National Statistical Institute

Labour Force Statistics Department
 

Tsveta Kostova-Sevastiyanova

Head of department

2, P. Volov Str.; 1038 Sofia, Bulgaria
 

[email protected]

+359 2 9857 619

Main results from the Labour force survey ad-hoc module on self-employment.

The Labor force survey is a sample statistical survey carried out through households. The main purpose of the survey is to provide data on labour status of population aged 15 years and over and for the main characteristics of employed, unemployed and persons out of labour force in the Republic of Bulgaria. In 2017 an ad-hoc module on self-employment was incorporated in the regular Labour force survey.

The 2017 ad-hoc module provides statistical information about the self-employed persons - number and importance of clients, influence over working time, reasons for becoming self-employed, main difficulties in work etc., as well as information allowing comparison between employees and self-employed persons in regard of satisfaction and autonomy of their work.

The classifications applied in the Labour force survey are harmonised with the international classifications in terms of economic activities, occupations, educational attainment. The main classification used are the following:               

• Classification of Economic Activities - 2008, which is a Bulgarian version of NACE, Rev. 2 -  since 2008;
• National Classification of Occupations - 2011 (1st digit - occupational class), comparable to the International Standard Classification of Occupations – ISCO ’08 -  since 1 January 2011;
• International Classification of Status in Employment - ICSE-93;
• Classification of Territorial Units for Statistical Purposes in Bulgaria, harmonized with the European Classification of Territorial Units for Statistics - NUTS.

All persons aged 15 years and over living in the selected non-institutional households are covered by the Labour force survey. The target population for the ad-hoc module "Self -employment" consists of employed persons.

The Labour force survey provides estimates of the main characteristics of labour market as employment, unemployment, inactivity, occupations, economic activities, working time and other, as well as social-demographic characteristics as sex, age, place of residence (urban/rural), education etc.

The main definitions applied in the survey are in accordance with the recommendation of International Labour Organization (ILO) and EU legislation.

Employed are persons aged 15 and over who during the reference period:

- performed some work for at least one hour for pay in cash or in kind or other income;

- did not work but had a job or an enterprise, a business from which they were temporarily absent due to illness, annual leave, full-paid maternity leave, parental leave, strike or another labour dispute, etc.

Professional status. According to professional status the employed persons are classified in the following categories:

• employers - persons who work in their own enterprise, business, farm, professional practice and  employ at least one other person;
• self-employed  - persons who work in their own enterprise, business, farm, professional practice and do not employ any other person;
• employees - persons who work for a public or private employer and who receive wages (salaries), fees, remuneration by civil contract etc.;
• unpaid family workers - persons who work without pay in an enterprise, farm, owned and operated by a relative of the same households.

Economic activity. Economic activity is defined by the type of production or services provided by the local units of an enterprise, where a person works. Employed persons are classified by economic activity according to the Classification of Economic Activities - 2008, in force since 2008, which is comparable to NACE, Rev. 2. Aggregated economic activity groupings according to nomenclature A21 are used.

Economic sectors. The employed are classified by economic sectors by aggregating the data by economic activity as follows:

• The Agriculture and forestry sector includes Agriculture, hunting, forestry and Fishing;
• The Industry sector includes Mining and quarrying, Manufacturing, Electricity, gas , steam and air conditioning supply, Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities, Construction;
• The Service sector includes all other economic activities.

Persons living in private households.

Total population usually residing in Bulgaria, except persons living in collective households.

Target population of the ad-hoc module "Self-employment" are employed persons.

Whole territory of Republic of Bulgaria

2017

Not applicable

Number of persons - in thousands

Generally, for every person in the LFS sample the reference period is one calendar week (from Monday to Sunday). Some of the indicators of the 2017 ad-hoc module refer to the period of 12 months, prior to the end of reference week.

Not applicable

· Law on Statistics;

· Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics (provision 24 and Article 20 (4)) (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the necessity to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.

