SOEP-Core v35 - BIOJOB: Detailed information on first and last job

Schmelzer, Paul; Wolfram, Tobias Research Report SOEP-Core v35 - BIOJOB: Detailed information on first and last job SOEP Survey Papers, No. 874 Provided in Cooperation with: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) Suggested Citation: Schmelzer, Paul; Wolfram, Tobias (2020) : SOEP-Core v35 - BIOJOB: Detailed information on first and last job, SOEP Survey Papers, No. 874, Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW), Berlin This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/222840 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. 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If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ SOEP Survey Papers Series D – Variable Descriptions and Coding SOEP-Core v35 – BIOJOB: Detailed Information on First and Last Job 874 SOEP — The German Socio-Economic Panel at DIW Berlin 2020 Paul Schmelzer, Tobias Wolfram, and SOEP Group Running since 1984, the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) is a wide-ranging representative longitudinal study of private households, located at the German Institute for Economic Research, DIW Berlin. The aim of the SOEP Survey Papers Series is to thoroughly document the survey’s data collection and data processing. The SOEP Survey Papers is comprised of the following series: Series A – Survey Instruments (Erhebungsinstrumente) Series B – Survey Reports (Methodenberichte) Series C – Data Documentation (Datendokumentationen) Series D – Variable Descriptions and Coding Series E – SOEPmonitors Series F – SOEP Newsletters Series G – General Issues and Teaching Materials The SOEP Survey Papers are available at http://www.diw.de/soepsurveypapers Editors: Dr. Jan Goebel, DIW Berlin Prof. Dr. Stefan Liebig, DIW Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin Prof. Dr. David Richter, DIW Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin Prof. Dr. Carsten Schröder, DIW Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin Prof. Dr. Jürgen Schupp, DIW Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin Dr. Sabine Zinn, DIW Berlin Please cite this paper as follows: Paul Schmelzer, Tobias Wolfram, and SOEP Group. 2020. SOEP-Core v35 – BIOJOB: Detailed Information on First and Last Job. SOEP Survey Papers 874: Series D. Berlin: DIW/SOEP This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. © 2020 by SOEP ISSN: 2193-5580 (online) DIW Berlin German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) Mohrenstr. 58 10117 Berlin Germany [email protected]e SOEP-Core v35 – BIOJOB: Detailed Information on First and Last Job Paul Schmelzer, Tobias Wolfram, and SOEP Group BIOJOB: Detailed Information on First and Last Job by Paul Schmelzer and Tobias Wolfram1 1 Overview Biographical data in the SOEP stem from various sources. All information for the waves 1984 to 1995 is compiled in the BIOLELA-file of the SIR-SOEP-database. Since 1996 a standardised version for all samples has been provided, and new biographical data is stored in wave-specific files ($LELA). To have a general phrasing, all biographical files are referred to as LELA-files. (LELA stems from the German ‘LEbensLAuf’, curriculum vitae.) The LELA-data relevant for BIOJOB consists of  the age at entry into the working force  the type of occupation at entry (blue/white collar worker, self-employed, civil servant)  detailed occupational information at entry  changes of occupation  intended educational degree or vocational/professional training  the year of the last employment  the type of occupation in the last job. Since 2000 a new questionnaire (in the following referred to as Youth Questionnaire) has been provided for respondents who are 16 or 17 years old. The youth respondents answer the Youth Questionnaire instead of the biographical one. The Youth Questionnaire provides less detailed information about the job biography because respondents usually have not entered the labour market at the age of 16 or 17. In 2001 members of the F sample became part of the biojob population. They had to answer the biography questionnaire if their year of birth was prior to 1982. Members of the F sample with a birth year in the range from 1982 to 1984 answered the Youth Questionnaire. Members of sample G (2002) answered the biography questionnaire in 2003, Persons who where born between 1986 and 1987 answered the Youth Questionnaire. Members of sample H (2006) answered the biography questionnaire first time in 2007 and therefore are part of the BIOJOB population. 