In the following, I give an overview of the definitions of the terms used in the Mikrozensus, insofar as they are relevant for the tables displayed in the data set. See the opening page for a list of tables, and an overview of the Mikrozensus.
The term population refers to all people who have their main domicile in the area covered by the survey. The main domicile is defined as the residence used predominantly by the individual or, if in doubt, as the place where the centre of one's relations / family is located (see footnote 10). Foreigners with their main domicile in the survey area are included (see footnote 11). Some tables refer to the population between 16 and 64 years of age.
The terms active population, employed and unemployed population are based on the concept of 'gainful employment' (Erwerbskonzept). All individuals who gain some income through work during the week of the survey are counted as employed, regardless of how much income they gain or how many hours they work. According to this definition, a pensioner who works just one hour per week is counted as employed. Helping family members (for example in agriculture) and apprentices in acknowledged vocations are also included in the employed population. All those who (i) do not work in the above sense and (ii) are looking for work are counted in the Mikrozensus as unemployed (see footnote 12). The active population is the sum of the employed and the unemployed population.
In tables 13.1-18.2 the overall population is classified according to specific age groups. The categories are inclusive, i.e. for example the group of the 19-21 year olds includes all those who are at least 19 years of age, but not older than 21 years.
Tables 19.1-42.2 give the breakdown for the active population by industry. In the context of these tables, the active population is not limited by age thresholds, but it can be assumed that it coincides fairly well with the active population between 16 and 64 as defined above. The breakdown by industry follows the 1993 Classification of Industrial Branches (see footnote 13) which specifies 59 branches on the two-digit level. We had to classify some of these categories together, as they otherwise would have yielded very low figures which would not have reached the minimum threshold for inclusion in the survey. Therefore, the distortions of the data would have been much greater if we would have used an even more detailed breakdown of categories.
In the Mikrozensus participants over 14 years of age are asked to classify their highest general schooling qualification as one out of six categories and their last vocational qualification as one out of seven categories. I start with the definitions of the schooling categories, then describe the vocational categories, and finally explain how we have combined those two tiers into a single ranking.
(i) The lowest category consists of those without any of the above schooling qualifications, including those who did not answer the question, in particular since 1991.
(ii) The first achievable schooling qualification is the Hauptschulabschluß. The Hauptschul certificate is obtained by successfully completing the 9th class of a general school (see footnote 14), i.e. the pupils are normally 15 years or over.
(iii) Realschulabschluß includes all those who have successfully completed the final year of a Realschule, an Abendrealschule (Realschule on evenings) or the Realschul-branch of a common school (Gesamtschule). The successful completion of class 10 in the Gymnasium and of the final year in a number of full-time and part-time vocational colleges (see footnote 15) is regarded as equivalent. The pupils are 16 year or over.
In the Mikrozensus, there is an extra category for those who have taken the examination of the Polytechnische Oberschule of the former GDR. This exam was taken at the end of compulsory education. Thereafter, individuals went on to further general or vocational education. The Standing Committee of the Ministers for Education of the Federal Länder (Kultusministerkonferenz) has acknowledged this exam as equivalent to the Realschulabschluß. Therefore we have included the respective figures in the category Realschluabschluß or equivalent, while showing the data in an additional column as well. As our tables refer only to West Germany, there are very few individuals included in this category and in the one for the Fachschulabschluß of the former GDR (see below); in both cases, these are individuals who moved from East Germany to the Western part of the country during or after the process of reunification.
(iv) A Fachhochschulreife is obtained by successfully completing the 12th year in a Gymnasium or a similar full-time general or vocational college (Fachoberschule or Höhere Berufsfachschule), i.e. the knowledge taught there is two years full-time schooling above the Realschul-level. Accordingly, the students are 18 or over.
(v) The Abitur (more formally called Hochschulreife) is taken mainly at a Gymnasium, but also on other schools that award the right to enter university. In full-time schools (see footnote 16) the Abitur is taken three years after having achieved the Realschulabschluß. The students are 19 or over.
(vi) We have reduced the seven categories describing vocational qualifications into six by combining two of them: 'No vocational qualification' (including those who did not answer the question) is combined with 'vocational internship' (berufliches Praktikum). A vocational internship in the context of the Mikrozensus is an internship of at least six months insofar as it takes place before or during higher education at general or vocational colleges, schools, universities or other scientific institutions, but outside these institutions. As this convoluted definition suggests, the category is very heterogeneous. A typical example would be the case of an individual who after the Abitur wants to go on to a specialised college, which as a condition of entry requires an extended internship. This can be the case for example in personal care and health-related subjects. The category is very small and we regarded it as negligible, the more so as most of those who do such a vocational internship go on to higher general or vocational education.
(vii) The category apprenticeship embraces all those who did an acknowledged apprenticeship of at least two years length, including those with a final exam of a Berufsfachschule. The Berufsfachschulen are full-time vocational colleges for a number of acknowledged courses.
(viii) Meister are counted together with Techniker and those with a equivalent Fachschulabschluß. We have also included those with a Fachschulabschluß of the former GDR.
(ix) Fachhochschulabschluß includes those with a final exam of a Fachhochschule, a higher engineering or equivalent college or a college of advanced vocational studies (Berufsakademie).
(x) Among the university degrees are all sorts of final exams at universities, including master-degrees, diplomas, state exams and teacher exams, and also higher degrees like doctorates.
Based on the cross-tabulation of categories i to v with categories
vi to x we have achieved a single ranking with 13 categories.
This ranking can be read from top to bottom, i.e. those with,
for example, a Fachhochschulabschluß are counted in the
second highest category, no matter whether they have done an Abitur
or a Fachhochschulreife or anything else, provided they
have no university degree (in which case they would be counted
among the highest category). In the tables, 'apprenticeship' refers
to those who have completed only an apprenticeship, without having
achieved any of the formal schooling qualifications.