Adaptation of Statistics Canada and Eurostat methodologies for variance estimation of changes of the main labour force indicators in Iran

Abstract

The changing values of the indicators obtained from national labour force surveys provide analysts and planners with valuable information on the fluctuations of the labour market of the country. Labour force surveys in many countries follow the standards established by the International Labour Organization, and, as a result, tend to be similar in various respects. Given these similarities, the procedures used by the statistical organizations of Canada and the European Union are examined in this paper for the development of variance estimates of changes of the labour force indicators in Iran. While the survey in Iran and those in the countries under study have many similarities, they also differ in certain respects, namely, in terms of the periodicity of the survey, the rotation pattern as well as the unit of rotation, and the possible existence of non-response among the primary sampling units. Here, first, the methodologies of Statistics Canada and Eurostat are modified and adapted to the particularities of the labour force survey in Iran. Then, the results are compared. Among the four methods examined, the bootstrap methodology of Statistics Canada, after some modifications and adaptations, is found to be especially suitable for application in the labour force survey of Iran and, perhaps, in other counties with similar conditions. The proposed methodology can, particularly well, take into account the impact of the various steps of weight calculations on the variance estimates of change of the main labour force indicators.