Skip to content

Unemployed persons, LFS (interview)

Unemployed persons in the Labour Force Survey (LFS unemployed) is a quarterly and monthly aggregation of the number of unemployed persons in Denmark. The statistics are based on an interview survey with approximately 72,000 respondents on a yearly basis, and the unemployment figures in this set of statistics is based on the labour market status reported by the persons interviewed.

Introduction

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) gives a complete picture of the population’s labour market status, i.e. how many persons are employed, unemployed (LFS unemployed) or outside the labour force. 
Unemployed persons in the LFS are called LFS unemployed and are defined as jobless persons who have actively been seeking employment in the four weeks leading up to the reference week – the week about which the respondent is interviewed – and who are able to start a job within two weeks after the reference week. 
The LFS is based on internationally applied definitions, so the results are internationally comparable. This is why the LFS unemployment concept is the concept applied when comparing unemployment in Denmark with that of other countries.
The Labour Force Survey is particularly suitable: 

  • for describing the population’s labour market status, e.g. how many are employed, unemployed or outside the labour force 
  • for focusing on unemployed persons who are not entitled to unemployment benefits or cash benefits
  • for assessing the number of persons who want to get a job
  • in connection with transverse analyses
  • in connection with information on e.g. youth unemployment (ages 15-24)
  • in connection with international comparisons.
 
Documentation

Unemployed persons in the Labour Force Survey (LFS unemployed)

In terms of the Labour Force Survey (LFS), unemployed persons are persons not in employment who have indicated in the interview that they have actively been seeking employment in the four weeks leading up to the reference week and that they are able to start a job within two weeks after the reference week. Active job seeking includes e.g. contact with a job centre, approaching employers, making contact with friends, relatives, unions or reading and, if relevant, responding to job ads. Permit applications, support for or specific activities such as searching for premises etc. with a view to setting up a business of one’s own, are also considered active job seeking.

The LFS unemployment is based on the internationally applied definition determined by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1982. Consequently, LFS unemployment is a definition of unemployment applied in connection with – and facilitating – international comparisons. Furthermore, LFS unemployment is useful for focusing on unemployed persons who are not entitled to unemployment benefits or cash benefits, and for when you want to take into account all persons’ want for employment, regardless if these persons receive one or the other type of benefit or are self-supporting.

About the Labour Force Survey 

The purpose of the Labour Force Survey is to focus on the population’s affiliation with the labour market, e.g. how many persons are employed, unemployed (LFS unemployed) or outside the labour force. In addition, the Labour Force Survey includes many other types of information, which are not usually found in registers – e.g. how many employees are working part time, how many hours do men aged 30-40 typically work, or how many elderly people outside the labour force would like to have a job.

The Labour Force Survey complies with the guidelines of the International Labour Organization (ILO) for statistics on the population’s labour market status. The LFS is the Danish contribution to Eurostat’s Labour Force Survey, and all EU countries and a vast number of other countries make labour force surveys based on the same guidelines. This is why the LFS is the best Danish survey for international comparisons of labour market statistics, as made by both Eurostat and the OECD.

The Labour Force Survey has been conducted every year since 1984, and from 1994, all weeks throughout the year. In 2007, the survey sample was broadened substantially. The Labour Force Survey is Denmark’s most comprehensive interview survey. It is made quarterly and is based on a sample. Approximately 72,000 Danes aged 15-89 participate in the survey each year.
Read more about the method, questionnaire and key concepts of the Labour Force Survey.  

Documentation of statistics

Get an overview of the purpose, content and quality of the statistics. Here you can find information on the sources that the statistics are derived from, what the statistics contains and how often it is published.

Key figures




Related content in Unemployed persons, LFS (interview)

Contact

Daniel F. Gustafsson
Phone: +45 39 17 35 89

Didn’t find what you were looking for?

Do you need help finding the right statistics?
Contact our Information Service

Do you need customised statistics, help with interview surveys, or do you, as a researcher, want access to microdata? Then you are in the right place.
Read about our products and services