15. Activity status
[The French text says "Type of activity"]
[] 2 Unemployed, jobless
[] 3 Domestic/housewife
[] 4 Student
[] 5 Retired, pensioned
[] 6 Disabled, handicapped
[] 9 Other
Column (15): Type of Activity
133. The census enumerator (AR) will ask each member of the household aged 10 years and above in order to know what economic activity he or she had in the week preceding the census. According to the answers, the census enumerator (AR) will write:
In rural areas, farmers and their family helpers are employed (OCC) even if the census takes place during an inactive period (during the dry period, for example).
People who have been laid off or are on sick leave or other type of leave during the census are employed (OCC).
ST for without work, i.e., any person who does not have a job and would like to have one at the time of the census. This category is found in urban areas above all. In rural areas it is generally a question of paid agricultural workers (workers, unskilled agricultural laborers and others in the same category), if there are any, who do not find work at the time of the Census. However, a farmer (farmer-stockbreeder) who finds himself in the city for a determined amount of time for family, health or other reasons is considered employed (OCC).
A craftswoman (seamstress, for example) should be recorded in the "employed" (OCC) category, even if she does her sewing at home.
In rural areas most, perhaps even all women, should be recorded in the "employed" (OCC) category because, in addition to childcare and housework (cooking, finding food, maintaining the house, etc.) they are very active participants in agricultural work.
ELE or ETU for any person who is attending an academic institution: any primary school, high school or university student.
It should perhaps be clarified that for the census, any person who was involved strictly in learning/training during the week prior to the census should be included in the ELE-ETU category, even if that person is a civil servant who is in training, for example.
RET for retired, i.e., any person receiving benefits from a previous job.
However, a retired person who helps a relative in his work or who exercises an activity that pays him should be classified in the "employed" (OCC) category.
HAN for handicapped: any person who is afflicted with a serious physical or mental infirmity which prevents him/her from working.
AUT for any other type of activity not mentioned above. In this category, for example, are the following:
Children aged 10 years and above, who are neither OCC, nor ST, nor ELE, nor ETU;
Elderly persons, who do not receive any pension, and who cannot work at the time of the census, except if they are disabled or handicapped (HAN).
134. The following 3 columns, (16), (17) and (18) are relative to the branch of economic activity and professional status and will only be filled out for employed (OCC) and unemployed (ST) from column 15.
135. For housekeepers (MEN), high school students (ELE), university students (ETU), retired people (RET), the handicapped (HAN) and those in the category "other" (AUT), put a dash (--) in columns 16,17 and 18 without asking any questions, which would be pointless.