LFS User UpdateLondon, 28 November 2013

Purpose

1. To inform users of updates to LFS in 2013 that impact on time series analysis

2. To provide warning of forthcoming changes

2013 Updates

- Harmonised questions- Other question changes

Ethnicity

Harmonised ethnicity questions adopted on LFS in 2011

Report identified: Long term impact -> increase in mentions of some non-white groups

And some Short term impact -> due to multiple questioning

Published on ONS web site under ‘Guidance and Methodology’http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-quality/specific/labour-market/articles-and-reports/index.html

Main change from ‘To which of these groups do you belong? ......to ‘What is your ethnic background?’

Disability questions

• Prior to April 2013 DISCURR related to health problems or disabilities that limit your ability to carry out normal day to day activities...without ...medication or treatment”

• April 2013 focus moved to exclude “without...medication or treatment”. Variable renamed DISCURR13.

Benefits

• April 2013: Benefits questions tweaked to capture Universal Credit introduction associated with JSA.

• April 2014 move to harmonised standards (DWP request), incorporating Universal Credit

Reason for leaving last job questions

• Prior to January 2013 REDYL11 grouped “made redundant or took voluntary redundancy”

• January 2013 split into “made redundant” and “took voluntary redundancy”. Variable renamed REDYL13.

2014 and beyond

The LFS questionnaire is long compared with other countries’

• More cross analysis

Questionnaire lengths in European LFSs* marks voluntary countries

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

UK* ES DE IT NL* IE* SI* FI*

Mins

Wave 1 Waves 2+

• More respondent

burden; • Impact on

response rates

Our efforts are on keeping the questionnaire focused on current Policy dimensions and key labour market topics

Social Mobility2014 question additions

People working beyond retirement age

Self employment

2014 question reductions

Reduced frequency of questions

Ethnicity, Nationality, National Identity, Religion not changed after wave 1

Eurostat Employment Pattern questions restricted to wave 1

Geographies in 2014 and 2015

• LFS and APS datasets to have 9 Digit Census 2011 geographies attached

• Incorporate Census 2011 geographies into weighting

• Use Census 2011 geographies as the basis for sampling, from 2015

• LFS and APS datasets to be reweighted in 2014

• To incorporate new Census 2011 population estimates

• Hundreds of data sets to be re-issuedPrioritise

Stagger releases

• Data made available to UKDA in addition to existing datasets.

2011 Census Reweighting

Communications

• We plan to produce a new method of communicating changes. Spreadsheet on website.

• Please use lfs@ons.gsi.gov.uk for queries

• 300 queries last year

• We aim to maximise effectiveness of our communications. Ideas welcome to reach maximum audience within constraints.