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LFS-QLFS-LMDSA

Quarterly Labour Force Survey 2026, Quarter 1

South Africa, 2026
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Reference ID
zaf-statssa-qlfs-2026-q1-v1
DOI
https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.25828/twqp-bh07
Producer(s)
Statistics South Africa
Collections
South African Labour Force Survey Data
Metadata
Documentation in PDF DDI/XML JSON
Created on
May 19, 2026
Last modified
Jul 03, 2026
Page views
28684
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  • Identification
  • Version
  • Scope
  • Coverage
  • Producers and sponsors
  • Study authorization
  • Sampling
  • Data collection
  • Access policy
  • Distributor information
  • access_policy
  • Contacts
  • Metadata production
  • Citation

    • Identification

    Survey ID number
    zaf-statssa-qlfs-2026-q1-v1
    Title
    Quarterly Labour Force Survey 2026, Quarter 1
    Abbreviation or Acronym
    QLFS 2026-1
    Country
    Name Country code
    South Africa zaf
    Study type
    Labour Force Survey
    Other identifiers
    Type Identifier
    doi https://doi.org/10.25828/twqp-bh07
    Abstract
    The Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) is a household-based sample survey conducted by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). It collects data on the labour market activities of individuals aged 15 years or older who live in South Africa.
    Kind of Data
    Sample survey data [ssd]
    Unit of Analysis
    Individuals

    Version

    Version Description
    v1: Edited, anonymised dataset for public distribution
    Version Date
    2026-05
    Version Notes
    DataFirst retrieved this version from StatsSA on 18th May, 2026

    Scope

    Notes

    INDIVIDUALS: labour market activity, labour preferences, labour market history, demographic characteristics, marital status, employment status, education, grants, tax.

    From 2010 the income data collected by South Africa's Quarterly Labour Force Survey is no longer provided in the QLFS dataset (except for a brief return in QLFS 2010 Q3 which may be an error). Possibly because the data is unreliable at the level of the quarter, Statistics South Africa now provides the income data from the QLFS in an annualised dataset called Labour Market Dynamics in South Africa (LMDSA). The datasets for LMDSA are available from DataFirst's website.

    Coverage

    Geographic Coverage
    The survey has national coverage
    Geographic Unit
    The data is at the provincial and metropolitan level, as well as by geographic type (urban/traditional/farms)
    Universe
    The QLFS sample covers the non-institutional population, except for workers' hostels. Persons living in private dwelling units within institutions are also included in the enumeration. For example, within a school compound, one would enumerate the schoolmaster's house and the teachers' accommodation, as these are private dwellings. Students living in a dormitory on the school compound would, however, be excluded.

    Producers and sponsors

    Primary investigators
    Name Affiliation
    Statistics South Africa Government of South Africa

    Study authorization

    Authorization Date
    1999;2024
    Agency
    Agency name Affiliation Abbreviation
    Statistics South Africa Government of South Africa StatsSA
    Authorization Statement
    Data collection by organs of state in South Africa is authorised by the Statistics Act, 1999, and the Statistics Amendment Act, 2024

    Sampling

    Sampling Procedure
    The QLFS uses a master sampling frame that is used by several household surveys conducted by Statistics South Africa. This wave of the QLFS is based on the 2013 master frame, which was created based on the 2011 census. There are 3324 PSUs in the master frame and roughly 33 000 dwelling units. The sample for the QLFS is based on a stratified two-stage design with probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling of PSUs in the first stage and sampling of dwelling units (DUs) with systematic sampling in the second stage. For each quarter of the QLFS, a quarter of the sampled dwellings are rotated out of the sample. These dwellings are replaced by new dwellings from the same PSU or the next PSU on the list. For more information see the statistical release.
    Weighting
    The sample weights were constructed to account for the following: the original selection probabilities (design weights); adjustments for PSUs that were sub-sampled or segmented; excluded population from the sampling frame (EAs with insufficient DUs); non-response; weight trimming; benchmarking to known population estimates from the Demographic Analysis Chief Directorate within Stats SA; and raking to bias-adjusted control estimates from a bias-adjustment procedure to compensate for the non-coverage bias in the sample.

    Data collection

    Dates of Data Collection
    Start End
    2026-01 2026-03
    Time periods
    Start date End date
    2026-01 2026-03
    Data Collection Mode
    • Face-to-face and Computer Assisted Personal and Telephone Interviews
    Data Collectors
    Name Affiliation Abbreviation
    Statistics South Africa Government of South Africa StatsSA
    Data Collection Notes
    Data was collected using face-to-face interviewing with CAPI questionnaires

    Access policy

    Location of Data Collection
    DataFirst Dataportal
    URL for Location of Data Collection
    Archive where study is originally stored
    Statistics South Africa website

    Distributor information

    Distributor
    Organization name Affiliation URL
    DataFirst University of Cape Town

    access_policy

    Access authority
    Name Affiliation URL Email
    DataFirst University of Cape Town support@data1st.org
    Access conditions
    Creative Commons Attribution only CC-BY license.
    Citation requirements
    Statistics South Africa. Quarterly Labour Force Survey 2026: Quarter 1 [dataset]. Version 1. Pretoria: Statistics South Africa [producer], 2026. Cape Town: DataFirst [distributor], 2026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25828/twqp-bh07
    Deposit requirements
    Users of the data must send DataFirst a copy of or link to any publication based on the data

    Contacts

    Contacts
    Name Affiliation Email URL
    DataFirst Helpdesk University of Cape Town support.data1st.org

    Metadata production

    Producers
    Name Affiliation Role
    DataFirst University of Cape Town Metadata producer
    Date of Metadata Production
    2026-05

    Metadata version

    DDI Document version
    Version 1

    Citation

    Citation
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