ECONOMIC INDICATORS Sources and Methods

STATISTICS DIRECTORATE

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS Sources and Methods

LABOUR AND WAGE STATISTICS

APRIL 1997

ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT Table of contents

Page

1. Introduction...... 5 2. Explanatory notes...... 9 Canada ...... 10 Mexico...... 23 United States...... 31 Japan ...... 43 Australia...... 52 New Zealand...... 63 Austria...... 75 Belgium...... 85 Czech Republic...... 90 Denmark...... 97 Finland ...... 103 France...... 113 Germany...... 124 Greece ...... 134 Iceland...... 139 Ireland ...... 145 Italy ...... 155 Luxembourg...... 162 Netherlands ...... 167 Norway ...... 174 Portugal ...... 182 Spain ...... 190 Sweden ...... 200 Switzerland...... 208 Turkey ...... 213 United Kingdom ...... 221

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © 3 April 1997 1. Introduction

This publication contains detailed descriptions of MEI has expanded in response to the many changes the methodologies used by Member countries in the which have taken place in the labour market itself and compilation of key labour market indicators published in the statistics needed to measure newly emerging in Parts One and Two of OECD's Main Economic trends. Although a discussion on these issues is not Indicators (MEI) publication. The topics covered are usual in a publication dealing with the sources and employment, unemployment, wages and other labour methods of statistical indicators, its inclusion is felt indicators such as job vacancies, labour disputes, warranted as an effort 'to set the scene' for what has hours of work and unit labour cost. happened and for what might happen in the area of labour market statistics. To assist the reader in interpreting the data, the OECD has produced this Sources and Methods publication, using a standard list of metadata items to fa- Labour Market Developments cilitate comparison of the different characteristics of The evolution of the labour market in the past two the national statistics regarding their coverage, defini- decades has been significant not only in terms of its tion, use of standards, data collection methods, data wide-ranging nature, but also in terms of the pace compilation and quality aspects. with which it has proceeded. Some statistical series, Methodological descriptions are presented for the for example the numbers of persons with temporary indicators of each country according to the principal work contracts, have been, or are being, produced in source of the statistics. These are: (i) establishment response to this new environment. However, meth- surveys, which are frequently the source for informa- odological and budgetary difficulties have prevented tion on employment, earnings and hours of work; all statistical gaps from being filled. Furthermore, (ii) household labour force surveys, which provide changes in the market are continuing and these will information on employment, unemployment and undoubtedly result in additional requirements for sta- hours of work; and (iii) administrative or other tistical measures. Outlined below are some of the sources, which are mainly used to compile unem- major factors at work within the area, influencing ployment, job vacancy and labour dispute statistics. present and future information needs. Given the trend Occasionally an indicator is derived from a combina- towards increased international co-ordination of pol- tion of these sources where, for example, an estab- icy initiatives, greater emphasis on internationally lishment survey and administrative data each provide comparable definitions and treatments should emerge. information on the subject covered. Additionally one The rise in unemployment and the associated ur- source may be used for projections of benchmark data gency for job creation programmes have highlighted obtained from other sources. the need for a wider range of statistics on unemploy- For each principal source, indicators are presented ment. A deeper insight is needed into the composi- according to the same categories and sub categories tion of unemployment (by age group, by gender, by used in Part Two of MEI. An asterisk flags those skill/education levels, etc.) and its duration (short- indicators which are included only in Part One of term versus long-term). There is also the need to MEI. The publication is up-to-date for the indicators accommodate within the statistics: (i) the concept of included in the April 1997 issue of MEI. 'underemployment' where persons in paid or self employment are available for and seeking additional A sources and methods guide in this area was work, (ii) the concept of 'labour market withdrawal' published nearly twenty years ago1 and covered a where persons are discouraged from seeking work narrower range of subjects, albeit concentrating on the and who would, under present definitions, not be main indicators of employment, hours and wages. considered as unemployed; (iii) the concept of 'hid- Over the years, the range of indicators published in den unemployment' where persons are effectively unemployed but are, for example, enrolled in gov- 1 Sources and Methods: Employment, Hours and Wages (Paris, ernment employment or training schemes, or where OECD, 1978). the label ‘disabled’ has a different meaning in different countries.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 5 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 At the same time as the interest in the characteris- in the OECD region differ with respect to the use of tics of unemployment has increased, there have been such identifiers. The Nordic countries, for example, demands by analysts for a better measurement of the use official identifying numbers and Central Persons structure of the labour force. These demands relate to Registers, which facilitate the linking of multiple the marked decrease in job security, the increase in sources of data. own account work, the need for a higher level of skills, the increasing role of the services sector as the Changes in data collection provider of jobs, the ageing of the labour force, the development of non-standard employment (part-time One notable change over the recent period has positions, work sharing etc.) and even the increased been the increased importance of the labour force awareness of hidden employment where employment survey as the principal vehicle for statistical data col- is not declared to the appropriate authorities. lection. All labour market statistics tend to evolve over time, with adjustments made to such aspects as Labour Market Accounting sample size and structure (for labour force survey sources, for example) and to the administrative pro- Developments in the use to which statistics are put visions (for administratively derived data). In most are themselves important influences on the statistical cases such changes are minor, but occasionally can base, often exerting a need for new series. In the area cumulatively become significant and affect the inter- of labour market analysis, labour market accounting temporal comparability of the series. For example has gained prominence. Certain countries aim for the unemployment figures from monthly counts at public comprehensive integration of statistics on all aspects employment offices can be quite seriously affected by of the operation of the labour market to attain a better, changes in the eligibility for benefits. more consistent statistical description of related phe- This increased reliance on labour force surveys nomena. The accounting process may comprise an results primarily from the need of national agencies to investigation into the differences between sources, have not only an up-to-date measure but a more de- and plotting of the often complex inter-relationships tailed picture of trends in employment and unem- between the indicators. For other countries the main ployment. To a lesser degree, there is a need to meet objective is to explain inconsistencies between the requirements for international comparability of data. different sources rather than achieve complete rec- At the national level, adherence to international con- onciliation. ventions is understandably secondary to the need to Labour market accounting may go beyond the have accurate and timely series for analysis and pol- rather simpler relationships explored in, for example, icy formulation. The rapid change in the labour mar- a labour force survey, seeking to examine such as- ket experienced in the last few decades underscored pects as the relationship between job creation on the the inadequacy of the traditional data sources in this one hand and wages, non-wage labour costs, area and provided an impetus for the adoption of a skill/educational levels, trade flows and prices, for- labour force survey approach. Fortunately, it is this eign investment, etc. on the other. The results of such survey which produces data that allow international an exercise may eventually be integrated in the comparisons. Labour force surveys are the means by framework of a social accounting matrix. which countries are able to provide unemployment and employment statistics that are in line with the For many National Statistical Offices the driving International Labour Office (ILO) guidelines. Work force behind the use of administrative and survey is currently underway at the OECD on a 'Sources and sources to complement one another has been the need Methods' publication for standardised unemployment to reduce the response burden on businesses, and also rates. to cut their own data collection costs by reducing the number of surveys, while at the same time responding Establishment surveys will no doubt continue to to the increased demand for statistical information. be an important data source, particularly when the One important effect of the use of a mix of different requirement is for detailed data by economic sector, sources has been the increase in the quality of the or when precise data are needed for use in the devel- statistics as the process of comparison and reconcilia- opment of series such as unit labour costs and pro- tion has shed light on previous shortcomings in the ductivity measures. Given the substantial response data. burden associated with these surveys, it is unlikely that they will be extended to any degree beyond their Linking databases from different sources is easier present application, primarily the larger firms in the when unique identifiers exist for persons. Countries

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 6 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 industrial sector. And yet it is in the commercial or release of the data. Alongside the use of computers private service sector, which often comprises small- there has been an increased tendency to replace the scale establishments, where most employment growth face-to-face interview with a telephone interview. In is to be found and where the need for statistics is such cases the electronic questionnaire is completed greatest. The labour force survey may be a more directly onto the computer, again considerably efficient and cost effective approach to generate the speeding up the processing of the data. All such sys- required information for this sector as a whole or for tems have built-in verification procedures and checks major groups. to ensure the viability of the data. For reasons of both cost and timeliness, the use of To match the changes in the methods of data col- administrative data has been significant, particularly lection, there have been substantial improvements in as regards the number of registered unemployed and the area of data dissemination. There is no doubt that job vacancy data. But this source was not initially the traditional form of dissemination, statistics in intended as a statistical source. It was and is a basis print, still dominates, but it is equally evident that it is for the review of particular social programmes, the being augmented by electronic forms of access. provisions of which are often subject to frequent Many of the key publications on labour market statis- change. As an example, in times of budgetary re- tics in Member countries are now available on disk- straints, governments reduce the length of time during ette or CD-Rom, and the growth of on-line services is which unemployment benefits are paid and this obvi- a key development with the Internet providing great ously impacts on the number of 'registered unem- potential for the user. Many national statistical agen- ployed'. Because of such shortcomings, there has cies now have their own Internet web sites and some been a move away from administrative data to survey international organisations also provide access to in- sources for labour market information. This goes formation on statistical methods and/or the data them- against the general tendency in statistics to rely less selves. However, opening up access to microdata on heavily on surveys and more on administrative these different types of media raises questions about sources. the confidentiality of data gathered, for example, in household or establishment surveys and as a conse- Although labour force surveys can produce the quence stringent efforts are made in the area of dis- type of data that both the statistician and the policy closure control. analyst require, cost considerations often preclude their extension to a monthly or sometimes even quarterly basis. As a consequence, some countries adjust Method of Updating the Sources and Methods the benchmark labour force survey results on unem- publication ployment with administrative data to derive monthly This revised version of the Sources and Methods estimates. Some countries also combine administra- publication has been produced with the co-operation tive data, for example employer tax records for of the National Statistical Offices and other agencies smaller establishments, with data derived from sam- of OECD Member countries. The process followed ple or census surveys for larger establishments. In was to first devise a questionnaire for each of the this way, costs are reduced but accurate information is subject headings, identifying all items in the table obtained, albeit at a delay compared with labour force listed on page 9. The questionnaires were then com- survey results. pleted, as much as possible using existing informa- tion2. In order to verify the information and to ensure Impact of information technology on changes that any recent changes were incorporated, the ques- in data collection and dissemination tionnaires were sent to the relevant statistical agencies for comment. Comments were received from the Developments in information technology have considerably improved data collection and data editing. Information can now be collected from firms by 2 means of electronic questionnaires and interactive Various ILO Sources and Methods publications proved to be a valuable source: Sources and Methods: Labour Statistics, Volume 2 editing. Interviewers in the household surveys are Employment, Wages, Hours of Work and Labour Costs now often equipped with a portable computer. At the (Establishment Surveys) (ILO, Geneva, 1995); Volume 3 Economi- end of a period of fieldwork for collection, the inter- cally Active Population, Employment, Unemployment and Hours of viewer sends the completed questionnaires electroni- Work (Household Surveys) (ILO, Geneva, 1990); Volume 4 Employ- cally to the statistical bureau where the statistical ment, Unemployment, Wages and Hours of Work (Administrative Records and Related Sources) (ILO, Geneva, 1989); Volume 7 Strikes collation takes place thus speeding up the eventual and Lockouts (ILO, Geneva, 1993).

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 7 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 majority of statistical agencies in the Member coun- of metadata items). Relevant items are filled in when tries. information is available: titles of missing items do not appear in the text. Information is presented by Organisation of metadata country and within each country by principal source. The source is indicated at the beginning of the sec- The methodological information is presented action. It should be noted that the mention “Indicators cording to a standard structure for OECD Sources and from administrative and others sources” is used even Methods publications (see page 9 for a complete list if the data are compiled from only the one source.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 8 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 2. Explanatory notes

Within each category (e.g. Labour) and sub- items have been omitted because they were not rele- category (e.g. Employment), each indicator is de- vant or on occasions, because the information was scribed according to a standard list of metadata not available. The list is as follows: items. Depending on the indicator, some of these METADATA ITEMS

SOURCE DATA COLLECTION (continued) Source agencies Administrative source details Key national publication sources Description Series title in national publications Update procedures Breakdown available Quality assessment Methodological references Access and control for statistical usage Run of data available Statistical techniques for processing data Periodicity Multiple source details Unit of measurement Description Standard combination framework CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Statistical techniques for combining multiple sources Definition Reporting date in relation to the event measured Coverage Time lapse between event and processing Reference period Geographical coverage DATA MANIPULATION Statistical population Classification coverage Aggregation / Grossing up Particular exclusions Grossing up method Aggregation method STANDARDS Weights for aggregation Seasonal and other adjustments Standard systems / framework Other manipulations Standard classifications / nomenclatures International comparability DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Departures from international standards Sampling errors and their corrections DATA COLLECTION Other errors and their corrections Missing data in time series Reporting units Breaks in time series Reporting method Preliminary estimates Survey details Revision policy Description of questionnaire Corroborating data Master list Timeliness Survey description Release dates Non-response rate

ABBREVIATIONS USED

EU - European Union; ISIC - International Standard Industrial Classification of All ICSE - International Classification by Status in Employment; Economic Activities; ILO - International Labour Office; ISCO - International Standard Classification of Occupations; ISCED - International Standard Classification of Education; NACE - General industrial classification of economic activities within the European Communities.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 9 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 CANADA Labour - Employment Indicators from the monthly (a) Civilian employment * Labour Force Survey (LFS) (b) Part-time Labour - Unemployment (c) Total (d) Rate (e) Short-term unemployment

SOURCE and unemployment data by: Source agencies -age; - gender; Data are compiled by Statistics Canada - duration; (Household Surveys Division). - province; - job search method. Key national publication sources Methodological references Data are available in the monthly publication, Statis- tics Canada, The Labour Force. Methodological information can be found in the following publications of Statistics Canada, Guide to Most of the information is also available on-line Labour Force Survey Data, (Catalogue 71-528), through CANSIM (Canadian Socio-Economic Infor- Redesigning the Canadian Labour Force Survey mation Management System) and on CD-Rom. Questionnaire, The Labour Force.

Series title in national publications Run of data available (a) Employment; The monthly survey has been carried out since 1953. (b) Part-time employment; (c) Unemployment; Periodicity (d) Unemployment rate; Data are compiled on a monthly basis. (e) Duration of unemployment, 4 weeks or less. Unit of measurement Breakdown available Civilian employment, Part-time employment, Unem- ployment: number of persons; Employment data are published in the national source by: Unemployment rate: percentage; Short-term unemployment: original data expressed as -age; number of persons are converted to an index by - gender; OECD. - industry; - occupation; CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE - full-time\part-time; Definition - province; - number of hours worked; (a) Employed persons are those who, during the refer- - job tenure; ence week, did any work for pay or profit. This - status in employment (employees, self em- includes paid work in the context of an employer- ployed, etc.); employee relationship, or self employment. It also

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 10 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 includes unpaid family work, which is defined as (d) The Unemployment rate is defined as the number unpaid work contributing directly to the operation of unemployed persons expressed as a per cent of of a farm, business or professional practice owned the civilian labour force. Labour force comprises and operated by a related member of the same the unemployed plus the employed. household. Also included are those who had a job (e) Short-term unemployment refers to the number of but were not at work due to own illness or disabil- persons who have been unemployed for four ity, personal or family responsibilities, weather, weeks or less. vacation, labour dispute or other reasons (excluding persons on lay-off and those with a job Coverage to start at a future date). (b) Part-time employment refers to those persons Reference period fulfilling the basic requirements to be counted as Data refer to a specific week each month, normally in civilian employment, but usually working less the week containing the 15th day. than 30 hours per week. (c) Unemployed persons are those who, during the Geographical coverage reference week, were without work and Coverage is national except for the Yukon and North − had actively looked for work in the past four West Territories. Measures are taken to ensure even weeks (ending with the reference week) and coverage throughout the ten provinces. were available for work. Students seeking part-time work are regarded as available and Statistical population are included in the unemployed. Full-time stu- Canadian non-institutional population aged 15 and dents looking for full-time work are classified over. as not available for work in the reference week and are therefore not unemployed; Particular exclusions − had not actively looked for work in the past The Yukon and North West Territories are not in- four weeks but had been on lay-off and were cluded in the survey. Also excluded are persons liv- available for work (persons classified as being ing on Indian reserves, persons living in institutions on lay-off only when they expect to return to (such as inmates in prisons or patients in hospitals and the job from which they were laid off); nursing homes) and full-time members of the armed − had not actively looked for work in the past forces. four weeks but had a new job to start in four weeks or less from the reference week, and STANDARDS were available for work. ‘Actively looking for work’ means having taken Standard systems / framework any of the following steps in the four weeks be- Definitions of employment and unemployment are in fore the interview: checking with a public or pri- line with the ILO guidelines. vate employment agency; with unions or employers directly, or with friends and relatives; placing Standard classifications / nomenclatures or answering an advertisement; looking at job ad- Industry: 1980 Standard Industrial Classification vertisements, etc. (SIC), which conforms to ISIC, 306 groups. Since 1976 the LFS has collected job description Occupations: 1980 Standard Occupational Classifi- information for those regarded as unemployed but cation (SOC) 498 groups. who have worked within the past five years. However, from January 1996 these questions were asked only of those who have worked within the DATA COLLECTION past 12 months. The changes were made to im- Reporting units prove the relevance of the classifications of the data by industry and occupation, in particular Households. providing a better measure of labour displace- ment. Reporting method The LFS uses household interviews with a rotating sample of units occurring at each stage of the multi-

