18. Occupational category

Ask questions 15-19 only for those aged ten (10) years or older.

Question 18: occupational category

1. How to ask the question:

[p. 80]

Ask, "What professional category were you in, or what position did you have in the "principal occupation" category indicated in question 16?"

After you ask this question, slowly read the options until the person being enumerated determines which category he or she falls in. Keep in mind the definition of each option so that you can advise the person being enumerated.

1. Employer: this is a person who has or had one or more wage earners performing an economic activity, i.e., workers who receive payment in cash or kind. If the person does not have employees, he or she is not an employer.

2. Self-employed: this is a person who works for himself or herself, does not work for anyone else, and does not have any paid employees. A self-employed worker may receive help from family members and may work alone or with someone else.

3. Paid employee: this is someone who works for a public or private employer and who receives wages, commission, or compensation in kind in exchange for his or her work.

4. Unpaid family member: This is a person who performs unpaid work for an enterprise operated by a relative and who works for at least one-third of the work day. People who do domestic work or occasional work in the enterprise are not included in this category.

2. How to record the answer:
Mark an "X" in one of the options. Mark an "X" in box 9, "unknown," only if the respondent does not know the occupational category of a household member.

3. Example:
[This box contains question 18 of the section VI, "people in the census household."]