Making sense of Labour Force Survey response rates

Abstract

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is the largest continuous household survey in the UK. It is the source of key labour market indicators, such as employment, unemployment, economic activity and hours worked, as well as numerous related measures. Each quarter, more than 80,000 households are randomly selected; households and individuals are interviewed in a series of five quarterly waves. However, a proportion of these households and individuals either cannot be contacted or refuse to cooperate with the survey, so the results are derived from about 50,000 households and 120,000 individuals each quarter. These responses are weighted on the basis of age, gender and geography in order to produce a representative picture of the whole population. This article presents and analyses LFS response rates and trends and examines the detail of response and non-response. Further research required and potential interventions are also discussed. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]