Study title

Labour Force Survey 1999 - merged year file. As of the 1st quarter of 1972, SSB has conducted official quarterly labour force surveys (AKU). These surveys aim to give the labour force authorities (and other people interested) knowledge of the occupational structure of the population and how it develops over time. The surveys are meant to give a foundation and statistical material for occupational prognoses and labour research. The samples in AKU are from 1992 representative at county level. In the period 1972-1991 they were representative on county pair level. Originally, AKU respondents were interviewed in two consecutive quarters of a year, followed by a pause of two quarters, and then another two quarters of interviews. The sample was approximately 10-11.000 respondents in each quarter up until 1988. Originally, AKU was intended to be an analytical supplement to the monthly occupational statistics that was based on the social security membership index file. However, the social security-based statistics disappeared when the sickness benefit was included in the National Insurance as of 1st of January 1971, and AKU has after gradually developed into the most significant source of knowledge of the state of the labour market and its development. In 1975, Statistics Norway changed the sampling frame of survey research, see article 37: “Om bruk av stikkprøver ved kontoret for intervjuundersøkelser”, SSB (About the Use of Random Samples at the Office for Survey Research, Statistics Norway) by Steinar Tamsfoss, and SØS 33: “Prinsipper og metoder for Statistisk sentralbyrås utvalgsundersøkelse (Principles and Methods for Statistics Norway's sample research) by Ib Thomsen. Simultaneously, the method for estimation of inflation to national numbers was changed, so that reasonable numbers for regions do exist from 1975 and onwards. The change in 1975 led to a different way of interviewing in groups. This caused amongst other things a break with the AKU panel...