D. For persons age 10 years and above
[Questions 15-17 were asked of persons age 10 years and older.]

16. What was [the respondent]'s main activity in occupation during the last 12 months?

Section D: For persons aged 10 years and above
Section D deals with employment questions. These questions shall be asked to all who is 10 years and above. For children, less than 10 years of age, tick the box "under 10" in question 14, and leave questions 15 -- 19 blank.
Three different questions are asked to collect labor market information. The questions are interrelated and the purpose of each question must be clearly understood. Explain to the respondent that you will start by asking information on his/her employment status, then his/her profession and lastly about the sector s/he was working in.

Question 16: What was [the respondent]'s main occupation during the last twelve months?
The purpose of this question is to collect information on the occupation of the respondent.
This question is put to persons coded 01 to 07 in question 15, i.e. paid employees, employers, own account workers and unpaid family workers. Tick alternative "9" for all others.
Occupation refers to the type of work, trade or profession performed by an individual during the last 12 months, irrespective of the industry or status in employment of the individual. Where multiple occupations are common, the main or usual occupation should be determined. This is done by determining the duration of work in each occupation during the last 12 months.
For persons with more than one occupation at the same time, record the person's main occupation - where s/he spends most of the time.
The four most common occupations are available as tick-box alternatives. If a person has one of those occupations, tick the appropriate box. If a person has another occupation, tick alternative "4 other" and write a short description of the type of work the person performed for most of the last twelve months preceding the census night. The type of work should be recorded as fully as possible, e.g. grocery retailed seller, wood carpenter, key punch operator, motor vehicle mechanic, panel beating foreman etc. Avoid unclear descriptions as operator, foreman etc. If the occupation in very rare cases is not known, tick alternative "9", and write "not known".