Questionnaire Text

Questionnaire form view entire document:  text  image
Residents of age six years and over
[Question 26 through 33 asked of resident persons aged 6 and older.]

28. Working status

[] 1 Working (occ)
[] 2 Unemployed (cho)
[] 3 Looking for first job (que)
[] 4 Homemaker (men)
[] 5 Student or pupil (etu)
[] 6 Retired (ret)
[] 7 Independent income (ren)
[] 8 Inactive, other (aut)
Questionnaire instructions view entire document:  text  image
Attention: Questions 26-32 apply only to residents of the household who are at least 6 years of age. Therefore, these questions do not apply to: visitors, any and all resident children (present or absent) who are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 years of age, or born in 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, or, 1993, or who were born between November 1 and December 31, 1992.
Resident children (present or absent) born between January 1 and October 31, 1992, are now 6 years of age; therefore, questions 26-32 apply to them.

Special case: For any child who is a resident (present or absent) and was born in 1992, without the month being specified, questions 26-32 apply. For resident children (present or absent) to whom questions 26-32 do not apply, draw a slash through column 26 and the following columns.

Question 28: Type of activity
The type of activity describes a person's status in regard to economic activity. Any person 6 years of age or older must be classified as either "active" or "inactive." The following are considered active: individuals who are employed, individuals who have lost their job and are currently seeking employment, and individuals seeking a first job. All other individuals are considered inactive (housewives, students, retirees, pensioners, other people outside the work force, etc.).

1 = OCC: Any person 6 years of age or older who reports having had paid employment or economic activity for a period of at least one week during the 4 weeks preceding the census taker's visit is considered to be employed. However, a person working at the time of the census is considered to be employed even if he or she has not worked during the reference period described above.

Note: In rural areas, farmers and the family members who assist them are considered to be employed even if the census takes place in a period of inactivity (between harvests, for example). People laid off or on leave (due to illness or other causes) at the time of the census are considered employed.

2 = CHO: Unemployed person. Any person 6 years of age or older, who has already worked, but who has lost his/her job and who is looking for a job at the time of the census is considered unemployed. The date of termination must not fall within the reference period. In rural areas, the unemployed will mainly include employees (workers, laborers, farmers, and the like) who do not find employment at the time of the census.
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3 = QUE: Seeking a first job. A person seeking a first job is any individual who has never worked and is currently looking for his/her first job.
4 = MEN: Homemaker. Any person, whether female or male, who deals exclusively with housework and children in his/her household or in the household of a relative, and who does not receive payment for this work, is considered a homemaker.

Note: A man or woman who performs housework for a living or in-kind salary is considered employed.

Example: Valets, Cooks, Nannies, Maids, Domestic servants, Chambermaids. A female craftsperson (seamstress or potter, for example) is considered employed even if she takes care of the household.

A woman who cultivates a plot of land or helps her husband with agricultural work (especially in rural areas), or who has an activity that earns some income (for example, small business in urban areas), is considered employed.
Any income-generating economic activity carried out by the interviewee should be given priority.

5 = ETU: Student. A student is a person who is registered and regularly attends a school or university and who does not normally engage in economic activity.
6 = RET: Retiree. Any person, male or female, who has ceased to engage in any economic activity and who, in connection with a previous economic activity, receives some form of retirement or disability pension, paid by a social security agency or by the state, is considered to be retired.
7 = REN: Person of independent means. Any person, male or female, who engages in no economic activity during the reference period and who is not seeking economic activity, but who instead derives income and livelihood from an annuity (interest due at more or less regular intervals from investments or from leased assets, such as renting land, fields, and/or buildings, the rental of certain economic facilities, etc.), is considered a person of independent means.
8 = AUT: Other inactive people. The category of other inactive people includes people of both sexes who do not engage in any economic activity, are not seeking economic activity during the reference period, and do not fall into any of the previous categories. Children 6 years of age and older fall into this category, as do those who have no occupation, i.e. the idle, priests, pastors, and imams, if they do not have any other occupation than preaching the word of God. If they are engaged in any economic activity, however, that activity must be given priority.

How to conduct the interview on the type of activity?
Never ask, "What is your type of employment?" but rather, "Are you currently working?"

1- If the answer is yes, select code 1 - OCC
2- If the answer is no, ask, "Have you ever worked?"
- If YES, ask: How long ago did you stop working?
a) If the termination date falls within the reference period (at least one week of work in the 4 weeks prior to the census taker's visit), circle 1- OCC.
b) If the termination date fell prior to the reference period, ask, "Are you looking for work?"
3-a) If "YES," circle code 2 - CHO
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3-b) If "no," ask: What are you currently doing? Depending on the answer or description, circle one of the codes corresponding to the inactive category:
4 = MEN, 5 = ETU, 6 = RET, 7 = REN, 8 = AUT
In the case of a "no" answer to the question, "Have you ever worked?" ask: Are you looking for your first job? If "YES," circle code 3 = QUE. If "no," ask: What are you currently doing? Depending on the answer or description, circle one of the codes corresponding to the inactive category:
4 = MEN, 5 = ETU, 6 = RET, 7 = REN, 8 = AUT

Regarding inactive individuals, ask follow-up questions to understand the true situation of the individual. For example, when interviewing a homemaker, ask whether housework is his/her only occupation or whether he/she also runs a small business, for example.