ECE/ILO/Eurostat seminar on measurement of the quality of work (11-13 May 2005) The EU Labour Force Survey and indicators of quality in work

Overview 1.Quality in work as understood by the European Commission –The dimensions –The indicators 2.Changes in the EU-LFS affecting the quality-in-work indicators 3.Discussion of how the improved EU-LFS may contribute to better quality-in-work indicators

ECE/ILO/Eurostat seminar on measurement of the quality of work (11-13 May 2005) Quality in work as understood by the European Commission

10 dimensions of quality in work 1.Intrinsic job quality 2.Skills, life-long learning and career development 3.Gender equality 4.Health and safety at work 5.Flexibility and security 6.Inclusion and access to the labour market 7.Work organisation and work-life balance 8.Social dialogue and worker involvement 9.Diversity and non-discrimination 10.Overall work performance

31 statistical indicators The statistical indicators –Cover all dimensions but No 8 –Consist of 8 key indicators, one for each dimension, and –23 context indicators EU-LFS the source for: –3 key indicators –13 context indicators

ECE/ILO/Eurostat seminar on measurement of the quality of work (11-13 May 2005) Changes in the EU-LFS affecting the quality-in-work indicators

Improvements of the EU-LFS Education and training 6 new variables and changes to existing ones Future improvements Other developments

Education and training Participation in formal education vs courses Field of this education Is the course job related or personal Is the course participation during paid working hours Field of attained education

Major revision New variables –Supervisory responsibilities –Need for care facilities + four other variables Other changes –Better measurements of family responsibilities, incl. Care for children and incapacitated adults –Income variables from 5 to 1; restricted to main job

Future improvements planned Improvement of the explanatory notes, new manual for the EU-LFS Increasing the coverage of the income variable; ultimately covering all Member States

Other developments Quality profiles Ad hoc modules Migrants – foreign born population Annual hours worked

ECE/ILO/Eurostat seminar on measurement of the quality of work (11-13 May 2005) How the improved EU-LFS may contribute to better quality-in-work indicators

1 Intrinsic job quality Problem: –Missing context indicator: Job satisfaction not measured in the EU-SILC Suggested solution: –Employed persons looking for another job and reasons for doing so Note also: –Convenience of atypical working times for personal life situation in the ad hoc module on work organisation in 2004

2 Skills, life-long learning and career development New core module since 2003 –Matching of training field and job specialisation ? –Matching of level and field of completed education and job skill and specialisation requirement ? –Monitoring of certain key training fields: Computer skills Languages

3 Gender equality New core module variable: –Supervisory responsibilities; gender aspect With better coverage of income: –Income outcomes by gender Gender segregation indices may need further evaluation

4 Health and safety at work No index suggested However, –Ad hoc module on accidents at work and work related deceases in –1999 –2007

5 Flexibility and security Problem: –Use of part-time and involuntary part-time unsatisfactory Solution: –Since 2005 possible to use in ALL Member States the ILO definition from 1998 of “time-related underemployment”

7 Work organisation and work-life balance New core variable: –Need for care facilities Also changes to existing variables –enabling measurement of care for children and incapacitated adults See also –Ad hoc modules on working times 2001, 2004 –Ad hoc module in 2005 on reconciliation of family and working life

9 Diversity and non-discrimination Ad hoc module 2008 on labour situation of migrants and their descendants Improvement of the coverage of the foreign born population in the core EU- LFS Note also: –ad hoc module in 2002 on the employment of disabled persons

10 Overall work performance Improvements in methodology and imputation of annual hours worked

Conclusion The EU-LFS is the major source for measuring quality in work within the EU Recent developments and improvements of the EU-LFS enable still better and more precise quality-in- work indicators This presentation suggests some avenues of improvement

ECE/ILO/Eurostat seminar on measurement of the quality of work (11-13 May 2005) Thank you !