Codes and Frequencies
Description
This variable indicates the person's employment status according to an expanded definition of employment.
The number of employed persons is the same in both the official and expanded definitions of employment status and includes people who reported having engaged in any of the work activities listed on the census (questions P30a-g) for at least one hour during the 7 days prior to the census interview or who reported being temporarily out of work from a job to which they would return. Both the official and expanded definitions of employment status classify people who reported their status as student, housewife/homemaker, retired, ill/invalid/disabled, or too young/too old to work in reason for not working (categories 2 through 6 of WKWHYNOT) as "not economically active," and those who had found a new job beginning at a definite date in the future (category 1 of WKWHYNOT) as "unemployed." The difference between the official and expanded classification systems applies to people who reported other reasons for not working (categories 7 through 13 of WKWHYNOT). Under the expanded definition, people with other reasons for not working, who reported being available for work (WKAVAIL) within two weeks, are unemployed. (In contrast, the official definition of employment status imposes additional limitations based upon whether a person was looking for work or starting a business to qualify as unemployed).
People who did not report a reason for not working are in the Unknown category (=8).
Universe
- South Africa 2007: Persons age 15 to 65 who do not live in institutions
Availability
- South Africa: 2007
