Tony Gregory
Ceist:33 Mr. Gregory asked the Taoiseach the plans, if any, he has to make unemployment statistics available on a quarterly basis. [8320/95]
Written Answers. - Unemployment Statistics.
The Labour Force Survey, which is the definitive source of comprehensive information on employment and unemployment, is conducted annually. The survey provides many analyses of the labour market situation including, inter alia, benchmark estimates of the standardised unemployment rate, SUR, for April of each year, calculated according to ILO guidelines.
The live register provides a monthly indicator of trends in unemployment. A monthly SUR series is compiled by applying the monthly trends in the numbers on the live register to the benchmark April SUR estimates from the labour force survey. This monthly SUR series is included in the main monthly live register release. The CSO publishes two other live register analyses each month: the area analysis and the flow analysis.
The Central Statistics Office, in conjunction with the National Statistics Board, is examining the feasibility and cost of carrying out a sub-annual household survey covering labour force as well as additional social topics. Interested parties are being consulted for their views on both the frequency and contents of the survey.