Data source
The Cross-Sectional Survey "Life Situation and Social Security 2005" (LSS 2005) was carried out by the Institute for Applied Social Sciences (infas) commissioned by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) between November 2005 and March 2006. 20,832 persons affected by the German "Hartz IV” reform were interviewed including:
- recipients of unemployment or social assistance of employable age (15-64) who were registered as unemployed or job seekers in December 2004 (partial sample 1) and
- employable persons in need of assistance aged 15-64 who were registered as unemployed or as job seekers in January 2005 and who were recipients of Unemployment Benefit II (ALG II) according to the German Social Code Book II (partial sample 2).
For reasons of data availability on the date of drawing (January 2005), an initial partial sample was drawn on the basis of the data then available: data from those employment agencies that co-operate with local authorities (ARGE). The second partial sample was drawn slightly later when data from the remaining municipalities has become available.
As the IAB cross-sectional survey is in fact targeted at employable persons in need of assistance aged 15 to 64, underage persons are also included in the survey population. For this target group, which requires special treatment, the questionnaire was specifically adapted.
Contents
The specific characteristic of the LSS is that it represents a unique dataset which allows for drawing up analyses of the referenced target groups directly after the amalgamation of unemployment and social assistance alongside the introduction of the German Social Code Book II.
In addition to the cross-sectional dataset, the survey provides for a retrospective longitudinal section.
Outline
Categories | Description |
|---|---|
Topics | - General characteristics - Demographic characteristics - Basic household data as of December 2004 - Household income as of December 2004 - Receipt of benefits in 2004, application for benefits, responsibility of the ARGE - Financial situation of the person surveyed in 2005, receipt of benefit and sanctions - General school qualification: for all persons aged under 25 - School leaving qualification and date: for all persons aged 25 and over - Household situation as of November 2005 - Household income as of November 2005 - (Pension-related questions) - Living arrangements as of November 2005 - Support - Questions related to measures and schemes - Health, incapacity - Search of job or training place, reservation wage - Social security, self-perception within society (top-bottom), confidence in institutions, social integration - Nationality, date of arrival, languages spoken in the family - Social background |
Data unit | Recipients of unemployment or social assistance or Unemployment Benefit II (ALG II) |
Number of cases | LSSI: 20,832 individuals LSSII: 3,167 individuals |
Period covered | 11/05 – 03/06 |
Time reference | Survey date |
Regional structure | Place of residence: East and West Germany; regional comparable samples according to Rüb/Werner 2007 |
Regional status quo | at the date of survey |
Categories | Description |
|---|---|
Method of data collection | - Recipients of unemployment or social assistance of employable age (aged 15-64, cohorts 1940-1989, one-year tolerance) who were registered as unemployed or job seekers in December 2004 and - employable persons in need of assistance aged 15-64 (cohorts 1940-1989, one-year tolerance) who were registered as unemployed or job seekers in January 2005 and who were recipients of Unemployment Benefit II (ALG II) according to the German Social Code Book II |
Institutions involved | Commissioning authorities: Institute for Employment Research (IAB) Survey carried out by: Institut für Angewandte Sozialwissenschaft GmbH (Institute for Applied Social Sciences; infas) |
Frequency of data collection | Unique survey |
File format and size | Stata (35 MB) and SPSS |
Categories | Description |
|---|---|
Data access | Scientific use file |
Degree of anonymisation | Factually anonymised |
Sensitive variables | None |
Working tools
Dataset Descriptions
A detailed description of the dataset is available in
- FDZ-Datenreport No. 4/2008 (only in German)
- Frequencies of the LSS 2005 (zip, only in German)
Questionnaires
- Questionnaire LSS I (pdf, only in German)
- Questionnaire LSS II (pdf, only in German)
Data access
Note:
The Cross-sectional survey 'Life Situation and Social Security 2005' is only available for replication studies and not for new projects.
If you want to use data from the FDZ Data Archive we ask you to contact us directly.