A new Labour Force Survey (LFS) has been introduced by the CSO with effect from Q3 2017 and it replaces the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS). Detailed information on the background to this change is available from the following Information Note:

Information Notice - Labour Force Survey Quarter 3 2017

Back-casting of Headline Indicators

As per the information in the note above, the CSO worked to minimise the breaks in series to the key survey estimates, by back-casting the QNHS series from Q1 1998 to Q2 2017. These back-cast series were created using scaling factors from a comparison of data captured from a parallel run of the QNHS and LFS at the beginning of 2017.

These back-cast series are consistent with the LFS series for the following main indicators:

•    Employed males aged 15-24 years
•    Employed males aged 25+ years
•    Unemployed males aged 15-24 years
•    Unemployed males aged 25+ years
•    Inactive males aged 15-24 years
•    Inactive males aged 25+ years
•    Males aged < 15 years
•    Employed females aged 15-24 years
•    Employed females aged 25+ years
•    Unemployed females aged 15-24 years
•    Unemployed females aged 25+ years
•    Inactive females aged 15-24 years
•    Inactive females aged 25+ years
•    Females aged < 15 years

Scaling factors were also calculated for the NACE Rev. 2 groups published in Table 2a of the LFS release, broken down by sex, resulting in 30 additional categories.

Non-Headline Indicators

It was not possible, however, to control for all the series included in the QNHS release. However, the parallel run in Q1 2017 does allow a direct comparison of the other series not controlled for in the back-casting process by providing like-for-like data based on the existing QNHS and the new LFS.

The CSO can therefore provide these aggregate comparisons of the other series published in the core and supplementary release tables from this parallel run upon request.