Official data from the Central Statistics Office

Quarterly National Household Survey

• Microdata files
• Module files

The Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) began in September 1997, replacing the annual April Labour Force Survey (LFS). The purpose of the survey is the production of quarterly labour force estimates (microdata) and occasional reports on special social topics (modules).

Information is collected continuously throughout the year, with 3,000 households surveyed each week to give a total sample of 39,000 households in each quarter. Households are asked to take part in the survey for five consecutive quarters.

Further, more detailed information on the QNHS is available from the CSO here.

Data is only available for use by bona fide research projects.  Any requests for consultancy or commercial uses of this data must be directed to the Central Statistics Office.  

PLEASE NOTE THAT:

1. Data may be subject to future revision.
2. Survey data may be subject to sampling error.  Great care should be taken when interpreting small cell values.
3. Calendar quarters: It should be noted that from Q1 2009 the Quarterly National Household Survey is now collected and published on a calendar quarter basis, that is Q1: Jan-Mar, Q2: Apr-June, Q3: July-Sep, Q4: Oct-Dec.  This compares to the old seasonal based quarters of Q1: Dec-Feb, Q2: Mar-May, Q3: Jun-Aug, Q4:Sep-Nov.  Comparisons with existing seasonal based quarters available from the ISSDA should be treated with caution.
4. Industrial classifications: A new industrial classification, NACE Rev 2 (See http://www.cso.ie/surveysandmethodologies/classification_indus_act.htm) was introduced in Q1 2009. It should be noted that existing quarters available from the ISSDA are still classified to NACE Rev 1.1.
5. Education: A break in continuity has occurred in the Educational Attainment series and, therefore, data from Q2 2009 is not directly comparable with previous quarters.  The classification of educational levels has been revised in order to facilitate the linking of education categories to the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ), while also retaining links with the international education classification, ISCED97.  This affects the classification in a number of ways.  One key difference is the distinction between ordinary and honours level degrees.  For information on the framework see:   http://www.nfq.ie/nfq/en/. For information on the ISCED97 classification see: http://www.uis.unesco.org/ev_en.php?ID=7433_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC.

MICRODATA FILES

MODULES
(note: due to CSO restrictions, these files cannot be matched to their associated microdata files)