Statistical information on all aspects of the population is vital for the design, implementation and evaluation of economic and social development plan and policy issues. Labour force surveys are one of the important sources of data for assessing the role of the population of a country in the economic and social development process. These surveys provide data on the main characteristics of the work force engaged or available to be engaged in productive activities during a given period and also its distribution in the various sectors of the economy. They are also useful to indicate the extent of available and unutilized human resource that must be absorbed by the national economy to ensure full employment and economic well being of the population. Furthermore, the information obtained from such surveys is useful for the purpose of macro-economic monitoring and human resource development planning. The other broad objective of statistics on the labour force is for the measurement of the relationship between employment, income and other social and economic characteristics of the economically active population for the purpose of formulating and monitoring employment policies and programs, income-generating and maintenance schemes, vocational training and other similar programs. Seasonal and other variations in the size and characteristics of the labour force can also be monitored using up-to-date information from labour force surveys. In order to further fill the gap in data requirement for the socio-economic development planning, monitoring and evaluation, the Central Statistical Authority (CSA) has conducted Rural Labour Force Survey (RLFS) as a part of the National Integrated Household Survey Program (NIHSP) at the end of 1980. To maintain the continuity and to update the Rural Labour Force Survey of 1981/82 results, another Rural Labour Force Survey was conducted in 1987/88. Also the CSA has conducted the 1976 Addis Ababa Manpower and Housing Sample Survey and the 1978 Manpower and Housing survey in Seventeen Major Towns. Moreover, some data on the labour force were also collected as a part of other surveys such as the 1990 Family and Fertility Survey, 1996 Urban Informal Sector Sample Survey and in the country wide deccennial Population and Housing Censuses of Ethiopia conducted in 1984 and 1994. The labour force surveys that were conducted earlier were limited in areal coverage and content of the questionnaires. In this respect, both the 1981/82 and 1987/88 surveys covered only the rural part of the country. Till the current survey was conducted, there hasn’t been a comprehensive national labour force survey representing both the urban and the rural areas of the country. Moreover, the information that should have been provided through labour force surveys could be said relatively out-dated, as the sector is dynamic and sensitive to economic and social changes. To fill this data gap, a series of current and comprehensive labour force surveys need to be undertaken.