Getting started with the Labour Force Survey
1. Which dataset do I want?
There are a range of datasets available.
Not only are data available for a period dating back to 1977 but recent datasets
are also available in a range of formats.
The following questions may help to
guide you towards the most appropriate dataset for your research question.
o Do I want to explore interrelationships between characteristics
or do I simply want headline figures?
If you merely want key statistics, such as ILO unemployment levels for a particular
year, then you may find that these figures have already been published and
further analysis is unnecessary. A good place to look for published data from
the Labour Force Survey is Labour Market Trends. Labour
Market Trends can be accessed online on the Office
for National Statistics web site.
o Do I want data with more
detailed geography than region?
From the March-May 2005 quarter, a Special
Licence (SL) version of the QLFS data is available in addition to the
version of the QLFS data made available under the standard End User Licence
(EUL). The SL version contains extra geographical variables and is therefore
subject to more restrictive access conditions. Prospective users of the Special
Licence edition will need to complete an extra application form and demonstrate
to the data owners exactly why they need to access the extra variables, in
order to get permission to use that version.
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. This is also available under Special Licence conditions.
For more information visit the ESDS Government APS
web pages.
It is possible to obtain local labour force statistics in tabular form rather
than as microdata, these are obtainable via NOMIS.
Aggregated statistics for each local authority are also available in the QLFS
Local Area Data Files.
o Will I be analysing individuals,
households or individuals in a household context?
LFS data is available in two formats for 1990 and 1992 onwards:
• The QLFS files - the 1990
LFS file and the QLFS files for 1992 onwards contain the data for individuals,
with weights appropriate to individual analysis.
• The Household LFS files for 1990 onwards contain the same information
as the QLFS but with weights appropriate for analysis involving household
context or at the household level. You can still obtain individual records
in the household LFS files, however these are flattened files with household
linkage done for you and all derived household and family variables present.
For further guidance about which
file to use consult the Household and Family volume of the LFS documentation.
o Will I use the data as
a panel or as cross-sectional data?
The LFS has operated as a quarterly panel survey since 1992. Linked files
are available: there are two or five quarter versions of the data. If you
are using the data cross-sectionally use either the QLFS or Household LFS
but remember, if you use successive quarters 4/5 of the cases in a dataset
will be present in the previous quarter so your samples will not be independent.
If you use data for the same quarter in successive years, 1/5 of cases will
appear in both datasets. It is possible to exclude those cases which appear
in both datasets.
o Am I interested in a sub-population?
The LFS is a very large survey but you should still watch out for small counts
if looking at small sub groups. If the sample size is small for your subpopulation
of interest, you might consider combining two or more datasets but in doing
this you will need to take account of the panel format of the data and not
include each individual more than once.
You may find that The Annual Population Survey (APS) is better suited to your
needs. The APS represents a major new survey which comprises key variables
from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), all the LFS boosts and the APS boost.
For the first time it provides survey data that can produce reliable estimates
at local authority level. Key topics in the survey include education, employment,
health and ethnicity.
o Am I interested in older
data?
Prior to 1992 the LFS was conducted on an annual basis and prior to 1983 on
a biennial basis. Changes in methodology, questions and definitions will impact
on your ability to make comparisons over time.
o Do I need the calendar or seasonal datasets?
In accordance with EU regulations the LFS moved from seasonal to calendar quarters in 2006. The seasonal datasets have been removed from ESDS and replaced by the calendar datasets. As a result a number of variables have been dropped from the datasets. A page which lists each calendar dataset with the corresponding seasonal datasets is now available, together with more information about the changes.
2. Consulting the documentation
It will not be possible to analyse
the LFS without reference to the documentation. Documentation is available for
viewing before downloading/ordering the data, however you will also obtain the
documentation if you download the data as a zipped file. The documentation contains:
o information about how the survey
was conducted
o information about how the data
is coded
o information about which variables
are available
o the survey questionnaires
The survey questionnaires can also
be obtained from the Survey Question
Bank which provides a readily searchable versions of questionnaires for
all major surveys used by secondary analysts.
3. Explore the data online
A good way of starting to explore
the data is to look at the data in Nesstar
WebView.
Nesstar WebView is a data exploration and analysis tool. It contains the many
LFS datasets, as well as some documentation about the data. Nesstar will allow
you to look at univariate frequencies and variable descriptions without needing
to have registered for the data. This is an excellent way of finding out whether
the data are likely to be suitable for your purposes. You can access Nesstar
from the LFS datasets page. LFS datasets that are available in this format have
a Nesstar logo in the 'explore online' column.
Once in Nesstar, click on the Help tab in the top right hand corner of the screen
to view a user guide.
Once you have registered with ESDS you will be able to use Nesstar to its full
potential, undertaking more complex analyses and downloading subsets of data
in a wide variety of formats.
4. Registering for the data
Once you have decided which data to
use for your project you will need to register
with ESDS to obtain the data. Information about obtaining data can be found
on the ESDS web site.
Registered users can download/order
a large and increasing number of datasets direct (usually
in SPSS, STATA or tab-delimited formats) via its online catalogue record and
via the download/order section of the Major
Studies web pages.
From the March-May 2005 quarter, a
Special Licence (SL) version of the QLFS data is available in addition to the
version of the QLFS data made available under the standard End User Licence
(EUL). The SL version is subject to more restrictive access conditions so it
is not available to download directly.
5. Downloading the data
Once registered you
may either:
o download the data directly as
a zipped ASCII, STATA or SPSS file. This download will also include necessary
documentation
o download an entire file, or a
subset of your choice, into a wider range of formats via Nesstar Light.
As discussed at point 4 above, the
Special Licence versions of the datasets are not available to download.
6. Analysing the data using an appropriate analysis package
Because the LFS datasets are microdata you will need to analyse them using an
appropriate package.
You can undertake straightforward analysis, including linear regression, on
the whole dataset or a subset, using Nesstar. However, it is not possible to
produce derived variables or do more advanced analyses using Nesstar, to do
this you will need to use a package like SPSS, STATA or SAS.
If you are unfamiliar with these packages you can find a guide to STATA
for the LFS on the ESDS Government pages. A guide to SPSS is also available,
based on the HSE 2002 teaching dataset. Several organisations offer introductory
SPSS and STATA courses. CCSR offers one-day courses although there is a charge.
Details of these courses can be obtained through the CCSR
Short Course Pages.
7. Communicating with other users
and obtaining support
An LFS user group
meets on an occasional basis. This group allows users to meet each other and
the data depositors. It is a good way to find out what other people are doing
with the data and to hear about future developments. LFS User Group Meetings
are publicised on ESDS Government's
events pages.
The ESDS-govsurveys
JISCmail list is an email list you can join to hear about these events and
other news relating to the large-scale government list, including the LFS. To
join the list click on the above link to the ESDS-govsurveys list web page or
email listserv@jiscmail.ac.uk with the following message:
subscribe esds-govsurveys firstname secondname
If you hit a problem with the data while doing your work feel free to contact
us. Queries relating to the large-scale government datasets should be sent to:
govsurveys@esds.ac.uk
Alternatively you can telephone +44 (0)161 275 1980.
A list of Frequently Asked Questions for the Labour Force Survey is also available.
8. Publishing
We need to let other researchers and data depositors know what publications
are available using the LFS. If you publish using the data, please contact us
at govsurveys@esds.ac.uk and give us details of your publication. If you would
be happy for us to publish something on our web site, for example the research
story on smoking, please let us know.
Data collectors and distributors should be acknowledged in publications. Information
on how to cite the LFS can be found in the documentation.
