Labour Force Survey

What kind of survey is it?

The Labour Force Survey assesses the labour market situation in Estonia and provides an overview of the economic activity, employment, and working conditions of the Estonian population. This is the oldest and the largest full-year personal survey in Estonia.

Who commissions the survey?

Statistics Estonia has been administering the Estonian Labour Force Survey since 1995. The survey is commissioned by Eurostat and is conducted internationally. Also, with the Labour Force Survey, data are collected commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications.

How often is the survey conducted?

Since 2000, data are collected throughout the year and results are presented on a quarterly and annual basis.

 

Why are the data needed?

Data collected by the Labour Force Survey are used to monitor and analyse the Estonian economy and labour market developments. The data are also used by the ministries for forecasting and for the preparation of the state budget. Based also on the data of the Labour Force Survey, the implementation of national development plans, such as the National Strategy for Sustainable Development and Estonia 2035, is monitored.

The advantage of a personal interview survey over enterprise surveys and administrative data is that it provides a comprehensive view of the working-age population. For example, a survey of enterprises does not take into account workers with an informal employment relationship nor persons not working, but they are included in the Labour Force Survey. The survey uses the methodology of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which allows comparisons between countries.

How are the participants selected?

Participants in the Labour Force Survey are randomly selected from the statistical population register from among the permanent residents of Estonia aged 15 years and over. The sample person also includes his/her household in the survey and all household members aged 15 years and over are interviewed a total of four times in two years.

How are the data collected?

Before the survey starts, a notification is sent to all the people in the sample, explaining the purpose of the survey and how they will be contacted. The notification is sent to the sample person at the email address indicated in the Population Register. If no email address is available, a letter is sent by post to the address in the Population Register.

In this survey, data are collected through

• an online questionnaire
• a phone interview

The survey consists of two parts: a household questionnaire and a personal questionnaire. Only the person selected for the sample can fill in the household questionnaire online. The personal questionnaire can be filled in by any household member aged 15 and over. For this purpose, the possibility for the sample person to authorise a relevant person has been created. More detailed instructions are provided in the questionnaire.

You can log into the web environment with your ID-card, Mobile-ID, or Smart-ID.

For best service, the survey interview call is recorded with the consent of the respondent.

The interviewer will make a maximum of 10 contact attempts to reach the person selected for the sample and a maximum of 5 attempts to reach other household members.

What happens to the collected data?

Until the end of the data collection period, your answers can only be accessed by Interviewers Supervisors and the Fieldwork Supervisor. If you were interviewed by phone, your interviewer will also be able to see your answers.

Once your answers have been entered, the data are transmitted from the collection application to a section of Statistics Estonia’s data warehouse that has very restricted access and where the collected data are stored as personally identifiable information. The personal data in the data warehouse can be accessed only by a few authorised employees of Statistics Estonia. Next, the data are pseudonymised or de-identified (by removing personal identification codes, names, exact place of residence, contact details, etc.), and other data processing required for the purposes of the specific survey is done.

The pseudonymised data which are used in further processing and data analysis are stored in a secure section of the data warehouse that can be accessed only by analysts of the specific domain and by mathematical statisticians. They have been authorised to access the data since they need the specific data to produce official statistical indicators and to prepare datasets for publication in Statistics Estonia’s public database. The data published this way are aggregates and do not allow the identification of specific individuals. It means that your data are disseminated as aggregated and anonymised data.

Statistics Estonia fulfils confidentiality requirements. In the case of sample surveys, data subsets are not published if they are based on fewer than 20 records. Among other things, this helps to prevent the direct or indirect identification of respondents based on the data published.

The Official Statistics Act stipulates strict requirements for the prevention of the accidental release of personal data. For example, the data can be transmitted only to another producer of official statistics (in Estonia, this applies only to Eesti Pank) or to Eurostat or the national statistical institutes of European Union Member States, all of whom comply with the obligation to maintain confidentiality. Policymakers and researchers can apply for the right to access pseudonymised data in Statistics Estonia’s secure research work environment, in accordance with the Official Statistics Act. This is governed by a separate procedure, requiring the applicant to provide a legitimate reason for such data use and to secure the approval of the Data Protection Inspectorate or the ethics committee of the relevant scientific field (depending on the type of data). Each request for access to data is processed by Statistics Estonia’s Confidentiality Council who will decide whether the applicant’s request can be granted. For more information, visit https://stat.ee/en/find-statistics/request-statistics/use-confidential-data-scientific-purposes.

The data storage periods are stipulated in Statistics Estonia’s classification scheme which is available on Statistics Estonia’s website at https://www.stat.ee/en/statistics-estonia/document-register. Read more about the general data protection requirements at https://stat.ee/en/statistics-estonia/data-protection-privacy-policy.

How are the participants thanked for their contribution?

Three €50 gift vouchers are drawn among all respondents every quarter.

The sample person can consent to participate in the prize draw when filling in the questionnaire.

How can I make sure that it is a survey by Statistics Estonia?

The surveys conducted by Statistics Estonia can be found in the  survey schedule on our website. Online questionnaires can be completed on Statistics Estonia’s website at https://estat.stat.ee. Phone interviews are conducted by specially trained interviewers. The names and phone numbers of Statistics Estonia’s interviewers can be checked on our website. If you have any questions, please contact our customer support by phone at +372 625 9300 or by email at klienditugi [at] stat.ee (klienditugi[at]stat[dot]ee).

Where are the results published?

The results are published quarterly in the statistical database under the headings Social life and Labour market, and in the labour market application (available in Estonian). The results are also reported in the work life news.