ECON 391M
Winter term 2, 2020/21
Report 1
In the data folder in Canvas you will find a csv file called “LFS.2020.9”. This is the raw data from
Statistics Canada’s September, 2020 Labour Force Survey. It contains over 85,000 observations and
60 variables. Each observation is a different individual in Canada (they were all 15 years of age, or
older) who participated in the survey. It is not a random sample. The LFS uses a probability sample
that is based on a stratified multi-stage design and in order to estimate population parameters, like
the unemployment rate, individual responses are weighted. However, we can treat it as a very large
convenience sample for our purposes. In order to use the data you need to know the variable definitions
and codes which are found in a document called “LFS variable codes.pdf” in the data folder.
The objective of the report is to explore and describe two different topics. The first is how education
relates to labour force status and to usual hourly wages (employees only), and how those relationships
vary across age groups and sex. The second topic is has to do with how union status (employees only)
relates to usual hourly wages, occupation, sex, and education.
You are to prepare a report discussing the two topics (i.e., exploring and describing the relationships),
making use of tabluar and graphical techniques to illustrate the points made in your report. The report
should be no longer than 1,500 words and be in either a Word document or a PDF document, be
paginated, and have a title page. You must also submit, along with your report, a markdown (rmd) file
that contains the syntax and output you used in the report.
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