ESDS Government

Labour Force Survey

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a quarterly sample survey of households living at private addresses in Great Britain. Its purpose is to provide information on the UK labour market that can then be used to develop, manage, evaluate and report on labour market policies. It is conducted by the Office for National Statistics.

Users who have previously downloaded this data should note that it is not in line with the 2001 Census. Also, any comparisons between old and the new re-weighted data is not advisable as they are based on different estimates.

The National Statistics web site contains some detailed information about the survey.

Recent LFS news

1. Labour Force Survey (LFS) Reweighting Project 2009

In 2009, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) undertook a reweighting project, whereby LFS data were reweighted using population estimates for 2009. As a result, reweighted editions of QLFS datasets from the July-September 2006 quarter onwards have been deposited at the UKDA. Users should note that quarters prior to July-September 2006 will remain weighted to the 2007-2008 population figures used for the previous LFS reweighting project conducted in 2007. Further information about the 2009 reweighting project is included in the documentation for the updated datasets.

2. In accordance with EU regulations the LFS has moved from Seasonal to Calendar quarters. As a result of this process a number of variables have been dropped from the Calendar datasets. A page which lists each calendar dataset with the corresponding seasonal datasets is now available, together with more information about the changes.

Unfortunately the LFS User Guides do not reflect the changes. As a result you will find that certain variables noted in the User Guides as being present in the datasets are not actually in the datasets.

3. Continuous age and 4-digit SOC occupation variables are now included in the reweighted LFS calendar datasets.

In autumn 2007, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) began an assessment of how much detail could be retained on government surveys which were released to users under an End User Licence. During this period, a number of variables were removed from the LFS datasets or replaced by recoded variables. These included the removal of the continuous age variable (AGE) (replaced with banded age) and the 4 digit SOC code for main occupation.

In 2007, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) undertook a reweighting project, whereby LFS data were reweighted using population estimates for 2007-2008. As a result, reweighted editions of LFS back to 1992 were deposited at UKDA during 2008. Updates are almost complete, but users should check individual catalogue records carefully before download.

The following variables are now once again available in the reweighted LFS data:

the single year of age variable (AGE)
4-digit unit SOC for main occupation

Only calendar datasets have been reweighted to 2007-2008 figures. Users are strongly advised to use these instead of the previous seasonal datasets, which will no longer be updated by ONS. The seasonal datasets will remain weighted to Census 2001 population figures, contain only banded age variables, and will be withdrawn from the UKDA catalogue in the near future.

4. Quarterly Labour Force Survey Eurostat datasets are now available from ESDS. Eurostat co-ordinates information from labour force surveys in the European Union (EU) member states in order to assist the EU in such matters as the allocation of the Social Fund. The Quarterly Labour Force Survey Eurostat Datasets form the UK component of the European Union Labour Force Survey (EULFS), and consist of a subset of core variables from the UK QLFS alongside primary and secondary derived variables computed by Eurostat from the core variables supplied. Data is available for a number of quarters.

5. In accordance with EU regulations, the LFS moved from seasonal (spring, summer, autumn, winter) quarters to calendar quarters (January-March, April-June, July-September, October-December) in 2006. The last seasonal quarter dataset issued was the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, December 2005 - February 2006 (SN 5356) and the first calendar quarter dataset was the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, January - March, 2006 (SN 5369). Users should note that there is some overlap between these two datasets. ONS have produced a limited series of historical LFS datasets on a calendar-quarterly basis. This will allow users to make meaningful comparisons of labour market statistics from the LFS microdata over time. Further information on the seasonal to calendar quarter change and its impact on LFS data may be found in the following online article:

Madouros, V. (2006) Impact of the LFS switch from seasonal to calendar quarters: an overview of the switch of the LFS to calendar quarters and the potential effects of this change on users, London: ONS.

6. Special Licence: Some QLFS files are now available under special licence. This special licence version contains the same content as the QLFS end user file but has additional geographical information at the local authority level. A list of the variables available in each file is available in this Excel file.

7. The Annual Population Survey (APS) represents a major new survey which comprises key variables from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), all the LFS boosts and the APS boost. It provides survey data that can produce reliable estimates at local authority level. For more information visit the ESDS Government APS web pages.

8. The ONS published reweighted Labour Force Survey data in March 2004. Reweighted microdata from Spring 1992 onwards is now available.

9. The LFS Annual Local Area Data Series and the Unitary Authority/Local Authority (UA/LA series) have been withdrawn on instruction from ONS, due to confidentiality issues. ONS have released the following information:
"ONS and its predecessors have always offered an assurance of confidentiality to potential respondents in its surveys. Databases released for analysis by outside bodies have always been anonymised to ensure that users could not identify any respondent with the information given. However advances in technology and software has made it easier to link survey records to either other survey files or other administrative or commercial databases. Although the risk for most respondents is very small, there remains a risk of identification for people with unusual combinations of personal circumstances. Thus the release outside the central government statistical services of social survey databases with small area identifiers, alongside a national database with detailed coding, has now been ceased."

This affects ESDS holdings in the following ways.

1. Series 33309 - Quarterly Labour Force Survey: Unitary Authorities/Local Authorities
Studies 4160-4163,4174,4207,4305-4314,4325-4336,4372 and 4418 withdrawn

2. Series 33286 - Quarterly Labour Force Survey: Local Area Data

Only the Annual Local Area Data studies are affected, which means the following studies are withdrawn:

• SN:4321 Quarterly Labour Force Survey Annual Local Area Data, 1999-2000
• SN:4116 Quarterly Labour Force Survey Annual Local Area Data, 1998-1999
• SN:3965 Quarterly Labour Force Survey Annual Local Area Data, 1997-1998
• SN:3812 Quarterly Labour Force Survey Annual Local Area Data, 1996-1997
• SN:3653 Quarterly Labour Force Survey Annual Local Area Data, 1995-1996
• SN:3624 Quarterly Labour Force Survey Annual Local Area Data, 1994-1995

The quarterly Local Area data (LAD/TEC) studies, which are also part of Series 33286, are not affected and can be supplied to users as normal.

Recent data

• Updated Quarterly LFS, April - June, 2006: Special Licence Access published 24 June 2010.
• LFS Ad Hoc Module Eurostat Dataset, 2007 published 23 June 2010.
• Quarterly LFS Eurostat Dataset, Quarter Two, 2008 published 23 June 2010.
• LFS Annual Eurostat Dataset, 2008 published 23 June 2010.
• Quarterly LFS Eurostat Dataset, Quarter Four, 2008 published 23 June 2010.
• Quarterly LFS Eurostat Dataset, Quarter Three, 2008 published 23 June 2010.
• Quarterly LFS Eurostat Dataset, Quarter One, 2008 published 23 June 2010.
• Quarterly LFS, January - March, 2010: Special Licence Access published 17 June 2010.
• Updated Quarterly LFS, July - September, 2008: Special Licence Access published 10 June 2010.
• Quarterly LFS, January - March, 2010 published 04 June 2010.
• LFS Five-Quarter Longitudinal Dataset, January 2009 - March 2010 published 04 June 2010.
• LFS Two-Quarter Longitudinal Dataset, October 2009 - March 2010 published 04 June 2010.
• Receive email notification of data updates.