Statistical presentation

Data description

KAS is published annually with an averaging of the populations main attachment to the labour market per quarter in the year.

In KAS the population can be divided into three main groups:

• Employed persons
• Unemployed persons
• Persons outside the labour force

The statistic is published with background information that are attached to either the person or the work place where the person is employed. Information about the person are:

• demographic information (gender, age, ancestry)
• educational information (status of education)

The information about the work place are among others:

• industry
• sector
• workplace address

Classification system

The Quarterly Labour Market Status (KAS) is based on the Labour Market Account (LMA). LMA is a longitudinal register which contains information about the populations primary attachment to the labour market on every day of the year. LMA classifies the populations primary attachment to the labour market according to international guidelines from ILO (International Labour Market Organization). The classification is called ICSE (International Classification of Status in Employment). The ILO guidelines is focuses on survey based statistics. The guidelines are therefore operationalized to use for LMA since it is a register-based statistics. The purpose of KAS is to measure employment and the labour force, and therefore, according to the ILO, a short reference period shall be used.The ILO guidelines consist of e.g. a set of rules for prioritizing the main connection to the labour market. The guidelines prescribes that employment has higher priority than unemployment and other activities outside of the labour force. On the basis of these guidelines the key variable in AMR and KAS socioeconomic status is thus formed.

Socio-economic status In LMA and KAS, a short reference period is used.

Overall, the population is divided into three groups:

• Employed
• Unemployed
• Persons outside the labour force

Employed persons perform work for at least one hour during the reference week and who are employed on the last working day of November. The employed are either employees, self-employed, or assisting spouses. For the self-employed and assisting spouses, information on the number of working hours is not available, and they are therefore identified on the basis of performing work that generates income. The self-employed are persons who own a personally owned business, typically a sole proprietorship or a partnership. Assisting spouses are persons who receive a share of the business profits from their spouse. Assisting spouses with a salary agreement are counted as employees. Persons who are temporarily absent are also counted as employed. This applies to employees with temporary absences of less than 45 days, as well as employed persons who are temporarily absent due to illness exceeding the employer’s period or on parental leave, but who maintain a permanent connection to an employer.

The socio-economic status of employees follows a skill level based on the DISCO-08 occupational classification. Employees are thus divided into the following groups:

• Employees with managerial responsibilities
• Employees at the highest level
• Employees at the intermediate level
• Employees at basic level
• Other employees
• Employees not specified (u.n.a.)

The skill level can be achieved through formal education as well as through training and practice. For a description of the levels, principles and codes of the occupational classification, see Danish Statistics Occupational Classification (DISCO-08). Information on the skill level of employees working for the state, municipalities or regions is taken from the wage statistics for the state and municipal sectors, respectively. For privately employed employees, the information is either taken from the wage statistics for the private sector or is generated by imputation based on, among other things, the highest level of education completed and the industry in which the person is employed.

Activated persons who are in supported employment and receive a salary (A-income subject to labor market contributions) are also counted as employed. This includes persons in wage-subsidized jobs, flex jobs, sheltered jobs, service jobs, adult apprentices, and persons undergoing vocational rehabilitation. Persons in company internships do not receive a salary and are therefore not counted as employed.

The primary attachment to the labor market is determined based on the international guidelines from the ILO (International Labour Organization). These guidelines include, among other things, a set of priority rules, where employment is given higher priority than unemployment, and unemployment is given higher priority than other states outside the labor market.

Employed persons, together with unemployed persons, constitute the economically active population – the labour force.

Unemployed persons include persons who, during the reference period:

• are not in work
• are available for work, and
• are seeking work.

Similar to the official unemployment statistics, the unemployed in RAS are calculated as gross unemployed persons. Gross unemployed persons consist of activated recipients of unemployment benefits and social assistance who are assessed as ready for work, as well as net unemployed persons, who are unemployed recipients of unemployment benefits and social assistance who are assessed as ready for work. Read more on Statistics Denmark's website Unemployment concepts. Gross unemployed persons who are activated in a paid job are counted as employed in RAS.

Persons outside the labour force also include old-age pensioners, persons in education, children and youth, as well as the group "other persons outside the labor force." The "other persons outside the labor force" is a residual category that cannot be placed in a socioeconomic category based on information in Statistics Denmark's registers. This group may consist of:

• Homemakers
• Young people supported by their parents
• Persons who earn a living from undeclared work
• Discouraged unemployed persons who have given up seeking work and are not registered as unemployed

States and activities outside the labor force are prioritized based on the reliability of the underlying information and the degree of potential attachment to the labor market. The prioritized order is as follows:

• Persons receiving public support: persons employed without pay, persons undergoing guidance and upskilling, recipients of vocational rehabilitation benefits, maternity or sickness benefits during unemployment, social assistance, introduction benefits, early retirement, and flex benefits. If a person receives multiple types of public support, the state with the highest number of weekly hours is chosen as the primary connection to the labor market.
• Persons in education
• Children and youth (i.e., persons under 16 years of age)
• Recipients of old-age pension or other pensions
• Other persons outside the labor force

Industrial Classification DB07 The statistic follows the Danish Industrial Classification of all Economic Activities 2007 (DB07).

Sector KAS can be distributed on sectors according to ESA2010

Municipalities KAS is published at municipality level in StatBank Danmark.

Sector coverage

The statistic covers all sectors.

Statistical concepts and definitions

Employment rate: The number of employed persons as a proportion of a given population group

Activity rate: The number of individuals in the labor force (employed and unemployed) as a proportion of a given population group

Statistical unit

Averaging of the number of persons in the population.

Statistical population

The population is persons in the population.

Reference area

Denmark, by Regions, Provinces and Municipalities.

Time coverage

2008-2024 for employed persons and 2017-2024 for labour market status.

Base period

Not relevant.

Unit of measure

Persons.

Reference period

KAS is an annual statistic which provides an average of the population's primary attachment to the labour market quarterly and yearly.

Frequency of dissemination

The statistic is published annually.

Legal acts and other agreements

§ 6 in Law about Statistics Denmark.

Cost and burden

The statistics is compiled on administrative and statistical registers. Therefore there is no response burden.

Comment

More information about KAS on employment