Menu
Annual Population Survey (APS)
The following updates to the APS datasets were made on Wed 11 August 2010:
- New figures for the Jan 09 - Dec 09 survey period. This update includes qualifications data as it is a calendar year period. Country of birth estimates are also included in this update.
- Working-age (aged 15-59f/64m) variables modified to new age 16-64 basis . Variables on the old working-age definition are no longer available from Nomis. Additional variables which previously had an upper age limit of 59f/64m have been modified so that the upper age limit is 64 for both males and females. These changes have been applied to the relevant variables for all published APS periods.
- Reweighting of estimates for periods back to Jan 2006 - Dec 2006 in line with population estimates published in 2009.
- Health and adult learning variables reinstated for all periods. These had previously been withdrawn due to errors identified in the derivation of the variables. These errors have been corrected and revised data included for all periods.
- Jul 04 - Jun 05 period added to the series. Estimates for this period had previously been missing.
About the APS
The Annual Population Survey (APS) is a combined survey of households in Great Britain. Its purpose is to provide information on key social and socioeconomic variables between the 10-yearly censuses, with particular emphasis on providing information relating to sub-regional (local authority) areas. Due to sample size limitations, APS data is not available below local authority level i.e. data is not available for wards and super output areas.
The first publication of APS data covered the survey period January to December 2004. Subsequently, APS data has been published on a quarterly basis, but with each publication covering a year's data. For example, data relating to the survey period April 2004 to March 2005 was published in September 2005, whereas data relating to July 2004 to June 2005 was published in December 2005.
Sample Size
When the APS was introduced in 2004 it comprised the annual Local Area Labour Force Survey (LALFS) supplemented by an extra boost, the APS(B), designed to obtain a sample of 500 economically active adults in each local authority district. As a cost saving measure, the APS(B) was scaled back in mid-2005 and was withdrawn from January 2006.
APS estimates for the April 2005 to March 2006 period onwards revert to the sample used for the previous annual LALFS. The last period which contains APS(B) cases is that covering January to December 2005, as this is the last period for which a complete year's boost is available.
Sample sizes by local authority are available in a spreadsheet from the link below.
APS Sample Size by local authority (xls, 113Kb)
Background to reweighting
The APS is a sample survey, so the responses reflect only a small proportion of the total population. Each respondent is given a weight relating to the proportion of the total population that he or she represents. The sum of all the weights equals the total household population for the survey.
Reweighting means assigning different weights that are derived from more up-to-date population estimates. The current reweighting exercise uses the population estimates published in Summer 2009.
Qualification Data
Qualifications data are only be available from the APS for calendar year periods. This is because the questions in the survey relating to qualifications change. From Jan 2006, these changes occur at the start of January each year, so the calendar year will be the only period not be affected by them.
Currently the periods Jan to Dec 2005, Jan to Dec 2006, Jan to Dec 2007 and Jan to Dec 2008 include qualifications, although these figures will be added to the calendar year 2004 in the future. Qualifications figures will be shown as missing in other periods.
Further Information
The ONS Labour Market Guide has a section about the Annual Population Survey:
The LFS user guide is available from the link below and Volume 6 covers local area data and covers the APS. The methodology for the APS is the same as for the former local area annual LFS.