Who/what is surveyed: subset of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) sample; namely, persons employed as paid workers at some time during the previous year

How the data is collected: subsample of the LFS consisting usually of 31,000 households; data collected mainly by telephone interviews

Geographic detail: Canada, provinces

Demographic detail: age, sex, marital status and family relationships

Information collected:
1. number of absences of two or more weeks
2. reason for the two most recent absences and their duration
3. types of compensation received from most recent absence
4. number of weeks each type of compensation was received

Frequency: annual supplement to the February Labour Force Survey

Sample size: 31,000 households

Data availability: data are consistent since 1977

Reference period: Previous calendar year

Release dates: three months after collection

Response rates: 95%

What makes the data valuable:
1. very timely information
2. provides detailed compensation data
3. can be linked to data from the Labour Force Survey

Related surveys or data:
The Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics and the Labour Force Survey also provide data on absences from work.

Products and services:
Microdata user's guide 75M0007GPE

Responsible division: Income Statistics