Non-standard forms of employment
How many people work on a temporary contract, for only a few hours per week, through digital platforms, or have more than one job? Non-standard forms of employment refer to work arrangements that differ from the traditional permanent full-time position, as well as from self-employed individuals with employees. Here, you can gain insight into how widespread selected atypical forms of employment are among employed people in Denmark and follow developments over time.
Selected statistics on Non-standard forms of employment
Prevalence and development in non-standard forms of employment
The figure shows the prevalence and development of selected forms of non-standard forms of employment. Five indicators are included, each describing a different type of employment and presented as a share of either all employed persons or employees only. The indicators are not mutually exclusive, meaning that the same individual may be included in more than one indicator.
Read about the individual indicators in the methodology documentation (pdf) in danish
The Labour Force Survey is quarterly based on a stratified sample. The sample was reduced in the 1st quarter of 2016. The reduction will be implemented successively and the sample size will be reduced from 40,532 individuals to 34.320 persons aged 15 to 74 years in the 1st quarter of 2017 when the reduction is fully implemented. Until the year 2020 the LFS has been collected at the individual level for 15-74-year-olds. From 2021 the population has changed to also include the age group from 75-89 years. On a quarterly basis the sample has thus increased from 34,320 people to 36,020 people.
In 2022q1, a new stratification was introduced in the LFS. Register data on employment and register unemployment are utilized to a greater extent, in order to obtain a greater number of responses in some of the groups that suffer from low response rates. For starters, the population is divided into four groups: 1) in stable employment, 2) in registered unemployment, 3) neither in stable employment nor registered unemployment and 4) persons aged 75 to 89. In addition, groups 1 and 3 are divided into the age groups 15-29, 30-64 and 65-74. This results in eight different strata, which are used in the sample selection from 2022q1 onwards. As the LFS consists of four panels, each appearing for six quarters, this stratification was fully implemented in Q2 2023.
The sample is weighted to represent the population as it was at the end of the previous quarter. Different administrative resources are used to select the sample. Administrative sources are also used to obtain various background information on the people interviewed, for example on educational level or workplace.
These registers (among others) are being used for the Labour Force Survey:
- Central Population Register (CPR)
- Population Register
- The Register of Labour Market Statistics (RAM)
- Register based-labour force statistics (RAS)
- Education classification (DISCED)
- Employees
- Register of income
- Business statistics register
Employed persons with multiple jobs and fee-based income
Starting from the publication on April 28, 2015, RAS is based on the Labor Market Account (AMR_UN), which is a longitudinal register. In this context, RAS has been revised back to November 2008. At the same time, the dating of the statistics was changed, so that it is now dated according to the reference point at the end of November. This means that the most recent assessment is labeled as the end of November 2024, whereas previously it would have been labeled 2025.
Data in AMR_UN come from a number of other sources:
- The eIncome Register
- The Business Statistics Register
- The Statistics on People Receiving Public Benefits
- The Education Statistics
- The Income Statistics
- The Population Statistics
- The Maternity and Sickness Benefits Statistics
- The Occupational Classification Module
Before 2008, the basic data for employees came from the central information form register at SKAT, and these data were not longitudinal.
Self-employed without employees
Starting from the publication on April 28, 2015, RAS is based on the Labor Market Account (AMR_UN), which is a longitudinal register. In this context, RAS has been revised back to November 2008. At the same time, the dating of the statistics was changed, so that it is now dated according to the reference point at the end of November. This means that the most recent assessment is labeled as the end of November 2024, whereas previously it would have been labeled 2025.
Data in AMR_UN come from a number of other sources:
- The eIncome Register
- The Business Statistics Register
- The Statistics on People Receiving Public Benefits
- The Education Statistics
- The Income Statistics
- The Population Statistics
- The Maternity and Sickness Benefits Statistics
- The Occupational Classification Module
Before 2008, the basic data for employees came from the central information form register at SKAT, and these data were not longitudinal.
Involuntary part-time employment
The Labour Force Survey is quarterly based on a stratified sample. The sample was reduced in the 1st quarter of 2016. The reduction will be implemented successively and the sample size will be reduced from 40,532 individuals to 34.320 persons aged 15 to 74 years in the 1st quarter of 2017 when the reduction is fully implemented. Until the year 2020 the LFS has been collected at the individual level for 15-74-year-olds. From 2021 the population has changed to also include the age group from 75-89 years. On a quarterly basis the sample has thus increased from 34,320 people to 36,020 people.
