Labor Force Survey, LFS 2018
Egypt, Arab Rep., 2018
Economic Research Forum, Central Agency For Public Mobilization & Statistics
Identification
Survey ID Number
EGY_LFS_2018_HD_V3
Title
Labor Force Survey, LFS 2018
Country
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Egypt | EGY |
Study type
Labor Force Survey [hh/lfs]
Series Information
A quarterly survey collected by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS)
Abstract
THE CLEANED AND HARMONIZED VERSION OF THE SURVEY DATA PRODUCED AND PUBLISHED BY THE ECONOMIC RESEARCH FORUM REPRESENTS 100% OF THE ORIGINAL SURVEY DATA COLLECTED BY THE CENTRAL AGENCY FOR PUBLIC MOBILIZATION AND STATISTICS (CAPMAS)
In any society, the human element represents the basis of the work force which exercises all the service and production activities. Therefore, it is a mandate to produce labor force statistics and studies, that is related to the growth and distribution of manpower and labor force distribution by different types and characteristics.
In this context, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics conducts "Quarterly Labor Force Survey" which includes data on the size of manpower and labor force (employed and unemployed) and their geographical distribution by their characteristics.
By the end of each year, CAPMAS issues the annual aggregated labor force bulletin publication that includes the results of the quarterly survey rounds that represent the manpower and labor force characteristics during the year.
---> Historical Review of the Labor Force Survey:
1- The First Labor Force survey was undertaken in 1957. The first round was conducted in November of that year, the survey continued to be conducted in successive rounds (quarterly, bi-annually, or annually) till now.
2- Starting the October 2006 round, the fieldwork of the labor force survey was developed to focus on the following two points:
a. The importance of using the panel sample that is part of the survey sample, to monitor the dynamic changes of the labor market.
b. Improving the used questionnaire to include more questions, that help in better defining of relationship to labor force of each household member (employed, unemployed, out of labor force ...etc.). In addition to re-order of some of the already existing questions in much logical way.
3- Starting the January 2008 round, the used methodology was developed to collect more representative sample during the survey year. this is done through distributing the sample of each governorate into five groups, the questionnaires are collected from each of them separately every 15 days for 3 months (in the middle and the end of the month)
4- Starting the January 2012 round, in order to follow the international recommendation, to avoid asking extra questions that affect the precision and accuracy of the collected data, a shortened version of the questionnaire was designed to include the core questions that enable obtaining the basic Egyptian labor market indicators. The shortened version is collected in two rounds (January-March), (April-June), and (October-December) while the long version of the questionnaire is collected in the 3rd round (July-September) that includes more information on housing conditions and immigration.
---> The survey aims at covering the following topics:
1- Measuring the size of the Egyptian labor force among civilians (for all governorates of the republic) by their different characteristics.
2- Measuring the employment rate at national level and different geographical areas.
3- Measuring the distribution of employed people by the following characteristics: Gender, age, educational status, occupation, economic activity, and sector.
4- Measuring unemployment rate at different geographic areas.
5- Measuring the distribution of unemployed people by the following characteristics: Gender, age, educational status, unemployment type “ever employed/never employed”, occupation, economic activity, and sector for people who have ever worked.
The raw survey data provided by the Statistical Agency were cleaned and harmonized by the Economic Research Forum, in the context of a major project that started in 2009. During which extensive efforts have been exerted to acquire, clean, harmonize, preserve and disseminate micro data of existing labor force surveys in several Arab countries.
Kind of Data
Sample survey data [ssd]
Unit of Analysis
1- Household/family.
2- Individual/person.
2- Individual/person.
Version
Version Description
V3: A cleaned and a harmonized version of the survey dataset, produced by the Economic Research Forum for dissemination.
Production
Date
2024-05
Version Notes
All documentation available for the original survey provided by the Statistical Agency, and for the harmonized datasets produced by the Economic Research Forum, are published, along with a copy of all occupations and economic activities used during the harmonization process.
However, as far as the datasets are concerned, the Economic Research Forum produces and releases only the harmonized versions in both SPSS and STATA formats.
However, as far as the datasets are concerned, the Economic Research Forum produces and releases only the harmonized versions in both SPSS and STATA formats.
Scope
Notes
Household: Includes geographical characteristics, household composition, LFS classification of household members, head's and spouse's characteristics, dwelling characteristics and ownership of durables.
