Household Labour Force Survey

The survey

What is the purpose of the survey?

The Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) is a nationwide survey and is the official measure of employment. It provides the only comprehensive, ongoing measure of the country's labour force.

It measures:

• the number of employed persons
• the number of unemployed persons
• the number of persons not in the labour force
• hours worked
• occupation and industry activity
• duration of unemployment
• steps taken to find work
• steps taken to find more hours of work
• the number of people engaged in formal study.

Data collected in the survey is cross-tabulated by demographic factors:

• age group
• sex
• marital status
• locality
• ethnic origin.

Who is included in this survey?

Members of the statistically representative households, aged 15 years and older complete the survey. If a household moves away from a selected address, we will not contact them at their new address. They will be replaced by the new occupants of the selected address.

How is the survey conducted?

All interviews are interviewer-administered. The first interview is face to face, using a laptop, and subsequent interviews are by telephone.

Households who are to be telephoned will be given a magnetic card with a contact phone number and a nine digit reference number. This number will be quoted by the interviewer before each telephone interview to establish that the interviewer is official.

Giving data

How often does this survey take place?

Selected households stay in the survey for up to two years, with interviews taking place every three months up to a total of eight interviews.

How long will the interview take?

The average interview time per household is 20–40 minutes depending on whether supplementary questions are asked. Retired respondents 65 years and over are given a shortened questionnaire.

What types of questions are asked in the survey?

Questions include some data on all occupants – name, date of birth, sex, ethnic origin, country of birth, marital status, and all occupants over the age of 15 years are asked some questions on their employment status.

Once a year, between April and June, respondents are asked some additional questions on their income, and in other quarters there are sometimes additional questions on other topics. Recent topics covered include questions on internal migration, work-life balance, and internet use.

My obligations

Do I have to complete this questionnaire?

Under the Statistics Act 1975 you must provide the information requested by Statistics New Zealand. It is important that information from all of the households surveyed is accurately represented in the statistical results.

Will I be paid for providing information to Statistics New Zealand?

Providing information to Statistics New Zealand is a statutory obligation. There is no provision in the Statistics Act 1975 for people to be paid for providing information.

Will my information be shared with other government agencies?

The Statistics Act 1975 states that:

• all information collected under the Act must be used only for statistical purposes
• no information is released by Statistics New Zealand in a form that could enable the person or undertaking to whom it relates to be identified.

Consequently, Statistics New Zealand does not share your information with other government agencies. Other government agencies can provide their information to Statistics New Zealand, but only for statistical purposes. Statistics New Zealand sometimes undertakes a statistical survey jointly with another government department or government agency. In all cases, respondents are informed that it is a joint collection. You may object to information being passed to the other party by writing to Statistics New Zealand. Where this right is exercised, Statistics New Zealand withholds the information from the other party.