Trained interviewers from the Economics and Statistics Office (ESO) are knocking on doors across the islands to collect information for the Fall Labour Force Survey and Quality of Life Survey.
And statisticians from the ESO are urging respondents to partake.
“By participating in the survey, you are ensuring that your circumstances are accurately represented, and that allows effective policies to be created. So, when you see the enumerator, don’t run and hide. Please be welcoming of our enumerators,” said Terika Powell, statistician at the office.
Powell explained, “The information that the ESO collects is essential for policy development. It can be used to track how current policies are working, and it is also very useful for creating policies related to education, training and the labour force.”
Some people living in Cayman see the surveys as time-consuming and intrusive, but Powell says that taking in the survey is actually a way of making your voice heard.
Reliable data
The data produced by the surveys, which are available to view on the ESO website, is also useful for businesses on the island. Some have questioned the reliability of the data, yet Andrelene Royal, senior statistician at the office, robustly defended the survey results.
“It is important to highlight that the work of the Economics and Statistics Office is guided by international standards,” said Royal. “For example, for the Labour Force Survey and the Quality of Life Survey, the standards come from United Nations-designated organisations such as the International Labour Organization.”
Information gathering for both surveys began on 28 Sept. but each one has a distinct purpose. The ESO has been conducting the Labour Force Survey since 1991 and it is designed to gauge the nature of employment on the islands. “The Labour Force Survey focuses on collecting data related to the employed and unemployed persons in the Cayman Islands, as well as those who are not in the labour force,” said Royal.
This is only the third time the ESO has conducted the Quality of Life Survey, which began last year. Its objective is more difficult as it aims to collect more subjective information.
It “seeks to gather information on various aspects of life, including perceived health, whether physical or mental; life satisfaction and general sense of well-being; employment and job quality; material living conditions and housing; economic and financial security and physical safety; leisure, social activities and, by extension, social inclusion — generally your sense of belonging to the local community”, said Royal.
“Finally, we ask questions on the natural and living environment, which is also very important to the community.”
The enumerators will carry ESO ID cards and seek to obtain responses from approximately 2,000 people on the islands.
Related Videos
If Govt published a copy of all the Survey questions, before starting it, this would be helpful. Having to provide personal information to somebody they have never seen before, is always going to meet with some reluctance.