Release of QLFS 2020 results delayed: Stats SA

In a statement, Stats SA attributed the delay to a new collection methodology imposed by COVID-19 restrictions.

The release of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), Quarter 2, 2020 results, has been further delayed, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) has confirmed.

In a statement, Stats SA attributed the delay to a new collection methodology imposed by COVID-19 restrictions.

From 27 March 2020, the national statistics office suspended its fieldwork and face-to-face methods of administering questionnaires in the aftermath of the lockdown imposed in the country as part of measures to deal with the novel Coronavirus outbreak.

"We got our fieldworkers off the field, reorganised our operations, and introduced the Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing method," said Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke said in a statement.

He said additional data confrontation and analysis, based on historical data, needs to be done before the Quarter 2, 2020 data can be published.

"This process is taking longer than anticipated and has resulted in additional delays to the publication date. The QLFS Q2 2020 results will therefore be published before the end of September 2020."

Stats SA acknowledged the importance of this dataset, particularly in light of the impact of COVID-19 on employment.

"It is for this reason that we are taking particular care to ensure that the data we release meets international standards. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this delay is causing to the QLFS data users," said the statistics office.

(With Inputs from South African Government Press Release)