Employment and Unemployment Survey, January to December, 1983

38th Round

The ten year work programme of the NSSO visualizes conduct of the employment-unemployment survey quinquennially.The third survey in the series, accordingly, was carried out during 1983 in the 38th round survey 0perations of the NSSO. The Working Group in making their recommendations considered various suggestions received from the Planning Commission, Labour Bureau, Central Statistical Organization, Institute of Applied Man Power Research, Institute of Social Studies Trust etc. and also from different Expert users. It also carefully examined the recommendations made in the panel discussions of the IAMR Conference of the Data users and Producers (April 1981) and the deliberations of the Technical Seminar on Womens' Work and Employment (April 1982). The results of the earlier two surveys so far released were also looked into. The important recommendations of the Working Group on the 38th round survey on Employment and Unemployment were:

(i) As the question of comparability of the 38th round survey results with those pertaining to the second quinquennial survey (32nd round) was considered very important, the conceptual frame work adopted for the NSS 32nd round survey should be retained, as far as practicable, in the 38th round survey also and, in the main, the 38th round survey design, compared to the 32nd round survey design, should be a no change model;
(ii) The 'Employment - Unemployment' and 'Consumer Expenditure' surveys should be carried out in the same set of sample households;
(iii) The data on 'indebtedness of rural labour households' might be collected in the same manner as in the 32nd round.
(iv) Information on migration characteristics of population might be collected with a view to studying its linkage with the level of employment, unemployment and the level of living of the population.

The NSSO Governing Council approved the recommendations of the working Group and also the schedule of the enquiry in its 32nd and 34th meetings held respectively during 25-26, February 1982 and 2nd July 1982,

Summary description of the Schedule:
The Schedule on Employment and Unemployment (Schedule 10) framed for the 38th round survey consisted of 15 blocks. The identification particulars of the sample village/block and the sample village/block and the sample households in which the survey schedules recorded in block 1.

Block 2.1 was meant for recording the particulars of field operations and block 2.2 for recording the processing particulars at the NSSO data processing centres.

Certain characteristics of the sample household meant to be used as classificatory variables in the tabulation of data, and information as to whether the same household has made any migratory movement or not during the last 365 days, etc. recorded in block 3.

The demographic particulars such as, age, sex, marital status, educational standard etc. and the particulars or current weekly activity obtaining during the seven days preceding the date of survey of all the normally resident members of the household and also the information as to whether some or all of them are migrants or not were recorded in block 4.1.

For those, identified accordingly to the criterion specified, as migrants in block 4.1, the various migration characteristics such as, period since migrated, reason for migration type of the last place of residence etc. were recorded in block 4.2.

Block 5 was meant for recording detailed day-to-day disposition of labour time of those classified as in the labour force according to current weekly activity status i.e., information on the various activities pursued on different days of the reference week by household members reported as 'working' and 'seeking and/or available for work' and the intensity in the quantative terms, namely, 'full' and 'half' on each such activity.

The particulars of usual activity of each normally resident members of the sample household, information on the subsidiary gainful activity status of those classified as working, particulars of temporary stay aways who remained absent from household for 4 weeks or more for work etc. collected in block 6.

Block 7 used for recording the particulars of the marginal gainful activities normally pursed by all those classified in block 6 as usually 'not working' (excepting those reported to be 'too young').

The follow up question (probing questions) pertaining to the availability for 'additional work'/'work' meant to be put to those classified as 'working', 'students', 'persons engaged in domestic duties' and 'pensioners/rentiers etc. 'kept in block 8. The answers of these questions were ascertained from the relevant member of the household and recorded in this block.

For persons classified as 'engaged in domestic duties', some further follow up questions were formulated and listed in block 9 with a view to collecting some additional information which might explain as to whether their usual attachment to domestic duties in voluntary or involuntary.

Particulars regarding the household indebtedness such as, amount of loan, its nature, source of borrowing etc. collected in block 10 only for the rural labour households

Block 11 was meant for recording the number of reporting lines/columns of the various blocks 3-10 of the schedules. Any relevant remarks of the investigators were recorded in block 12 and the comments by the supervisory officers in block 13.