Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS UNIT
Level 13, Eric Williams Finance Building, Independence Square, Port of Spain
Telephone: (868) 612-3000 Ext: 2073|2074|2075|2048|1456|2107 Fax: (868) 623-8123
Sunday February 06, 2022
For immediate release
Media Release
CSO currently undertaking Continuous Sample Survey of the Population (CSSP) exercise across T&T
The Central Statistical Office (CSO) is announcing to the population that field staff are currently engaged in a household survey exercise throughout the twin-island state of Trinidad and Tobago.
The CSO is charged with the responsibility of producing Labour Force Statistics on a quarterly and annual basis based on data collected through a household survey referred to as the Continuous Sample Survey of the Population (CSSP). In each quarter, six (6) nationwide surveys are conducted, thereby making the CSSP the largest inter-censal exercise currently undertaken by the CSO. A wide range of demographic and socio-economic characteristics regarding the population of Trinidad and Tobago are obtained from the conduct of the CSSP, with particular emphasis on the Labour Force and its major components – the Employed, Unemployed and Labour Force Participation. The data provided from this exercise is used solely for developing summary tables and will not be used for the purposes of taxation, investigation or regulations. Data gathered through the CSSP Section are used to produce a Quarterly Labour Force Bulletin and an annual Labour Force Report. Over 200 communities across Trinidad and Tobago have been part of this survey so far in 2022.
There will be as many as 55 persons throughout Trinidad and Tobago at any one point in time: There are 22 Field Interviewers assigned to the Northern areas of Trinidad, 23 to the Central and Southern areas of Trinidad and 7 Field Interviewers to conduct the CSSP survey in Tobago. Members of the public are asked to note that Officers representing the CSO will all be equipped with a picture identification badge bearing the Name and Post of the person within the organization. These badges must be presented to the respondent before the interview can be conducted. The CSO’s logo is displayed at the back of the Identification Badge.
In 2022, the CSO is also incorporating an open data policy into its processes, allowing for more citizen access to certain types of data. This is part of the work being done to further strengthen Trinidad and Tobago’s National Statistical System and overall statistical capacity as well as modernise data collection for national development, business support, educational needs and more. This closely follows the progress made by the CSO to bring the dissemination of the Index of Retail Prices (RPI) back on the one-month time lag schedule. The CSO released the Index for the month of November 2021 at the end of January 2022. The CSO is committed to its drive to enhance its data sets, despite minor setbacks caused by the global pandemic. Preparation is also ongoing toward the conducting of the National Census of Trinidad and Tobago later this year.
In keeping with good statistical practices and as regulated under the Statistics Act (Chapter 19:02), the CSO must honour the confidentiality of data supplied by respondents and is therefore not permitted to release any information at an individual level. Data must be collated and summarized before being provided to the public and must be done in such a way that no individual household can be identified from the information released.
The conduct of this survey is guided by the provisions of the Statistics Act, Chapter 19:02 of the Revised Laws of Trinidad and Tobago. This Act provides the legal framework for the operations of the CSO to: “Collect, compile, analyze and publish statistical information relating to all social and economic activities of the people of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago”.
According to the Statistics Act, citizens are lawfully required to participate in the survey:
Section 10. (1) “Where any census is being undertaken or any other statistics are being collected in accordance with this Act, an authorised official may require any person from whom particulars may lawfully be required under this Act to supply him only with such particulars as may be prescribed or such of those particulars as the Statistician may consider necessary or desirable in relation to the taking of the census or the collection of the statistics; and for such purposes the person shall, to the best of his knowledge and belief, fill up such forms, make such returns, answer such questions and give all such information, in such manner and within such time as may be required by the authorised official in accordance with the Regulations made under section 13.”
The CSO is also taking the required safety precautions to protect both field officers and respondents during the current COVID-19 pandemic. In order to protect its staff and respondents, CSO Field Interviewers have been advised to adopt the following measures during fieldwork:
- Protective Shields/Masks and/or gloves to be worn during the interaction;
- Maintaining physical distancing and ensuring there is absolutely no physical contact during the interview;
- Extra precautions to be used when interviewing persons who are elderly and/or sick.
The CSO is seeking the full participation of citizens and the following can be contacted if needed: 625-2406 and ask for Ms. Nykela James or 624 -7311 for verification of the field interviewers in Trinidad and 635-1454 or 635-2147 for verification of the field interviewers in Tobago. To find out more about the various CSO surveys being conducted please visit the website at www.cso.gov.tt.