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 11 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 stage design. Households are replaced every six between redesigns. The LFS has a sample of ap- months while successively higher staged units remain proximately 48 000 households involving some in the sample for longer periods of time. 100 000 persons. Data collection is carried out during the week follow- Each of the ten provinces is divided into a number of ing the reference week of the survey by members of a economic regions which are basically geographical permanent survey organisation. Interviewers contact areas of the country with similar economic structures. each of the households in the sample through personal Each of these regions is then divided into self- and/or telephone interviews. Each interviewer con- representing units and non-self-representing units, the tacts approximately 65 designated dwellings and con- former being urban areas which are large enough to ducts a personal interview in all dwellings where in- yield a sample of at least 50 dwellings and the latter terviews are being conducted for the first time. In are those areas lying outside the self-representing most areas, provided the respondent agrees, subse- units comprising rural and small urban areas. These quent interviews may be conducted by telephone. The two classifications are then used to determine the interviewers are allowed to accept response about all stratification of the sample. Hospitals, schools, hotels, eligible members of the household from any respon- military establishments and the like, as well as remote sible member (14 years of age and over) of that areas, are designated as special areas. household. Non-response rate Survey details Special measures are used to compensate for non- Description of questionnaire response including deriving a suitable response based on other information collected in the LFS, using data The current questionnaire is computer assisted, re- gathered from a correspondent from a previous inter- placing the paper and pencil version last used in 1994. view or choosing a response from a respondent with From early 1995 interviewers have recorded the similar demographic and socio-economic characteris- household responses onto a laptop computer when in tics. Total non-response is handled by either using the field, or directly onto a computer in the case of information from a previous interview or re-weighting subsequent telephone interviews. The structure of the the results to compensate for the missing data. questionnaire has also been the subject of extensive revision with the new version implemented in January 1997. The revision process addresses gaps in the sur- DATA MANIPULATION vey due to changes in the labour market, the need to Aggregations / Grossing up sequence questions more effectively and to make optimum use of the computer assisted interviewing Grossing up method technique. The respondent is give the option of answering in English or French and the sequence of Inverse sampling ratios are used to provide estimates questions is as follows: job attachment; past job at- at national and sub-national levels. tachment; job description; separation from work (e.g. Seasonal and other adjustments temporary lay-off or termination of contract); main hours of work; absence from work; job search; avail- Seasonal adjustments are carried out using the X-11 ability for work; earnings, trade union membership, variant of the US Bureau of the Census Method II job permanency; firm size; class of worker and hours Seasonal Adjustment Computer Programme and the worked at other jobs; temporary lay-off job search; ARIMA (auto-regressive integrated moving average) previous separation; school attendance; summer stu- models to produce twelve-month projections of the dent context. Interviewers have relevant coding in- unadjusted data series. For the country as a whole the structions and the computer indicates the direction of seasonally adjusted data for unemployment are de- questioning according to the responses received. rived by the summation of the appropriately seasonally adjusted estimates for males and females Master list (separately) aged 15-24 and 25 years and over. The unemployment rate is seasonally adjusted by the The results of the latest decennial Census. ‘indirect method’ (i.e., the seasonally adjusted unem- Survey description ployment rates are the seasonally adjusted unemployment levels expressed as a percentage of the sea- The sampling frame is derived from the latest Census sonally adjusted labour force). with updating taking account of population growth

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 12 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS prior to January 1997 persons on temporary lay-off were not identified as such and were classified as Sampling errors and their corrections “inactive’ rather than “unemployed”. The sampling error in the survey is not known although the standard deviation is estimated from the Revision policy sample data. The various quality controls help ensure The LFS undergoes a sample redesign every ten years that sampling errors are minimised. following the decennial census and aimed at improv- ing the efficiency and utility of the survey. The final Other errors and their corrections stage of the latest redesign (following the 1991 cen- Non sampling errors are reduced by careful design of sus) was carried out in January 1997. Following the questionnaires, intensive training and supervision of reviews of the survey method after each decennial interviewers and a thorough control of the processing census, key data are reworked on the revised basis operations. back to 1976.

Breaks in time series Timeliness From January 1976 the revisions to sample size and Data are released approximately ten working days survey method were introduced. In 1995 a computer after the reference period. assisted interviewing system replaced the paper and pencil method. In January 1997 major revisions were Release dates made to the questionnaire, sample design, collection The release dates for the upcoming year are an- technology and processing systems aimed at improv- nounced in The Daily, (Catalogue no. 11-001- ing data quality. One result of this change is that XPE) in December of each year.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 13 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 CANADA Labour - Employment Indicators from the monthly Survey (a) Manufacturing: employees of Employment, Payrolls and Hours Labour - Other (SEPH) and other sources (b) Weekly hours of work Wages (c) Hourly earnings (d) Unit labour cost

SOURCE Run of data available Source agency The Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours was introduced in 1983. Data are compiled by Statistics Canada (Labour Di- vision). Periodicity Key national publication source Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Data are available in the monthly publication, Statis- Unit of measurement tics Canada, Employment, Earnings and Hours, on CD-Rom, diskette, computer printout, microfilm, Employees: number of employees on payrolls; microfiche, magnetic tape and on-line through the Weekly hours of work: number of hours; CANSIM system. Hourly earnings: original data in Canadian dollars Series title in national publications are converted to an index by OECD;

(a) Employees: manufacturing; Unit labour cost: original data of the wage and salary component are in Canadian dollars. (b) Average weekly hours (incl. overtime): manufacturing; (c) Average hourly earnings (incl. overtime): CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE manufacturing; Definition (d) Wages and salaries per unit of output: manufacturing (unpublished). (a) Employees: manufacturing refers to all persons in the manufacturing industries drawing pay for Breakdown available services rendered or for paid absences and for Data for Employment, Hours and Earnings are avail- whom the employer must complete a particular revenue form (Revenue Canada T-4 Supplemen- able in the national source by: tary form). They include full-time employees, - industry; part-time employees, working owners, directors, - employee category; partners and other officers of incorporated busi- - geographic region. nesses. Methodological references Employees are classified into the following three categories: Detailed methodological information is published in − employees paid by the hour; any employee Employment, Earnings and Hours. whose basic wage is expressed as an hourly rate;

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 14 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 − salaried employees; any employee whose ba- Coverage sic remuneration is a fixed amount for at least one week; Reference period − other employees; those employees whose ba- Data refer to the last seven days of the month, but the sic remuneration is in the form of commis- questionnaire allows respondents to report for the last sions, piece rates, mileage allowances, etc. pay period of the month.

(b) Weekly hours of work refer to hours paid for. They Geographical coverage comprise all hours worked i.e. total overtime The whole country. hours of employees paid by the hour, and hours in the standard work week of salaried employees. Classification coverage They also include hours of paid absence for holidays, sick leave, jury service, etc. Sections 101-399 of the 1980 Standard Industrial Classification. (SIC). (c) Hourly earnings. Data are collected on the total Statistical population payroll for each employee category. The payroll includes regular pay, overtime payments, regu- All firms and establishments. There is a census of all larly paid commissions and bonuses, salaries of establishments with 300 or more employees, a sample working directors, as well as payments for time survey of medium-sized establishments in the range not worked (e.g., for paid holidays, sick leave in- 100-299 employees and a sample of administrative cluding industrial injury and personal leave for records for employers with fewer than 100 employ- reasons such as bereavement, jury service, etc.). ees. Irregular payments or regular payments that do not apply to the reference period of the survey Particular exclusions such as cumulative payments, vacation pay cover- Excluded are casual workers where a T-4 revenue ing more than the reported pay period, termination form does not apply; persons who did not receive any pay, quarterly or annual payments, retroactive pay from the employer for the entire survey reference payments, commission settlements, cost of living period (e.g. persons on strike, on unpaid holidays, allowances, etc., are collected separately and are receiving remuneration from an insurance, work- adjusted to coincide with the reference period. men’s compensation or other related funds). Employ- Average hourly earnings is obtained by dividing ees paid by the employer for a part of the reference the total weekly payrolls by the total weekly period and unemployed or on strike for the rest are number of hours. counted as employed. (d) The Unit labour cost index is calculated by The target population is all employers in Canada ex- OECD. Wages and salaries are divided by output cept those primarily involved in agriculture, fishing, and the result converted to an index. Output is trapping, private household services, religious organi- GDP at factor cost in the manufacturing sector sations and defence services . and is based on the Index of Production in Manu- facturing. The information on wages and salaries comes from the annual benchmark assessment STANDARDS carried out by the Labour Income Section of Sta- tistics Canada, principally based on taxation rec- Standard systems / framework ords supplemented by other administrative Definitions of employees comply with ILO recom- sources. Wages and salaries include directors’ mendations. fees, bonuses, commissions, gratuities, income in kind, taxable allowances and retroactive wage Standard classifications / nomenclatures payments. Wages and salaries are estimated on a gross basis. The monthly projections apply the re- Industry: 1980 SIC. sults of the SEPHours to the annual baseline in- Geographic region: 1986 Standard Geographical formation on wages and salaries. Classification (for Canada).

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 15 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 DATA COLLECTION − the number of employees absent without pay; Reporting units − the reasons for large variations in employment, payrolls or hours from the previous Establishments. month. The questionnaire is accompanied by a four-page Reporting method leaflet containing general information on the survey A combination of surveys and administrative records purpose and confidentiality and instructions to com- including mail, telephone, computer reports, are used plete the form. for the compilation of the data. Survey description A SEPH questionnaire is mailed to the payroll offices of all large size establishments and of the sample of The sampling frame for the establishment survey is medium size establishments each month. Telephone derived from the Business Register and is reckoned to interviews are used for respondents expressing a pref- cover some 97 per cent of all units at any one time erence for this approach. Computer printouts are and virtually all those in employment. supplied to those respondents who prefer to report The administrative survey covers payroll deduction their data through their computerised payroll systems. accounts where the data source for employment and For small establishments, administrative information gross monthly payrolls for smaller businesses is avail- for total gross monthly payrolls and the total number able and usable. The frame for small businesses used of employees is obtained from payroll deduction ac- for the administrative survey is continuously updated counts maintained by Revenue Canada. Additionally with new business start-up information. these small firms are covered by their own survey, the In the establishment survey about 30 000 establish- Small Business Payroll Survey (SBPS). This is con- ments are involved out of a total population of around ducted monthly using computer assisted telephone 100 000. The population is stratified by industry, 12 interview techniques and covers those pieces of in- geographical areas (provinces), and four size groups formation not covered by the administrative data; giving a total of 768 strata. The total sample is com- Information on general government services is pro- posed of around 20 000 census units and 10 000 vided by the Public Institutions Division of Statistics sampled units. Canada The administrative survey accesses information on payrolls and employment in establishments for the Survey details last pay month based on returns to Revenue Canada. The information covers the majority of small busi- Description of questionnaire nesses which account for 93 per cent of all employers This consists of a bilingual two-page form which in Canada. From these records a sample of around collects information for the last pay periods of the 86 000 accounts is selected from the 800 000 or so on month and for each employee category and covers the file. The sample is longitudinal in that it is always following information: made up of the same units except when new businesses are created and those out of business are iden- − the beginning and end dates of the last pay tified. No sample rotation takes place. The Small periods; Business Payroll Survey (SBPS) uses a small rotating sub sample of 7 500 establishments from this payroll − the number of employees; information, classified by industry, provinces and − their regular gross pay (including overtime territories. The establishment survey accounts for pay) and overtime pay (separately); around 70 per cent of the total payroll employment in the country, with the balance made up by the adminis- − their hours of work; trative survey. and for the entire month information is also requested on: Non-response rate − irregular payments by employee category and Nationally less than one per cent of the firms sur- period covered; veyed refuse to report data. About 10 per cent of − total payroll for the survey month and since firms report too late to be included in the estimation the beginning of the year; process at all. Late reporters tend to be large firms

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 16 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 and those using the computer reporting service for DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS data collection. Sampling errors and their corrections Administrative data are received for about 60 per cent of the payroll accounts; an additional 20 per cent are The standard error and relative standard error or co- businesses without any employment or payrolls. efficient of variation are computed each month. In the establishment survey, data for non-responding Other errors and their corrections units which have been in the survey for more than one month, are imputed by calculating a ratio from units The survey also has a statistical quality control pro- that did respond and applying this ratio to the non- gramme at the data capture, business structure updat- respondent’s previous months data. For non- ing and data editing stages to minimise non-sampling responding units new to the survey, averages of the errors. These programmes monitor and control the responding businesses in the same industry division, completeness, accuracy and consistency of the re- province and size are used. For establishments with ported survey data. Procedures are in place to follow more than 300 employees, their previous months’ up for non-response and to cover for late responses. reports are carried forward. Breaks in time series In the administrative survey, there are four methods used to impute data: Before the introduction of SEPH in 1983, three main sources were used to collect employment, earnings − imputing zero, where the firm has indicated and hours data: the Employment, Payrolls and Man- to Revenue Canada that there are no employ- hours Survey, the Employment Sample Survey and ees in the month; other employment surveys. Breaks, for the period − imputing previous months information with a since 1983, arising from revisions to the series are month-by-month change ratio where there are shown under ‘Revision policy’. indications that the units have activity in the current month; Preliminary estimates − imputing based on current month stratum av- Preliminary data are published within 60 days of the erages in some cases where only one value reference period, and revised estimates 30 days later. has been reported; Revision policy − reweighting when an in-sample unit is sus- pected of being late in reporting. Since the introduction of the SEPH in 1983, it has been necessary to revise the estimates in line with new data sources and revised industry classifications DATA MANIPULATION and changes to the sampling frame. Historical revi- Aggregations / Grossing up sions covering the period January 1983 to December 1991 were produced in 1992, mostly relating to Aggregation method changes in the Business Register and the replacement of the 1970 SIC with the 1980 version. In March of Industrial information is produced at the 3 digit level each year, benchmark revisions are introduced for the then scaled up to the 2 digit level and then to the first latest four years. A major revision for 1996 was re- level of aggregation . leased in July 1996 Seasonal and other adjustments Corroborating evidence Seasonally adjusted estimates of employment and The SEPH payroll employment estimates are fre- average weekly earnings for all employees, for se- quently compared to those from the Labour Force lected industries, Canada, provinces and territories, Survey by way of a check of the statistics. A recon- are produced each month using the X-11 variant of ciliation process is also conducted between the SEPH the US Bureau of the Census Method II. data and public administration data to ensure com- patibility.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 17 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Timeliness Release dates The data are available within 60 days of the end of The release dates for the upcoming year are an- the reference period. nounced in Statistics Canada, The Daily (Catalogue no. 11-001-XPE) in December of each year.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 18 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 CANADA Labour - Other Indicators from administrative Help-wanted advertising and other sources

SOURCE CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Source agency Definition Data are compiled by Statistics Canada (Labour Di- Data measure the changes in the number of ‘help- vision). wanted’ advertisements from employers in 22 selected metropolitan area newspapers. Two newspa- Key national publication sources pers are selected for each of the metropolitan areas, Montreal and Ottawa. Data are available in the monthly publication, Statis- tics Canada, Canadian Economic Observer, on the Coverage daily computer printout and on-line through CANSIM. Reference period

Series title in national publications Data refer to one Saturday each month, usually the Saturday of the Labour Force Survey reference week, Help-wanted index. or a week which contains the 15th day of the month.

Breakdown available Geographical coverage The Help-wanted index is published in the national Selected metropolitan areas. source by: Metropolitan areas - province; region; Statistical population Canada. Number of advertisements in newspapers. Methodological references Particular exclusions A complete description of the methodology used to compile the index can be found in the publication, Excluded from the survey are advertisements: Statistics Canada, Help-wanted Index, (catalogue 71- − which do not appear in the classified section; 540). − for “position wanted”; Run of data available − for newspapers carriers; − The current series began in 1981. for lease operators; − which relate to vacancies in the United States. Periodicity Data are compiled on a monthly basis. DATA COLLECTION Reporting method Unit of measurement Count of advertisements in newspapers. The basic unit of measurement is a ‘help-wanted’ advertisement published in the classified section of surveyed newspapers. These are advertisements for job openings placed by employers in newspapers.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 19 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 DATA MANIPULATION − if newspapers for the previous Saturday are not available, data for the missing month (m) Aggregations / Grossing up are estimated using data for the previous month (m-1) and the percent of change of the Aggregation method sum of job advertisements over the past three For each newspaper, the number of advertisements is years for previous month (m-1) over the cur- divided by its 12-month average in the base period, rent month (m). currently 1991, to derive raw indices at the level of Data are adjusted for Easter week-end and December- each metropolitan area. holiday. When the reference date of the survey falls during Easter week or it is close to Christmas, the Indices at regional level are then calculated as the number of job advertisement usually declines signifi- weighted average of each metropolitan area indices cantly. On such occasions, the following adjustments with weights proportional to the population size. The are made: Canada index is the sum of the weighted metropolitan − Data are collected the Saturday of the week area indices adjusted for the proportion of the popula- before Easter; tion residing in the twenty areas surveyed. − In December, data are collected for a Satur- Weights for aggregation day which falls on or before the tenth day of the month. The population within a region is calculated as the sum of the population residing in the metropolitan Breaks in time series area surveyed. Prior to 1981, data are based on space occupied by Seasonal and other adjustments help-wanted advertising in a sample of 18 metropolitan newspapers. Seasonally adjusted series are calculated by Statistics Canada using X-11 ARIMA smoothed. Revision policy Indices are revised each year when final data for a DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS complete calendar year become available. At this date, data for the past four years are also revised. Errors and their corrections When newspapers are not available (due to strikes or Timeliness delivery problems for instance), data are estimated as Data are released on the Wednesday of the first or follows: second week following the reference month. − if available, newspapers for the previous Sat- urday are used to compile the index;

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 20 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 CANADA Labour - Other Indicators from administrative Labour disputes - time lost and other sources

SOURCE their employers but does not include indirect action not involving their immediate employer. Political Source agency strikes are included where the objective is to influence Data are compiled by Human Resources Develop- government policies on pay, working conditions or ment Canada (Labour Branch of the Workplace In- other labour related matters formation Directorate). A lockout is a suspension of work initiated by the employer or a group of employers as a result of fail- Key national publication source ure to reach agreement in the course of a dispute over Data are available in Human Resources Development terms of employment Canada, Collective Bargaining Review.

