The purpose of this paper is to clarify the statistical survey on unemployment before the war, and to consider its continuity and influence in the one conducted after the war, focusing on sampling and the way in which unemployment is defined. In the postwar Labour Force Survey, large changes were made to the sampling method as well as to the way in which unemployment status was determined. On the other hand, the sample tabulation applying the sampling theory used before the war has been compiled, and the result of the preliminary report of 1% of the postwar Population Census seems to imitate it. Furthermore, it is estimated that the problem with determining potential unemployed persons before the war has carried over into the postwar Temporary Survey of Labour Force Survey and the Employment Status Survey.
