Looking for immigrants in the European labour force survey and the EU census : a comparison based on the 2011 figures : 2018 edition

This paper provides an overview on the differences and similarities in the characteristics of intra-EU foreign-born populations according to the EU Census and EU Labour Force Survey for the same reference year, 2011. The objective of the analysis is to establish whether it is possible to update the more structural information in the EU Census with the more timely data available in the EU Labour Force Survey. The conclusion is that the current situation is not favourable to combining the two data sources as although data comparability is rather good at an aggregated level, this is much less the case when different breakdowns are analysed. Therefore, it is recommended that best practices on capturing, in a sample, the foreign-born population are shared among Member States so that the foreign-born population can be analysed by its multiple facets.