A Researcher’s Guide to the Labour Force Survey: Its Evolution and the Choice of Public Use versus Master Files

Abstract

To balance researchers’ need for detailed information with respondents’ confidentiality concerns, statistical agencies such as Statistics Canada commonly offer two versions of the same dataset: a public use file that is readily available and a master file with richer information but to which access is restricted. This article examines the choice of using public use versus master files of the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The article also provides researchers with a unified source of LFS information, including a thorough discussion of the structure of the LFS and its implication for research, such as the creation of mini-panels.