The European Union Labour Force Survey (EU LFS) is a quarterly sample survey covering the population in private households in the EU, EFTA (except Liechtenstein) and Candidate Countries. It provides annual and quarterly results on labour participation of people aged 15 and over as well as persons outside the labour force.

In providing data on employment, unemployment and inactivity, the EU LFS is an important source of information about the situation and trends on the labour market in the European Union. Various breakdowns are available – by age, sex, educational attainment, temporary employment, full-time/part-time distinction and many other dimensions.

The quarterly EU LFS also forms the basis for Eurostat's calculation of monthly unemployment figures, complemented by either monthly LFS estimates for the unemployment rates or additional sources such as unemployment registers. The resulting monthly harmonised unemployment rate – one of Eurostat's key short-term indicators – is published in a news release and in the online database.

The EU LFS sample size amounts approximately to 1.5 million individuals each quarter. The quarterly sampling rates vary between 0.2% and 3.3% in each country. Eurostat started the collection of microdata in 1983 with one reference quarter per year (usually in spring). In the period from 1998 to 2005, the survey underwent a transition to a continuous quarterly survey. In the meantime, all EU countries provide quarterly results.