Press Section / Living Conditions Survey (LCS)

Description

The Living Conditions Survey (LCS) is an annual survey aimed at households, whose predecessor was the European Union Household Panel (EUHP), which was carried out during the 1994-2001 period. This survey belongs to the set of statistical operations that are harmonised for European Union countries.

The LCS focuses on providing comparable and harmonised information on the following aspects of the level and conditions of life and social cohesion:

• Private household income
• Poverty and deprivation
• Equal treatment of men and women
• Employment and activity. Childcare
• Retirements, pensions and the socio-economic situation of elderly persons
• Dwelling
• Regional development. Migration movements
• Level of training, health and effects on the socio-economic situation

Sample and data collection

A sample of 15,000 dwellings is taken for the LCS. These dwellings are distributed in 2,000 Census sections across the whole national territory. The data collection method is a personal interview of the members of each household included in the sample. In order to obtain omitted data or to correct errors, the interviewer can complement the interviews with telephone calls.

The basic LCS questionnaires are:

• Household file (basic data on the household members)
• Household questionnaire (information on the dwelling, equipment, economic situation and the household income)
• Individual questionnaire (data on activity, personal income, health, education…)