Labour Statistics: Sources and Uses

1. Labour Statistics: Sources and Uses Deborah Sunter May, 2002 Labour Statistics Division, Statistics Canada CAPDU/Ontario DLI Training

2. Labour Statistics • A brief outline of the main sources and uses • Access to data: micro and aggregate • International data sets

3. The Importance of the labour market • The labour market plays a central role in the household, business and government sectors of the economy: • Major source of income (during employment and in retirement) at the aggregate, household and personal level • Major factor of production and growth (productivity) • Major distributive mechanism (employment, unemployment, hours of work, wage rates and taxes) • Consumer and creator of skills

4. Labour Statistics: key economic indicators • Input to monetary policy • tight labour market and increasing wages could signal inflationary pressures and provoke an increase in interest rates • Input to economic and social policy and programs • Job creation programs • Training programs • Employment insurance benefits • Unemployment rates by region used to determine eligibility and duration of benefits • Input to System of National Accounts • Labour Income (GDP) • Monthly Industrial Output

5. Conceptual frameworks for labour market data • System of National Accounts • boundaries of economic activity • labour income • productivity • International Labour Organization • standards for measuring employment, unemployment and underemployment

6. Supply and Demand framework of labour market

7. Cross-sectional sources of labour market data • Labour Force Survey (monthly) • Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (monthly) • Employment Insurance Statistics (monthly) • Census (every five years)

8. Overview of the LFS • Monthly household sample survey • Multi-stage area sample • Sample size of 53,000 households across country (110,000 LFS interviews per month) • Households in the sample for 6 months • First interview is usually done face to face, interviews 2-6 by telephone (from RO CATI sites) • Proxy responses are accepted

9. Classification according to ILO standards

10. Key Survey Concepts: Labour Force Status Classification • Labour Force = employed + unemployed • Participation rate = labour force/working age population • Unemployment rate = unemployed/labour force • Employment rate = employed/working age population

11. Defining Unemployment • Not employed in reference week and available for work and either: • looked for work in last four weeks, or • has job to start in next four weeks, or • on temporary layoff (has recall date or firm indication of recall to same job)

12. Other Important Labour Market Indicators from the LFS • Age, Sex, Marital status, Family structure, Education and School attendance • Distribution of work (hours) • Involuntary part-time (underemployment) • Industry, Occupation, Class of worker (paid employee vs. self-employed) • Wages, union coverage, job security (type of temporary job) • Worker turnover (new hires and permanent separations) • Duration of unemployment and reason for job loss • Retirement age • Supplementary measures of unemployment

13. Employment Insurance Statistics • Administrative data from HRDC on: • number of beneficiaries (by type) • benefits paid • new claims

14. Relationship between LFS and Employment Insurance • Unemployment rates by region are used by Employment Insurance program to: • determine the number of hours a person must work to become eligible for benefits • determine the period for which benefits can be collected

15. Why does number of regular EI beneficiaries differ from number of unemployed? • Some beneficiaries employed • Some beneficiaries not looking for work • Some unemployed not eligible for EI • Some eligible unemployed do not apply for EI

16. Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours: Objectives • To measure monthly levels and movements in payroll employment by detailed industry • To produce estimates of employee earnings • average hourly earnings • average weekly earnings

17. SEPH: Methodology • Administrative data • Revenue Canada payroll deduction forms • Census of PD accounts (almost one million) • payroll employment, monthly payroll • Business Payroll Survey • 11,000 establishments from Statistics Canada register of businesses • types of employees, types of payment, hours paid

18. SEPH Variables: by detailed industry, province and employment size • Payroll jobs • salaried, hourly, other • Average weekly earnings • salaried, hourly, other • Average weekly hours • salaried, hourly • Average hourly earnings • hourly paid employees

19. SEPH: Main uses • Calculation of Labour Income estimates in National Accounts • Monitor inflationary pressures • Determination of wage increases in contracts and settlements • Monitor trends in payroll employment and earnings for detailed industries (used in monthly GDP)

20. Census labour market data • Census conducted every five years • 1/5 households get “long form” • Included in long form are labour market questions on: • labour force status in census week (employed, hours of work, unemployed, not in labour force) • occupation, industry, and class of worker in current or most recent job held in last 16 months (experienced labour force)

21. Census: other relevant variables • Ethnicity • Aboriginal status (on and off reserve) • Language of work • Educational attainment and major field of study • Disability • Immigration status and date • Income by source in previous year • Family level information • Unpaid work (child, eldercare and house/yard work)

22. Census: strengths • 20% sample of entire country • Best source of data on: • small groups • small areas • detailed classifications

23. Other relevant cross-sectional surveys • Skills, returns to education, training • National Graduate Surveys • International Literacy Survey • Adult Education and training Surveys • Aboriginal Peoples Survey(1991,2001) • Participation and Activity LimitationSurveys(1986, 1991, 2001) • General Social Surveys: • Work, Education and Retirement (1989, 1994, 2002)

24. Labour market dynamics • Longitudinal data to measure flows, events, outcomes, causal factors: • Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics • Workplace and Employees Survey • Youth in Transitions Survey • Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants

25. Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) Objectives • Measure the changes over time in economic well-being of people and households and the factors influencing these changes • Provide time series and dynamic information on family and personal income by source (eg. extent of low income, movement into and out of low income)

26. SLID Design Highlights • Sub-sample of respondents rotating out of the LFS • Detailed Labour market and income data together • A wide variety of additional “explanatory” variables • Family make-up and changes are key • Timeframe • Individuals followed for 6 year period • Annual contact to update information

27. SLID Content • Over 1000 variables • Database organised into logically related groups of variables • Data from all waves are contained on the same file • Each new data file incorporates information from past files

28. How SLID content is organised Person is at core • For each person, four broad categories of variables: • labour • income and wealth • education • personal characteristics • Each broad category further subdivided....