Series title in national publications Coverage

Person days lost in work stoppages. Geographical coverage Breakdown available The whole country. Information is regularly published in the national Statistical population source by: All those in employment are covered. - branch of economic activity - competent authority and geographical loca- Particular exclusions tion. No particular sectors or occupations are excluded. Self employed workers are not within scope. Also Run of data available workers laid off, temporary or casual workers and unpaid family workers are excluded. Overtime Data are available from July 1960. working is not included in the measurement of time not worked. Stoppages lasting less than half a day Periodicity and with fewer than ten person days not worked are Data are compiled on a monthly basis. excluded from the original series. STANDARDS Unit of measurement Standard systems / framework Person days not worked. Statistics conform to the ILO recommendations. CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Standard classifications / nomenclatures Definition Data are classified by branch of economic activity Data cover strikes and lockouts as a result of a dispute using 1970 SIC of Statistics Canada. over terms and conditions of employment. Illegal or unofficial action is included but go-slows are not. A strike is defined as a stoppage of work by a group of workers to press for the settlement of a demand or a grievance. Includes disputes between workers and

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 21 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 DATA COLLECTION - outcome of strike or lockout (500 series); - competent authority; Reporting method - name of employer; Information is compiled on an ongoing basis using the - geographical location; following key sources: - economic activity of employer; - name of trade union and its affiliation; − the provincial Departments of Labour - status of the contract. − the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS − the Canada Manpower Centres − the media Breaks in time series − employers The introduction of a revised size threshold for inclusion in the series in 1986 has affected the data either There is no legal obligation on any of these sources to side of that date. In 1986 a higher threshold for re- provide information on strikes or lockouts. cording stoppages was introduced. Those lasting at Data are collected on the following: least half a day and involving at least 500 workers only were included from that year. The original series - number of strikes and lockouts; (stoppages lasting at least half a day and with at least - number of workers involved; ten person days not worked) continues to be com- - duration of stoppage; piled and is available on request. - matter in dispute (500 series);

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 22 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 MEXICO Labour - Employment Indicators from the Monthly Industrial (a) Manufacturing Survey (Encuesta Industrial Mensual) Labour - Other (b) Monthly hours of work Wages (c) Real monthly earnings

SOURCE Unit of measurement Source agencies Data are published in base 1993=100 from January 1996 and were previously published in base Data are compiled by INEGI. 1980=100. Key national publication sources CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Data are available in the monthly publication INEGI, Indicadores del Sector Manufacturero. Definition (a) Employment in manufacturing refers to employees Series title in national publications in manufacturing industries. Data cover all man- (a) Indice del personal ocupado en la industria ual and non-manual workers who have worked in manufacturera. an establishment during the reference month and have received remuneration on a fixed or periodic (b) Indice de horas-hombre trabajadas en la indus- basis. tria manufacturera. Data include all employees on strike, vacation or (c) Indices de las remuneraciones medias reales on sick leave. They exclude persons laid off for an totales por persona ocupada : total. unspecified period, pensioners, persons working without remuneration and persons working on a Breakdown available freelance basis (paid by agreement, on fees or commission). Aggregated indices are published for total employees, (b) Monthly hours of work refers to actual hours for manual and for non-manual workers. worked by all manual and non-manual workers Data for total employees are also published for each (including temporary staff) in the manufacturing of the 9 CMAP divisions of the manufacturing sector sector. (see Classification coverage below). Included are all regular and supplementary hours, time spent on maintenance of machinery, cleaning Methodological references tools and preparation of the work. Excluded are Information on the methodology used to compile the interruptions for strikes, lockouts, technical stop- data can be found in the monthly publication INEGI, pages, holidays, sick leave and work interruption Indicadores del Sector Manufacturero. due to natural phenomena or other reasons. (c) Real monthly earnings refer to wages, salaries and Run of data available social benefits paid to all wage earners and salary earners (with indefinite or fixed-term contracts). Data are available from January 1980. Wages and salaries refer to total gross payments Periodicity to manual and non-manual workers for regular and supplementary hours worked during the refer- Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 23 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 ence month. Included are incentive and holiday Survey details pay, end of year and other bonuses, commissions paid to employees receiving regular wages and Description of questionnaire participation in enterprise profits. Excluded are The Monthly Industrial Survey collects information pensions and fees or commissions received by on employment, wages, hours worked, production persons working on a freelance basis. and sales as well as the value of In-bond export serv- Social benefits include medical services, food, life ices. insurance, employers' contribution to the Mexican Social Security Institute (Instituto Mexicano del Master list Seguro Social, IMSS) and the National fund for The sample frame is based on the 1994 INEGI indus- workers' housing (Instituto del Fondo Nacional de trial census. la Vivienda para los Trabajadores, INFONOVIT), compensation for lay-off, contri- Survey description butions to retirement schemes, and all contribu- The sampling unit is the manufacturing establish- tions which should be paid by the workers but ment. Establishments are classified according to their which are covered by the establishment. principal activity (which may change over time) in Social benefits do not include the value of uni- CMAP. forms, work clothes, and reimbursable expenses (for travel or representation costs). The sample is mainly purposive. In each of the 205 classes of activity covered by the survey, establish- Coverage ments are ranked by decreasing production value, according to the 1994 industrial census. Major estab- Reference period lishments are selected from this list to represent at Employment in manufacturing: averages of the num- least 80% of the total value of the manufacturing production in each class of activity. For some classes of ber of employees on the payroll during each week of activity, where enterprise turnover is too small, a the reference month. probabilistic sample has been used to complete the Monthly hours of work, Real monthly earnings: the sample described above. In each class of activity, a whole month. maximum of 140 establishments are selected nation- wide, even if they do not cover 80% of the total value Classification coverage of the production of these classes of activity. From 1994, data cover 205 classes of activity of the Non-response rate 1994 Mexican Classification of Activity and Products (Clasificación Mexicana de Actividades y Productos, Non-response is estimated to be 5% (of the total pro- CMAP). Prior to that date, data covered 129 CMAP duction value). Establishments which do not respond classes of activity (from 1987 to 1993) and 57 CMAP to the questionnaire are revisited with a view to de- classes of activity (from 1980 to 1986). creasing the non-response rate.

DATA COLLECTION DATA MANIPULATION Reporting units Aggregations / Grossing up Information is collected for major manufacturing Aggregation method establishments with more than 6 employees according Real monthly earnings: data are deflated by the con- to the 1994 industrial census. sumer price index (in base 1994=100) to obtain real wages. Reporting method

Data are collected by questionnaire each month by DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS enumerators from regional offices. They deliver the questionnaire to each establishment surveyed and Preliminary estimates help to complete it if necessary. Enumerators come Preliminary figures are indicated with a "P" in the back later in the month to collect the questionnaire. publication Indicadores del Sector Manufacturero.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 24 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Timeliness and release dates A calendar with release dates is issued by INEGI on a regular basis. This information can be accessed via Data for a particular month m are published by INEGI Internet on the INEGI server: between the 27th and the 29th day of the month m+2. http://www.inegi.gob.mx/.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 25 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 MEXICO Labour - Employment Indicators from administrative Insured persons and other sources

SOURCE − employers of insured workers; − Source agencies members of production co-operatives; − agricultural workers on public land (ejidatarios); Data are compiled by the Mexican Social Security − Institute (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, independent workers and persons employed in a IMSS). family business; − farm owners; Key national publication sources − students; Data are available in the monthly publication INEGI, − professional members of the armed forces. Cuaderno de Información Oportuna. Registration with the IMSS is on a voluntary basis for care and maternity services. Series title in national publications Coverage Asegurados en el Instituto Mexicano de Seguridad Social (IMSS): total. Reference period Breakdown available Data refer to persons who have been registered with the IMSS during the reference month. Aggregated data are calculated at regional and national levels for each class of economic activity and by kind of social insurance. DATA COLLECTION Reporting units Run of data available IMSS registers include information from more than Data are available from January 1980. 655 000 enterprises of all sizes in all economic sectors and in the whole country. Periodicity Data are compiled on a monthly basis. Reporting method Data are collected directly by the 36 regional IMSS Unit of measurement offices in the whole country. This information is then Data refer to the number of insured persons. transmitted to the national IMSS delegation in order to be compiled at the national level.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Data are derived from the administrative records of affiliation to the IMSS for persons on permanent con- Definition tracts (of unspecified duration) and persons insured on an voluntary basis. Data refer to persons registered with the IMSS, whether on a compulsory or voluntary basis. Data on the number of seasonal workers in the agricultural sector are derived from information on total Persons are obliged to register with the IMSS if they production and productivity (due to the high mobility are: of these workers); while data on the number of other − bound by a working contract (including persons temporary workers are based on information derived on permanent and on temporary contracts); from payrolls sent by the employers to the IMSS.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 26 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Administrative source details Update procedures

Description Employers are obliged to notify IMSS, within 5 days, of all changes to affiliation records (see above). The IMSS affiliation records contain information on the five following topics: Quality assessment − registration of a new business or new status of the It is compulsory for employers to communicate all employer; information to the IMSS. − new registration of an employee; − change of salary of the insured worker; DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS − persons no longer insured; Timeliness − registration for facultative insurance. Data for a particular month are published by INEGI during the following month.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 27 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 MEXICO Labour - Unemployment Indicators from the National Survey Rate on Urban Employment (Encuesta Nacional de Empleo Urbano)

SOURCE CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Source agency Definition Data are compiled by INEGI. The open unemployment rate (R1) is calculated by dividing the open unemployment figures by the total Key national publication sources labour force. The latter is defined as the number of employed persons plus the number of persons in Data are available in the monthly publication INEGI, “open” unemployment. Indicadores de Empleo y Desempleo. Employed persons are those who, during the refer- Series title in national publications ence week: − were aged 12 or over; Tasa de desempleo abierto (R1). − had worked for at least one hour for payment in Breakdown available kind or in money, or were self-employed; − were temporarily absent due to illness, holidays, Unemployment rates are published at national and leave, or for personal reasons, but were sure to city levels by: return to their work or business; − gender; − did not work but were due to start work within − age group; the next four weeks. − education level; Persons are considered to be unemployed (in “open” − economic activity. unemployment), if during the reference week, they: − have not worked for more than one hour; Methodological references − were available for work; The complete methodology used to compile the data − have actively sought employment during the last can be found in INEGI (December 1995), Encuesta four weeks or have not searched for employment Nacional de Empleo Urbano, Documento Met- in the last two months because of reasons related dológico. to natural conditions (e.g. poor harvest) or be- Methodological information can also be found in the cause of work stoppage. monthly publication INEGI, Indicadores de Empleo y The PEA includes professional members of the armed Desempleo. forces but excludes conscripts. Coverage Run of data available Data are available from January 1985. Reference period Interviews are held throughout the whole quarter. Periodicity Information on employment refers to the week prior Data are compiled on a monthly basis. to the interview. Unit of measurement Percentage.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 28 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Geographical coverage ment. (For more details see OECD, Main Economic Indicators, Sources and Methods: Mexico). City coverage has been gradually extended from 3 cities in 1973, 16 in 1985, 34, 37 and 39 respectively in the years 1992, 1993 and 1994. The present cover- DATA COLLECTION age has been 41 cities since January 1996. Reporting units According to the 1990 population census, the geographic coverage represents 92% of the total urban Households in 41 cities throughout the whole country. population in towns of 100 000 inhabitants or more and 65% of the population living in towns of 2 500 Reporting method inhabitants or more. Collection of unemployment data started in 1973 with Statistical population the Continuous Survey on Employment (Encuesta Continua Sobre Ocupación, ECSO). Data were col- Data are collected from households in urban areas in lected only for Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monter- the whole country, except those living in collective rey (the three main cities). In 1985, the ECSO survey dwellings such as hotels, hospitals, prisons, barracks. was replaced by the ENEU survey. Information is collected for professional members of the armed forces only when their private dwellings Data are collected by questionnaire directly from are included in the survey sample. households. The complete survey is conducted on a quarterly basis and a sub-sample of households (about Particular exclusions one-third) is visited monthly. Interviewers visit each household and complete the questionnaire with the Rural zones are excluded. Characteristics of the non- members of the household. urban Labour Force are obtained from specific bian- nual surveys conducted in rural areas. The sample of households is divided into several independent sub-samples with equal characteristics. It is rotated by one-fifth every quarter. Each sub- STANDARDS sample is included only five times in the survey, then International comparability it is dropped and replaced by a new one. The open unemployment rate (R1) is calculated ac- Survey details cording to ILO standards. Description of questionnaire • Informal sector The questionnaire in basically its current form has In the case of Mexico, the use of ILO standards may existed since 1985. It covers topics related to both be deceptive for several reasons. social characteristics and employment conditions of the household (e.g. location of work, size of em- As there is no unemployment insurance in Mexico, ployer's establishment, hours of work, income or many persons are engaged in marginal activities benefits received). (street vending, carrying out repair jobs, etc.). Thus the size of the informal sector is substantial. Recent Information on employment is collected from the INEGI surveys on the informal sector have introduced members of the household aged 12 or over. Social the concept of “marginal employment” (Encuesta characteristics (age, sex, relationship with the head of Nacional de Micronegocios). They show that, ac- the household, school history, date of birth, etc.) are collected for all members of the household. cording to the ILO concept, 35 % of the Mexican working age population is occupied in "marginal" Master list activities. These persons are not counted as unemployed in the sense of the ILO terminology. The sample frame is based on the 1990 INEGI population census. INEGI calculates ten complementary rates of unemployment in an attempt to measure the underemploy- Survey description ment that is not encompassed in the concept of the Open unemployment rate (R1). These ten rates are The sample is stratified and probabilistic (For full based on a combination of information on job details see OECD, Main Economic Indicators, searches, hours worked and income from employ- Sources and Methods: Mexico).

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 29 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Cities are divided into basic statistical units called Non-response rate Areas Geoestadísticas Básicas (AGEB) defined by Non-response is around 15 % of the total sample size. INEGI for the main purpose of the population census. An AGEB is homogeneous according to socio- economic criteria and includes on average 14-15 DATA MANIPULATION blocks of houses depending on the size of the city or the topography of the area. Aggregations / Grossing up Grossing up method AGEBs are first classified into 4 strata (according to In each city and for each of the variables surveyed, socio-economic characteristics High, Medium, Low results are grossed-up to the total population aged 12 and Marginal). years and over. These grossing-up factors are in- Within each city-strata a sample of households is versely proportional to the selection probabilities of drawn as follows: dwellings; they are derived from the results of the (i) AGEBs are first merged, if necessary, so as to 1990 population census. create Primary Sample Units PSUs containing Grossing-up factors are corrected by the percentage of between 240 and 480 dwellings; non-responses at SSU level. (ii) PSUs are selected with probabilities proportional Seasonal and other adjustments to the number of dwellings in them. The number of dwellings in each selected PSU is re-counted Seasonal adjustments are carried out by INEGI using and updated to account for new dwellings, etc. X11-ARIMA/88. since the last census; (iii) in each selected PSU, blocks of dwellings are DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS merged if necessary so as to create subsets of dwellings containing between 20 and 50 PSUs. Sampling error and their corrections The corresponding subsets are the Secondary Stages of quality control have been developed in the Sample Units (SSUs); field and in offices: 10% of the households are re- (iv) in each PSU, six SSUs are selected with prob- interviewed and data consistency is checked through abilities proportional to the number of dwellings. computer analysis. (v) finally an average of five dwellings is selected at random in each SSU. Preliminary estimates New PSUs are introduced each quarter (rotating Monthly estimates are calculated from a sub-sample sample), and the sampling frame (dwelling stratum, covering 33% of the total quarterly sample. new areas, changes in block size, etc.) is updated continually to take into account changes in city Timeliness and release dates structure. Data for a particular month are published by INEGI The sample size varies from 5 100 households visited between the 15th and the 18th day of the following quarterly in Mexico City to 2 100 households in the month. smallest of the 41 cities. The total size of the sample A calendar of release dates is issued by INEGI on a at national level is about 94 000 households. On a regular basis. This information can be accessed via monthly basis, the survey is conducted with about Internet on the INEGI server: 30 000 households in the whole country. http://www.inegi.gob.mx/.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 30 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 UNITED STATES Labour - Employment Indicators from the monthly Current (a) Civilian employment * Population Survey (CPS) (b) Part-time (economic reasons) Labour - Unemployment (c) Total (d) Rate (e) Short-term

SOURCE - marital status; - level of education/qualification. Source agency In addition, figures for unemployment are published The US Bureau of the Census, Department of Com- by: merce is responsible for the conduct of the survey and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Department of - duration; Labor for the specification of concepts and the dis- - reason for unemployment. semination of the results. Methodological references Key national publication sources Detailed methodological documentation is published in the BLS, Handbook of Methods (Chapter 1), and Principal data series are published in the news release also in Employment and Earnings. BLS, The Employment Situation, and more detailed data are available in the monthly publication, BLS, Employment and Earnings. Run of data available Data for the major data series such as total employed Series title in national publications and unemployed extend back to January 1948.