In 2022q1, a new stratification was introduced in the LFS. Register data on employment and register unemployment are utilized to a greater extent, in order to obtain a greater number of responses in some of the groups that suffer from low response rates. For starters, the population is divided into four groups: 1) in stable employment, 2) in registered unemployment, 3) neither in stable employment nor registered unemployment and 4) persons aged 75 to 89. In addition, groups 1 and 3 are divided into the age groups 15-29, 30-64 and 65-74. This results in eight different strata, which are used in the sample selection from 2022q1 onwards. As the LFS consists of four panels, each appearing for six quarters, this stratification was fully implemented in Q2 2023.
The sample is weighted to represent the population as it was at the end of the previous quarter. Different administrative resources are used to select the sample. Administrative sources are also used to obtain various background information on the people interviewed, for example on educational level or workplace.
These registers (among others) are being used for the Labour Force Survey:
- Central Population Register (CPR)
- Population Register
- The Register of Labour Market Statistics (RAM)
- Register based-labour force statistics (RAS)
- Education classification (DISCED)
- Employees
- Register of income
- Business statistics register
Part-time work of less than 15 hours per week
Starting from the publication on April 28, 2015, RAS is based on the Labor Market Account (AMR_UN), which is a longitudinal register. In this context, RAS has been revised back to November 2008. At the same time, the dating of the statistics was changed, so that it is now dated according to the reference point at the end of November. This means that the most recent assessment is labeled as the end of November 2024, whereas previously it would have been labeled 2025.
Data in AMR_UN come from a number of other sources:
- The eIncome Register
- The Business Statistics Register
- The Statistics on People Receiving Public Benefits
- The Education Statistics
- The Income Statistics
- The Population Statistics
- The Maternity and Sickness Benefits Statistics
- The Occupational Classification Module
Before 2008, the basic data for employees came from the central information form register at SKAT, and these data were not longitudinal.
Temporary employment
The Labour Force Survey is quarterly based on a stratified sample. The sample was reduced in the 1st quarter of 2016. The reduction will be implemented successively and the sample size will be reduced from 40,532 individuals to 34.320 persons aged 15 to 74 years in the 1st quarter of 2017 when the reduction is fully implemented. Until the year 2020 the LFS has been collected at the individual level for 15-74-year-olds. From 2021 the population has changed to also include the age group from 75-89 years. On a quarterly basis the sample has thus increased from 34,320 people to 36,020 people.
In 2022q1, a new stratification was introduced in the LFS. Register data on employment and register unemployment are utilized to a greater extent, in order to obtain a greater number of responses in some of the groups that suffer from low response rates. For starters, the population is divided into four groups: 1) in stable employment, 2) in registered unemployment, 3) neither in stable employment nor registered unemployment and 4) persons aged 75 to 89. In addition, groups 1 and 3 are divided into the age groups 15-29, 30-64 and 65-74. This results in eight different strata, which are used in the sample selection from 2022q1 onwards. As the LFS consists of four panels, each appearing for six quarters, this stratification was fully implemented in Q2 2023.
The sample is weighted to represent the population as it was at the end of the previous quarter. Different administrative resources are used to select the sample. Administrative sources are also used to obtain various background information on the people interviewed, for example on educational level or workplace.
These registers (among others) are being used for the Labour Force Survey:
- Central Population Register (CPR)
- Population Register
- The Register of Labour Market Statistics (RAM)
- Register based-labour force statistics (RAS)
- Education classification (DISCED)
- Employees
- Register of income
- Business statistics register
Reasons for temporary employment
The Labour Force Survey is quarterly based on a stratified sample. The sample was reduced in the 1st quarter of 2016. The reduction will be implemented successively and the sample size will be reduced from 40,532 individuals to 34.320 persons aged 15 to 74 years in the 1st quarter of 2017 when the reduction is fully implemented. Until the year 2020 the LFS has been collected at the individual level for 15-74-year-olds. From 2021 the population has changed to also include the age group from 75-89 years. On a quarterly basis the sample has thus increased from 34,320 people to 36,020 people.
In 2022q1, a new stratification was introduced in the LFS. Register data on employment and register unemployment are utilized to a greater extent, in order to obtain a greater number of responses in some of the groups that suffer from low response rates. For starters, the population is divided into four groups: 1) in stable employment, 2) in registered unemployment, 3) neither in stable employment nor registered unemployment and 4) persons aged 75 to 89. In addition, groups 1 and 3 are divided into the age groups 15-29, 30-64 and 65-74. This results in eight different strata, which are used in the sample selection from 2022q1 onwards. As the LFS consists of four panels, each appearing for six quarters, this stratification was fully implemented in Q2 2023.
The sample is weighted to represent the population as it was at the end of the previous quarter. Different administrative resources are used to select the sample. Administrative sources are also used to obtain various background information on the people interviewed, for example on educational level or workplace.