1 Based on work of Tanja Schmidt, Anita Kottwitz, Daniel Wachtlin, Mathis Schroeder, Thorsten Schneider; and Hansjoerg Haas (Update waves X/Y/Z/BA/BB/BC/BD (2007-2013) ). SOEP Survey Papers 874 1 SOEP v35 Sample I has been moved to the SOEP-Innovation study and, since 2011 (wave 28/BB), are no longer part of the core SOEP population. Members of sample I are still part of of the BIOJOB population until 2010. Since 2006 respondents who are 16 or 17 years old filled in a youth questionnaire instead of the standard Individual Questionnaire, which provides less detailed information about the current job. Two new projects were integrated into BIOJOB: The IAB-SOEP migration samples M1 (2013) – M5 (2017) and the “Familien in Deutschland” (L1-L3) data which was incorporated into the SOEP in 2015 and is for the first time available with the distribution of wave BE. Recently, members of the refresher sample N (2017) and the Social City Sample O (2018) became part of the BIOJOB population. The purpose of BIOJOB is to provide a file, that offers the user convenient access to biographical information on past job activities. Up to now all but two variables of BIOJOB are time-invariant. Information on occupational changes and on the age at the most recent change of occupation refer to the date of the respondent’s biography interview. 2 Structure and Contents of BIOJOB BIOJOB consists of generated variables as well as plain questionnaire information. In this section the generated variables are explained and their coding is illustrated. Concerning different sources of information, the following priority scheme is applied: First the plain information stemming directly from questions on the relevant topic in the latest valid LELA-file is used. In case of inconsistencies, which will be explained later on, the latest valid information stemming from the PBIOSPE file is also used. The PBIOSPE file consists of spell data concerning the retrospective question ‘what did you do since the age of 15’ in the Biography Questionnaire as well as the question on activities in the last year in the Individual Questionnaire (for detailed information see chapter 3). Contents of BIOJOB Population: All persons with an entry in any LELA-/YOUTH-file up to 2018, even if information on employment is missing. number of cases: 91,790 waves: A(1984) - BI(2018) samples: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J,K,L,M,N,O SOEP Survey Papers 874 2 SOEP v35 variables: HHNR original household identifier PERSNR unique individual identifier BIOYEAR year of biography / youth interview AGEFJOB age at first job AGEINFO information source AGEFJOB EINSTIEG_ARTK Year of first job (different generation process involving ARTKALEN) EINSTIEG_ARTK_ INFO information source EINSTIEG_ARTK EINSTIEG_PBIO Year of first job (different generation process involving PBIOSPE) EINSTIEG_PBIO_ INFO information source EINSTIEG_ARTK NOJOB never worked before the time of the interview STILLFJ still employed in first job OCCFJOB occupational position first job FULLTIME first job was a full-time or part-time job FJBLUE first job blue collar worker FJSELFE first job self-employed FJSEFSIZ number of employees FJSELFE FJWHITE first job white collar worker FJCIVS first job civil servant ISCO88 International Standard Classification of Occupation 1988, first job STBA classification of career according to the Federal Statistical Office, Germany, (Statistisches Bundesamt), version 1992, first job EGP Erikson and Goldthorpe’s Class Category (EGP), first job ISEI International Socio-Economic Index of Occupational Status after Ganzeboom (ISEI), first job MPS Magnitude Prestige Scale after Wegener, first job SIOPS Treiman Standard Int. Occ. Prestige Scale, first job REQEDUC required education for first job CIVILSFJ first job was in civil service NACEFJ NACE branch code first job OCCMOVE number of occupational changes AGEATMV age at most recent occupational change INTEDUC1 to INTEDUC4 intended educational degree CURREMPL employed at time of biography interview SOEP Survey Papers 874 3 SOEP v35 YEARLAST year of last employment SCOPELJ last job was a full-time or part-time job CIVILSLJ last job was in civil service NACELJ NACE branch code last job OCCLJOB occupational position last job LJBLUE last job blue collar worker LJSELFE last job self-employed LJSEFSIZ number of employees LJSELFE LJWHITE last job white collar worker LJCIVS last job civil servant If data are missing, we use the SOEP missing value definition: -1 no answer / don’t know: item