(a) Employed: total, 16 years and over; Periodicity (b) Employed persons: part-time for economic reasons; Data are compiled on a monthly basis. (c) Unemployed persons: total, 16 years and over; Unit of measurement (d) Unemployed, per cent of civilian labor force; Employment, Unemployment: number of persons; (e) Unemployed persons, less than five weeks. Unemployment rate: percentage. Breakdown available

Data for employed and unemployed are regularly CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE published in the national source by: Definition - industry; - race, Hispanic origin; (a) Employed persons are those who, during the refer- - gender; ence week, either: -age; − did any work at all (of at least one hour) as - occupation; paid employees, worked in their own busi- - region; ness, profession or on their own farm, or who - class of worker; worked for 15 hours or more as unpaid work- - part-time/full-time status;

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 31 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 ers in an enterprise operated by a member of Statistical population the family; or The civilian non-institutional population aged 16 − all those who were not working but who had years and over. jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily absent because of vacation, illness, Particular exclusions bad weather, child-care problems, maternity The survey excludes the institutional population; per- or paternity leave, labour-management dis- sons aged under 16; and members of the armed forces pute, job training or other family or personal stationed in both the USA and abroad. reasons, whether or not they were paid for the time off or were seeking other jobs. STANDARDS Each employed person is counted only once even if the person holds more than one job at the same Standard classifications / nomenclatures time. In industrial and occupational classifications of the data, such multiple job holders are counted Industry: 1990 Census Industrial Classification Sys- in the job at which they worked the greatest num- tem; ber of hours during the reference week. Occupation: 1990 Census Occupational Classifica- (b) Part-time employment comprises individuals who tion System; gave economic reasons for working 1 to 34 hours during the reference week. Economic reasons in- International comparability clude slack work or unfavourable business condi- Definitions of employment and unemployment tions, inability to find full-time work, and seasonal comply with the ILO guidelines. declines in demand. Those who usually work part- time must also indicate that they want and are available to work full-time. DATA COLLECTION (c) Unemployed persons are all those who, during the Reporting units reference week, had no employment and were available for work, except for temporary illness, The reporting unit is the household or housing unit or and had made specific efforts to find employment other living quarters, as identified from the Population some time during the four-week period ending Census records. with the reference week. Persons who were waiting to be recalled to a job from which they had Reporting method been laid off need not have been looking for work Data are collected in the monthly Current Population to be classified as unemployed.. Survey of households. A combination of personal and (d) The Unemployment rate is the number of unem- telephone interviews is carried out by a permanent ployed persons expressed as a per cent of the civil- survey organisation. Each month during the calendar ian labour force. The civilian labour force is equal week, Sunday through Saturday, containing the 19th to the unemployed plus the employed. day, interviewers contact a responsible person in the (e) Short term unemployment relates to persons un- sample households. For the first time of inclusion in employed for fewer than five weeks. the sample, the household is visited and a roster of household members is prepared, detailing their key Coverage characteristics. This roster is brought up to date at subsequent interviews. Personal visits are required in Reference period the first, second and fifth month that the household is involved with the survey. In other months the inter- The reference week of the survey is the calendar view may be conducted by telephone if the respon- week, Sunday through Saturday, which includes the dent agrees (approximately two-thirds of households 12th day of the month. are interviewed by telephone). Geographical coverage The whole country.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 32 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Survey details with the probability of selection proportionate to the population of the PSU. PSUs in strata by themselves Description of questionnaire are self-representing and are generally the most The questionnaire used was completely redesigned in populated ones in each State. Other strata are formed 1994 and the use of computer-assisted interviewing by combining PSUs that are similar in characteristics introduced for the whole survey. The aim was to ob- such as unemployment, proportion of housing units tain more accurate, comprehensive and relevant in- with three or more persons, number of persons em- formation using the more efficient computer-aided ployed in various industries, and average monthly system. The questions asked centre on the following: wages for various industries. The 1990 within-PSU labour force status (employed, unemployed, inactive); sample design was developed using block-level data duration, reason for unemployment; job search activi- from the 1990 census. The selection of the housing ties; occupation, industry and class of worker; multi- units within each PSU involves a sorting of the block- ple job holders; hours of work; part-time working and level data to ensure that the within-PSU sample re- reason; ethnic group; earnings, etc. flects the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the PSU. Within each block, housing units Master list are sorted geographically and grouped together into clusters of approximately four units. A systematic Decennial Census of Population. sample of these clusters is then selected. Survey description Part of the sample is changed each month and a given rotation group is interviewed for a total of eight A redesigned CPS sample based on block-level data months divided into two equal periods. It is in the from the 1990 decennial census formed the basis of a sample for four consecutive months in one year, new sample phased in between 1994/95. In 1996, the leaves for the following eight months and then rejoins original 1990 census-based sample design reliability for the same four months of the following year. criteria were modified to reduce costs. The CPS sample is supplemented by a sample of records of Non-response rate new building permits for property built since the last census. The CPS sample is located in 754 areas com- The proportion of sample households not interviewed prising over 1 000 counties and independent cities. ranges from 4 to 5 per cent in any one month. An Altogether around 59 000 housing units and other adjustment is made in weights for interviewed house- living quarters are designated for the sample each holds to account for non-interviews. month, of which some 50 000 are eligible for interview (around 9 000 are unoccupied or ineligible for DATA MANIPULATION other reasons). Information is obtained for about 92 000 individuals aged 16 and over each month, Aggregations / Grossing up giving a sampling fraction of about one in 2 255 in terms of both households and persons. Grossing up method The full sample is based on a stratified multi-stage The estimation procedure involves weighting the data design and is State-based. The entire area of the from each sample person by the inverse of the prob- country consists of 3 141 counties and independent ability of the person being in the sample. This gives a cities which is divided into 2 007 primary sampling rough measure of the number of actual persons that units (PSUs). With some minor exceptions, a PSU the sample person represents. Almost all sample per- consists of a county or a number of contiguous coun- sons within the same State have the same probability ties. Metropolitan areas within a State are used as a of selection. These estimates are then adjusted for basis for forming PSUs. Outside metropolitan areas, non-interviews and the ratio estimation procedure normally counties are combined, except where the applied. geographical area of the sample county is very large. A typical PSU therefore includes urban and rural resi- Seasonal and other adjustments dents of both high and low economic levels and en- The seasonal adjustment procedure used for the la- compasses as far as possible a diversity of occupa- bour force statistics is the X-11 ARIMA programme tions and industries. which is an adaptation of the standard ratio-to- The PSUs are grouped together into strata within each moving-average method and provides for ‘moving’ State and then one PSU is selected from each stratum

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 33 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 adjustment factors to take account of changing sea- tion of persons employed part-time for economic rea- sonal patterns. sons was tightened by adding two new criteria, namely that the part-time employee must want and be available for full-time work (previously this informa- DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS tion was inferred). Also in 1994, 1990 census-based Sampling errors and their corrections population controls, adjusted for the estimated under- count, were introduced into the second stage estima- Sampling errors exist but biases for most of the CPS tion procedure. This change resulted in substantial estimates are thought to be within acceptable levels of increases in total population and in all major labour confidence. force categories. Effective 1996, these controls were introduced into the estimates for 1990-93. Breaks in time series The lower age limit for official statistics on the labour Timeliness force was raised from 14 to the present 16 in January The CPS data are available approximately three 1967. Several modifications to the estimation proce- weeks after the reference period. dures were made each year from 1972 to 1975, and in 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, and 1989. In Release dates 1994 major changes to the CPS were introduced which included a complete redesign of the question- Release schedules for the coming year typically are naire and the use of computer-assisted interviewing published in the final news release of the current cal- for the entire survey. Some of the labour force con- endar year. cepts were also changed, in particular, the identifica-

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 34 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 UNITED STATES Labour - Employment Indicators from the monthly Current (a) Non-farm Employment Statistics (CES) survey (b) Manufacturing Labour - Other (c) Weekly hours of work (d) Weekly overtime hours Wages (e) Hourly earnings

SOURCE Methodological references Source agency Detailed methodological information is published in the BLS Handbook of Methods (Chapter 2) and in Data are compiled by the Department of Labor of the Employment and Earnings. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Run of data available Key national publication sources The first monthly survey was held in 1915. Summary data are first published in the BLS news release, The Employment Situation, more detailed Periodicity series are available in the monthly publication BLS, Employment and Earnings. Data are compiled on a monthly basis. Data are also available on Stat-USA via the Internet, the BLS home page at http:\\stats.bls.gov. Unit of measurement Employees: number of persons on payroll; Series title in national publications Weekly hours, Weekly overtime hours: number of (a) Employees on private non-farm payrolls, total; hours; (b) Employees on private non-farm payrolls, manu- Earnings: Original data in US dollars are converted facturing; to an index by OECD. (c) Average weekly hours of production workers on private non-farm payrolls, manufacturing; CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE (d) Average overtime hours of production workers on private non-farm payrolls, manufacturing; Definition (e) Average hourly earnings of production workers (a) Non-farm employment refers to the number of on private non-farm payrolls, manufacturing. employees on the payroll working in a full- or Breakdown available part-time capacity on private establishment payrolls who received pay for any part of the pay pe- Data on employees, hours and earnings are available riod which includes the 12th of the month. Sala- in the national source by: ried officers of corporations are included. Inter- mittent workers are counted if they performed any - industry; paid service during the month. Persons on estab- - gender; lishment payrolls who are on paid sick leave - State. (when pay is received directly from the firm), on paid holiday, on paid vacation, or who work during part of the pay period even though they are

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 35 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 unemployed or on strike during the rest of the pe- Particular exclusions riod are counted as employed. Excluded from the employment estimates are persons (b) Employment: manufacturing refers to employees who are on lay-off, on leave without pay, on strike for as described above working in establishments in the entire pay period which includes the 12th of the the manufacturing industries. month, or who were hired but have not yet reported (c) Weekly hours of work refer to average weekly during the period. hours for which pay was received by full-time and Excluded from overtime hours are hours for which part-time production workers in the manufactur- only shift differential, hazard, incentive or other ing industry during the pay period which includes similar types of premium were paid. the 12th of the month. They include overtime hours, hours paid for stand-by or reporting time, Excluded from earnings are irregular bonuses; other hours not worked but for which pay was received pay not earned in the pay period; tips; pay advances; directly from the firm for holidays, vacation, sick annual pay for unused leave; and the value of free and other paid leave. rent, fuel, meals, or other payments in kind. Em- (d) Weekly overtime hours refer to average weekly ployee benefits (e.g., health and other types of insur- hours worked by full-time and part-time produc- ance) and payroll taxes paid by employers are also tion workers in the manufacturing industry for excluded. which overtime premiums were paid because the hours were in excess of the number of hours of STANDARDS either straight-time workday or the workweek. They refer to the pay period which included the Standard classifications / nomenclatures 12th of the month. Weekend and holiday hours Industry: 1987 Standard Industrial Classification. are included if overtime premiums were paid. (e) Hourly earnings data are derived from the total Departures from international standards payroll of all full-time and part-time production workers in the manufacturing industry who re- The definition of earnings complies with the interna- ceived pay for any part of the pay period which tional guidelines on regular earnings with the follow- included the 12th of the month. Earnings are on a ing exception: the value of payments in kind (such as gross basis before deductions of any kind and in- food and drink, fuel, clothing, etc.) and housing and clude premium pay for overtime, late-shift work rent allowances are excluded. and incentive pay. They cover holidays, vacation and sick leave paid directly by the firm; other paid DATA COLLECTION leave; regularly occurring bonuses paid at each pay period; and commissions paid monthly. Reporting units Coverage The reporting unit is the establishment or economic unit and is generally a single location and engaged Reference period predominantly in a single economic activity.

The pay period which includes the 12th of the month. Reporting method Geographical coverage Data are collected in the monthly Current Employ- The whole country. ment Statistics Survey (CES) of non-farm establishments. Each month the state agencies collect data on Classification coverage employment, payrolls and paid hours, normally by post and through automated computer-assisted meth- Manufacturing industry as defined in the Standard ods, or touch-tone self-response, voice recognition Industrial Classification. technology and electronic data interchange. Statistical population Survey details All types and sizes of non-agricultural establishments. Description of questionnaire A ‘shuttle’ questionnaire is used for the postal respondents which is submitted each month and edited

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 36 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 by the state agency before being returned to the re- a specified month is obtained; a ratio of the previous spondent for use again the following month. The to the current month’s employment (i.e., the link technical characteristics of the shuttle schedule are relative technique) is computed from a sample of particularly important in maintaining continuity and establishments which reported for both months; and consistency in reporting from month to month. The beginning with the benchmark month and for each shuttle design automatically exhibits the trends of the cell, the all-employee estimate for one month is ob- reported data covered by the schedule during the year, tained by multiplying the all-employee estimate for thereby showing the relationship of the current data the previous month by the link relative for the current with those for the previous month. The schedules are month. Estimates for each basic cell are then aggre- checked for accuracy and consistency by the state gated to obtain higher level industry estimates. agencies before forwarding to the BLS for analysis. Annual universe counts or benchmark levels are gen- Master list erated in March each year and are used to realign the sample-based employment totals for March each year The universe file is the unemployment insurance reg- with total population counts for that date. Benchmark ister maintained by the State Employment Security levels are generated from administrative sources, in Agencies. Virtually all establishments must apply for the main on employees covered by unemployment register when they are “born”. The register is con- insurance tax laws. Following the revision of basic stantly updated on the basis of new start-ups in busi- employment estimates, all other derivative series are ness and overall it contains around seven million also recalculated. businesses. Seasonal and other adjustments Survey description All seasonally adjusted national estimates are pro- The sample design is known as ‘optimum allocation duced using X-12 ARIMA software developed by the proportional to employment’ and universe establish- Bureau of the Census. The X-12 ARIMA takes into ments are stratified first by state and then by industry account and adjusts for the variation in the number of size forming 1 703 basic cells. All large establish- weeks between survey reference periods. This new ments with 250 or more employees fall into the sam- seasonal adjustment procedure was implemented in ple with certainty. The number of required sample June 1996. All seasonally adjusted data from 1988 units for each of the smaller size classes depends on incorporate the new adjustment. the relative importance of the size class to the overall industry. The overall sample covers over 390 000 reporting units with a total employment of 47 million, DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS which represents around 4.4 per cent of the universe establishments and over one third of total universe Sampling errors and their corrections employment. Several measures of the reliability of the estimates are computed. The standard errors for employment, hours Non-response rate and earnings are computed using the method of ran- The link-relative method of adjustment avoids the dom groups and expressed as relative standard errors. need to make further adjustments for non-response. The reports with data for both the current and previ- Breaks in time series ous months form a matched sample and their over- the-month change is used to move the previous The major changes that have occurred have involved month’s estimates. industry classification but attempts have been made to ensure continuity of the time series.

DATA MANIPULATION Preliminary estimates Aggregations / Grossing up The Employment Situation contains preliminary national estimates for major industries for the preceding Grossing up method month. These are based on less than the full sample.

Estimates of employment are generated through an Revision policy annual benchmark and monthly sample link procedure using the three basic steps as follows: a total Following the revision of basic employment estimates employment figure for each basic estimating cell as of each March, all other derivative series such as aver-

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 37 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 age hourly earnings are recalculated. New seasonal Release dates adjustment factors are calculated and all seasonally adjusted data series for the previous five years are Release schedules for the coming year typically are readjusted prior to the full publication of the revised published in the final news release of the current cal- data each June. endar year.

Timeliness Data are available about three weeks after the reference period.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 38 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 UNITED STATES Wages Indicators from administrative Unit labour cost and other sources

SOURCE tion. It is computed by taking the ratio of the index of compensation of employees in manufacturing to the Source agencies manufacturing component of the industrial production The Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates the index index and converting the result to an index. using statistics on compensation of employees pro- Compensation of employees comprises wages and vided by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the salaries plus supplements to wages and salaries. This index of industrial production in manufacturing pre- item is computed and seasonally adjusted by the Bu- pared by the Board of Governors of the Federal Re- reau of Economic Analysis. serve System. The seasonally adjusted index of industrial production Series title in national publications in manufacturing is prepared by the Board of Gover- nors of the Federal Reserve System and is based on Unit Labour cost: manufacturing. data compiled by government agencies and by various trade organisations. Run of data available Data are available from 1955. Coverage Geographical coverage Periodicity The whole country. Data are compiled on a monthly basis. Classification coverage Unit of measurement Manufacturing industry as defined in the Standard Index. Industrial Classification.

