EUROPEAN COMMISSION EUROSTAT Directorate F: Social statistics Doc. DSSB/2015/Jul/2.4 Point 2.4 Feedback from LAMAS on IESS issues MEETING OF THE BOARD OF THE EUROPEAN DIRECTORS OF SOCIAL STATISTICS LUXEMBOURG, 2 AND 3 JULY 2015 BECH BUILDING, ROOM B2/464
PURPOSE OF THIS DOCUMENT This document gives a short overview of the issues discussed and of positions taken as regards the IESS (Integrated European Social Statistics) regulation in the LAMAS (Labour Market Statistics) Working Group meeting that took place in Luxembourg from 17 to 18 June 2015. Six items as regards the IESS regulation were discussed: 1. THE CONTENT OF THE FUTURE LFS There was further discussion on the content of the future LFS. Apart from general discussion on the overall burden of the LFS and agreement on the frequency of some variables, discussion focussed on the income, health and dependent self-employed variables, on the introduction of two variables of high policy relevance (care needs and country of previous residence) as well as on the eight yearly modules: Income, health and dependent self-employment variables LAMAS agreed on not including net monthly income of the household in the LFS but rather to improve the quality of the existing INCDECIL variable (monthly take home pay from the main job - earnings) and collect it in the form of an exact amount instead of deciles. It was further agreed that earnings should, depending on the country be collected in a gross or net form. Transmission to Eurostat should however be in the same form for all countries and decision on whether it should be transmitted gross or net will be taken in the December 2015 LAMAS meeting once policy requirements at EU level are clarified. This implies that conversion models (gross/net or net/gross) will have to be used at NSI level and experience from SILC will be required. On the introduction of two health/disability variables (General Health Status and GALI) in the future LFS, LAMAS was asked to provide an opinion to be forwarded to DSS for decision in the September 2015 meeting. There was a small majority in favour of the introduction (16 MS in favour - see table in appendix). It is however to be noted that the opinion of some LAMAS members is not final (ES, AT, PL, PT some negative response mainly due to expected problems with proxy interviews). A final position will be given once results of pilot tests have been fully analysed and impact of proxy interviews is fully clear. Dependent self-employed (self-employed who share major traits with employees) are getting more and more importance. LAMAS has agreed to add three variables on this issue in the core LFS but exact variables will only be defined by June 2017. 'Care needs' and 'country of previous residence' variables Given their high policy relevance, LAMAS discussed a Eurostat proposal to improve quality of the variable on care needs (NEEDCARE) that currently suffers from the fact that its target population is small due to the restrictive filter and to replace the current LFS variable on country of residence one year ago (COUNTR1Y) by country of previous residence (COUNTRPR) aiming to overcome the small sample size and difficulties to accurately measure recent migration. Natives returning from abroad after a continuous stay abroad of at least one year would be asked as well, providing some information on return migration.
There was an agreement about the policy importance of these two variables and of the need to do something within the LFS. There has however not been any final position taken and this issue will be revisited once results of the pilot tests and of LFS 2014 AHM on migration are available and when mock-up tables based on country of previous residence are defined. Eight yearly modules In December 2014, LAMAS agreed on the proposal to move to a system of regular and supplementary modules, in which regular modules are repeated every 8 years without being modified. LAMAS also agreed on the list of six topics to be addressed by the regular modules ((1) Transition from work to retirement, (2) Young people on the labour market, (3) Reconciliation between work and family life, (4) labour market situation of migrants, (5) Occupational health and safety, (6) working time and work organisation), modules last implemented in 2012, 2016, 2018, 2014, 2013 and 2015 respectively. LAMAS discussion focused on the first three modules. The main issue highlighted was the short period of time before final decision (in the LAMAS working group meeting of June 2017). This will not allow having final results or results at all for some modules already developed and will also not allow additional intensive piloting and availability of corresponding results. Finally, regarding model questionnaires for the modules, agreement was reached on the fact that deviations should be limited and for good reasons. Discussion will continue in next LAMAS meetings. 2. MEASUREMENT OF EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT In its December 2014 meeting, LAMAS reached agreement on the operational definition of employment and unemployment to be included in the future LFS legal basis. Two issues were still to be discussed for the timing of implementation of the model questionnaire and the situation of lay-offs in Italy. For the timing for the implementation of the new model questionnaire, LAMAS decided to implement the model questionnaire and the rest of the modernised EU-LFS in one go. In order to avoid a time series break in the employment rate one of the key EU2020 indicators caused by the new treatment of own-use production work (operationalised in this case as subsistence farmers), tests are currently on-going to see whether it would be possible to collect data according to both the new and the old definitions of employment at the same time in the model questionnaire. This would allow continuing producing time series in line with the old definition until 2020. For the lay-offs in Italy, LAMAS decided that it is important for comparability reasons to keep the three months criterion for considering as employed persons temporarily not at work for reasons other than holidays, sickness, maternity/paternity leave and parental leave and consequently not making a derogation for the lay-offs in Italy. It was pointed out that Italy of course can ask for derogations during the negotiations on the new LFS implementing act.