nonresponse -2 does not apply -3 after intensive checks a given value was found to be implausible and was finally deleted (to be interpreted like -1) Description of variables AGEFJOB/AGEINFO The variable AGEFJOB provides the age at entry into the working force. AGEINFO is a pointer variable indicating the source of the age information. In the Biography Questionnaire people either have to give information on their age at entry into the working force or have to state that they have never worked before the time of the interview. The latter information is used in the variable NOJOB. In the Youth Questionnaire people have to answer whether they are currently working in a regular occupation. They are not asked about the age at their first occupation, but since people answering the Youth Questionnaire are normally at the age of 16 or 17, in most cases we can assume that a full-time job at this age is their first regular employment. Information on the coding procedure of AGEFJOB is provided in the following subsections where (a) to (i) refer to LELA respondents, (j) to (p) to youth respondents respectively. SOEP Survey Papers 874 4 SOEP v35 LELA-respondents a) For people who are or have ever been employed at the time of answering the biographical questions their age at the time of entry into the working force is taken from the LELAfiles. b) When we observe, that the person has not been in the working force at the time of responding, but starts to work later on, data of the PBIOSPE-file is used. Using the spell information in PBIOSPE, we are able to collect the age at the first job. c) A replacement of the LELA-data takes place, when respondents state that they have worked before the age of fifteen, but have a spell entry later than the age of fifteen. This rule is not applied when the spell starts at the age of fifteen, since this is the minimum value for spell data in the questionnaires. d) The same procedure is applied, when people answer, that they have never worked at the time of the interview, but have a spell which starts before the first interview. e) In some cases the AGEFJOB value is higher than the start of the corresponding working spell in PBIOSPE. In general, the AGEFJOB value is maintained. Only when the value is greater than 27, is it replaced by the PBIOSPE data. (95% of these cases have an AGEFJOB below 27.) f) If we observe item non response concerning AGEFJOB and NOJOB, but spell information is available, the missing value is replaced by the corresponding PBIOSPE spell data. g) If even the ‘What did you do since you were 15’ question had not been answered, there still was a chance to extract similar information out of the PBIOSPE-file by considering the question ‘What did you do every month last year’. h) If we still had no valid information, the value of AGEFJOB was left out of the dataset. i) Due to the fact that PBIOSPE information are collected only until the end of the year preceding the actual wave, for respondents without first job information from both the biography questionnaire and PBIOSPE we further look for a first job using information from the current wave individual questionnaire. YOUTH-respondents j) For respondents who are regularly employed, information is taken from the Youth Questionnaire; AGEFJOB is coded as year of questioning minus year of birth minus one (only if the respondent does not state that he/she is still in school, etc.). k) If we additionally observe a spell starting before the respondent answers the Youth Questionnaire, information from PBIOSPE is used if the respondent does not state in the current questionnaire that he/she is still in school, etc. SOEP Survey Papers 874 5 SOEP v35 Due to the fact that the PBIOSPE-file is used for the coding of AGEFJOB in certain cases (see above) there is less information on OCCFJOB than on AGEFJOB. FJBLUE The FJBLUE variable provides detailed information on the first occupational status if the person was a blue collar worker. Certain value labels are only given for certain samples, because of the already mentioned differences in the questionnaires. The following value labels are assigned: (10) unand semiskilled farmers (sample C/D) (11) unskilled worker (12) semiskilled worker (20) skilled worker (30) farmers (sample C/D) being foreman or master craftsman (31) foreman (sample A/B) (32) foreman (sample C/D) (40) master craftsman (41) farmers (sample C/D) in middle and higher management FJSELFE/FJSEFSIZ The FJSELFE variable provides detailed information on the first occupational status if the person