Statistical population CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Compensation of employees data covers all employed Definition persons including the self-employed and unpaid family workers. The Unit labour cost index measures the relationship between the volume of production of manufactured goods and the cost of labour involved in that produc-

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 39 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 UNITED STATES Labour - Other Indicators from administrative Help-wanted advertising and other sources

SOURCE throughout the USA. These are advertisements for job openings placed by employers. The data are based on Source agency the number of advertisements and not the number of The Conference Board. jobs.

Key national publication sources Coverage Data are published in The Conference Board, Busi- Geographical coverage ness Cycle Indicators. The whole country.

Series title in national publications Particular exclusions Help-wanted advertising Vacancies not advertised in the press.

Run of data available DATA COLLECTION Data are available from 1955. Reporting method Periodicity Count of vacancy advertisements in newspapers. Data are compiled on a monthly basis. DATA MANIPULATION Unit of measurement Seasonal and other adjustments Index (1987=100). The series is seasonally adjusted by source. CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition The vacancy information is based on the number of ‘help-wanted’ advertisements appearing in the classified sections of the leading newspapers in 51 cities

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 40 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 UNITED STATES Labour - Other Indicators from administrative Labour disputes - time lost and other sources

SOURCE ing of work by an employer or group of employers to enforce terms of employment on a group of employ- Source agency ees. The statistics are collected and compiled by the US A strike is recorded as any group of 1 000 or more Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics workers involved in a work stoppage. The continua- (BLS). tion of a strike or lockout that is interrupted but later resumes, still due to the same case of dispute, is Key national publication sources treated as a new strike or lockout if the period of in- Data are available in the BLS, Monthly Labor Re- terruption exceeds one work shift. Work stoppages view. resulting from the same case of dispute and occurring simultaneously either in different establishments of the same enterprise, or in establishments of different Series title in national publications enterprises, are regarded as one strike or lockout. Work stoppages involving 1 000 workers or more: Those resulting from the same case of dispute but number of days idle. occurring at different times in different establishments of the same enterprise, or in establishments of differ- Breakdown available ent enterprises, are counted as separate strikes or lockouts. Information on work stoppages is also available in the national source for the following categories: Time not worked is total time not worked measured in working days. It is derived by ascertaining the total - industry; amount of time not worked on each day of the strike - number of strikes and lockouts; and summing these totals. Time not worked is meas- - number of workers involved; ured for all workers involved, whether directly or - duration; indirectly. The shorter working hours of part-time - time not worked. workers are taken into account as follows: the average number of hours normally worked per day by part- Run of data available time employees is multiplied by the number of such Data are available from 1947. employees and the resulting estimate of time lost is combined with the estimate for full-time employees. Periodicity Overtime is not taken into account. Data are compiled on a monthly basis. Coverage

Unit of measurement Reference period Number of working days lost. The monthly data refer to disputes beginning during the month plus those continuing from the previous month. CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition Geographical coverage The whole country. A work stoppage is defined as a temporary cessation of work by a group of employees to express a griev- Statistical population ance or enforce a demand or the temporary withhold- All sectors and all occupations are covered.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 41 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Particular exclusions union periodicals and from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Telephone calls are then made The minimum threshold for inclusion in the statistics to union and management officials to obtain more is those strikes and lockouts involving a minimum of details. Even if there is no indication of a stoppage, 1 000 workers simultaneously with the stoppage last- telephone contact is made at the termination of an ing at least one full shift. Political strikes, working to agreement to determine the outcome of the negotia- rule, go-slows and overtime bans are not covered. tions, including possible stoppages. There is no legal obligation to report the occurrence of a strike or lock- STANDARDS out. Standard classifications / nomenclatures DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Industry: Standard Industrial Classification developed by the Office of Management and Budget. Breaks in time series In 1982 the minimum threshold for inclusion in the Departures from international standards statistics was raised from those stoppages involving The statistics broadly follow the international guide- six or more employees and lasting at least one shift to lines except for the minimum threshold for inclusion. the much higher 1 000 workers or more.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting method The statistics are compiled from initial information gathered from a general review of newspapers and

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 42 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 JAPAN Labour - Employment Indicators from the monthly Labour (a) Total Force Survey (LFS) (b) Short-term Labour - Unemployment (c) Total (d) Rate

SOURCE Methodological references Source agency The Monthly Report on the Labour Force Survey carries information on the outline of the survey. The Data are compiled the Statistics Bureau of the Man- MCA, Annual Report on the Labour Force Survey agement and Co-ordination Agency (MCA). contains, in addition to the outline, more detailed information such as sampling method, estimation Key national publication sources method, sampling errors of estimates and question- Data are available in the MCA publications, Monthly naires used. Report on the Labour Force Survey and Monthly Sta- tistics of Japan. Some information is also available on Run of data available internet (http://www.stat.go.jp/). The survey has been carried out regularly since July 1947. Series title in national publications Periodicity of the data (a) Employed persons: total; (b) Employed persons by employment status: tem- Data are compiled on a monthly basis. porary employees; (c) Unemployed; Unit of measurement (d) Ratio of unemployed in the labour force. Employment, Unemployment: number of persons; Unemployment rate: percentage. Breakdown available

Employment data are available in the national source CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE by: Definition - industry; - occupation; (a) Employment refers to employed persons at work - employment status; (i.e., persons who worked for pay or profit for at - level of education/qualification; least one hour during the reference week), family - size of enterprise; workers who worked at least one hour during the -age; reference week and employed persons with a job but not at work. Included within this definition are - gender; full and part-time workers seeking other work - part-time/full-time. during the reference week; full and part-time stu- Unemployment is available in the national source by: dents working full or part-time; persons who performed some work for pay or profit during the -age; reference week while being retired and receiving a - gender; pension or being registered as job seekers at an - relationship to head of households; employment office; paid or unpaid apprentices or - reason for seeking a job (main activity or trainees; participants in employment promotion secondary activity).

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 43 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 schemes; paid and unpaid family workers pro- Unemployment: seasonal workers awaiting agricul- vided the latter are not absent from work during tural or other seasonal work are excluded from the the reference week; private domestic servants; na- unemployed and considered as out of the labour force. tional defence forces; persons with a job but temporarily absent due to illness, vacation, etc.; and persons on temporary release from work. This STANDARDS indicator also appears in Part One of MEI con- Standard classifications / nomenclatures verted to an index by OECD. Industry: Japanese Standard Industrial Classification (b) Short-term employed are persons employed for a (SIC) which is linked to ISIC 1968; specific period of less than one year. (c) Unemployment: The unemployed are persons Occupation: Based on the Occupational Classifica- who did not work at all during the reference week tion for the 1995 Population Census with some but were available for work and ready to take a changes (linked to ISCO 1968). job immediately and were actively seeking a job or were waiting for the results of past job search International comparability activity. Included are persons without a job and Data are in accordance with the ILO guidelines. currently available for work who have made arrangements to start a new job on a date subsequent to the reference week (with no time limit DATA COLLECTION specified), full and part-time students seeking full Reporting units or part-time work, and unpaid family workers who were temporarily absent from work during the Households. reference week. (d) The Unemployment rate is the number of unem- Reporting method ployed persons expressed as a per cent of the la- Questionnaires are delivered personally to the sample bour force. The labour force is equal to the un- households and collected after the reference week. employed plus the employed. The data are then transmitted via the Prefectural Gov- Coverage ernments to the Statistics Bureau.

Reference period Survey details The last seven days of each month except in Decem- Description of questionnaire ber when the period is the 20th-26th. The questionnaire is designed for self completion by Geographical coverage the household. Topics covered each month include the following: name and gender; relationship to the The whole country. head of household; date of birth; marital status; labour force status in the full week preceding the reference Statistical population week; whether wanting a job as a main activity or as a All Japanese and foreigners aged 15 years and over secondary activity (for those unemployed); weekly who have lived (or will be living) in the country for hours worked; employment status; type of organisa- more than three months, excluding foreign diplomats, tion and business of employer or self employment; foreign military personnel and those who accompany occupation; total number of employees in the enter- them. The national defence forces and inmates of prise; whether wanting to change jobs or have an reformatory institutions are separately enumerated additional job. In addition, the reason for seeking a and included in the results. job is asked of unemployed respondents in the second month of enumeration in both the first and second Particular exclusions year. Employment: excluded from the employed and con- Master list sidered as out of the labour force are persons engaged in their own housework and persons doing unpaid The enumeration districts of the 1995 Population community or social work. Census.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 44 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Survey description These data are derived from the Population Census and are calculated monthly using vital statistics etc. There are around 780 000 districts and every year lists of newly developed collective housing districts are Seasonal and other adjustments prepared by the Prefectural Governments which are added to the existing enumeration districts. The X-11 variant of the US Bureau of the Census Method II is used to adjust unemployment and em- The sample is based on a stratified two-stage design. ployment variables for seasonal variation. The first stage sampling units are the enumeration districts with around 3 000 sampled every month. The frame for the second stage is the lists of all dwellings DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS within the districts prepared by the enumerators. Sys- Sampling errors and their corrections tematic sampling with a random start number and a fixed sampling interval is used to select second-stage Information on sample errors is provided in Annual units from the list. Some 15 dwellings per sample Report on the Labour Force Survey. enumeration district are selected and the total sample consists of about 40 000 dwelling units or around Other errors and their corrections 100 000 persons aged 15 years and over. No adjustments are made for the population not cov- A sample enumeration district remains in the sample ered by the survey or for undercoverage or overcover- for four consecutive months, then leaves the sample age. for the following eight months before rejoining the sample for the same four months in the following Breaks in time series year. For each district two sets of dwelling unit are selected. In the first year of enumeration the house- In 1967 the household interview method was replaced holds in the sample dwelling units in the first set are by self completion of the questionnaire by the house- surveyed for the first two consecutive months and hold and this resulted in substantial revisions to the then replaced by the households in the dwelling units questionnaire itself. of the other set. In the second year, the dwelling units of the first set enter the sample again and are replaced Revision policy by those of the other set in the same way as in the first Seasonally adjusted figures are revised every year at year. Under this system, one quarter of the sample the time that the data for January are released. Oth- districts and one half of the sample households are erwise, figures are not revised once they are released. replaced every month. Three quarters of the sample As the methodology is prescribed by the regulation on districts are common from month to month and half the Labour Force Survey, it is necessary to consult of them from year to year. with the Statistics Council and to change the regulation in instances when changes are made to the meth- Non-response rate odology. A major change would be identified when The overall non-response rate is around 2 per cent and the new data are released. no adjustments are made to cover for this. Timeliness

DATA MANIPULATION As a rule, the results for the whole of Japan and the quarterly regional results are released at the end of the Aggregations / Grossing up month following the reference month. However, sometimes they are released at the beginning of the Grossing up method next month depending on the schedule of data proc- Data are calculated at national level by category of essing. age, gender and by area (two areas are used: the met- Release dates ropolitan area consisting of the seven largest cities and the rest of the country) using grossing up factors A schedule of precise dates of release for the follow- which are equal to the ratio of each estimated popula- ing fiscal year is published at the end of March every tion over the total population. Grossing up factors are year. Every issue of the Monthly Report on the La- derived from the monthly Population Estimates. bour Force Survey carries this release schedule.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 45 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 JAPAN Labour - Employment Indicators from the Monthly Labour (a) Manufacturing Survey Labour - Other (b) Monthly hours of work Wages (c) Monthly earnings

SOURCE CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Source agency Definition Data are compiled by the Ministry of Labour (Policy Employment in manufacturing refers to regular em- Planning and Research Department). ployees in manufacturing. Regular employees are workers who come under the following categories: Key national publication sources persons hired for an indefinite period or for longer than one month; and persons hired on a daily basis or Data are available in the MCA publications for less than one month and who were hired for 18 Monthly Labour Survey and Monthly Statistics of days or more in each of the two preceding months. Japan. Hours and Earnings data are also available in the annual Report of the General Survey on Wages Board directors of corporations who work regularly and Working Hours System. and are paid a monthly salary and family members of the owner of a business who work in that business Series title in national publications regularly and are paid a salary every month are included. (a) Regular employment indices in manufacturing; Part-time workers are included in the figures; they are (b) Hours worked indices in industry (manufacturing); either workers whose daily scheduled working hours (c) Wage indices of regular employees by industry are shorter than those of regular employees, or work- (manufacturing). ers with the same daily hours as regular employees but whose weekly scheduled hours are shorter than Breakdown available those of regular employees. Data are published in the national source by: Also included as employees are: wage earners and - industry; salaried employees; apprentices; temporary and sea- - full-time/part-time. sonal workers; persons temporarily absent from work because of paid or unpaid vacation or holiday, indus- Run of data available trial dispute, sickness or accident, or for any other reasons, whether authorised or not, as well as persons The survey was started in the late 1940s but in its temporarily present on the payroll during a notice present form dates from 1952. period preceding retirement, resignation or dismissal. Periodicity The index is calculated by dividing the number of regular employees in the reference period by the Data are compiled on a monthly basis. number of regular employees observed in the base period. Unit of measurement (a) Monthly hours of work refer to hours actually All data are published in the form of indices worked in the manufacturing industries by an (1995=100). employee during the survey period and are the

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 46 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 sum of scheduled working hours plus non- Classification coverage scheduled working hours. Scheduled working Major division Manufacturing of the Japan Standard hours refer to the actual number of hours worked Industrial Classification between starting and ending hours of employment determined by the work regulations of the estab- Statistical population lishment. Non-scheduled working hours refer to the actual number of hour worked while reporting Establishments with 30 or more employees selected to work early in the morning, overtime hours from the latest Establishment Census. worked, hours worked on emergency call-up, and Particular exclusions hours worked while working on a day off. (b) Monthly earnings refer to cash earnings of em- The definition of Employment excludes trainees and ployees in the manufacturing industries before de- employees on probation, piece workers, commission ductions for income tax, social insurance contri- agents, home workers, casual employees, employees bution, and union dues, and before payment for sub-contracted from other companies or firms, em- goods purchased etc. Total cash earnings com- ployees from temporary work agencies, and persons prise contractual cash earnings (scheduled cash absent from work because of temporary or indefinite earnings and overtime pay) plus special cash lay-off or temporary military service. earnings. Monthly hours worked exclude rest periods (paid or − Contractual cash earnings are earnings paid unpaid). Night duty not connected with actual duties according to methods and conditions previ- is also excluded. ously determined by labour contracts, collective agreements, or wage regulations of es- STANDARDS tablishments. Overtime pay is the wage paid for work exceeding scheduled working hours, Standard classifications / nomenclatures i.e. allowances for working outside of work Japanese Standard Industrial Classification (linked to hours, for night work, for reporting to work ISIC 1968). early in the morning, and for overnight duty. − Special cash earnings are amounts paid to International comparability employees during the survey period for temporary or unforeseen reasons not based on The definition of Hours worked corresponds to that of any previous agreement, contract or rule. normal working hours in the international recommen- Also included are retroactive payments of dations except for the treatment of short time rest. wages as a result of a new agreement, and payments such as summer and year-end bo- DATA COLLECTION nuses, and marriage allowances etc. The index of earnings published in Section One of Reporting units MEI on the subject table ‘Hourly earnings’ refers to Establishments. contractual cash earnings only. It excludes special cash earnings, on account of their very seasonal na- Reporting method ture. Postal questionnaires are sent to the establishments with a requirement that they are returned by post to Coverage the Prefectural Office by the 10th of the following month. Reference period Survey details A whole month from the day following the final pay day of the previous month to the final pay day of the Description of questionnaire reference month. The questionnaire for larger establishments is de- Geographical coverage signed for self completion using the guidelines provided. The whole country.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 47 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Master list benchmarks for employment are used rather than the previous month’s estimate. The total employment The sampling frame is the Establishment Census figure for the manufacturing industry is obtained by which is carried out every five years. summing estimates for each cell. Survey description To obtain average monthly earnings (or hours The size and coverage of the sample varies. The na- worked) for each individual estimating cell, the sum tional survey covers about 16 700 establishments with of the total payroll (or man-hours worked) reported by 30 or more employees and 16 500 with 5-29 employ- the establishment is divided by the total number of ees, selected from approximately 1 900 districts of the employees reported for the same establishment. The 50 000 districts covering the whole country. The Pre- average monthly earnings (or hours worked) for fectural survey covers about 21 500 establishments manufacturing is obtained by applying the employ- with 30 or more employees and 22 000 establishment grossing-up factor (see above) to total payroll ments with 5-29 employees selected from approxi- (or man-hours) for individual estimating cells. The mately 2 700 districts. The sample is stratified by resulting payroll figures (man-hours) are summed industry and size of establishment. Establishments over cells and divided by the total estimate for em- with 30 or more employees are selected according to ployment in manufacturing. a stratified one stage sampling method. All establishments with 500 or more regular employees are in- Seasonal and other adjustments cluded. The sampling fraction for the other strata The survey results are regularly adjusted for seasonal varies by industry and size of establishment. New variation using the X-11 variant of the US Bureau of samples are selected at approximate intervals of three the Census Method II. years.

