Register-Based Labour Force Statistics

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Labour Market, Social Statistics
Pernille Stender
+45 24 92 12 33

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The purpose of the Register-Based Labour Force Statistics (RAS) is to measure the population’s primary attachment to the labour market. This attachment is recorded at the end of November and compiled once a year. The first RAS compilation was made at the end of November 1980.

Statistical presentation

RAS is an annual, individual-based compilation that records the population’s attachment to the labour market on the last working day of November. The population’s attachment is divided into three main socio-economic groups: employed, unemployed, and persons outside the labour force. The statistics can be broken down by demographic variables and education, as well as by industry, sector, and municipality of the workplace for employed persons. The data are published in News from Statistics Denmark and in the Statistics Denmark StatBank, and detailed micro-data are made available through Statistics Denmark’s Research Service.

Statistical processing

The register-based labor force statistics (RAS) are based on the Labor Market Account (AMR_UN), which is a longitudinal register. When RAS is compiled, a status assessment (in relation to the population's primary attachment to the labor market) is carried out on the last working day of November in the AMR. Based on AMR_UN, it is also possible to perform status assessments on arbitrary days throughout the year.

Relevance

The register based labour force statistic (RAS) is primarily been used to structural analysis of the labour market, because the statistic has a very detailed level of information. Many external as well as internal users are using the statistic.

Accuracy and reliability

RAS is a register-based compilation that uses many data sources to measure the population's affiliation to the labor market. This means that RAS does not have the same uncertainty as statistics based on samples. RAS consists of a wide range of data sources, which are integrated, checked for errors, and harmonized, making it possible to provide a better picture of the population's connection to the labor market than the individual statistics can.

Timeliness and punctuality

From the publication of figures for the end of November 2018 onwards, the release is carried out in two stages. In the first release, persons outside the labor force are grouped together in a single category. This publication takes place approximately 11 months after the reference point. In the second publication, which occurs approximately 15 months after the reference point, persons outside the labor force are divided into different socioeconomic groups.

Comparability

The first version of the RAS statistics includes the population resident in Denmark as of the 1 January 1981 and its attachment to the labour market at the end of November 1980. The statistic has been compiled once every year since. New and better data foundations and changes in the labour market have however caused a number of data breaks over time, which have influence on the possibility of comparing data over time. Since RAS is based on administrative registers with national distinctive marks, it is very difficult to compare the statistic in an international level.

Accessibility and clarity

The statistics is published in Statbank Denmark: Labour market status (RAS) and Employed persons (RAS).

For further information go to the subject pages Labour market status (RAS) and Employed persons (RAS).