These registers (among others) are being used for the Labour Force Survey:
- Central Population Register (CPR)
- Population Register
- The Register of Labour Market Statistics (RAM)
- Register based-labour force statistics (RAS)
- Education classification (DISCED)
- Employees
- Register of income
- Business statistics register
Digital platform work
| Has worked on digital platforms | Has not worked on digital platforms | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024Q3 | 0.3 | 99.7 |
The Labour Force Survey is quarterly based on a stratified sample. The sample was reduced in the 1st quarter of 2016. The reduction will be implemented successively and the sample size will be reduced from 40,532 individuals to 34.320 persons aged 15 to 74 years in the 1st quarter of 2017 when the reduction is fully implemented. Until the year 2020 the LFS has been collected at the individual level for 15-74-year-olds. From 2021 the population has changed to also include the age group from 75-89 years. On a quarterly basis the sample has thus increased from 34,320 people to 36,020 people.
In 2022q1, a new stratification was introduced in the LFS. Register data on employment and register unemployment are utilized to a greater extent, in order to obtain a greater number of responses in some of the groups that suffer from low response rates. For starters, the population is divided into four groups: 1) in stable employment, 2) in registered unemployment, 3) neither in stable employment nor registered unemployment and 4) persons aged 75 to 89. In addition, groups 1 and 3 are divided into the age groups 15-29, 30-64 and 65-74. This results in eight different strata, which are used in the sample selection from 2022q1 onwards. As the LFS consists of four panels, each appearing for six quarters, this stratification was fully implemented in Q2 2023.
The sample is weighted to represent the population as it was at the end of the previous quarter. Different administrative resources are used to select the sample. Administrative sources are also used to obtain various background information on the people interviewed, for example on educational level or workplace.
These registers (among others) are being used for the Labour Force Survey:
- Central Population Register (CPR)
- Population Register
- The Register of Labour Market Statistics (RAM)
- Register based-labour force statistics (RAS)
- Education classification (DISCED)
- Employees
- Register of income
- Business statistics register
Reasons for temp work
The Labour Force Survey is quarterly based on a stratified sample. The sample was reduced in the 1st quarter of 2016. The reduction will be implemented successively and the sample size will be reduced from 40,532 individuals to 34.320 persons aged 15 to 74 years in the 1st quarter of 2017 when the reduction is fully implemented. Until the year 2020 the LFS has been collected at the individual level for 15-74-year-olds. From 2021 the population has changed to also include the age group from 75-89 years. On a quarterly basis the sample has thus increased from 34,320 people to 36,020 people.
In 2022q1, a new stratification was introduced in the LFS. Register data on employment and register unemployment are utilized to a greater extent, in order to obtain a greater number of responses in some of the groups that suffer from low response rates. For starters, the population is divided into four groups: 1) in stable employment, 2) in registered unemployment, 3) neither in stable employment nor registered unemployment and 4) persons aged 75 to 89. In addition, groups 1 and 3 are divided into the age groups 15-29, 30-64 and 65-74. This results in eight different strata, which are used in the sample selection from 2022q1 onwards. As the LFS consists of four panels, each appearing for six quarters, this stratification was fully implemented in Q2 2023.
The sample is weighted to represent the population as it was at the end of the previous quarter. Different administrative resources are used to select the sample. Administrative sources are also used to obtain various background information on the people interviewed, for example on educational level or workplace.
These registers (among others) are being used for the Labour Force Survey:
- Central Population Register (CPR)
- Population Register
- The Register of Labour Market Statistics (RAM)
- Register based-labour force statistics (RAS)
- Education classification (DISCED)
- Employees
- Register of income
- Business statistics register
On the statistics – documentation, sources and method
See the documentation of statistics to learn more:
The purpose of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) is giving a description of the labour market status of the population. The LFS gives insight into how many people are employed, unemployed or outside the labour force (economically inactive). The LFS also manages to measure information like how many people are working part time; how many hours men in their 30s or 40s usually work; or how many elderly people outside the labour market would like to have a job. The LFS has been conducted yearly since 1984, and from 1994 the survey has been conducted continuously throughout the year.
New Labour Market Account concerning the population´s labour market status have been developed by Statistics Denmark.
The primary purpose of the Labour Market Accounts (LMA) is to provide a complete overview of the population´s labour market status compiled in terms of full-time persons, covering a given period of time or a given point-in-time.
The purpose of the Register-Based Labour Force Statistics (RAS) is to measure the population’s primary attachment to the labour market. This attachment is recorded at the end of November and compiled once a year. The first RAS compilation was made at the end of November 1980.