Non-response rate DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS No adjustment is made for non-response. Other errors and their corrections The completed questionnaires are checked for incon- DATA MANIPULATION sistencies before being processed by computer. In Aggregations / Grossing up case of missing or inconsistent data, enumerators follow up by telephone or personal visit. Grossing up method Breaks in time series Employment estimates are calculated using the link- relative method. Monthly estimates for each individ- The survey has undergone a number of major revi- ual estimating cell are derived by applying to the sions mainly affecting the scope of the sample. How- previous month’s employment estimate the ratio of ever, there is no break in the index series because the employment in the current month to that of the previ- series have been retrospectively adjusted. ous month as given by the sample of establishments which reported in both months. When the results of the Establishment Census become available the new

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 48 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 JAPAN Labour - Unemployment Indicators from administrative Insurance beneficiaries and other sources

SOURCE Unit of measurement Source agency Number of beneficiaries. Data are compiled by the Ministry of Labour (Employment Insurance Division). CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition Key national publication sources The unemployed are defined as persons in receipt of Data are available in Report on Employment In- insurance benefits during the month, excluding sea- surance Activities’, (Japanese version only) and sonal workers. the MCA, Monthly Statistics of Japan.. Some information is also available on internet at Coverage http://www.stat.go.jp/. Reference period Series title in national publications The whole month. Employment insurance: basic allowance beneficiar- Geographical coverage ies. The whole country. Breakdown available Statistical population Data are available in the national source by: Those persons who receive unemployment benefits - level of education/qualification; and are registered with the Bureau of Employment - full-time/part-time; Security. - gender; -age. DATA COLLECTION Run of data available Reporting method Data are available from 1985. Data are collected from administrative sources.

Periodicity of the data Data are complied on a monthly basis.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 49 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 JAPAN Labour - Other Indicators from administrative (a) New vacancies and other sources (b) Job offers to job applicants

SOURCE CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Source agency Definition Data are compiled by the Employment Policy Divi- (a) New vacancies refer to the number of job vacan- sion, Employment Security Bureau, Ministry of La- cies coming to the attention of the Bureau of bour. Employment Security each month; (b) Job offers to job applicants. This is the ratio be- Key national publication sources tween the total number of vacancies registered at Data are available in Report on Employment the Bureau of Employment Security and the total Service, (in Japanese only, a summary version number of persons seeking assistance in finding exists in English), and MCA, Monthly Statistics work, calculated at the end of each month. of Japan. Coverage

Series title in national publications Reference period (a) New job openings; New vacancies: the whole month; (b) Ratio of active job openings to job applicants. Job offers to job applicants: the end of the month.

Breakdown available Geographical coverage Vacancy data are published in the national source for The whole country. the following categories: - part-time/full-time; STANDARDS - size of establishment; Standard classifications / nomenclatures - Prefecture; -age. A detailed occupational classification specially prepared for referring job-seekers to jobs made by the The ratio Job offers to job applicants is published in Ministry of Labour is used. This classification is con- the national source for the following categories: sistent with the Japanese Standard Classification of -age; Occupation (JSCO) 1981 at the 2 digit level. - Prefecture. DATA COLLECTION Run of data available Reporting method Data are available from 1963. Monthly count of administrative records held at offices of the Bureau of Employment Security. Periodicity Data are compiled on a monthly basis. DATA MANIPULATION Seasonal and other adjustment Unit of measurement Seasonal adjustments are carried out by national New vacancies: number of vacancies; source using the X-11 variant of the US Bureau of the Job offers to job applicants: ratio. Census Method II.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 50 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 JAPAN Wages Indicators from administrative Unit labour cost and other sources

SOURCE Coverage Source agency Geographical coverage Data are compiled by the Research Bureau of the The whole country. Economic Planning Agency (EPA). Classification coverage Key national publication sources Major division Manufacturing of the Japan Standard Industrial Classification Data are available in EPA, Business Cycles in Japan and USA. Statistical population Establishments with 30 or more employees selected Series title in national publications from the latest Establishment Census. Unit labour cost (manufacturing). Particular exclusions Run of data available Retirement pay is excluded from the earnings compo- Data are available from January 1973. nent.

Periodicity STANDARDS Data are compiled on a monthly basis. Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry: Japanese Standard Industrial Classification Unit of measurement (linked to ISIC 1968). Index = 1990. DATA MANIPULATION CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Seasonal and other adjustments Definition The input series used to calculate the Unit labour cost The Unit labour cost index is derived as the product index are seasonally adjusted as follows: the X-11 of ‘Regular Employment Index’ and ‘Wage Index of variant of the US Bureau of the Census Method II is Contractual Cash Earnings’ divided by the ‘Index of used for the Regular Employment Index and the Industrial Production’. All indicators refer to the Wage Index of Contractual Cash Earnings manufacturing industries. The source for the Index of (manufacturing). The Ministry of International Trade Industrial Production is the Ministry of International and Industry (MITI) method is used for the Index of Trade and Industry. The two other indices are com- Industrial Production (value added weights, manufac- piled from the results of the Ministry of Labour’s turing). Monthly Labour Survey described in the previous section.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 51 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 AUSTRALIA Labour - Employment Indicators from the monthly Labour (a) Total employment * Force Survey (LFS) (b) Manufacturing Labour - Unemployment (c) Total (d) Rate Labour - Other (e) Weekly hours of work

SOURCE Unemployment statistics are available in the national source by: Source agency - industry of last job; Data are compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statis- - occupation of last job; tics (ABS). - educational attendance; - age group; Key national publication sources - duration; Data are available in the monthly publication of ABS, - reason for leaving last job; Labour Force, Australia, (catalogue no. 6203.0). - State and Territory; The LFS data (published and unpublished) are also - gender. available on diskette, microfiche, computer printout, Weekly hours of work are available in the national etc. source by:

Series titles in national publications - industry; - region; (a) Employed persons: total; - full-time/part-time; (b) Employed persons: manufacturing; - gender. (c) Unemployed: total; Methodological references (d) Unemployment rate; (e) Average weekly hours worked: manufacturing. Methodological information is published in Labour Force, Australia. Breakdown available Employment statistics are available in the national Run of data available source by: The monthly LFS began in February 1978, with - full-time/part-time; quarterly surveys prior to that date in February, May, August and November from 1964. - age group; - gender; Unit of measurement - economic activity; - birth place; Employment, Unemployment: number of persons; - number of hours worked; Unemployed rate: percentage; - occupation; - employment status. Weekly hours of work: number of hours.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 52 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE the reference week for reasons other than bad weather or plant breakdown; or Definition − were waiting to be called back to a full-time (a) Employed persons comprise all those members of or part-time job from which they had been the civilian resident population of Australia aged stood down without pay for less than four 15 and over who, during the reference week, sat- weeks up to the end of the reference week isfied at least one of the following definitions: (including the whole of the reference week) worked for one hour or more for pay, profit, for reasons other than bad weather or plant commission or payment in kind in a job or busi- breakdown. Also included are full and part- ness, or on a farm (including employees, employ- time students actively seeking full or part- ers and self-employed persons); or worked for time work. one hour or more without pay in a family business (d) The Unemployment rate is defined as the number or on a farm (i.e., unpaid family helpers); or were of unemployed persons expressed as a per cent of employees who had a job but were not at work the civilian labour force. Civilian labour force and were on paid leave, on leave without pay for comprises the unemployed plus the employed. less than four weeks up to the end of the reference (e) Weekly hours of work are actual hours worked week, stood down without pay because of bad weather or plant breakdown at their place of em- during the reference week and not paid hours. ployment for less than four weeks up to the end of The figures may be affected by public holidays, the reference week, were on strike or lockout, leave, absenteeism, temporary absence from work were on workers’ compensation (related to either due to illness, injury, accident and industrial dis- sick or accident leave or both) and expected to be putes and stoppages of work due to bad weather, returning to work, or receiving wages or salary plant breakdown, etc. When hours are recorded, while undertaking full-time study; were employ- fractions of hours are disregarded and this results ers, self employed or unpaid family workers who in a slightly lower figure than would be the case if had a job, business or farm, but were not at work. all actual time was recorded. Persons stood down without pay for the whole of the reference week Also included are the following groups: paid ap- because of bad weather or plant breakdown at prentices and trainees; retired persons receiving a their place of employment are regarded as em- pension who worked for one hour or more for pay ployed and therefore included (but working no or profit during the reference week; full and part- hours) in the calculation of average hours worked. time students seeking work during the reference Persons stood down in the reference week for period; full or part-time students working full or other reasons and waiting to be called back to part-time; private domestic servants; members of their job are regarded as unemployed and are producer co-operatives; and resident Australian therefore excluded from the calculations. exchange workers. (b) Employment in manufacturing comprises all per- Coverage sons employed, as described above, in industry division ‘manufacturing’, as defined by the Aus- Reference period tralian and New Zealand Standard Industrial The reference period is the week before the interview Classification (ANZIC), from August 1994, and and the surveys are conducted during the two weeks by the Australian Standard Industrial Classifica- beginning on the Monday between the 6th and 12th of tion (ASIC) prior to this date. each month (except in December when they start (c) Unemployed persons are defined as those aged 15 earlier). and over who, during the reference week: Geographical coverage − had actively looked for full-time or part- time work at any time in the four weeks up The whole country. to the end of the survey reference week and who were available for work in the Statistical population reference week, or would have been avail- All usual residents of Australia aged 15 and over but able except for temporary illness (lasting excluding the following groups: members of the less than fours weeks to the end of the ref- permanent defence forces; certain diplomatic person- erence week), or were waiting to start a nel of overseas governments, normally excluded from new job within four weeks from the end of

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 53 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 census and related inquiries; overseas residents in the required measure of economically active popula- Australia; and members of non-Australian defence tion. From August 1996 the questionnaire was ad- forces and their dependants stationed in Australia. ministered by telephone for second and consecutive interviews (first contact continues to be face-to-face). Particular exclusions The questionnaire used has been revised from time to Persons doing unpaid community or voluntary work time. In 1986, for example, the revisions followed the are not included in the employment and hours data. extension of the definition of employed persons to Persons doing unpaid community or voluntary work include those who worked without pay between 1 and may be classified as unemployed if all the conditions 14 hours per week in a family business or on a farm. for unemployment have been met. Survey description STANDARDS The Population Survey master sample is used for the Standard classifications/ nomenclatures LFS and is based on a multi-stage stratified design with area sampling equivalent to samples of dwell- Industry: ANZIC 1993 (linked to ISIC); ings. Australia is first classified into States and Terri- Occupation: Australian Standard Classification of tories with each State being divided into capital city Occupations 1986; and the remainder of the State. These major areas are then divided into smaller regions (based on statistical Employment Status: national classification which is divisions or subdivisions) which are further split into broadly comparable to the ICSE; strata. The sampling fraction differs for States and Territories enabling estimates of reasonable accuracy International comparability to be produced. The sampling fractions for each State Definitions used in the LFS are closely aligned with or Territory are as follows: New South Wales and ILO guidelines. Victoria 1 in 230; Queensland 1 in 160; Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory and DATA COLLECTION Australian Capital Territory 1 in 115; Tasmania 1 in 70. Separately sampled, mutually exclusive strata Reporting units cover private dwellings (about 31 000 homes) and non-private dwellings (hotels, etc.) divided into urban Persons in selected private and non-private dwellings and rural areas, further grouped by location and socio- as identified through the five yearly Population Cen- economic considerations. In total the master sample sus. covers around two thirds of one per cent of the popu- Reporting method lation of Australia. The Labour Force Survey component of the Monthly With the private dwelling strata, the sample in Population Survey. densely populated areas (DPAs) is self-weighting and selection is in three stages with differing probabilities Data are collected by personal interviews conducted of inclusion approximately proportional to the num- by staff employed by the ABS. The interviewers seek ber of dwellings contained in each stage. Census to obtain answers about all the persons in the dwelling Collector’s Districts are the first stage selection. Out- who are within scope to the survey from the first reside DPAs a self-weighting four stage area sample is sponsible adult member of the household that the used with towns or rural Local Government Areas as interviewer makes contact with. If that person is un- the primary sampling units at the first stage selection able to supply some of the details on another person, followed by the three stages used for the DPAs. The then the interviewer will call back, although this is sample of non-private dwellings in urban and DPAs is rare. ABS is progressively introducing the use of tele- a self-weighting two-stage cluster sample, becoming phone interviewing for follow-up interviews. three stage outside these areas. The effect of new dwellings is taken into account in the sample selec- Survey details tion procedure. Description of questionnaire The Population Survey sample is re-selected every five years to allow data from the latest Census of The questionnaire seeks responses to 88 questions Population and Housing to be used to improve the which by sequencing and further derivation provide efficiency of the Population Survey sample design.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 54 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Every six months there is a revision of the private DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS dwelling sample for growth areas and the list of special dwellings is updated every six months from local Sampling errors and their corrections knowledge and other sources. Renewal of the sample Standard errors are calculated and published monthly is by rotation whereby seven eighths of the sample in Labour Force Australia. For monthly employment remain unchanged from one survey to the next. estimates, standard errors at the national level are approximately 0.3 per cent and for monthly estimates Non-response rate of unemployed persons at the national level they are The non-response rate is around 4 per cent each approximately 1.4 per cent. month and estimation of the non-response is made through post-stratification at the age and gender lev- Other errors and their corrections els. The estimation weighting process via calculation of weights at the population benchmark cell level Non-sampling errors are minimised through the care- (age, gender, part of State) automatically compensates ful design of questionnaires, intensive training and for non-response. supervision of interviewers and efficient operating procedures.

DATA MANIPULATION Breaks in time series Aggregations / Grossing up The questionnaire used in the survey had been revised several times. In April 1986 the definition of em- Grossing up method ployed persons was extended to include persons who The independent population statistics are used as the worked without pay for between 1 and 14 hours per benchmarks and these are normally available every week in a family business or in a farm (as unpaid five years following the Census of Population and helpers). Previously such persons would have been Housing. defined as either unemployed or not in the labour force, depending on whether they were actively LFS estimates of persons employed, unemployed and looking for work. Estimates from January 1989 were not in the labour force are calculated in such a way as revised to conform to revised population estimates to add up to the independently estimated distribution following the 1991 Census and are not strictly compa- of the usually resident civilian population aged 15 and rable with estimates prior to this date. over by age and gender. This procedure compensates for under-enumeration in the survey. The independent Preliminary estimates population statistics are the latest available estimates at the time the LFS is conducted. Preliminary survey results are published in advance in ABS, Labour Force, Australia, Preliminary Seasonal and other adjustments (catalogue no. 6202.0). Seasonal adjustments are carried out using the ratio- Revision policy to-moving average method and the X-11 variant of Seasonal factors are reviewed annually to take ac- the US Bureau of the Census Method II. count of each additional year’s original data. Survey Trend estimates are calculated and published in the estimates are revised after each census of population national source for certain unemployment and em- and housing and when population estimation bases ployment variables. These monthly trend estimates are reviewed. are derived by applying 13-term Henderson-weighted Release dates moving averages. Release dates for the current month are made avail- Other manipulations able on the Internet at http://www.abs.gov.au Average weekly hours worked are calculated as the total number of hours a group of employed persons has actually worked during the reference week, not necessarily hours paid for, divided by the number of persons in that group.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 55 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 AUSTRALIA Labour - Other Indicators from the Survey of Job (a) Unfilled vacancies Vacancies and Overtime (b) Weekly overtime hours

SOURCE Periodicity Source agency Data are compiled on a quarterly basis.

