Labor Force Survey 1998
West Bank and Gaza, 1998
Identification
WBG_1998_LFS-Q4_v01_M
Labor Force Survey 1998
Fourth Quarter
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| West Bank and Gaza | WBG |
Labor Force Survey [hh/lfs]
The Labor Force Surveys constitute one of the basic statistical surveys that have been implemented by the PCBS since 1995, which includes a series of sample statistical surveys aimed to identify the reality of the Palestinian labor market. Such surveys also provide sufficient data essential for policy making and developing employment levels in the Palestinian Territory. In addition, this series aims to build a database that enables researchers, planners and decision makers to identify changes in the labor market from a year to another and carry out comparisons among similar seasons in different consecutive years.
The main objective of collecting data on the Palestinian Labour Force Survey 1998 (Fourth Quarter) including components of employment, unemployment and underemployment, is to provide basic information on the relative size and structure of the Palestinian labour force. Data collected at different points in time provide a basis for monitoring current trends and changes in the labour market and in employment. These data supported with information on other aspects of the economy provide a basis for the evaluation and analysis of macro-economic policies.
Sample survey data [ssd]
- Household
- Individual aged 10 years and above
Scope
The survey covered the following topics:
- Identification Information
- Quality Control
- Household Roster
- Employment
Coverage
National
Producers and sponsors
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) | Palestinian National Authority |
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Palestinian National Authority | Funding the study |
Sampling
Sampling Frame:
In the absence of a population census since 1967, the major task, with regard to constructing a master sample, was developing a sampling frame of suitable units covering the whole country. Such units have been used as the PSUs (Primary Sampling Units) in the first stage of selection. For the second stage of selection, all PSUs have been listed in the field at the household level. This provided a sampling frame for selecting the households.
Sample Design:
The sample is a two-stage stratified cluster random sample.
Target Population:
All Palestinians aged 15 years and above living in the Palestinian Territories, excluding nomads and persons living in institutions such as prisons or shelters.
Stratification:
Four levels of stratification were made:
- Stratification by District.
- Stratification by place of residence which comprises:
(a) Municipalities; (b) Villages; and (c) Refugee Camps - Stratification by size of locality.
- Stratification by cell identification by locality.
Sampling Unit:
First stage sampling units are the area units (Cells) in the master sample. The second stage sampling units are households.
Sample Size:
The sample size in the the eleventh round/ fourth quarter (October 1998 - December 1998) about 7,631 households (23,045 persons of working age).
Target cluster size:
The next important issue in sample design is the target cluster size or "sample-take," the number of households to be selected per PSU on the average. In this survey persons of working age had been selected from 480 master sample areas. Therefore, the sample take was around 16 households.
Sample Rotation:
Each round covered all the 480 master sample areas (except for the first round which covers 5/6 of these, i.e. 480 areas with proportionately increased sample-take per cluster so as to keep the same sample size). Basically, the areas remained fixed over time, but within each area a proportion of the households was replaced each round. During the first phase when the survey was conducted at 6- monthly interval or quarterly surveys were introduced, the same households remain in the sample over 6 consecutive rounds. A high overlap of 5¤6 is then achieved between consecutive rounds (making the sample efficient for monitoring trends), reducing linearly to zero overlap after 6 rounds. In each round, 1 6 (i.e. 80) clusters are listed - i.e. 320 over the whole year as before.
- Response rate in the fourth quarter was 86.4%
Weights Calculation of households:
The weight of statistical units (sampling units) in the sample is defined as the mathematical inverse of the selection probability where the sample of the survey is a two-stage stratified cluster sample. Thus, in the first stage we calculate the weight of enumeration areas depending on the probability of each enumeration area (a systematic random sample). In the second stage we calculate the weight of households in each enumeration area. Initial household weights resulted from the product of the weight of the first stage and the weight of the second stage. Final household weights were obtained after adjustment of initial weights with the household estimates of the middle of each quarter of 1998 with regard to design strata (governorate, locality type).
