Labor Force Survey 1997
Aruba, 1997
Identification
ABW_1997_LFS_v01_M
Labor Force Survey 1997
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Aruba | ABW |
Labor Force Survey [hh/lfs]
The Labor Force Survey is an incidental household survey that is held by the Central Bureau of Statistics with intervals of at least three years.
Sample survey data [ssd]
Coverage
National
The theoretical population consisted of all households residing in Aruba. For practical reasons, the institutional households (prison, convent, etc.) were excluded from the operational population. Within each selected household all persons aged 15 years and older were interviewed.
Producers and sponsors
| Name |
|---|
| Central Bureau of Statistics |
Sampling
In order to maximize the reliability of the estimates while keeping collection costs at a minimum standard sampling techniques were used. The number of households sampled was about 2,016 and all household members aged 15 years and older were interviewed. Chosen in this way accurate estimations could be made of the population characteristics of the labor market. We made use of a random systematic sample for the Labor Force Survey. In Aruba virtually all houses are connected to the water supply system. Therefore, a list of all addresses registered at the Water Company (WEB) was used as sampling frame.
According to the WEB the total number of connected households amounted to 22,629 at the time of the survey, a sample of 2,016 households would imply a sampling fraction of 8.91 percent. Several tests were performed to see what the effect of the chosen sample size would be at various levels of, for instance, unemployment. As unemployment is low in Aruba, a very large sample size is needed to make accurate estimations of the unemployment rate. In the case of a sample size of 2,016 households and a presupposed level of unemployment in the population of 6 percent, the sample estimation at a significance level of 5 percent, would lie between 5.7 and 6.3 percent. If more than one household was living at a certain address, each of the households was visited separately. Therefore, even if some of the addresses would drop out, at least 2,016 households would be in the study.
Of all households reached, only 7.0 percent refused to cooperate. In 5.5 percent of the households, some persons agreed to cooperate while others refused. A total of 146 persons refused to cooperate in households where other persons agreed to provide information.
Survey instrument
The data for the labor force survey were collected on two forms:
- the Household Form
- the Person Form
The purpose of the household form was twofold:
a) to collect information on the composition of the household; and
b) to serve as a tool to monitor the progress of the fieldwork.
Information was collected on whether or not the household cooperated in the survey; the reason why the household could not be reached; the number of persons who were interviewed, etc.. If several households were living at the same address, a separate household form was used for each of the households. An interview was conducted with each person living in the household who, at the time of the interview, was aged 15 years or older. The information on each such person was noted down on the person form. We divided the person form into a number of modules. Some modules were restricted to persons with certain characteristics.
The follow ing modules were included in the person form:
A. Personal characteristics
B. Education
C. Characteristics of persons who are employed
D. Characteristics of unemployed persons
E. Migration and characteristics of foreign employees
Data collection
| Start | End |
|---|---|
| 1997-11 | 1997-12 |
The Labor Force Survey 1997 was held during the months of October, November and December 1997. Within that period a total of 2,672 addresses were visited by a team of 21 interviewers, who were hired and trained to carry out the survey. The households were contacted through personal visits, in certain cases the interviewers had to make repeat visits as it was necessary to obtain information directly from each respondent. Interviewers were instructed to make all reasonable attempts to obtain interviews with the eligible members of the household in question. In cases where the respondent could not be interviewed due to repeated absence, information was obtained from a knowledgeable household member.
The fieldwork period was subdivided into six phases, during each of these phases each interviewer visited 16 addresses. The team of interviewers was subdivided into 6 groups. Each of these groups was closely supervised by a staff member of the Central Bureau of Statistics. At the 2,672 addresses, 2,121 households were visited. In total 6,500 persons were reached, of which 4,681 persons aged 15 years and older were successfully interviewed. The response rate to the survey was very high. Only 16.5 percent of the addresses could not be reached, amounting to a total of 442 addresses. In 56 cases the houses were unoccupied. For 65 addresses the interviewer could not find the given address. The interviewer was given the instruction that if after at least three visits no person could be contacted, the address could be dropped; 225 addresses were skipped in this way. Furthermore, 96 addresses were not visited for other reasons. Of all households reached, only 7.0 percent refused to cooperate. In 5.5 percent of the households, some persons agreed to cooperate while others refused. A total of 146 persons refused to cooperate in households where other persons agreed to provide information.
If the interviewer was unsuccessful in interviewing persons living at a certain address, he or she was given a reserve address to go to. If the attempt to interview the persons at the reserve address failed, the interviewer was instructed to vis it the right-hand neighbor of the reserve address.
Metadata production
DDI_ABW_1997_LFS_v01_M_WB