3. TF ON FLOWS: FINAL REPORT Based on the Task Force proposals and recommendations, Eurostat will publish in 2015 a few aggregated tables of quarter-on-quarter flows, with the main focus on 3x3 labour status transition matrices for persons aged 15-74, by sex, as headline figures. Publication will be for both transition rates and levels and for individual countries. The methodology applied should deliver comparable figures across countries and may differ from national approaches in countries already producing flow statistics. For the time being, EU-LFS flow estimates should be treated as experimental statistics. The next steps to investigate in 2016 should be year-onyear flows and how to proceed with respect to longitudinal micro-data. LAMAS congratulated the TF for the fast and pragmatic approach and endorsed the proposal and recommendations of TF. There was also initial discussion on a mock-up for a News Release still to be discussed within Eurostat. One of the difficulties is that data are not available for three EU countries with no infra-annual rotation pattern (BE, DE and LU). While LU will introduce this pattern in 2015 and BE in 2017, DE does not plan this introduction before the entry into force of the IESS Framework regulation. 4. HOUSEHOLD SUBSAMPLING IN THE LFS Currently six countries have an LFS based on a sample of individuals and some of them deliver data for a household subsample; however the exact variables collected in the household subsamples differ. Several other ESS countries also plan to move to a survey to individuals in the coming years especially where use of telephone interviews and web-interviews is envisaged. For the future LFS, a more common approach is to be defined. LAMAS is close to a final decision on the list of household variables and on the precision requirements for the countries for which the LFS is based on a sample of individuals (and not households). 5. MONTHLY UNEMPLOYMENT Eurostat presented the final report of the Task Force on a quality framework for the Monthly Unemployment Rate (MUR). The Task Force made proposals for quality dimensions; indicators for each dimension; acceptance / rejection thresholds; indications on how to summarize indicators and an A/B/C typology of methods. LAMAS thanked TF for its work on a MUR quality framework but could not endorse its recommendations in their current state in particular as regards the last part on the way forward and the plans to collect monthly estimates from all Member States. This issue will be rediscussed in the next LAMAS meeting on the basis of an updated version of the document that would focus on the technical aspects. A separate discussion should take place as regards the possible MUR requirements in the IESS framework regulation.
6. STANDARDISATION OF VARIABLES LAMAS discussed the 7 variables related to the labour market to be introduced in a standardised way in at least two social surveys (and census): main activity status (selfperceived), full-time/part-time job, reasons for part-time job, permanency of job, status in employment, economic activity of the local unit where employed (economic sector) and occupation in employment. Four of them (main activity status; status in employment, economic activity of the local unit) are core variables introduced in all social surveys and population and housing census. There was broad consensus on all variables but for the variable on full-time/part-time job. Therefore it was decided to organise a written consultation on the variable, more precisely on whether contractual or usual working hours should be the main criteria to be used for this purpose. In addition there was also an agreement within LAMAS on the need to have in-depth discussions on: Feasibility studies: an in-depth discussion will take place in the December 2015 LAMAs meeting on current blocking factors implying small number of applications received by Eurostat; on how to organise and to better coordinate. This issue is linked to Article 12 of the current IESS Framework regulation Proxy interviews Road map for the discussion of the IESS implementing regulation on the LFS in 2016/2017.
APPENDIX: LAMAS OPINION ON INCLUDING SHP AND GALI VARIABLES IN THE LFS Agree with collecting every second year the variables SPH and GALI in LFS Yes AT, BE, BG, CY, CZ, EE, FI, FR, HR, HU, IT, LU, LV, MT, RO, UK IS, NO, CH No DE, DK, EL, ES, IE, LT, NL, PL, PT, SE, SI, SK TR