Swiss Labour Force Survey
The Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS) - conducted by the Federal Statistical Office in cooperation with an external service provider - is a household survey that has been conducted since 1991. The main goal is to survey the employment structure and employment behaviour of the permanent resident population. Because of the strict application of international definitions in the SLFS, Swiss data can be compared with those of other OECD countries and the countries of the European Union. Since 2010, the SLFS has been conducted on a quarterly basis. The interviews from the third and fourth quarters of 2009 serve as a transition from the old to the new (continuous) SLFS.
Legal basis
Type of survey
The SLFS is a
Features registered
The SLFS is a survey of the permanent resident population aged 15 and over carried out at the national level as well as at the level of Switzerland's major regions. The survey collects data on employment (present and past), reasons for economic inactivity (retirement, education, etc.), learned and practised profession, place of work and volume, working conditions (working hours, night work, weekend work), economic branch, employment and household income, job search (unemployment, underemployment), professional and geographical mobility, education and training, unpaid work (family and household work, volunteer activities, support from relatives, etc.), migration and social security.
Date survey conducted
The first survey took place in 1991. Until 2008, the survey was conducted in the second quarter, and in 2009 in the second, third and fourth quarters. Since 2010, it has been continuous. Until 2009, the data were evaluated annually; since 2010, they have been evaluated on a quarterly basis.