Questionnaire Text

Questionnaire form view entire document:  text  image

Section 6: Economic activity
[Persons age 14 and older]

[Go to Question 8.1 for persons younger than 14 years]


6.9. How much do you / does [the respondent] earn from your/his/her job?

Ask Question 6.9 only if the person had a job during the past week (see Question 6.1) and is not an unpaid worker (see Question 6.3)

[] Not stated


a) Weekly:

[] Less than $100
[] $100-199
[] $200-299
[] $300-399
[] $400-499
[] $500-749
[] $750-999
[] $1,000+


b) Monthly:

[] Less than $400
[] $400-799
[] $800-1,199
[] $1,200-1,599
[] $1,600-1,999
[] $2,000-2,999
[] $3,000-3,999
[] $4,000+


c) Annually:

[] Less than $5,000
[] $5,000-9,999
[] $10,000-19,999
[] $20,000-39,999
[] $40,000-59,999
[] $60,000-99,999
[] $100,000+

Questionnaire instructions view entire document:  text  image

Section 6 - Economic Activity

5.63 General
Section 6 is comprised of Questions 6.1 - 6.9 and should be asked of persons 14 years and over. The main purpose of this section is to determine which individuals were in the WORKING FORCE of the country at some point in time. Questions 6.1 - 6.6 and Question 6.9 relate to the week preceding the census while Questions 6.7 - 6.8 relate to the preceding twelve months. The most difficult and perhaps important of the concepts here is that of WORK. It is essential therefore that you understand fully the precise definition of the term WORK in this context and that this meaning should be made clear to respondents by the method of questioning them.

5.64 Definition of Work
(a) Work includes:
Work with pay, that is:
(i) Work for others for a wage or salary including commission or tips. Work may be done either in the employment of the government, a business organization, some private or public organization or an individual. (This corresponds to the categories - Paid Employee of Government, Private Enterprise or Private Home - Q6.3).
(ii) Work as trainee (such as nurses in training) or apprentice (persons at trade)
(iii) Work for self in one's own business (including farm) which is run for profit or fees but does not employ paid help.
(This corresponds to Own Business Without Paid Employee - Q6.3)
(iv) Work for self in one's own business (including farm) which is run for profit or fees and employs paid help.

(This corresponds to Own Business With paid Employees - Q6.3).

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(b) Work without pay in a business or farm which is run for profit, that is:
(i) Work without pay in a business or farm run for profit (usually by a relative), in cases where the individual is either supported by the owner or obtains some benefits other than cash from the running of the business (see Unpaid Worker at Q6.3).
(ii) Work as an unpaid helper in a business or other organization, in cases where the respondent is learning a trade or profession in this way, with a view to engaging in work for pay (see Unpaid Worker at Q.6.3).

Do not include in "working" those persons who:
(i) Work without money or pay for a relative or other person at tasks which did not contribute to the operation of a farm or of a business e.g. housework, gardening, odd jobs around the house or yard such as painting the fence, etc.
(ii) Work without pay assisting a relative or friend in his duties as an employee.
(iii) Work without pay either in cash or in kind as a volunteer worker for service organizations or church groups - such as the Red Cross, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, Society for the Blind, Operation Workshop, etc.

Note also that WORK must relate to work in Jamaica. It includes, however, those persons who are residing in the territory but are on boats, ships, airplanes, etc., which may operate outside of the territory, as well as travelling salesmen, consultants, etc. Also included are persons going as contract workers to the U.S.A. for a few months to work on farms there during the crop season. Other persons who live and work outside of the country should not be classified as having worked with respect to the time they were resident outside of the country.


5.74 The meaning of Income
What is required here is income from employment for persons who worked or had a job during the week preceding the Census. The question relates to income from employment only and excludes gifts, rents from property, interest and dividends, pensions and any other income other than income obtained directly from employment.
It is intended to include all income from employment, that is, income from different jobs where a person has had more than one job at the same time. Add together the income from the different jobs. In special cases, even a person classified in Q6.3 as an "Unpaid Worker" may have an income, for the classification in Q6.3 relates to his activity during the first week of April only, and he might be receiving an income from regular job.

In general there are two types of income to be dealt with depending on whether the person worked for others or for himself. Persons who worked for others for pay, i.e. for wages and salaries, should give their gross income, including any overtime payments, commission, bonuses, etc. Income should include any deductions which are generally made such as Income Tax, National Insurance, National Housing-Trust, Health Schemes, and any other. That is, it should be income before deductions.
For self-employed persons (employers and own account workers) on the other hand, what is required is their net receipts, that is, their total gross receipts less any wages and salaries they have to pay people working in the business, and other business expenses. It is appreciated that persons in these categories will not often be able to give their net income with absolute

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accuracy, but you must make every effort to help them to give as accurate a figure as possible.
In particular, many self-employed persons and some wage and salary earners might not be able to give a reasonable income figure for a short period, such as a week or a month. For example, a cane farmer who reaps his cane once per year may have to give his income for the past year, for if he gives his income for a week or month, and the period excludes the time when he received this payment, the average income will be under-stated. On the other hand if it includes this payment, the average income will be overstated. Similarly, a wage earner who regularly receives an annual bonus would need either to give all his income for the year or else add a proportional part of his annual bonus to his monthly or weekly income.
There will, therefore, be some difficulty in ensuring that you obtain the accurate income for persons who receive income for different periods or from different sources.
Remember that many people do not like to tell others how much money they earn; often they do not tell this even to their own family or friends. You must therefore be tactful if you are to get the questions answered correctly and willingly.


5.75 Question 6.9 Income from Employment
Question 6.9 identifies three different pay periods. Pay-period indicates the length of time the amount of money scored refers to.
You must decide what is the most convenient pay-period in which to record the person's income, and mark this. The most convenient pay-period for you to use would usually be the one in which the person receives most of his income. For example, in the case of the wage-earner who is paid weekly and gets no other income, then the pay-period should be the week. Similarly, the month would be the most convenient pay-period for the person who receives only a monthly income.

It is also recognized that many self-employed persons and some wage and salary earners might not be able to give a reasonable income figure for a short period, such as a week or a month. In such case the most convenient pay-period will be the year.