For individuals over 10 years, we added the final household weight for each person, then adjusted the initial individual weight with the estimates of individuals of the middle of each quarter of 1998 according to region (West Bank, Gaza Strip), sex ( male, female), five - year age groups (14 groups), then we obtained the final adjusted individual weight.
Survey instrument
The survey questionnaire was designed according to the International Labour Organization (ILO) recommendations. The questionnaire includes four main parts:
-
Identification Data:
The main objective for this part is to record the necessary information to identify the household, such as, cluster code, sector, type of locality, cell, housing number and the cell code. -
Quality Control:
This part involves groups of controlling standards to monitor the field and office operation, to keep in order the sequence of questionnaire stages (data collection, field and office coding, data entry, editing after entry and store the data). -
Household Roster:
This part involves demographic characteristics about the household, like number of persons in the household, date of birth, sex, educational level.etc. -
Employment Part:
This part involves the major research indicators, where one questionnaire had been answered by every 15 years and over household member, to be able to explore their labour force status and recognize their major characteristics toward employment status, economic activity, occupation, place of work, and other employment indicators.
Data collection
| Start | End | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| 1998-10 | 1998-12 | Fourth Quarter |
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics | Palestinian National Authority |
Training and Recruitment:
The purpose of the training courses were to provide participants with the main skills needed to conduct interviews. Two training courses were held, one in Ramallah for West Bank trainees, and one in Gaza City for Gaza Strip trainees. Each course consisted of two parts: one on survey methodology including survey design, questionnaire design, interviewing techniques, and field operations; and one part on the specifications of the labour force survey, including concepts and definitions, field work procedures, data collection, editing, coding, tips for asking questions and recording answers, as well as field team organization and field supervision.
The training courses included lectures, exercises, as well as field exercises. Each course continued for 3 days, trained in which 14 interviewers, and 4 supervisors.
Fieldwork:
The West Bank was divided into three regions (North, Middle, South), each of which was supervised by one field supervisor. Each region consists of a number of districts and field work was carried out by one field work team, consisted of 2 interviewers. Gaza Strip was also divided into three regions (North, Middle and South). Field work activities were initiated in Gaza Strip by one field work team, each of which consisted of a supervisor, an editor and 4 interviewers.
Certain procedures were followed for quality control and efficient organization of field work. Such procedures pertain for supervising work as well as receiving and delivering questionnaires, maps, sample lists in addition to other forms used for management and quality control.
Field operations started in the Palestinian Territories on 10/04/1998 till 10/07/1998. Field work teams were distributed among all districts on the basis of sample size in each district. The number of LFS' field work members amounted to 24 including the field work coordinator, 4 supervisors, 4 editors, and 14 interviewers including coders.
Reference Week:
The week ending on Friday preceding the interviewer's visit to the household. Four quarters had been carried out at 1998, first quarter covered the period (January - March), and second quarter (April - June), and third quarter covered the period (July - September), and the fourth quarter covered the period (October - December).
Data Access
| Is signing of a confidentiality declaration required? | Confidentiality declaration text |
|---|---|
| yes | Data compiled in the context of labor force surveys involve individual and personal data. The confidentiality of such data is honored and safeguarded in accordance with Article (17) of the Palestinian General Statistical Law of 2000, which stipulates “All individual information and data submitted to the Bureau for statistical purposes shall be treated as confidential and shall not be divulged, in whole or in part, to any individual or to a public or private body, or used for any purpose other than for preparing statistical tables”. |
Use of the dataset must be acknowledged using a citation which would include:
- the Identification of the Primary Investigator
- the title of the survey (including country, acronym and year of implementation)
- the survey reference number
- the source and date of download
Disclaimer and copyrights
The user of the data acknowledges that the original collector of the data, the authorized distributor of the data, and the relevant funding agency bear no responsibility for use of the data or for interpretations or inferences based upon such uses.
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics | Palestinian National Authority | diwan@pcbs.gov.ps | http://www.pcbs.gov.ps |
Metadata production
DDI_WBG_1998_LFS-Q4_v01_M_WB
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Development Data Group | The World Bank | Metadata preparation |
2014-08-15
Metadata version
Version 01 (August 2014)