Definitions
Article 2
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions apply: (1) ‘main variable’ means a variable with a quarterly periodicity; (2) ‘structural variable’ means an annual, biennial, eight-yearly variable or a variable collected on an ad hoc subject; (3) ‘minimum set of variables’ means the variables to be collected for all household members to allow analyses both at household level and at individual level broken down by specific household characteristics; (4) ‘sample rotation scheme’ means the split of the total sample into sub-samples of observation units similar in size and design, used to specify the number of times and the exact reference quarters of the year for which an observation unit shall provide information in the survey; (5) ‘wave’ means the sub-sample of observation units due to be interviewed for the same nth time according to the sample rotation scheme in a reference quarter; (6) ‘uniform sample distribution of the annual sample’ with regards to all the reference quarters of the year means that each quarterly sample is the total annual sample divided by four; (7) ‘uniform sample distribution of the quarterly sample’ with regards to all the reference weeks of the quarter means that each weekly sample is the total quarterly sample divided by the number of the weeks of the quarter; the acceptable variation as specified in Article 6(2) and (3) applies to both distribution; (8) ‘sample of independent observations’ means a sample where each observation unit occurs only once according to the sample design; (9) ‘reliability limits’ mean estimated sizes of population groups below which figures have to be suppressed or published with warning; (10) ‘employed persons’ comprise persons aged 15 to 89 (in completed years at the end of the reference week) who, during the reference week, were in one of the following categories: (a) persons who during the reference week worked for at least 1 hour for pay or profit, including contributing family workers ( 6 ) ; (b) persons with a job or business who were temporarily not at work during the reference week but had an attachment to their job, where the following groups have a job attachment: — persons not at work due to holidays, working time arrangements, sick leave, maternity or paternity leave; — persons in job-related training; — persons on parental leave, either receiving and/or being entitled to job-related income or benefits, or whose parental leave is expected to be 3 months or less; — seasonal workers during the off-season, where they continue to regularly perform tasks and duties for the job or business, excluding fulfilment of legal or administrative obligations; — persons temporarily not at work for other reasons where the expected duration of the absence is 3 months or less; (c) persons that produce agricultural goods whose main part is intended for sale or barter. Persons in own-use production work, voluntary workers, unpaid trainees and individuals involved in other forms of work ( 6 ) are not included in employment on the basis of those activities; (11) ‘unemployed persons’ comprise persons aged 15 to 74 (in completed years at the end of the reference week) who were: (a) during the reference week not employed according to the definition of employment described in paragraph 10; and (b) currently available for work, i.e. were available for paid employment or self-employment before the end of the 2 weeks following the reference week; and (c) actively seeking work, i.e. had either carried out activities in the four-week period ending with the reference week to seek paid employment or self-employment or found a job to start within a period of at most 3 months from the end of the reference week. For the purposes of identifying active job search, such activities are: — studying job advertisements; — placing or answering job advertisements; — placing or updating CVs online; — contacting employers directly; — asking friends, relatives or acquaintances; — contacting a public employment service; — contacting a private employment agency; — taking a test, interview or examination as part of a recruitment process; and — making preparations to set up a business. Seasonal workers not at work during the reference week (off-season) but who expect to return to their seasonal job are to be considered as having ‘found a job’; (12) ‘persons outside the labour force’ comprise persons who were in one of the following categories: (a) aged below 15 (in completed years at the end of the reference week); (b) aged above 89 (in completed years at the end of the reference week); or (c) aged 15 to 89 (in completed years at the end of the reference week) and neither employed nor unemployed during the reference week according to the definitions of employment and unemployment described in paragraphs 10 and 11.