Data are compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statis- Unit of measurement tics (ABS). Job vacancies: numbers of jobs. Key national publication sources Overtime hours: number of hours. Data are available in ABS, Job Vacancies and Over- time, Australia (catalogue no. 6354.0). CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Series title in national publication Definition (a) A job vacancy is a job available for immediate (a) Job vacancies, all industries; filling on the survey reference date and for which (b) Average weekly overtime hours per employee, recruitment action had been taken. Recruitment manufacturing. action includes efforts to fill vacancies by adver- Breakdown available tising, by factory notices, by notifying public or private employment agencies or trade unions and Job Vacancies are published in the national source for by contacting, interviewing or selecting applicants the following categories: already registered with the enterprise or organisation. Vacancies for all employees are included, - public/private organisations; including managerial, temporary, seasonal, train- - industry ees, apprentices, etc. Overtime hours are published in the national source (b) The average hours of overtime per employee is for the following categories: calculated by dividing the total overtime hours - State and Territories; paid for in a particular group, by the total number of employees in the same group (including those - industry. who were not paid for any overtime). Employee here refers to all wage and salary earners who re- Methodological references ceived pay for any part of the reference week of Methodological information is available in Job Va- the survey. Paid overtime hours refer to hours in cancies and Overtime, Australia and in the informa- excess of award, standard or agreed hours of tion paper of ABS, New Statistical Series: Employ- work. ment, Average Weekly Earnings, Job Vacancies and Overtime (catalogue no. 6256.0). Coverage Reference period Run of data available The third Friday of the middle month of the quarter. Job vacancy statistics are available on an annual basis for the years 1974 to 1978, and on a quarterly basis Geographical coverage thereafter. The whole country. Overtime hours are available from 1985.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 56 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Particular exclusions for nine months. The card is two-sided with the first side outlining the purpose of the survey, the require- Job vacancies for Australian permanent defence ment that details must be supplied, assurance on con- forces, in enterprises primarily engaged in agriculture, fidentiality, etc. The reverse side of the form pro- forestry, fishing and hunting, in private households vides definitional information on the data requested, employing staff, in overseas embassies, consulates, with the table itself asking for the following for each and vacancies located outside Australia are excluded. of the survey dates: total number of employees; paid Also excluded are vacancies of less than one day’s overtime hours and the number of employees paid duration; those to be filled by persons already hired or any overtime; and the number of job vacancies. The by promotion or transfer of existing employees; va- employer is asked to complete the form referring to cancies filled by employees returning from paid or the pay period ending on or before the survey dates, unpaid leave or after industrial disputes; vacancies not and reading out this information over the telephone available for immediate filling on the survey date; when requested to do so. vacancies for work to be carried out under contract; vacancies unavailable in the State or Territory to Master list which the return relates; vacancies for which no effort is being made to fill the position; vacancies available Lists of private and public employers held by ABS only to persons already employed by the organisation, (Register of businesses). government departments or authorities; and vacan- Survey description cies to which a person has been appointed but has not yet taken up duty. The sample is stratified by State, industry and number of employees. Employers with 1 200 or more em- Excluded from the overtime hours are normal shift ployees are fully enumerated and a sample is selected work and standard hours paid for at penalty rates. from the remainder of employers. The total number of employers in the survey is about 4 800. The sample is STANDARDS updated each quarter to take account of births and deaths of enterprises and structural changes. Standard classifications/ nomenclatures Non-response rate Industry: ANZSIC. Treatment of non-response amongst sampled strata: DATA COLLECTION - The assigned weight to each unit is on the basis of the number of respondents in each stratum. For Reporting units example, if the weight assigned to a unit in a A statistical unit for the survey comprises all activities given stratum is 500 and 4 out of 5 units re- of an employer in a particular State or Territory. Each spond, each responding unit has its weight in- statistical unit is classified to an industry which re- creased to 625 to account for the one non- flects the predominant activity of the business. In a responding unit. small number of cases where a business has a signifi- Treatment of non-response amongst Completely cant number of employees in more than one industry, Enumerated (CE) strata: a separate statistical unit is created for each industry. - A more complex methodology. If a non- respond- Reporting method ing CE unit occurs, the system imputes for the unit, based on the previous quarter’s data and a A sample survey of employers. The sample is se- further adjustment is made based on the reported lected from the ABS register of businesses to ensure growth of the other CE units in the given stratum. adequate representation by State, industry and number of employees. Data are collected by telephone interviews conducted by the ABS. DATA MANIPULATION Aggregations / Grossing up Survey details Grossing up method Description of questionnaire Number raised estimation methodology is used i.e. no The selected sample of employers are sent a benchmarks are used. ‘Telephone Reporting Record’ card which is good

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 57 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Data are aggregated by applying appropriate weights that were not restricted to persons already employed to each response, and summing to various levels e.g. within a particular department or authority. From State, Sector etc. May 1979, surveys are conducted by phone and vacancies in the public sector refer only to those vacan- Seasonal and other adjustments cies which are not restricted to persons already em- Job vacancies: The X-11 variant (multiplicative ployed within a particular government sector, e.g. method) of the US Bureau of the Census Method II is State Public Service or the Australian Public service. used. Also vacancies of less then one day’s duration were excluded since May 1979.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Revision policy Breaks in time series No revisions to data are made. Prior to May 1979 the survey was conducted by mail and vacancies in the public sector referred to all those

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 58 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 AUSTRALIA Labour - Other Indicators from administrative Labour disputes - time lost and other sources

SOURCE An industrial dispute is defined as a withdrawal from work by a group of employees or a refusal by an em- Source agency ployer or a number of employers to permit some or all Data are compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statis- of their employees to work, each withdrawal or re- tics (ABS). fusal being made in order to enforce a demand, resist a demand or to express a grievance. Key national publication sources A standdown enables an employer to suspend em- Data are available in the monthly publication of ABS, ployees for whom no work is available for reasons Industrial disputes, Australia, and also on diskette, beyond the power of the employer (e.g., as a result of tape cartridge, CD-Rom. strikes, machinery breakdowns, interruption to the supply of materials, etc.). In practice, standdowns are Series title in national publication included only where employees are stood down as a result of industrial disputes by other employees at the Industrial disputes: working days lost. same establishment.

Breakdown available Coverage

Data are available in the national source for the fol- Reference period lowing categories: The monthly data refer to disputes beginning during - cause of dispute; the month plus those continuing from the previous - method of settlement; month. - industry; - number of workers involved; Geographical coverage - duration; The whole country. - time not worked; - State or Territory. Statistical population Run of data available All industry and services in the public and private sectors are covered. Data have been collected by the national source since 1913. Particular exclusions Those disputes which fall below the minimum Periodicity threshold of involving ten employee-days or more not Data are compiled on a monthly basis. worked at the establishments where the stoppages occurred are excluded. Also excluded are employees Unit of measurement absent on sick or annual leave or absent for any other “approved” reason, the self employed, employers and Number of working days lost. unpaid family workers. Working-to-rule, go-slows, overtime bans and sit-ins are not included. CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE The method of recording the information relies on Definition disputes coming to the notice of the ABS and it is therefore likely that the statistics will not cover all Data refer to the number of working days lost in in- such disputes, although this will mainly affect the dustrial disputes. smallest strikes or lockouts.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 59 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 STANDARDS rectly involved, without distinction at the establishments where the strike occurred. The shorter working Standard classifications/ nomenclatures hours of part-time workers are taken into account. Industry: ANZSIC. Reporting method International comparability The statistics are compiled mainly from data obtained The definitions used follow the ILO guidelines. from employers, from trade unions and from reports of government authorities. Identification of disputes is obtained from electronic media services, newspaper DATA COLLECTION articles, trade journals, employers’ and trade union Reporting units publications. There is no legal obligation to report the occurrence of a dispute. However, some State Juris- The basic unit of measurement used to record a strike dictions cover legislative requirements on reporting, or lockout is the case of dispute at a single establish- but it is not uniform. ment, although the industry of the establishment and the State or Territory where the strike or lockout takes place are also used as indicators for the number of DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS strikes and lockouts. A dispute involving several es- Breaks in time series tablishments is counted as a single dispute if it is organised or directed by one person or one organisation There was a change in the methodology in December in each State or Territory in which it occurs, other- 1987 affecting the calculation of the number of dis- wise it is counted as a separate dispute in each estab- putes. Prior to that date if the causes of several dis- lishment (in each State or Territory) and in each in- putes were the same, the disputes were counted as one dustry in which it occurred. A strike or lockout inter- dispute in each of the States or Territories in which rupted but which later resumes, still due to the same they occurred, irrespective of whether the dispute cause or dispute, is counted as a continuation of the occurred in more than one industry. Further changes same strike or lockout if the period of interruption is were introduced in January 1993 also affecting the less than two complete calendar months. Work stop- counting of disputes covering more than one estab- pages resulting from the same case of dispute, occur- lishment, industry or State. From that date, the dis- ring simultaneously in different establishments are pute is counted once in each industry and State, but counted as one dispute if the dispute is organised or only once in the total for Australia. Revisions to the directed by the same person or organisation. time series data have been made to take account of these changes Time not worked is the total time not worked, measured in working days. It is estimated for some strikes Revision policy and lockouts on the basis of the number of employees involved at the establishments where the dispute took Minor revisions are made in following monthly publi- place and the duration of the strike or lockout. Time cations. not worked is measured for workers directly and indi-

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 60 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 AUSTRALIA Wages Indicators from administrative Hourly rates and other sources

SOURCE CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Source agency Definition Data are compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statis- Award rates of pay indexes are collected and com- tics (ABS) piled monthly using information obtained on a regular basis from the various wage fixing authorities and Key national publication sources other related bodies. The source used to base the indexes is the May 1985 Survey of Employee Earnings Data are available in the monthly publication of ABS, and Hours and a representative ‘basket’ of award Award Rates of Pay Indexes, Australia. Data can also classifications is used. This survey collected informa- be made available by ABS on diskette or hardcopy by tion on the industry and occupation of individual request. employees, the award under which they are covered and their award classification. The information was Series title in national publication used to help design a sample using stratifications by Hourly award rates of pay indexes: full-time adult industry, occupation and state. Data on award rates of employees. pay from June 1985 and subsequent months have been compiled for each of these classifications and Breakdown available estimates of weighted average award rates were calculated by expanding data from the sample of award Data are published in the national source by: classifications. - gender; The award rates of pay used to compile the index - industry; include the base rate and any allowances or loadings - occupation; that are applicable to all employees under a specific - State and Territories. award classification (e.g., industry allowance) and supplementary payments when they are specified Methodological references within the award. Methodological notes are published in Award Rates of Pay Indexes, Australia. Coverage

Run of data available Reference period The calendar month. Data are available from 1962. Geographical coverage Periodicity The whole country. Data are compiled on a monthly basis. Statistical population Unit of measurement The award rates of pay for full-time adult employees, Index (1985=100). which are normally varied in accordance with awards, determinations or registered collective agreements, have been selected in the indices. In June 1985 the indices covered some 3 million persons.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 61 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Particular exclusions Survey details

The award rates of pay used in the compilation of the Description of questionnaire indices exclude remunerative allowances, superannuation payments, as well as other payments such as Information is gathered from the administrative rec- severance and termination payments which are paid ords of those bodies (e.g., industrial tribunals) in- to employees as part of an award agreement and volved with the setting of awards. payments negotiated under formalised enterprise bar- Survey description gaining awards. The collection does not cover employees in agriculture, defence and those employees A basket of award classifications is selected according employed in private households. All legal award in- to the pattern of employment that existed in the base creases are included. Only non-official award rates year of 1985. are not covered. DATA MANIPULATION STANDARDS Aggregations / Grossing up Standard classifications/ nomenclatures Aggregation Industry: ANZSIC 1993 (convertible to ISIC 1990); The weighting pattern of the indices is determined at Occupation: Australian Standard Classification of the award classification level. The weights applied to Occupations (partly convertible to ISCO 1988). the award classifications are derived from the May 1985 Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours. DATA COLLECTION Awards are divided into two groups, major and minor awards, depending on the estimated coverage of each Reporting units award. All 200 major awards are included in the index but only a sample of the 500 minor awards. Industrial tribunal information, employers’ associations and other sources. DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Reporting method Breaks in time series Information on award rates of pay for selected classi- Originally only full-time adult male wage earners fications is obtained from a variety of sources. The were included in the index. Full-time adult female primary updating sources are notices of award varia- wage earners were included when the series was re- tions determined or authorised by industrial tribunals. based in 1954 and following the 1976 rebasing exer- A number of secondary sources are also used includ- cise, wage and salary earners were separately identi- ing various employers’ federations. Information ob- fied in the indices. tained by these means is used to update award rates of pay for each selected classification on a monthly basis and used for the compilation of the monthly indices. Revision policy In recent times, the flow of variation advices from In some cases such as when awards, etc., are varied, these sources has slowed to the extent that only small the new award rates are made retrospective. In addi- movements are reflected in the indices. tion, there is sometimes a considerable delay in the receipt of notification of changes in award rates in respect of the classification included in the indices.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 62 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 NEW ZEALAND Labour - Employment Indicators from the Household (a) Total Labour Force Survey (HLFS) (b) Part-time Labour - Unemployment (c) Total (d) Rate (e) Short-term

SOURCE and Employment by: Source agency - occupation; - industry; Data are compiled by Statistics New Zealand. - employment status; Key national publication sources - actual hours worked; - part-time (wanting additional hours). Data are available in the monthly publication of Sta- tistics New Zealand, Key Statistics. Data are also Methodological references available on-line on INFOS (Information Network Methodological information is available on INFOS. For Official Statistics). Series title in national publications Run of data available The Household Labour Force Survey started in Octo- (a) Employed labour force; ber 1985. (b) Employed part-time; (c) Unemployed; Periodicity (d) Unemployment rate; Data are compiled on a quarterly basis. (e) Unemployment by duration (available on INFOS only). Unit of measurement Breakdown available Employment, Unemployment: number of persons; Employment and Unemployment are available in the Unemployment rate: percentage. national source by: - gender; CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE -age; Definition - marital status; - region; (a) The Employed include all persons in the working - ethnic group; age population who, during the reference week, - educational qualifications; were in any of the following categories: worked - full-time/part-time. for one hour or more for pay or profit in the context of an employer/employee relationship or self In addition, Unemployment is available by: employment; worked without pay for one hour or - job search method; more in work which contributed directly to the - occupation sought; operation of a firm, business or professional prac- - reason for leaving last job; tice owned or operated by a relative (unpaid fam- - duration. ily workers); or had a job but were not able to

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 63 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 work due to own illness or injury, personal or Particular exclusions family responsibilities, bad weather or mechanical Excluded from the civilian labour force are the re- breakdown, direct involvement in an industrial tired, those with personal or family responsibilities dispute, or on leave or holiday. Included in the such as unpaid housework and child care, those on employed are: full and part-time workers seeking temporary or indefinite lay-off without pay, those other work during the reference period; full and attending educational institutions, those permanently part-time students working full or part-time; per- unable to work due to physical or mental handicap, sons who performed some work for pay or profit those who were temporarily unavailable for work in during the reference week while being subject to the reference week, and those who are without work compulsory schooling, retired or receiving a pen- and available for work but who have not looked for sion, or registered as jobseekers at an employment work in the past four weeks because they were or had office, or receiving unemployment benefit; un- become discouraged. Persons doing unpaid commu- paid family workers who were temporarily absent nity or social work and persons engaged in their own from work during the reference period; private housework are excluded from the employed and con- domestic servants; and members of producer co- sidered as inactive. operatives. (b) Part-time employment refers to all employed persons working less than 30 hours during the refer- STANDARDS ence week of the survey. Standard classifications / nomenclatures (c) The Unemployed include all persons in the working age population who, during the reference Industry: New Zealand Standard Industrial Classifi- week, were available for work, were without a cation (NZSIC 87) which is based on ISIC 1968; paid job and had actively looked for work in the Occupation: New Zealand Standard Classification of past four weeks ending with the reference week, Occupations (NZSCO90) which is based on ISCO or had a new job to start within four weeks. In- 1968. cluded are full and part-time students seeking full or part-time work, seasonal workers awaiting ag- International comparability ricultural or other seasonal work and share crop- pers, depending on their availability and job Definitions follow the ILO guidelines. search activity. (d) The Unemployment rate is defined as the number DATA COLLECTION of unemployed persons expressed as a per cent of the civilian labour force. Civilian labour force Reporting units comprises the unemployed plus the employed. Households. (e) Short-term unemployment measures those counted in the Labour Force Survey as being without work Reporting method for between one and four weeks at the time of the A combination of personal and telephone interviews survey. is used on an on-going basis by a permanent team of Coverage part-time interviewers employed by the Department of Statistics. Personal interviews are conducted in Reference period non-private dwellings, but in private households they are only conducted in the quarter when each house- The week ending on the Sunday before the interview. hold is first brought into the survey. For the remain- Statistics are the averages for the three-month period. ing seven quarters of involvement telephone inter- Geographical coverage views are conducted. For those households new to the survey, a first interview is carried out personally. The whole country except off-shore islands. Subsequent interviews are done by telephone. Statistical population The usually resident, non-institutional civilian population aged 15 years and over.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 64 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Survey details the PSUs are stratified into small and large and urban and rural categories. In all but the small rural areas, Description of questionnaire the PSUs are further stratified by type of dwelling; in The survey uses two core questionnaires. The first the small rural areas they are stratified into geo- collects demographic information on all members of graphical strata equivalent to the private strata minus the household (age, gender, ethnic origin, country of the large non-private PSUs. The desired sample size birth, years resident in NZ, marital status and relation- for the non-private dwelling is approximately 500 ship to a reference person in the household). The eligible persons. second questionnaire is administered to each person The survey uses a quarterly sample of 12 000 house- in the household who is within the scope of the survey holds involving some 25 000 persons. An equal and contains sets of questions on the respondent’s number of PSUs are sampled in each stratum each labour market activities during the reference week. A month and the week of the interview is spread evenly ‘building block’ approach has been adopted in the throughout the quarter across strata. design of the questionnaires so that it can provide information for different policy purposes (e.g., the One-eighth of the households are changed each quar- unemployed seeking full-time work of 30 hours or ter so that private households only remain in the sur- more per week can be identified separately, as can the vey for up to two years, but seven-eighths of the underemployed and the discouraged unemployed). households are the same over two consecutive quarters. Households are therefore interviewed eight Master list times and the rotation is completed every two years. The latest Census of Population information. Non-response rate

Survey description A high response rate (over 90 per cent) is expected. For those households not responding, the interviewer The sampling frame uses a stratified cluster design completes a non-participation report. that covers both private and non-private households each with its own sampling frame. The private households sampling frame is based on the list of DATA MANIPULATION dwellings within selected geographical areas with the Aggregations/Grossing up smallest unit called the ‘meshblock’. This normally consists of 0-200 dwellings with an average of 30. Grossing up method Combinations of meshblocks were used for the first- stage frame each containing an average of 57 dwell- Sample estimates are adjusted to the population level ings and in general between 20 and 80. These com- using post-stratification techniques based on the age binations of meshblocks form the primary sampling and gender distribution of the population. units (PSUs). For the non-private households, the same geographical areas are used and the second Seasonal and other adjustments stage sampling unit is the dwelling, which can be a Data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD. unit, room, bed, caravan, etc. The number of non- private dwellings in each PSU varies more than those for private households. In all there are 18 581 pri- DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS mary sampling units to cover the whole country. Breaks in time series The private sample frame is stratified in two stages. The first larger strata are formed on a geographic In September 1987 following the availability of new basis of which there are 29. Then within each of census information, the new population weights were these the substrata are formed using cluster analysis introduced. and using such variables as ethnicity, car ownership, etc. The number of PSUs to be sampled was deter- Revision policy mined on the basis of this common pool of variables The whole process of the survey is subject to strict with the sample allocated to the different large strata quality controls which are intended to avoid any need accordingly. Within the non-private dwelling frame for revisions to the data.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 65 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 NEW ZEALAND Labour - Unemployment Indicators from administrative Registered unemployed and other sources

SOURCE Full-time work means any job requiring the attendance of the worker for 30 hours or more each week. Source agency Also included in the series are vacation workers (i.e., Data are compiled by the New Zealand Employment full-time students seeking full-time work during the Service of the Department of Labour. summer vacation period only), first jobseekers, re- entrants to the workforce, disabled persons capable of Key national publication sources performing the work sought, persons responsible for the loss of their last job and persons with some form Data are available in the monthly publication of Sta- of minimal employment seeking other work, provided tistics New Zealand, Key Statistics. Data are also that they are available to work the required 30 hours available on-line on INFOS. minimum per week in their prospective job. Enrol- ment is voluntary, although recipients of some social Series title in national publications welfare benefits are required to enrol. The following categories enrolled with the Employment Services are Registered unemployed. also considered as registered unemployed: persons working less than 20 hours a week, persons working Breakdown available between 20 and 30 hours per week, if they are avail- Data are available in the national source by: able and willing to work more than 30 hours. - occupational group; Coverage - all workers/vacation workers. Reference period Methodological references End of the month. Methodological information is available on INFOS. Geographical coverage Run of data available The whole country.