Individual anonymised data provided for the purposes of scientific research do not consist any administrative data as personal information and address and do not allow direct identification. Additional aggregation of data is performed for some of the variables.

In accordance with Article 25 of the Law on Statistics individual data are not published. Dissemination of individual data is possible only in accordance with Article 26 of the Law on Statistics.

The main results from the LFS ad-hoc module on self-employment were published on the NSI website on 20 June 2018.

Data are disseminated on the NSI website, section "Labour Market" in accordance with the Law on Statistics and European Statistics Code of Practice respecting professional independence and in an objective, professional and transparent manner in which all users are treated equitably.

Accessibility of all users to statistical data and equality of their rights are stipulated in the Regulation for dissemination of statistical products and services by the National Statistical Institute.

Once

Not available

Not available

The main results from the ad-hoc module "Self-employment" are available for all users at the NSI website www.nsi.bg, section "Labour Market", Labour Force Survey http://www.nsi.bg/en/content/16297/self-employment-ad-hoc-module-labour-force-survey-2017

Individual anonymous micro-data could be provided for scientific research purposes by individual request according to the Regulation of submission of anonymous individual data for scientific and research purposes

An information service could be  provided by request, according to the Rules for Dissemination of Statistical Information Products and Services

Labour force survey methodology: http://www.nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/metadata/LFS_Methodology_EN.pdf

Interviewer's instructions for ad-hoc module "Self-employment"

Eurostat's Explanatory notes for ad-hoc module "Self-employment" variables

Not published

Ensuring the quality of Labour Force Survey and its modules is according to the policy and Quality Management Programme of NSI.
 

The main users of LFS statistical data are:

· International organisations:

- European Commission - DG Employment and other Directorates;

- Eurostat - Labour Market unit and other units;

- European Central Bank;

- OECD;

- International Labour Organization;

- UNESCO;

- UNICEF.

· National users:

- Ministries and State agencies;

- Bulgarian National Bank;

- Trade Unions;

- Employers' organisations;

- Non-governmental organisations;

- Research institutions;

- Companies, agencies - for own marketing researches and consultancy activities.

Not available

All variables of ad-hoc module "Self-employment", specified in Commission  Implementing  Regulation  (EU)  2016/8  of 5  January  2016, were covered.

The sample used for the Labour force survey is a two-stage stratified cluster sample which includes quarterly about 19.6 thousand households (representing about 0.65% sampling rate).
The ad-hoc module on self-employment was carried out over a part (25%) of LFS sample in each quarter and consisted of the households from the third wave.

Due to the sampling approach used in the Labour force survey, the estimation of the parameters obtained from the survey could vary from those in the population due to sampling errors, errors due to non-response, errors in registration or processing etc.

Coefficients of variation (relative standard errors), and confidence intervals (i.e. the range of values that 95% of times would capture the true value in the population) are calculated for assessment of stochastic reliability of the estimates for main indicators.

The results from the ad-hoc module "Self-employment" were presented on 20 June 2018.
 

 Comparability across EU Member States is considered high due to use of harmonised concepts, variables, definitions and classifications.

Not applicable

The number of employed persons by professional status (employers, self-employed persons, employees) according to the ad-hoc module slightly differs from the corresponding average annual data from the Labour force survey due to use of subsample.

The average duration of the interview on the ad-hoc module "Self-employment" was about 9 minutes per person.

Households, persons
 

Data are collected through paper questionnaire and personal interview with persons from the selected households

The filled in questionnaires are coded (for economic activity, occupation, place of work, field of education etc.) and entered into computer in NSI regional offices. Data files are sent to NSI, where additional control and weighting is done. Data are aggregated by different variables (characteristics), tabulated and disseminated.

Plausibility checks are performed during the data entry. Additional consistency checks are carried out before publishing of data.

The filled in questionnaires are coded and entered into computer in NSI regional units. Data files are sent to NSI, where additional control and weighting was done. Data are aggregated by different variables (characteristics), tabulated and disseminated.

Not applicable