Gross-flow estimates in the Swedish Labour Force Surveys

Abstract

The development of a dynamic perspective on the labour market has led to demands for new types of information. In addition to the traditional data on the number of persons in various labour market categories at a given time, there have also appeared demands for flow data, i.e. data on the number of persons moving from one category to another during a specified period of time. An essential part of the Swedish labour market data derive from the Labour Force Surveys (LFS), which are interview-surveys based on monthly samples of 22000 persons. The panel design used in these surveys makes it possible to follow single individuals over a period of two years by linking data collected at different points of time. This in tum permits studies of flows between various labour market categories. The work on this technique has in Sweden focused on using empiric LFS data to evaluate the influence of various sources of error on estimates of flows between employment, unemployment and not-in-the labour-force. The development work has also covered questions of a more principal nature, viz. the usefulness of the LFS concepts and their operational definitions in the interpretation and analysis of flows. Studies of the factors behind changes of labour market status have led to proposals of a new variable, illustrating the individuals' attachment to the labour market. It is primarily intended to serve as an auxiliary in the presentation of data illustrating mobility on the labour market.