Study: MZ 2011

Changes In Questionnaire

• To improve the measurement of ILO labour status, in particular, the fieldwork and questions relating to labour market participation have undergone changes since the 2005 round of the Microcensus. In the 2011 round, some of the Microcensus (MC) and Labour Force Survey (LFS) questions underwent changes compared to the previous year. This was implemented within the framework of a methods project using a split ballot technique: the new questionnaire was administered to a 0.9% subsample, while a questionnaire corresponding largely to the original concept was administered to a 0.1% subsample.
• A new question that introduces the employment-situation section is of central importance. This question, which relates to the so-called “main status” (F18; EF66), measures the respondent’s current social status. (However, variable EF66 is not part of the scientific use file [SUF].1) The relevant information on the existence of a paid job, which is required to implement the ILO labour force concept, is not collected until after this question has been asked.
• This new approach gave rise to further changes in the questionnaire. Several of the questions that are still featured in the questionnaire administered to the 0.1% subsample became superfluous in the new questionnaire administered to the 0.9% sample (e.g. F20a; EF81). On the other hand, some new questions had to be added (e.g. F19; EF67) or existing questions relocated (F22/F18a; EF77). Moreover, some questions were partly reformulated (e.g.. F23/F22a; EF85) or simplified (e.g. F22/F18a; EF77).
• In all, the changes improved the measurement of employment and unemployment and reduced the divergence between the survey data and the reference statistics. The new concept will therefore be retained in 2012 and beyond. For methodological reasons, the results for 2011 are comparable only to a limited extent with those of previous years. Moreover, it should be noted that the answers to these different versions of the questionnaire were incorporated into the uniform classifications by type, for example EF29: Labour status type and EF38: Unemployment type (see the comparison of the questionnaire versions [in German] and the methodological information in the data handbook (both of which are available in German only). In the system files, the respective variables are identified by indicating in the variable label the question numbers (F…/…) and the sampling fraction of the subsample (0.9 % / 0.1 %).
• In 2011, the response categories for the “school or higher education institution attended” (EF289) and the “highest completed level of vocational education and training” (EF312 etc.) were expanded, with the result that direct comparison with previous rounds is possible only to a limited extent.
• A conceptual change was made to questions about migration and integration. Up to 2010, respondents who had left the Federal Republic of Germany for more than six months after they first moved here, were asked to report the year of their last move to the country. In 2011, by contrast, respondents were asked to state the year of their first move to Germany (EF367), even if their period of residence in the country had been interrupted since then. In addition, the year of their return to Germany after the last interruption is measured with a new question (F129; EF384). This has an effect on the classifications of migrant status by type, which are derived from these variables.
• The notes on the questions relating to health insurance, which are available only in German, provide further information on the measurement of health insurance and its comparability with 2007.
• In 2011, the ad hoc module “Employment of disabled people,” was implemented within the framework of the EU Labour Force Survey using a sampling fraction of 0.1%. The variables in question are EF1084-EF1096.
• A module on this topic was last implemented in 2002 (see variables EF420-EF425 in the 2002 SUF). It is important to note that the variables EF1090u1-EF1096 also include hypothetical questions. While questions 161-167 relating to health status and employment are addressed to persons aged between 15 and 64 years – that is, persons with a paid job or contributing family workers who have answered “yes” to at least one of the main questions for the measurement of ILO labour status (F18a-F21a; EF77-EF79, EF81) – questions 168-174 on health status and possible employment are directed to persons who are not employed – that is, other persons who do not have a paid job. For example, the variables EF1090u1-EF1090u5 contain both (multiple-) responses from employed persons to question 161: “Is the number of hours that you work in a week limited?”, and (multiple) responses from persons who are not employed to question 168: “Would the number of hours that you worked in a week be limited if you were working?”