A person in disguised unemployment is a person outside the labour force who would like to be gainfully employed and would be available for work within a fortnight, but who has not looked for work in the past four weeks. The reason for disguised unemployment is giving up searching for a job or other reasons, such as studies, caring for children or health reasons.

The Labour Force Survey data collection is based on a random sample drawn twice a year from the Statistics Finland population database. The monthly sample consists of some 12,000 persons and the data are collected with computer-assisted telephone interviews.