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Labor Force Survey, LFS 2024

Egypt, Arab Rep., 2024
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Reference ID
EGY_LFS_2024_HD_V1
Producer(s)
Economic Research Forum, Central Agency For Public Mobilization & Statistics
Collections
Labor Force Surveys ERF Harmonized Datasets
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Created on
Sep 29, 2025
Last modified
Sep 29, 2025
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  • Study Description
  • Data Dictionary
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  • Identification
  • Version
  • Scope
  • Coverage
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  • Sampling
  • Survey instrument
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  • Identification

    Survey ID
    EGY_LFS_2024_HD_V1
    Title
    Labor Force Survey, LFS 2024
    Abbreviation or acronym
    LFS 2024
    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
    *****************************************************************************************************
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    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)
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    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 usually in three rounds, while the long version that includes more information on housing conditions and immigration of the questionnaire is usually collected in one round .

    ---> 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.

    Version

    Version
    V1: A cleaned and a harmonized version of the survey dataset, produced by the Economic Research Forum for dissemination.
    Version date
    2025-10
    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.

    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).
    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

    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 was 90,000 households, distributed at a ratio of 44% to urban areas and 56% to rural areas. They were distributed by means of an average of the proportional to size (P.P.S) method and the Square root allocation method in order to raise the minimum for small governorates.

    The sample was divided to be 551 in urban areas and 699 in rural areas.

    * Cluster size
    The cluster size is 18 households.

    * Sampling stages:

    A- First sampling stage:
    (1) Primary Sampling Unit:The 2017 population census data was used to obtain an electronic list of areas of aid, or in other words, enumeration areas (EAS) with an average of 600-750 households through all the republic. This list represents the framework of the first phase of the sample, where 10,000 auxiliary areas were selected as primary sampling units (PSU) for the first phase of the main sample.
    (2) Stratification and allocation of the initial inspection unit The governorate is considered the primary layer, which is divided into urban and rural as sub-classes, where the allocation commensurate with the size of the sample between governorates, and between urban and rural areas in each governorate in the first phase of inspection, in order to achieve selfweighting of the basic and sub classes at the national level .

    B- SECOND Sampling phase:
    (1) The division of each initial survey into a number of parts approximately equal in size (150 households / part), each part is called an area plot.
    (2) Selecting an area plot (one part of each primary sampling unit) using the simple random sampling method.

    C) THIRD stage of Sampling (Selection ofcadastral plots):
    1- A sample of cadastral plots was chosen for the Labor force survey in a systematic, random sample from the records of cadastral plots in the master sample, 1,250 cadastral plots were allocated to the research sample, which are divided into 551 in urban areas and 699 in rural areas. Where the urban/rural governorate is considered the strata of the republic, the sample is distributed proportionately to the size.
    2- The representation of urban and rural areas at the level of the governorates of the Republic has been taken into account.

    D- Sample Allocation among Governorates:
    Governorate is considered the primary main strata that divided into substrata (Urban/ Rural), allocation proportional to size was determined among governorates as well as among urban and rural in each governorate at the first sampling stage.

    Sample frame first Stage:
    The basic sample was implemented in September 2022, and it is a three-stage, selfweighted, stratified cluster sample that was drawn from the 2017 Census data to obtain an electronic list of adjunct areas, or in other words enumeration areas (EAs), with an average of 600-750 households, (the size of the areas reached 31,603 regions across the Republic), this list represents the framework of the first stage of the sample.

    - The basic sample areas (10,000 cadastral plots) were divided into four groups, each group containing (2,500 cadastral plots), using a simple random sampling method. One of the most important features of random division is that each cadastral plot has the same chance of appearing among the four groups.

    - Where 1,300 sub-districts were selected asvprimary sampling units (PSU) for the thirdvstage of the main sample.
    Two stages were previously implemented: the first stage was in the basic sample for the year 2018 and the second stage was in the basic sample 2020. The governorate is considered the primary basic class that is divided into urban and rural as sub-stratas, where the allocation was proportional to the size of the sample between the governorates, and between urban and rural in each governorate in the first stage. To inspect in order to achieve self-weighting ofvthe basic and sub-classes at the national level.
    - Each primary sampling unit was divided into a number of parts approximately equal in size (150 households/part), each part called a cadastral plot.
    - Choosing a cadastral plot (one part of each primary sampling unit) using a random sampling method, and household data is updated for each cadastral plot through a quick count, enumeration of households, and preparing a list of households.