was self-employed. FJSEFSIZ gives the number of employees in the respondent’s firm. Again there are differences due to the different versions of questionnaires. The following value labels are assigned: (10) independent farmer (20) free lances, self employed academics (30) other self employed workers (40) helping within family business FJSEFSIZ has the following value labels: (10) number of employees  9 (all subsamples (see exceptions for samples C/D), up until wave M) (11) no co-workers (all subsamples, from wave R on) SOEP Survey Papers 874 12 SOEP v35 (12) number of co-workers 1-9 (all subsamples, from wave N on) (20) number of employees  9 (all subsamples (see exceptions for samples C/D)) (30) number of employees  10 (sample C (waves I to L) / D (waves K to L), only if info drawn from biography questionnaire) (40) number of employees  10 (sample C (waves I to L) / D (waves K to L) , only if info drawn from biography questionnaire) FJWHITE FJWHITE gives detailed information on persons, who were first employed as white collar workers. The subvalues of unskilled labour without degree (21), or with degree (22) are, due to uncomparable values in the LELA-files, only drawn from the $P-Files. (Beginning with BIOJOB 2004). Potential value labels: (10) industrial foreman (20) employee / unskilled labour (21) same as (20), but without degree (22) same as (20), but with degree (30) employee / skilled labour (40) employee / professional labour (50) employee / managerial labour FJCIVS FJCIVS provides detailed information on first employment as a public servant. The following value labels occur: (10) low level civil servant (20) middle level civil servant (30) high level civil servant (40) executive civil servant SOEP Survey Papers 874 13 SOEP v35 ISCO88, STBA EGP, ISEI, MPS, SIOPS These variables – job classifications and different prestige scores – concerning in each case the first job but are not generated within this file and therefore they are not described within this documentation. REQEDUC REQEDUC provides information about the required education for the first job. This information has been asked in the Biography Questionnaire for the first time in the year 2001, but comparable information are gathered by the Individual Questionnaire in all waves. For all respondents having their first job subsequent to their biography interview, information is drawn out of the generated file $PGEN. Neither respective variables in $P nor those in $PGEN provide full information for all waves. In both data sources no differentiation is made between vocational college degree and university degree. As $PGEN info is equally coded in all waves, it is preferred to $P info. Potential value labels: (10) no training (20) completed vocational training (30) vocational college or university degree (31) vocational college degree (32) university degree CIVILSFJ CIVILSFJ indicates if the first job was assigned to the civil service or not. This information has been asked in the 2001 Biography Questionnaire for the first time For respondents having their first job subsequent to their biography interview, information is drawn out of the generated file $PGEN where this information is provided since the first wave in 1984. The following value labels occur: (1) Yes (2) No SOEP Survey Papers 874 14 SOEP v35 NACEFJ NACEFJ provides information about the industrial sector of the first job according to the branch classification NACE. This variable is not generated within this file. The description of its value labels is therefore not part of this documentation. OCCMOVE The variable OCCMOVE is based on the question ‘Did you change your occupation and if you did, more than once?’. Information stems from the year of the biography interview. For respondents of the Youth Questionnaire as well as persons having their first job after the biography interview no information is available. Labels of OCCMOVE: (1) never changed occupation (2) changed once (3) changed more than once AGEATMV This variable is based on the question ‘If you changed your occupation, how old were you at the most recent change?’. Information stems from the year of the biography interview. For respondents of the Youth Questionnaire as well as persons having their first job after the biography interview no information is available. CURREMPL This variable is based on the question ‘ Are you gainfully employed at the current time?’