Labour Market Activities:

Part A – Plain Language Definition

Not applicable

Part B – Detailed Definition

Refers to whether persons were, during the week (Sunday to Saturday) prior to Census Day (May 15, 2001), (a) on temporary lay-off from a job to which they expected to return or (b) absent from their job or business for the entire week. Reasons for absence included a vacation, an illness, a strike or lock-out at the respondent's place of employment, or other reasons, including maternity leave, bad weather, fire, personal or family responsibilities, and attendance at training courses if wages or salaries were received from the employer. Data were collected for persons who did not work for pay or in self-employment in the week prior to enumeration.

This variable is used to derive the respondent's labour force activity status. Other than for specialized research in consultation with census labour market analysts, the use of this variable on its own is not recommended.

Censuses: 2001 (1/5 sample), 1996 (1/5 sample), 1991 (1/5 sample), 1986 (1/5 sample), 1981 (1/5 sample), 1976 (1/3 sample), 1971 (1/3 sample)

Reported for: Population 15 years of age and over, excluding institutional residents, who did not work for pay or in self-employment in the week prior to enumeration

Question No.: Direct variable: Question 35

Responses: No; Yes, on temporary lay-off from a job to which this person expects to return; Yes, on vacation, ill, on strike or locked out, or absent for other reasons

Remarks:

1. In 1971 and 1976, two separate questions were asked, one on lay-off and the second on absence. All persons 15 years of age and over, including those who worked for pay or in self-employment in the week preceding the census, as well as institutional residents, were asked these two questions and were included in the data.

2. In 1981, persons were considered to be on temporary lay-off from a job to which they expected to return if the length of their lay-off did not exceed 26 weeks. In 1971 and 1976, this period was restricted to 30 days. For 1986, 1991, 1996 and 2001, there was no limit to the lay-off period.

3. For information on the comparability between the census and the Labour Force Survey data, refer to Appendix E.

4. For additional information, see the Labour Market Activities: Employed (in Reference Week), the Labour Market Activities: Unemployed (in Reference Week) and the Labour Market Activities: Not in the Labour Force (in Reference Week) definitions.

5. For information on how each of the components of the Labour Force Activity variable is derived, see Appendix F.