hours wanted, etc.), income, etc.; - arrangements for organizing the survey: the Member States may impose an obligation to respond; - the deadline for forwarding data to Eurostat. The data covered by the survey could be complemented by an additional set of variables established by the Commission (multiannual programme of ad hoc modules). It would be assisted by the Statistical Programme Committee set up under Decision EEC, Euratom 89/382. Every three years from 2000, the Commission is to forward to Parliament and the Council a report on implementation of this regulation with a view to evaluating the statistical methods used for this survey. ENTRY INTO FORCE: 15.03.1998. �