Individual: Includes demographics, nationality and immigration, education, current labor status, main job, secondary job and last held job characteristics, wages and incomes, unemployment characteristics and inactivity reason(s).
Individual: Includes demographics, nationality and immigration, education, current labor status, main job, secondary job and last held job characteristics, wages and incomes, unemployment characteristics and inactivity reason(s).
Topics
| Topic | Vocabulary |
|---|---|
| Demographics | ERF |
| Education | ERF |
| Nationality and immigration | ERF |
| Labor Force | ERF |
| Employment | ERF |
| Unemployment | ERF |
| Wages and incomes | ERF |
Coverage
Geographic Coverage
Covering a sample of urban and rural areas in all the governorates.
Universe
The survey covered a national sample of households and all individuals permanently residing in surveyed households.
Producers and sponsors
Primary investigators
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Economic Research Forum | ERF |
| Central Agency For Public Mobilization & Statistics | CAPMAS |
Sampling
Sampling Procedure
THE CLEANED AND HARMONIZED VERSION OF THE SURVEY DATA PRODUCED AND PUBLISHED BY THE ECONOMIC RESEARCH FORUM REPRESENTS 100% OF THE ORIGINAL SURVEY DATA COLLECTED BY THE CENTRAL AGENCY FOR PUBLIC MOBILIZATION AND STATISTICS (CAPMAS)
---> Sample Design and Selection
At the beginning of the first quarter in 2018 (January-March),the sample design was developed. sample size was withdrawn 50% of the (panel households) visited in the same quarter last year and 50% of the sample size (new households) visited for the first time, as well as to divide the sample of each governorate into six parts instead of five , in addition to Develop research questions according to the goals of Nineteenth Congress of Labor Statistics held at Geneva in 2013, therefore new questions to measure informal employment and the informal sector. An application for the new questionnaire has been designed and implemented on the tablet, Entry application has been designed for the new questionnaire so that the question will be completed on the field and then The data is entered through the researchers at the offices, correcting the errors first-hand and returning to the family again and sending data daily.
The sample of Labor Force Survey is a two-stage stratified cluster sample and selfweighted to the extent practical.
The main elements of the sampling design are described as follows:
* Sample Size
The sample size in each quarter is 22,626 households with a total number of 80804 households annually. These households are distributed on the governorate level (urban/rural), according to the estimated number of households in each governorate in accordance with the percentage of urban and rural population in each governorate.
* Cluster size
The cluster size is 18 households.
* Sampling stages:
(1) Primary Sampling Unit (PSU):
The 2006 Population Census provided sufficient data at the level of the Enumeration Area (EA). Hence, the electronic list of EA's represented the frame of the first stage sample; in which the corresponding number of households per EA was taken as a measure of size.
The size of an EA is almost 200 households on average, with some variability expected. The size of first stage national sample was estimated to be 5,024 EA.
(2) Sample Distribution by Governorate:
The primary stratifying variable is the governorate of residence, which in turn is divided into urban and rural sub-strata, whenever applicable.
(3) First Stage Sample frame:
The census lists of EAs for each substratum, associated with the corresponding number of households, constitute the frame of the first stage sample.
The identification information appears on the EA's list includes the District code, Shiakha/Village code, Census Supervisor number, and Enumerator number.
Prior to the selection of the first stage sample, the frame was arranged to provide implicit stratification with regard to the geographic location.
The urban frame of each governorate was ordered in a serpentine fashion according to the geographic location of kism/ district capitals. The same sort of ordering was made on the rural frame, but according to the district location. The systematic selection of EA's sample from such a sorted frame will ensure a balanced spread of the sample over the area of respective governorates.
The sample was selected with Probability Proportional to Size (PPS), with the number of census households taken as a Measure of Size (MOS).
(4) Core Sample allocation
The core sample EAs (5,024) were divided among the survey 4 rounds, each round included 1,257 EAs (565 in urban areas and 692 in rural areas).
A more detailed description of the different sampling stages and allocation of sample across governorates is provided in the Methodology document available among external resources in Arabic.
Response Rate
On the national level (89.4 %)
Urban level (81.1%)
Rural level (95.8%)
Response rates on the governorate level are presented in the methodology document attached to the documentation materials published in Arabic.
Urban level (81.1%)
Rural level (95.8%)
Response rates on the governorate level are presented in the methodology document attached to the documentation materials published in Arabic.
