Labor Force Survey, LFS 2021
Egypt, Arab Rep., 2021
Economic Research Forum, Central Agency For Public Mobilization & Statistics
Identification
Survey ID Number
EGY_LFS_2021_HD_V1
Title
Labor Force Survey, LFS 2021
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 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.
2- Individual/person.
Version
Version Description
V1: A cleaned and a harmonized version of the survey dataset, produced by the Economic Research Forum for dissemination.
Production
Date
2022-12
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
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
Sample size designed for each quarter is 22500 households with a total of 89982 households per year (Designed Sample 89982, Implemented Sample 79271) , allocated 45.4% for Urban and 54.6 % for rural over all governorates ( urban / rural) in proportion to the size of each governorate , the sample divided to :
a. New Households with sample size 11502 households for each quarter.
b. Panel households with sample size 10998 households for each quarter selected from the same quarter in year 2020.
* 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 (200 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:
1- The basic sample areas (10,000 area plots) were divided into four groups, each group contain 2,500 area plots) using the simple random sampling method, and one of the most important advantages of random division is that each area plot has the same opportunity to appear between the four groups.
2- Field work is carried out into four phases (each phase is executed every two years). The implementation of the first phase began since March 2018.
3- The goal of this subdivision is to ensure that the sample is not outdated for as long as possible, and that household data are constantly updated.
4- 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 Census lists of EA's for each strata constitute the frame of the sample first stage. The identification information appears on the EA's list includes District code,(Shiakha/Village)code, Census Supervisor and enumerator numbers, Census Supervisor number is unique at the level of (Shiakha /Village), while the enumerator number is unique within the EA enumeration assigned to supervisor. During investigating the list of EA's with regard to the number of households and their consistency with each EA, it has been found that number of households at these EA's are below the average ( less than 200 household ). The reason for that is that some enumerators included institutional households which have been excluded later and includes only households habiting in private housing. As a result, a decision was made to adjoin any EA with less than 160 H.H. to an adjacent one. Thus, in those exceptional cases the primary Sampling Units (PSU) consists of two EA's. To select the primary sampling units (Sampling first stage), the frame was arranged to provide implicit stratification with regard to the geographic location, where the urban of each governorate was arranged in a spiral according to the geographic location (kism / district). 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 balanced distribution of the sample over the substrata of respective governorates, After this stage, the sample was selected with probability proportional to Size (PPS), of census households number in EA (200 households) was taken as a Measure of Size (MOS). The Sample households was selected from each EA using equal probability of the systematic selection method.
D- Division of Primary Sampling Unit:
Primary sampling unit (5000 EA) was divided into four rounds, each has (1250 EA). Then the household sample was then selected from each EA with equal probability, using the systematic selection method normally. The table (B) shows designed, implemented sample and Response Rate according to governorate (Urban & Rural).
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 (88.1%)
Urban level (81.9%)
Rural level (92.9%)
Response rates on the governorate level are presented in the methodology document attached to the documentation materials published in Arabic.
Urban level (81.9%)
Rural level (92.9%)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-01-01 | 2021-03-31 | First round |
| 2021-04-01 | 2021-06-30 | Second round |
| 2021-07-01 | 2021-09-30 | Third round |
| 2021-10-01 | 2021-12-31 | Fourth round |
Data Collection Mode
Face-to-face [f2f]
Data Collection Notes
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.
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 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
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.
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.
Other Processing
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.
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.
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://www.erfdataportal.com/index.php/catalog. Version 1.0 of Licensed Data Files; LFS 2021- Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). Egypt: Economic Research Forum (ERF).
OAMDI, 2021. Harmonized Labor Force Surveys (HLFS), http://www.erfdataportal.com/index.php/catalog. Version 1.0 of Licensed Data Files; LFS 2021- 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) 2022, Economic Research Forum | (c) 2022, CAPMAS, Egypt
Metadata production
DDI Document ID
EGY_LFS_2021_HD_V1
Producers
| Name | Abbreviation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Economic Research Forum | ERF | Cleaning and harmonizing raw data received from the Statistical Agency |
Date of Metadata Production
2022-12
DDI Document version
Version 1