    Division of Primary Sampling Unit:
    The labor force survey sample was drawn to (1250) enumeration areas and was divided into four rounds. Sample households were drawn from each enumeration area with equal probability using a systematic drawing method.
    -The cadastral plots selected for the draw were divided into three months during one quarter and into two sixths for each month.
    -The total number of households is 72 households at the level of each selected cadastral plot.

    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 rates
    On the national level (87.1%)
    Urban level (82.6%)
    Rural level (90.7%)

    Response rates on the governorate level are presented in the methodology document attached to the documentation materials published in Arabic.

    Survey instrument

    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
    Notes on methodology
    Quality Control Procedures

    The precision of survey results depends to a large extent on how the survey has been conducted. As such, it was crucial to exert much effort and to take necessary actions towards rigorous preparation for the present survey. The preparatory activities, set up the general framework of survey implementation such as:
    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 level possible through:
    A. Implementing field editing after finishing data collection for households in governorates to avoid any errors in suitable time.
    B. Re-interviewing a sample of households by Quality Control Department in some governorates and examining the differences with the original responses then take the necessary procedures.

    Data collection

    Dates of Data Collection
    Start End Cycle
    2024-01-01 2024-03-31 First round
    2024-04-01 2024-06-30 Second round
    2024-07-01 2024-09-30 Third round
    2024-10-01 2024-12-31 Fourth round
    Mode of data collection
    • Face-to-face [f2f]
    Data Collectors
    Name Abbreviation
    Central Agency For Public Mobilization & Statistics CAPMAS
    Notes on data collection
    Field work

    Since the first quarter of research (January – March2020), a complete transformation of data collection using the tablet has been made through designing a program that contains rules for filtering mistakes and sending inquiries as soon as possible and preparing a laboratory to receive and follow up data and return the inquiries that have errors to the field again to correct them again.

    1- The field staff was selected from the most experienced persons from CAPMAS and from some young people out side CAPMAS
    2- Central training program for supervisors was conducted at CAPMAS in Cairo and locally in governorates for interviewers and field editors.
    3- Supervision program was implemented on collections data persons in all governorates to check the field work.
    4- Data were collected by using personal interview method for household in dwelling and it had been obtained from the head of household or his 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 enable them perform their tasks accurately and timely.

    Data processing

    Cleaning operations
    Data Processing

    1- Coding
    Specialized staff is responsible for coding data of activity, occupation and geographical identification according to activity, occupation and geographical manual, thus the questionnaires will be valid for data entry.
    2- Data entry and tabulations It included machine data entry, data validation and tabulation as well as preparing a final survey bulletin and output tables.

    ---> 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 STATA 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.

    Data Access

    Access authority
    Name Affiliation URL Email
    Economic Research Forum ERF www.erf.org.eg erfdataportal@erf.org.eg
    Confidentiality
    Is signing of a confidentiality declaration required? Confidentiality declaration text
    yes 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 requirement
    The users should cite the Economic Research Forum and the Central Agency For Public Mobilization & Statistics as follows:

    OAMDI, 2025. Harmonized Labor Force Surveys (HLFS), http://www.erfdataportal.com/index.php/catalog. Version 1.0 of Licensed Data Files; LFS 2024- 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) 2025, Economic Research Forum | (c) 2025, CAPMAS, Egypt

    Contacts

    Contacts
    Name Affiliation Email URL
    Economic Research Forum (ERF) - 21 Al-Sad Al-Aaly St., Dokki, Giza, Egypt ERF erfdataportal@erf.org.eg www.erf.org.eg

    Metadata production

    Document ID
    EGY_LFS_2024_HD_V1
    Producers
    Name Abbreviation Role
    Economic Research Forum ERF Cleaning and harmonizing raw data received from the Statistical Agency
    Date of metadata production
    2025-10

    Metadata version

    Version
    Version 1
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