The French Labour Force Survey was created in 1950, in order to provide a measure of the labor force size on a regular basis - so far not available through the population Census - and to count the number of unemployed individuals. Over the decades, a number of methodological innovations were introduced, mostly concerning sampling schemes, data collection, and computerized data analysis. The French Labour Force Survey is the only source making it possible to deal with unemployment according to the standards defined by the International Labour Office (ILO). It is part of the scheme of the European labor force surveys. Periodically, the general population census has marked the opportunity to modify the labor force survey. Thus the years 1960, 1968, 1975, 1982 and 1990 were the starting point for new survey series. From 2003 on, the survey became continuous and was conducted on a quarterly basis, replacing the former annual survey. Data collection is carried out continuously throughout the year.