Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union

F3: Labour market

2920 Luxembourg LUXEMBOURG

The domain 'Youth Employment' is based on the results of the European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS). 

The EU-LFS is a quarterly household sample survey carried out in the Member States of the European Union, the United Kingdom, EFTA countries (except for Liechtenstein) and Candidate Countries (Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey). It is the main source of information about the situation and trends on the labour market in the European Union. The EU-LFS is organised in 12 modules covering demographic background, labour status (ILO definition), employment characteristics of the main job, atypical work, working time, employment characteristics of the second job, previous work experience of persons not in employment, search for employment, main labour status (self-perceived), education and training, labour market situation one year before the survey and income.

The survey's target population consists of all persons in private households, although the variables related to labour market and education and training are only collected for persons aged 15 years or older.

For details see Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98 of 9 March 1998 on the organisation of a labour force sample survey in the Community (OJ No L 77/3).

Detailed information on main features, legal basis, methodology and data as well as on the historical development of the EU-LFS is available on the EU-LFS (Statistics Explained) webpage.

The EU-LFS results are produced in accordance with relevant international classification systems.

Main classifications used are NACE Rev. 1 (NACE Rev. 1.1 from 2005) and NACE Rev. 2 (from 2008) for economic activity, ISCO 88 (COM) and ISCO 08 (from 2011) for occupation, ISCED 2011 for level of education (from 2014) and ISCED-F 2013 for field of education (from 2016), replacing the former ISCED 1997 codes.

For sub-national data, the EU-LFS uses the NUTS (Eurostat Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics) and the classification of degree of urbanisation.

Actual coding in the EU-LFS may deviate to some extent from those general standards; for more details on classifications (including the comparability between the revised classifications) and levels of aggregation, please consult: EU-LFS (Statistics Explained) - Methodology >> classifications.

As a general rule the EU-LFS covers all economic sectors.

The European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) provides population estimates for the main labour market characteristics, such as employment, unemployment, inactivity, hours of work, occupation, economic activity and other labour related variables, as well as important socio-demographic characteristics, such as sex, age, education, household characteristics and regions of residence.

The definitions of employment and unemployment, as well as other survey characteristics follow the definitions and recommendations of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The definition of unemployment is further specified in Commission Regulation (EC) No 1897/2000.

For more details, please consult: EU-LFS (Statistics Explained) - Methodology.

Persons and households

The EU-LFS results cover the total population usually residing in Member States, except for persons living in collective or institutional households. While demographic data are gathered for all age groups, questions relating to labour status and education and training are restricted to persons in the age group of 15 years or older. 

For more details and exceptions, please consult: EU-LFS (Statistics Explained) - Methodology.

European Union, Euro area, EU Member States, the United Kingdom, Candidate Countries (Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey), EFTA Countries (except for Liechtenstein), USA and Japan (some tables concerning LFS Main Indicators). Data for Cyprus refer only to the areas of Cyprus controlled by the Government of the Republic of Cyprus. Since 2014, data for France include also the French overseas departments (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyane, La Réunion), with the exception of Mayotte.

Data for all Member States and the United Kingdom are mostly available from 1999 or 2000 onwards. Data relating to the former EU-15 are available from 1995 onwards. Data relating to the former EU-12 are available from 1987 onwards (LFS main indicators for unemployment are available since 1983 for some countries). Results for Candidate Countries date back to 2002 and for EFTA countries to 1995.

Not applicable

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

Not applicable.

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

EU-LFS main indicators data are released according to a quarterly release calendar. Annual results are released at the same time as the fourth quarter.

Not applicable.

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

Annual.

Not applicable.

For more details, Please consult the dedicated page on Eurostat website or EU-LFS (Statistics Explained) - data and publication.

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

EU-LFS anonymised microdata are available for research purposes. Please refer to access to microdata.

See: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat

For a detailed description of methods and concepts used, as well as for other documents related to the EU-LFS, please consult: EU-LFS (Statistics Explained) - methodology.

The EU-LFS disseminates also publications on the methodology of the survey. For more information please consult: Quality reports and methodological publications.

Please consult Quality reports and methodological publications.

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

EU-LFS results are used by DG Employment and a number of other Directorates-General of the Commission mainly for measurement and monitoring of policy agenda purposes. The European Central Bank (ECB) uses short term EU-LFS statistics related to Euro area. Key users include NSI's, international organizations, news agencies and researchers which use various aspects of EU-LFS data for international or intra EU comparisons. Finally, EU-LFS data are used by Eurostat for compiling detailed regional indicators, for estimates on current education and educational attainment, higher education and research, and for accurate estimates of labour input of National Accounts.

Several indicators stemming from the EU-LFS are used for monitoring and measurement of core policy objectives of the EU, for example in the context of Europe 2020 strategy, the European pillar of social rights, the sustainable development goals and the macroeconomic imbalance procedure. 

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

Not available.

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

For information on EU-LFS data revisions, please consult: EU-LFS (Statistics Explained) - Data and publication. 

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

Please refer to the ESMS page on 'Employment and unemployment (LFS)' (see link below in section 'related metadata').

EU and Euro area aggregates are calculated aggregating estimated population totals from Member States. For the data expressed in absolute values for each quarter (i.e. number of persons/households) no further Eurostat weighting is used. Rates/ratios are subsequently calculated from the data expressed in absolute values (i.e. number of persons/households). 

Not applicable.

None.