Ask only if the person is twelve years old or more

13. Principal activity

Last week, this person: Mark with an X one circle only.

Questions for persons who are twelve years old or more.

Questions: 11. Number of children; 12. Civil status; 13. Principal activity; 14. Principal Occupation; 15. Labor situation; 16. Hours; 17. Economic activity and 18. Income, will only be asked if the person about whom you are requesting information is 12 years old or more. If the person is a man, continue directly with the question about civil status. If the person is a woman, ask question 11. Number of children.

13. Principal activity

With this question you want to know the type of activity that the person was engaged in the week before the census, which means the week from March 5 to 11, 1990.

If the person carried out any type of economic activity, which means that he/she worked for an income, profit, pay, salary, days wages, or any other type of payment in money or goods, mark:

A person is paid in goods when instead of receiving money for his/her work, he/she receives, for example, products like beans, corn or other products.

For the purpose of the census, if a person carried out agricultural activities with the goal of obtaining products for his/her own consumption and consumption of his/her family, it is considered that:


If a person worked only a few hours a day, if he/she worked only a few days in the week or at least for one hour between March 5 to 11, 1990, you should mark:


If the person worked, in the week before the census, helping at a family business or shop without any pay, you should mark:




If the person worked, in the week before the census, as an apprentice or assistant in a business, store, or shop, you should also mark:




The answer 'had work, but did not work' should be marked if the person, during the week before the census, had work but:



In all of these cases, mark the option:




[p.35]
If the person actively looked for work in the week of March 5 to 11, 1990, mark:


Actively look for work means to fill out applications, look in the newspapers, go to places that offer work or ask friends or relatives if they know about any jobs.

A person can have employment and look for another job. If the person worked and looked for another job in the week of March 5 to 11, 1990, you should only mark:

Under no circumstances should you mark two answers.



If the person spent time exclusively as a student, dedicated to household chores, is retired or pensioned, is incapacitated permanently for work, or did not work for another reason, such as has rent income, savings, investments or is supported by another person, you should mark the corresponding answer.



In all of these cases you should be sure, before you mark the corresponding answer, that the person did not work, which means that he/she did not carry out any economic activity. If the person worked and also studied; or worked and also did household chores; or worked and is pensioned, you should only mark:


Remember that you should only mark one answer.

If the person answers for the week before the census:

If he/she answers:


You should ask the questions: 14. Principal occupation; 15. Labor situation; 16. Hours; 17. Economic activity; and 18. Income.

The questions of Principal Occupation, Labor situation, hours and Economic Activity refer to the job that the person carried out during the week before the census.

[p.43]
[Illustration]
I work as a flower vendor. I do not have an employer, I am self-employed. I work everyday, Monday through Sunday, from 8 in the morning until 6 P.M.. I sell my flowers in the street, on the street called "September 16", and I make about two hundred thousand pesos biweekly.

-I am a seamstress, I make dresses and blouses for my clients here in my house. I work six hours a day and I rest on Saturdays and Sundays. I make about eighty thousand pesos a week.


[End of illustration]