Questionnaire Text

Questionnaire form view entire document:  text  image

19. Occupation or condition of unemployment ____ _
Write the occupation or usual employment of the person. Examples: Farmer, doctor, carpenter, accountant, manual laborer, servant, etc. If the person does not work, write the unemployment condition: renter, pensioner, disabled, elderly, household domestic duties, student, etc. For those who are unemployed, write their last paid occupation.

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Occupation and condition of unemployment

Column No. 19 - What is your habitual occupation or craft? Occupation is understood as profession, craft or class of job that a person who is working does habitually or what a person who is unemployed did on the census date.

One should write down in this column of the form:

a) The habitual occupation of persons who are working on the census date.

b) The habitual occupation of persons who are found without work on the census date.


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c) The condition of persons who do not work because of being of being under age, elderly or invalids, rentiers, pensioned, or who do domestic duties without remuneration, etc.


Habitual occupation. - The habitual occupation of a person, that is, the occupation to which the most time is dedicated should be written down. When a person has many occupations and it is hard for them to know in which the most time is spent, the occupation that produces the greatest incomes should be written down.

In this column, the complete name of the occupation should be written down in a manner that clearly indicates the class or craft or task that is done. In many occupations it is necessary to employ more than one word to be able to describe them correctly, like "wholesale storekeeper", "engineer of mines", "automobile greaser", "retail storekeeper", "upholsterer of furniture", etc., single names like "storekeeper", "engineer", "greaser", "upholsterer", etc indicate nothing respective of the specific occupation. Equally, generic names should not be employed like "manual laborer", "white collar worker", "industrial", etc., since they also do not correctly define the occupation correctly. In some occupations like those of accountant, typist, superintendent, etc., this single name describes the craft or task correctly and therefore can be written down without other specification.

The habitual occupation also should be registered for persons interned temporarily in hospitals, clinics, as also those who are found detained for police reasons.

Occupation of family helpers. - For members of a family (spouse, children relatives) who collaborate in the economic company of the Head of the family or other relative during a time less than two days a week, 10 days a month or 4 months a year, without pay or fixed daily wages, they should be written down as the same occupation as the Head of family or the relative who they help.

Food, in these cases, should not be considered remuneration.

Secondary remunerated occupations: For students, housewives and the rest of persons whose principal activity is not remunerated but who at the same time has a secondary occupation that permits them some monetary income, this last occupation should be registered even though they only do it on some days or some hours a day.

Agricultural occupations. - The following occupations should be distinguished as agricultural occupations:

Farmer: The person who directs the planting and collection of crops, either on private property or for a third party company without depending on other persons.

Also family helpers who work on the farm of the Head of family or relative are farmers, without pay or fixed daily wage and during a time not shorter than two days a week, 10 days a month or 4 months a year.

Administrator of a farm: A person who directs jobs of an agricultural or livestock farm, and for it receives remuneration from the corresponding owner or from the manager of the farm.

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Foreman of the farm: A person who directs a group of agricultural manual laborers, controls their jobs and for this receives remuneration.

Agricultural manual laborer: A person who works as a worker in a farm for a daily wages in money, products or both.

The rest of the occupations of persons who work in farms as helpers in the agricultural labors should be registered as their specific names, such as: Agronomist Engineer, Farm Pilot, Tractor driver, and the same with the personnel of administration and services: Mechanic, Accountant, Inspector, Typist, Servant, etc.

Are you looking for work for the first time?

The cases of persons who on the census date because of not having worked before are found looking for work for the first time should be written down. The annotation will be made in the same column 19, as: "B. T. X. 1a vez"

Condition of inactivity. - For a persons who do not work due to conditions of age, health or are dedicating their time to study in education centers, domestic duties, or those who live on investments or pensions and do not have a remunerated occupation, the condition of inactivity that corresponds to them, in accordance with the following names should be registered:

Home: Women who without having a remunerated occupation do domestic duties.

Minor: A person younger than 14 years who does not study and does not have an occupation.

Student: A person who studies in an education establishment and does not have a remunerated occupation.

Elderly person: A person who cannot work because of age.

Invalid: A person who cannot carry out a job because of a physical incapacity.

Rentier: A person without remunerated occupation who lives from the product of investments or stocks.

Pensioned: A person without remunerated occupation who lives on a pension supplied by official and private entities.

Interned: A person who resides and is attended in a social institution of health, like mental hospitals, sanitariums, old peoples home, hospices, etc.

Imprisoned: A resident in jails where they complete a sentence. They should not be confused with a simple detainee.

Religious person: Persons of both sexes who live in convents.


For persons who are found in collective residences (barracks, convents, hospitals, boarding schools, etc.) the habitual occupation, grade, title or condition should be registered, for example: administrator, superintendent, servant, lieutenant, sergeant, corporal, soldier, student, priest, etc.

Persons who do not work should not be confused with those who having worked in some part of the census year, are found without a job or employment on the official day of the census. Equally, these last persons also should not be confused with those looking for a job for the first time, such as persons who finished their studies and are looking for work.