Residents of age six years and over
[Question 26 through 33 asked of resident persons aged 6 and older.]
30. Current occupation
Ask the question: What kind of work are you doing now? Record the answer on the dotted lines. E.g.: mason, taxi driver. For unemployed persons, record the last occupation. ____
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 30: Current occupation
The current occupation of an individual who has declared himself or herself to be "employed" under Column 28 refers to the type of work he/she is doing at the time of the census or that he/she did for at least one week during the 4-week period prior to the census taker's visit to the household. The current occupation of an "employed" individual during the reference period (the last 4 weeks before the date of the census taker's visit to the household) refers to:
a) "the position held" or the "duty performed," in the general case of the salaried worker;
b) the "trade practiced," in the case of a self-employed artisan or manual worker practicing his/her trade, or in the case of a self-employed professional;
(c) economic activity conducted in the fields of retail, crafts, small- and medium-sized industry, transportation, agriculture, livestock and fishing, and the provision of various services, usually on a self-employment basis or as an employer or manager.
How to conduct the interview on current occupation?
For a person recognized as employed (Q28 = 1 OCC), ask the following question:
[p.40]
"What position, duty, or economic activity have you performed in the last 4 weeks (the reference period)?"
The answer must be related to the work actually done by the person and not to what he or she is able to do, i.e., to his or her training.
If the person has engaged in more than one economic activity during the reference period, ask them to tell you which one they think is most substantial, and write that activity on the questionnaire. Do not include anything, however, in the coding grid.
For a person recognized as unemployed, i.e., a person who has worked in the past but who is out of work and looking for employment during the reference period, ask the following question:
"What is the last trade, what is the last duty or position, or what is the last economic activity you did before you were left without work?"
The guidelines described above remain applicable for collection of the correct answer, which must be transcribed in full on the questionnaire. You must be as precise as possible in indicating the economic activity practiced; for example, you must write:
- "banana planter," "coffee planter," "cacao planter," but never "planter";
- "subsistence farming," "rice planter," "peanut planter," "cattle farmer," "sheep farmer," "goat farmer," but never "farmer," "crop farmer," "livestock farmer," or "planter";
- "elementary school teacher," "middle school teacher," "instructor," but not "teacher";
- "prefect," "minister," "secretary-general," "director general";
- "jeweler," "cabinet maker," "carpenter," "blacksmith," "shoe repairer," "mason," "tanner," "weaver," "dyer," but never "craftsperson";
- "donut seller," "peanut seller," "kola nut seller," "fishmonger," "butcher," "street peddler," but never "salesperson";
- "auto mechanic," "motorcycle mechanic," but never "mechanic";
- "physician," "legal practitioner," "university professor," "certified high school teacher," but never "doctor" or "professor";
- "electrical engineer," "statistician," "agricultural engineer," "civil engineer," "electromechanical engineer," "water and forestry engineer," but never "engineer," "doctor of engineering," "engineering aide," "assistant engineer," or "works engineer";
- "taxi driver," "bus driver," "agricultural machine driver," "private driver," "truck driver," but never "driver," "chauffeur."
- "farm worker," but never "laborer," etc.