2009 Labour force survey and pilot census

(CNS): The Economics & Statistics Office (ESO) will be conducting the annual Labour Force Survey starting Sunday October 11, 2009, along with the Pilot Census. In the Pilot Census, a draft version of the census questionnaire will be tested among households as part of the preparation for the Census scheduled for October 2010. Trained interviewers will visit a randomly selected sample of households in the three Islands over a four-week period to conduct interviews, a release from ESO says.

The ESO once again appeals to the public for its full cooperation with the interviewers, and to provide the necessary information, which will be collected under the Statistics Law (1996 Revision).

Each interviewer will work under an Oath of Secrecy, and all information collected will be kept strictly confidential. No information is ever entered which would allow anyone to be able to link the data with an individual respondent. All interviewers carry a photo identification which should be worn for easy visibility, and respondents are advised to request identification from any interviewer before sharing information.

The information provided for the LFS will be used for estimating the Islands’ 2009 population and labour force statistics. Information provided to the Pilot Census questionnaire will be used in evaluating the questions and how these could be improved for the actual nation-wide Census in October 2010. The Census is the most important data collection activity in the Islands as it occurs only every ten years, and it is designed to provide the baseline population and socio-economic data requirements for policy and business analysis and planning.

For further information on any aspect of the survey, or results of previous surveys, contact the Economics & Statistics Office, Third floor, Elizabethan Square Building (Phase 3), telephone, 949-0940 or visit the web at www.eso.ky. The ESO thanks the public for its continued support.