This Mikrozensus special survey from March 1995 is the first that was conducted wholly according to international standards. For many years the European Union has obligated its member countries to annually conduct a standardised labour force survey in spring. Since 1995 Austria, as a EU-member, has to conduct this survey too. The relevance of this survey lies in the fact that the results on employment and unemployment from the LFS directly influences the financial support Austrian regions receive from the European Union. In addition, the data is also used for other support measures (for instance for certain population groups such as teenagers) and for the European administration’s general need for information.