29. Organization of SLID content

30. SLID research: Employment and Unemployment Dynamics Examples • - To what extent are long spells of unemployment experienced by the same individuals? • - Why do people withdraw from the labour market • - What precedes a transition into self-employment?

31. SLID Research: Life-cycle labour market transitions Examples • - Transitions from school to work • - Transitions from work to retirement • - Work absences taken to raise children • - What are typical life-cycle patterns in Canada today? • - What are the subsequent activities of high school drop-outs, and what precedes a return to school?

32. SLID Research: Job Quality Examples • - Wage differences between men and women • - Job benefits • - Underemployment • - Career change • - Career advancement and earnings • - Job polarization, e.g., in terms of wages and hours worked

33. SLID Research: Family Economic Mobility Examples • How stable is family income? • - What proportion of families experience a significant improvement or deterioration in income between two points in time? • - What are the determinants of these changes? • - How important are changes in family composition (divorce, remarriage) in explaining a change in financial well-being?

34. SLID Research: Dynamics of Low Income Examples • - Identifying the existence or otherwise of a “persistently poor” sub-population, and associated characteristics • - Studying flows into and out of low income in relation to government transfer programs and taxation

35. SLID research: Life events and family changes Example • What are the family’s economic circumstances preceding a marriage break-up, and what are they for each spouse and any children following a separation?

36. SLID Research: Education advancement and combining school and work Examples • Financial well-being, or family responsibilities, of people pursuing post-secondary education • To what degree do high school or post-secondary students combine work and school • What is the labour market involvement of high school drop-outs and what precedes a return to school

37. One example of labour market dynamics from SLID

38. WES - Objectives • An ongoing survey that links events occurring in workplaces with worker outcomes, and worker characteristics with workplace outcomes • Understand changes in the workplace in the context of global competition, technological changes and the drive to improve human capital

39. WES - Design • Two linked longitudinal surveys • Sample of 7,000 employers • selected from Business Register • followed for up to six years • interviewed at workplace • Sample of 25,000 employees • followed for two years • interviewed from a CATI site

40. WES - Uses • Evaluate business and employment strategies and their impact on productivity and profitability • Better understand how technology and training affect work, pay and job security • Monitor change in workplace practices • Design policies and programs based on evidence from survey

41. WES Content Employer Outcomes: Establishment Characteristics Worker/Job Characteristics Establishment Outcomes

42. WES Establishment characteristics • size, industry • revenues and expenditures • subjective measures of productivity, profitability • type of market in which firm competes • unionization • employees types (full/part-time, casual) • technology implemented • business strategies • compensation schemes • training provisions • organizational change

43. WES Employee/job characteristics • Age/sex • Education • Occupation, management responsibilities • Work history, tenure • Family characteristics • Unionization • Use of technology • Participation in decision making • Wage and fringe benefits • Work schedule/arrangements • Training taken

44. Recent analytical releases from WES Information Technology Adopters: Characteristics and Activities of Their Workers Human Resource Practices: Employer and Employee Perspectives on the Nature of Work The Quest for Workers: A New Portrait of Job Vacancies in Canada Workplace Computer Technology Implementation: Effects on Training and Employment

45. Other relevant longitudinal data sets • Skills, returns to education, training • Youth in transition survey • Immigration • IMDB (Immigration data base) • links immigration and tax records from 1980 on • address need for data on performance and impact of immigration policies and programs • LSIC (Longitudinal survey of Immigrants to Canada) • Work and Health • Canadian Community Health Survey • work and stress

46. Non STC labour data • Worker Health and Safety • The Association of Workers Compensation Boards of Canada: • www.AWCBC.ORG • statistics on number of Accepted Time-loss Injuries and Fatalities by Province, through time.

47. Labour data from Labour Canada • Work stoppages • employer, location and union • issues • number of workers • start date • end date • Wage Settlements • Industry and employer • Number of employees • First year adjustment • Duration and expiry date

48. Access to labour market data • Analytical articles(Perspectives on labour and income, CEO, Canadian Social Trends, Education Quarterly etc.) • Public Use Microdata files • Research Data Centres • Remote Access • Deemed employee status • Aggregate data • CANSIM, publications, CD ROMs • Custom tabulations

49. LFS Products and services • Labour Force Information (Cat. 71-001-PPB), monthly • Perspectives on Labour and Income (Cat. 75-001) • Historical Labour Force Statistics (CD-ROM 71F0004XCB) • CANSIM • Custom requests ($) • Public Use Microdata files (DLI) For more information on LFS, SEPH, WES and EI data products, contact the Client Services Section at labour@statcan.ca or toll-free at 1-866-873-8788.

50. SLID Data Products • Public-use microdata files (75M0001GPE) • Internal microdata files • Standard tables on CD-ROM (75M0001XCB) • International equivalence file (http://www-luman.cornell.edu/pam/gsoep/equivfil.htm) For more information on SLID data products, contact the Client Services Section at dynamics@statcan.ca or toll-free at 1-888-297-7355.