Data Collection
Dates of Data Collection
| Start | End | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-01-01 | 2018-03-31 | First round |
| 2018-04-01 | 2018-06-30 | Second round |
| 2018-07-01 | 2018-09-30 | Third round |
| 2018-10-01 | 2018-12-31 | Fourth round |
Data Collection Mode
Face-to-face [f2f]
Data Collection Notes
---> Field work
1- The field staff was selected from among the efficient experienced persons working in CAPMAS.
2- Intensive training program for supervisors was conducted at CAPMAS in Cairo and locally in governorates for interviewers and field editors.
3- Supervision program was implemented in all governorates to check the fieldwork.
4- Data were collected by using personal interview method for household in dwelling and it had been obtained from the head of household or wife or any eligible person in case of their absence.
5- Duties and responsibilities of all levels of field staff (interviewer, editor and supervisor) were defined to insure the accuracy and timing.
1- The field staff was selected from among the efficient experienced persons working in CAPMAS.
2- Intensive training program for supervisors was conducted at CAPMAS in Cairo and locally in governorates for interviewers and field editors.
3- Supervision program was implemented in all governorates to check the fieldwork.
4- Data were collected by using personal interview method for household in dwelling and it had been obtained from the head of household or wife or any eligible person in case of their absence.
5- Duties and responsibilities of all levels of field staff (interviewer, editor and supervisor) were defined to insure the accuracy and timing.
Data Collectors
| Name | Abbreviation |
|---|---|
| Central Agency For Public Mobilization & Statistics | CAPMAS |
Questionnaires
Questionnaires
The questionnaire design follows the latest International Labor Organization (ILO) concepts and definitions of labor force, employment, and unemployment.
The questionnaire comprises 4 tables in addition to the identification and geographic data of household on the cover page.
---> Table 1- The housing conditions of the households
This table includes information on the housing conditions of the household:
- Type of the dwelling,
- Tenure of the dwelling (owned/rent) ,
- Availability of facilities and services connected to the house
- Ownership of durables.
---> Table 2- Demographic and employment characteristics and basic data for all household individuals
Including: gender, age, educational status, marital status, residence mobility and current work status
---> Table 3- Employment characteristics table
This table is filled by employed individuals at the time of the survey or those who were engaged to work during the reference week, and provided information on:
- Relationship to employer: employer, self-employed, waged worker, and unpaid family worker
- Economic activity
- Sector
- Occupation
- Effective working hours
- Health and social insurance
- Work place
- Contract type
- Average monthly wage
---> Table 4- Unemployment characteristics table
This table is filled by all unemployed individuals who satisfied the unemployment criteria, and provided information on:
- Type of unemployment (unemployed, unemployed ever worked)
- Economic activity and occupation in the last held job before being unemployed
- Last unemployment duration in months
- Main reason for unemployment
The questionnaire comprises 4 tables in addition to the identification and geographic data of household on the cover page.
---> Table 1- The housing conditions of the households
This table includes information on the housing conditions of the household:
- Type of the dwelling,
- Tenure of the dwelling (owned/rent) ,
- Availability of facilities and services connected to the house
- Ownership of durables.
---> Table 2- Demographic and employment characteristics and basic data for all household individuals
Including: gender, age, educational status, marital status, residence mobility and current work status
---> Table 3- Employment characteristics table
This table is filled by employed individuals at the time of the survey or those who were engaged to work during the reference week, and provided information on:
- Relationship to employer: employer, self-employed, waged worker, and unpaid family worker
- Economic activity
- Sector
- Occupation
- Effective working hours
- Health and social insurance
- Work place
- Contract type
- Average monthly wage
---> Table 4- Unemployment characteristics table
This table is filled by all unemployed individuals who satisfied the unemployment criteria, and provided information on:
- Type of unemployment (unemployed, unemployed ever worked)
- Economic activity and occupation in the last held job before being unemployed
- Last unemployment duration in months
- Main reason for unemployment
Data Processing
Data Editing
---> Raw Data
Office editing is one of the main stages of the survey. It started once the questionnaires were received from the field and accomplished by the selected work groups. It includes:
a-Editing of coverage and completeness
b-Editing of consistency
---> Harmonized Data
- The SPSS package is used to clean and harmonize the datasets.
- The harmonization process starts with a cleaning process for all raw data files received from the Statistical Agency.
- All cleaned data files are then merged to produce one data file on the individual level containing all variables subject to harmonization.
- A country-specific program is generated for each dataset to generate/ compute/ recode/ rename/ format/ label harmonized variables.
