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This public use microdata file contains non-aggregated data for a wide variety of variables collected from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The LFS collects monthly information on the labour market activities of Canada's working age population. This product is for users who prefer to do their own analysis by focusing on specific subgroups in the population or by cross-classifying variables that are not in our catalogued products.

This file contains both personal characteristics for all individuals in the household and detailed labour force characteristics for household members 15 years of age and over. The personal characteristics include age, sex, marital status, educational attainment, and family characteristics. Detailed labour force characteristics include employment information such as class of worker, usual and actual hours of work, employee hourly and weekly wages, industry and occupation of current or most recent job, public and private sector, union status, paid or unpaid overtime hours, job permanency, hours of work lost, job tenure, and unemployment information such as duration of unemployment, methods of job search and type of job sought. Labour force characteristics are also available for students during the school year and during the summer months as well as school attendance whether full or part-time and the type of institution. These and more are available by province and for the three largest census metropolitan areas (Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver).

This is a monthly file, and is available going back to 1976.

Product: Labour Force Survey Microdata File
Catalogue no.: 71M0001XCB
Frequency: Monthly
Status: Ongoing/Available
Latest issue: December 2013 Free
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Release date: January 10, 2014
Subscription: one year (365 days) N/A
System requirements: IBM compatible Pentium I or better; Windows 98/Windows 2000/Windows XP; 16 MB of RAM; Compact disk reader (CD/DVD)
Shipping charges: No shipping charges for delivery in Canada. For shipments to the United States, $6 per issue or item ordered. For shipments to other countries, $10 per issue or per item ordered. Annual frequency = 1, Quarterly frequency = 4, Monthly frequency = 12.