. The question applies only to LELA respondents who do not state ‘I have never been gainfully employed’ or ‘Still employed in the first job’. This question has been asked in 1994 for the first time. Value labels: (1) Yes (2) No SOEP Survey Papers 874 15 SOEP v35 YEARLAST This variable is based on the question ‘When was the last time you were gainfully employed?’. The question applies only to LELA respondents who do not make at least one of the following statements in their biography interview: ‘I have never been gainfully employed.’ ‘Still employed in the first job’ ‘Gainfully employed at the current time’. This question has been asked in 1994 for the first time. SCOPELJ SCOPELJ indicates if the last job was a full time or part time job. Information is only provided for respondents who answer the respective question within the Biography Questionnaires. The respective question applies only to respondents who do not make at least one of the following statements: ‘I have never been gainfully employed.’ ‘Still employed in the first job’ ‘Gainfully employed at the current time’. This question has been asked in 1994 for the first time. For youth respondents no information is available. Value labels: (1) full-time employed (2) part-time employment (3) marginal / irregular employment CIVILSLJ CIVILSLJ indicates if the last job was assigned to the civil service or not. Information is only provided for respondents who answer the respective question within the Biography Questionnaires. The respective question applies only to respondents who do not make at least one of the following statements: ‘I have never been gainfully employed.’ ‘Still employed in the first job’ ‘Gainfully employed at the current time’. SOEP Survey Papers 874 16 SOEP v35 This question has been asked in 1994 for the first time. For youth respondents no information is available. The following value labels occur: (1) Yes (2) No NACELJ NACELJ provides information about the industrial sector of the last job according to the branch classification NACE. The respective question applies only to respondents who do not make at least one of the following statements in their biography interview: ‘I have never been gainfully employed.’ ‘Still employed in the first job’ ‘Gainfully employed at the current time’. This question has been asked in 1994 for the first time. This variable is not generated within this file. The description of its value labels is therefore not part of this documentation. OCCLJOB The variable OCCLJOB provides information on the occupational position at the last job. The respective question applies only to respondents who do not make at least one of the following statements in their biography interview: ‘I have never been gainfully employed.’ ‘Still employed in the first job’ ‘Gainfully employed at the current time’. This question has been asked in 1994 for the first time. Due to different versions of the questionnaires in the SOEP´s different samples we face some difficulties. Table 3 gives an overview: SOEP Survey Papers 874 17 SOEP v35 Table 3: Number of Possible Values for Occupational Classifications in the Last Job Farmers (not selfemployed) Blue Collar Workers Self-employed White Collar Workers Civil Servants Sample A,B (94/95) - 5 5 5 4 Sample C,D (94/95) 4 5 5 4 4 Sample A,B,C,D (96-99), E (99) - 5 5 6 4 Sample A,B,C,D,E (00) - 5 6 6 4 Sample A,B,C,D, E,F (01/02) - 5 10 6 4 Sample A,B,C,D, E,F,G(06),H(06),I(10), J(11) - 5 10 6 4 Facing these differences we decided to standardise the occupational classification. Only four types of occupational status were taken into account: blue collar workers, white collar workers, civil servants, and self-employed. The group ‘Farmers’ is included in the blue collar worker group. The potential value labels for OCCLJOB are: (1) blue collar worker (2) self-employed (3) white collar worker (4) civil servant Further details are provided by the variables LJBLUE (for blue collar workers), LJSELFE (self-employed), LJWHITE (white collar workers), and LJCIVS (civil servants). Table 4 shows the number of possible values. Table 4: Number of possible values for the subcategories of the variable OCCLJOB LJBLUE LJSELFE LJWHITE LJCIVS Sample A,B,C,D, E,F,G,H,I,J(84-11),K(12) 9 4 7 4 SOEP Survey Papers 874 18 SOEP v35 LJBLUE The LJBLUE variable provides detailed information on the last occupational status if the person was a blue collar worker. Certain value labels are only given for certain samples, because of already mentioned differences in the questionnaires. The following value labels are assigned: (10) unand semiskilled farmers (sample C/D) (11) unskilled worker (12) semiskilled worker (20) skilled worker (30) farmers (sample C/D) being foreman or master craftsman (31) foreman (sample A/B) (32) foreman (sample C/D) (40) master craftsman (41) farmers (sample C/D) in middle and higher management LJSELFE/LJSEFSIZ The LJSELFE variable provides detailed information on the last occupational status if the person was self-employed. LJSEFSIZ gives the number of employees in the respondent’s firm. Again there are differences due to different versions of questionnaires. The following value labels are assigned: (10) independent farmer (20) free lances, self employed academics (30) other self employed workers (40) helping within family business LJSEFSIZ has the following value labels: (10) number of employees  9 (all subsamples (see exceptions for samples C/D), until wave M) (11) number of co-workers = 0 (all subsamples, from wave N on) (12) number of co-workers 1-9 (all subsamples, from wave N on) (20) number of employees  9 (all subsamples (see exceptions for samples C/D)) (30) number of employees  10 (sample C (waves I to L) / D (waves K to L), only if info drawn from biography questionnaire) SOEP Survey Papers 874 19 SOEP v35 (40) number of employees  10 (sample C (waves I to L) / D (waves K to L) , only if info drawn from biography questionnaire) LJWHITE LJWHITE gives detailed information on persons, who were last employed as white collar workers. The values (21) and (22) are drawn from the BIOLELA-File and from the $P-files. Potential value labels: (10) industrial foreman (20) employee / unskilled labour (21) same as (20), but without degree (22) same as (20), but with degree (30) employee / skilled labour (40) employee / professional labour (50) employee / managerial labour LJCIVS LJCIVS provides detailed information on last employment as a public servant. The following value labels occur: (10) low level civil servant (20) middle level civil servant (30) high level civil servant (40) executive civil servant INTEDUC1 to INTEDUC4 The variables INTEDUC1, INTEDUC2, INTEDUC3, and INTEDUC4 provide information on the educational degree or the vocational/professional training a respondent intends to complete in the future, asked at the time of the biography interview. We create these four variables since multiple answers are explicitly allowed in the questionnaire. The intended education is stored with respect to the hierarchy given by the questionnaire, i.e., the highest degree is placed in INTEDUC1. For example, a person intending to finish an apprenticeship (1) and university (7) would have INTEDUC1 = 7 and INTEDUC2 = 1. Since this question has been asked for the first time in 1996, we do observe a large number of missing values for INTEDUC1 to INTEDUC4. SOEP Survey Papers 874 20 SOEP v35 (1) apprenticeship (2) full-time vocational school (3) technical school (4) education as a civil servant (5) accredited professional school (6) technical or professional college (7) university General remark: Some persons answered more than once the Biography Questionnaire (but this occurs very rarely). The data-set BIOJOB contains only information from one Biography Questionnaire, in most cases the earlier one. 3 Steps of Coding 1. Creating a dataset using the data concerning all aspects of the job biography (working force entry, position, etc.) drawn from BIOLELA, MLELA, NLELA, OLELA, PLELA, QLELA, RLELA, SLELA, TLELA, ULELA, VLELA, WLELA, XLELA, YLELA, ZLELA, BALELA, BBLELA, BCLELA (internal DIW files with biographical information up to wave BB), QJUGEND, RJUGEND, SJUGEND, TJUGEND, UJUGEND, VJUGEND, WJUGEND, XJUGEND, YJUGEND, ZJUGEND, BAJUGEND, BBJUGEND, BCJUGEND (internal DIW youth biography files), QP, RP, SP, TP, UP, VP, WP, XP, YP, ZP, BAP, BBP, BCP (needed for consistency checks with respect to the youth biography files). 2. Using the PBIOSPE-data to retrieve spell information during the first occupation. 3. Using PPFAD for personal data (year of birth, sex, sample). 4. Using several files containing generated information about job classification (ISCO), prestige scores and industry sector classification (NACE) concerning the first job. 5. Combining all data concerning the employment biography into a new data file BIOJOB, where priority is set as mentioned above. 6. Coding of AGEFJOB. (for details, see above) 7. Setting the pointer variable AGEINFO indicating the source of the information of AGEFJOB. (for details, see above) 8. Excluding one value for respondents, who stated to have two occupational positions in their first job. Exclusion based on consistency checks. SOEP Survey Papers 874 21 SOEP v35