- A post-harmonization cleaning process is then conducted on the data.
- Harmonized data is saved on the household as well as the individual level, in SPSS and then converted to STATA, to be disseminated.
Office editing is one of the main stages of the survey. It started once the questionnaires were received from the field and accomplished by the selected work groups. It includes:
a-Editing of coverage and completeness
b-Editing of consistency
---> Harmonized Data
- The SPSS package is used to clean and harmonize the datasets.
- The harmonization process starts with a cleaning process for all raw data files received from the Statistical Agency.
- All cleaned data files are then merged to produce one data file on the individual level containing all variables subject to harmonization.
- A country-specific program is generated for each dataset to generate/ compute/ recode/ rename/ format/ label harmonized variables.
- A post-harmonization cleaning process is then conducted on the data.
- Harmonized data is saved on the household as well as the individual level, in SPSS and then converted to STATA, to be disseminated.
Other Processing
---> Coding
Specialized staff has coded the data of industry, occupation and geographical identification.
---> Data Processing and preparation of final results
This stage included machine data entry, data validation, tabulation and preparation of final survey volumes.
---> Quality Control Procedures
The precision of survey results depends to a large extent on how the survey has been prepared for. As such, it was deemed crucial to exert much effort and to take necessary actions towards rigorous preparation for the present survey as follows:
1- Applying the recent international recommendations of different concepts and definitions.
2- Evaluating the quality of data in all different implementation stages to avoid or minimize errors to the lowest extent possible through:
a- Implementing field editing after finishing data collection for households in governorates to avoid any errors in suitable time
(1 field editor was assigned for every 5 interviewers to review the collected questionnaires)
b- Re-interviewing a sample of households by Quality Control Department and examining the differences with the original responses.
Specialized staff has coded the data of industry, occupation and geographical identification.
---> Data Processing and preparation of final results
This stage included machine data entry, data validation, tabulation and preparation of final survey volumes.
---> Quality Control Procedures
The precision of survey results depends to a large extent on how the survey has been prepared for. As such, it was deemed crucial to exert much effort and to take necessary actions towards rigorous preparation for the present survey as follows:
1- Applying the recent international recommendations of different concepts and definitions.
2- Evaluating the quality of data in all different implementation stages to avoid or minimize errors to the lowest extent possible through:
a- Implementing field editing after finishing data collection for households in governorates to avoid any errors in suitable time
(1 field editor was assigned for every 5 interviewers to review the collected questionnaires)
b- Re-interviewing a sample of households by Quality Control Department and examining the differences with the original responses.
Access policy
Access authority
| Name | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Research Forum | ERF | erfdataportal@erf.org.eg | www.erf.org.eg |
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Research Forum (ERF) - 21 Al-Sad Al-Aaly St., Dokki, Giza, Egypt | ERF | erfdataportal@erf.org.eg | www.erf.org.eg |
Confidentiality
To access the micro data, researchers are required to register on the ERF website and comply with the data access agreement.
The data will be used only for scholarly research, or educational purposes. Users are prohibited from using data acquired from the Economic Research Forum in the pursuit of any commercial or private ventures.
Access conditions
Licensed datasets, accessible under conditions.
Citation requirements
The users should cite the Economic Research Forum and the Central Agency For Public Mobilization & Statistics as follows:
OAMDI, 2021. Harmonized Labor Force Surveys (HLFS), http://erf.org.eg/data-portal/. Version 3.0 of Licensed Data Files; LFS 2018- Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). Egypt: Economic Research Forum (ERF).
OAMDI, 2021. Harmonized Labor Force Surveys (HLFS), http://erf.org.eg/data-portal/. Version 3.0 of Licensed Data Files; LFS 2018- Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). Egypt: Economic Research Forum (ERF).
Disclaimer and copyrights
Disclaimer
The Economic Research Forum and the Central Agency For Public Mobilization & Statistics have granted the researcher access to relevant data following exhaustive efforts to protect the confidentiality of individual data. The researcher is solely responsible for any analysis or conclusions drawn from available data.
Copyright
(c) 2021, Economic Research Forum | (c) 2018, CAPMAS, Egypt
Metadata production
DDI Document ID
EGY_LFS_2018_HD_V3
Producers
| Name | Abbreviation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Economic Research Forum | ERF | Cleaning and harmonizing raw data received from the Statistical Agency |
Date of Metadata Production
2024-05
DDI Document version
Version 3