The series was started in March 1946. Statistical population

Periodicity All those aged 15-60 and meeting the definitional criteria are allowed to register for work at the public Data are compiled on a monthly basis. employment service offices.

Unit of measurement Particular exclusions Excluded from the series are persons seeking tempo- Number of persons. rary or part-time work, those receiving invalidity benefits or retirement and other pensions, persons on CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE temporary or indefinite lay-off without pay or on strike. Those not maintaining their registration would Definition also be deleted from the register. The unemployed are those enrolled as an unemployed jobseeker with the Employment Services Division of STANDARDS the Department of Labour. To fulfil the requirements Standard classifications / nomenclatures for inclusion they must also be not currently in employment, available for and willing to accept full-time Occupation: New Zealand Standard Classification of work and be capable of performing the work sought. Occupations (NZSCO90) which is based on ISCO.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 66 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 DATA COLLECTION last Friday in the following month. Now the last working day of each month is used. Also up until Reporting method March 1981 the occupational classification of the Monthly count of administrative registration data. unemployed was according to usual occupation whereas now it is based on the occupation sought by the unemployed person. DATA MANIPULATION Seasonal and other adjustments Revision policy Data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD. Each month the data are checked for coherence, and the stocks and flows of unemployed are verified until they are reconciled. DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Breaks in time series Prior to November 1985 the reference period used for the series was from the last Friday in one month to the

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 67 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 NEW ZEALAND Labour - Employment Indicators from the Quarterly (a) Total Employment Survey (QES) Wages (b) Average weekly earnings

SOURCE Run of data available Source agency The Quarterly Employment Survey was introduced in 1980. Prior to this date it was conducted half-yearly. Data are compiled by Statistics New Zealand (Labour Market Division). Periodicity Key national publication sources Data are compiled on a quarterly basis.

Data are available in the monthly publication of Sta- Unit of measurement tistics New Zealand, Key Statistics. Data are also available on diskette, and Statistics New Zealand’s Employment: number of jobs; on-line database INFOS. Earnings: New Zealand dollars. Series title in national publications CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE (a) Total filled jobs; (b) Average weekly earnings: all surveyed indus- Definition tries. (a) Employment: The QES measures all persons engaged, basically covering all employees and Breakdown available working proprietors. Some industries, most nota- Data are available in the national source as follows: bly agriculture, are excluded. Unpaid family workers are excluded. Working proprietors are Employment by: defined as either a sole proprietor or partner actively engaged in the business, or a shareholder in - industry; a limited liability company actively engaged in its - public and private ownership; management and who is classified by the estab- - region; lishment as a working proprietor. Full-time em- - full-time/part-time. ployees are those regularly working 30 hours or Earnings by: more a week and includes those temporarily absent from work whether paid or not, as well as ap- - overtime; prentices, trainees, workers on probation, piece -ordinary; workers, home workers, temporary, casual or sea- - industry; sonal workers, employees working for commis- - public and private ownership; sion as well as managerial and executive staff. - region. Part-time employees are those working less than 30 hours per week and falling under the above Methodological references categories of employee. Methodological information is available on INFOS (b) Average weekly earnings include allowances and and in the annual publication Labour Market. special payments (bonuses, penal and shift allowances, paid leave and commission) earned in the payweek. Payments not earned in the payweek (e.g. back pay, redundancy and severance pay)

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 68 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 and non-taxable payments, such as tool money, Survey details are excluded. The figures are averages for full- time equivalent employees (full-time employees Description of questionnaire plus half of part-time employees) of business lo- The questionnaire contains some prefilled information cations in all industries except agriculture, with and respondents are asked to check this and amend as more than two full-time equivalent employees. necessary. Information is collected, by gender, on the Average weekly earnings are calculated by divid- numbers of working proprietors, number of full and of ing the total payroll by the total number of full- part-time employees, ordinary time payments, overtime equivalent employees. time payments, ordinary hours worked and overtime Coverage hours worked. Explanatory notes are provided to assist completion. Reference period Master list The pay week ending on or before the 20th of the The list of business enterprises held on Statistics New middle month of each quarter (i.e., February, May, Zealand’s Business Frame. This list is updated con- August and November). tinuously, using the February full-scale survey and Geographical coverage from other sources such as various sector surveys The whole country. Survey description

Statistical population The full survey each February covers around 60 000 establishments which together account for around All branches of economic activity except agriculture, 70 per cent of total filled jobs in the industries sur- hunting and trapping, fishing, sea-going work, do- veyed. The surveys in May, August and November mestic services in private households, owning and are based on a stratified sample (sector, industry and leasing of real estate, and the armed forces. employment size) each covering approximately 28 000 activity units. The population is broken down STANDARDS into single and multi-activity unit enterprises and the eligible population is all business locations with more Standard classifications / nomenclatures than two full-time equivalent employees. Industry: NZSIC 1987. The sample is maintained by keeping the activity units selected in the initial samples regardless of change of ownership, and by taking a sample of new DATA COLLECTION activity units. Units will remain in the sample for the Reporting units entire duration until it is rebased, usually after a five- year period. Only those activity units that move in Employment: all establishments; and out of scope are added or removed to the sample Earnings: all establishments employing more than at one stage during the year. two full-time equivalent employees. Non-response rate Reporting method Two postal reminders and telephone follow-up are used for non-response (typically around 8 per cent of Questionnaires are posted to the establishments prior full-time equivalent employees). Missing data are to the pay periods and are required to be returned by imputed. post within seven days after the survey reference period. Some establishments provide data electronically. Data from the Annual Business Directory Update DATA MANIPULATION Survey are used to provide some components of filled Aggregations/Grossing up jobs, i.e. the number of working proprietors and the number of employees at business locations with less Grossing up method than two full-time equivalent employees. Estimation factors are used to generate all the required estimates which are calculated using the Feb- ruary full coverage survey. These weights are estab-

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 69 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 lished for each stratum (industry, sector, establish- Preliminary estimates ment size, region and gender) and then projected from the sample design to the level of the total population. Employment data for May, August and November are provisional when first released. They are finalised when information from the following February An- DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS nual Business Directory Update survey is available. Sampling errors and their corrections Earnings data for February are provisional when first released. They are finalised when all returns for the The size of the sampling errors are controlled by the full-coverage February survey have been processed. size of the sample and the use of random selection, stratification and sample allocation techniques. For Timeliness average weekly earnings, sample errors are typically 0.5 per cent at the 95 per cent level of confidence. February provisional: within 13 weeks of the survey date; Breaks in time series February final: within 31 weeks; Prior to February 1989 the Department of Labour was May: within 14 weeks; responsible for conducting the QES. Since this date it has been carried out by Statistics New Zealand. Since August: within 13 weeks; February 1989 the survey has used a slightly different November: within 14 weeks. methodology but some previous years have been re- estimated to match the new series.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 70 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 NEW ZEALAND Wages Indicator from the Quarterly Labour cost index: all salary and wage Labour Cost Survey rates *

SOURCE CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Source agency Definition Data are compiled by Statistics New Zealand (Labour The labour cost index measures the movement of pay Market Division). rates, including overtime rates and non-wage labour costs. Non-wage labour costs include annual leave Key national publication sources and statutory holidays, Accident Compensation Commission (ACC) employers premiums and em- Data are available in the monthly publication of Sta- ployers’ contributions to superannuation and medical tistics New Zealand, Key Statistics. Data are also insurance schemes, motor vehicles available for pri- available on diskette, and Statistics New Zealand’s vate use, and low interest loans. The wages and sal- on-line database INFOS. ary component of the index accounts for 83 per cent of labour costs. Series title in national publications Labour cost index: all salary and wage rates, all Coverage manufacturing groups. Reference period Breakdown available The pay period in which the 15th of the middle month of the quarter falls for salary and wage rates, annual Data are available in the national source by: leave and superannuation. For medical insurance, - industry; motor vehicles and low interest loans, the reference - public and private ownership; period is the quarter. - type of labour cost; Geographical coverage - occupation. The whole country. Methodological references Methodological information is available in the annual Statistical population publication Labour Market. All establishments with paid employees, aged 15 years and over, in all occupations and all branches of Run of data available economic activity except domestic services in private households. Data are available since December 1992. Prior to this date, the series published in Part One of MEI has been linked to the Prevailing Weekly Wage Rate Index STANDARDS (available from December 1977) which measured movements in ordinary time wage rates paid to full- Standard classifications / nomenclatures time adult employees. Industry: New Zealand System of National Accounts industry production groups based on NZSIC 1987. Periodicity Occupation: New Zealand Standard Classification of Data are compiled on a quarterly basis. Occupations 1990 (NZSCO90), which is based on ISCO 1968. Unit of measurement Index (December quarter 1992=100).

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 71 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 DATA COLLECTION DATA MANIPULATION Reporting units Aggregations/Grossing up

All establishments with employees. Aggregation method Reporting method The index is calculated using the price-relatives form of the base-weighted Laspeyres formula. The Quarterly Labour Cost Survey is a postal survey of employers which uses a separate questionnaire for Weights for aggregation each of the seven wage and non-wage costs. Each job description used has been assigned a weight which reflects the relative importance of the job de- Survey details scription within its sector of ownership, industry or occupational group. The main source of information Description of questionnaire used in determining these weights is the five-yearly The questionnaires contain prefilled information, in- Census of Population, supplemented by information cluding the data provided by establishments in the contained in Statistics New Zealand’s Business Direc- previous period. Questionnaires covering salary and tory and by any information gathered from govern- ordinary time and overtime wage rates for a fixed set ment organisations. Full and part-time census em- of job descriptions are sent out quarterly. Respon- ployee numbers are used in deriving weights for sal- dents are asked to update job descriptions, provide ary and ordinary time wage rates and component non- current pay rates and give reasons for differences wage labour costs, with part-timers adjusted to a full- between previous and current pay rates. Question- time equivalent basis using census hours of work in- naires relating to medical insurance costs, motor ve- formation. hicles available for private use and low interest loans are posted out about two weeks after the end of each DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS quarter since they relate to the whole quarter. Infor- mation on ACC employer premiums (i.e., compulsory Sampling errors and their corrections payments by employers to meet the costs associated The sample was selected purposively so that sampling with workplace accidents) is collected once a year in errors cannot be calculated. June. Other errors and their corrections Master list The index is quality controlled in that only changes in The list of business enterprises held on Statistics New salary and wage rates for the same quality and quan- Zealand’s Business Frame. This list is updated con- tity of work are reflected in the index. This is tinuously, using the February full-scale survey and achieved by respondents giving the reasons for from other sources such as various sector surveys. movements in salary and wages rates and an assess- Survey description ment of how much of movement is due to each reason. The sample is drawn from the Business Frame. There are some 2 600 employers supplying information on Breaks in time series pay rates, annual leave entitlements and ACC em- The Labour Cost Index replaced the Prevailing ployer premiums. Of these around 1 200 also provide Weekly Wage Rates Index, which ran from the De- information on superannuation costs, 600 on medical cember 1977 quarter to the June 1993 quarter. insurance costs, 400 on motor vehicles available for private use and about 50 on the cost of low-interest Preliminary estimates loans. Non-response rate Data are final when first released. Postal reminder questionnaires and telephone follow- Timeliness up are used for non-response (typically 4 per cent for Data are available by the 23rd of the second month salary and wage rates and 6 per cent overall). Miss- after the reference quarter (salary and wage rates) and ing data are imputed. by the 14th day of the third month after the reference quarter (non-wage and all labour costs).

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 72 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 NEW ZEALAND Labour - Other Indicators from administrative Labour disputes - time lost and other sources

SOURCE is recorded and published as the period at which the last stoppage in the series ended. Source agency Time not worked - total time not worked is measured Data are compiled by Statistics New Zealand. in work days by ascertaining the total amount of time not worked on each day of the strike or lockout and Key national publication sources summing these totals. Time not worked is measured Data are available in the monthly publication of Sta- for all workers involved, whether directly or indi- tistics New Zealand, Key Statistics. rectly. The shorter working hours of part-time workers are not taken into account and neither is overtime Series title in national publications working. Work Stoppages: person days of work lost. CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Breakdown available Definition The following categories of the data are regularly Data refer to the number of days lost due to work published in the national source: stoppages. Work stoppages comprise those disputes which result in a strike or a lockout or in which organ- - duration of stoppage; ised go-slow, or refusal to work overtime or other - cause of dispute; passive resistance methods are clearly manifested and - outcome of dispute; includes unauthorised stopwork meetings as well as - method of settlement; unauthorised delays in resuming work after recog- - economic activity. nised stopwork meetings. A single stoppage may include or consist of one or more stoppages or stop- Run of data available work meetings held at different places or at different Statistics on work stoppages were first compiled in times concerning the same issue. 1894 and published for the first time in 1910. A Strike is the act of any number of workers who are or have been in the employment of the same em- Periodicity ployer or of different employers: Data are compiled on a monthly basis. − in discontinuing that employment, whether wholly or partially, or in reducing the normal Unit of measurement performance of it; or Time lost in thousands of working days. − in breaking their contracts of service; or The basic unit of measurement used to record a strike − in refusing or failing after any such discon- or lockout is the case of dispute. The continuation of a tinuance to resume or return to their employ- strike or lockout that is interrupted but later resumes, ment; or still due to the same case of dispute, is counted as the same strike or lockout. Work stoppages resulting from − in refusing or failing to accept engagement the same case of dispute and occurring simultane- for any work in which they are usually em- ously or at different times, in establishments of the ployed; or same or different enterprises, are referred to as a − in reducing their normal output or their nor- ‘series’ and are counted as one strike or lockout which mal rate of work.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 73 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 the said act being due to any combination, agree- Particular exclusions ment, common understanding or concerted action, Those complete stoppages and lockouts involving less whether express or implied, made or entered into than 10 days not worked and partial stoppages where by any workers; but this does not include a union the number of workers involved multiplied by the meeting allowed under the legislation or author- duration is less than 10 days not worked are not ised by an employer. counted. A Lockout is the act of an employer:

− in closing the employer’s place of business or STANDARDS suspending or discontinuing the employer’s business or any branch thereof; or Standard classifications / nomenclatures − in discontinuing the employment of any Industry: NZSIC. workers whether wholly or partially; or − in breaking some or all of the employer’s DATA COLLECTION contracts of service; or Reporting method − in refusing or failing to engage workers for Employers are required by law to record details of all any work for which the employer usually work stoppages and to supply this information to the employs them. Department of Labour if requested to do so. How- with a view to compelling any workers or to aid ever, there is no legal obligation on employers to re- another employer in compelling any workers to port the occurrence of a stoppage. The information is accept terms of employment or comply with any gathered using pro formas submitted by employers to demands made by the employer. the Department of Labour which is supplemented by information gleaned from newspaper and other Coverage sources.

Reference period DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS The monthly statistics refer to strikes and lockouts ending during the month, regardless of the date of Breaks in time series commencement. In 1970 a new method of reporting stoppages was introduced with the frequency of reporting changed Geographical coverage from quarterly to monthly. In 1984 data were revised The whole country. to include stoppages not directly related to terms and conditions of employment or where a demand was Statistical population made of a third party. Prior to 1988 public sector All establishments in the public and private sectors. stoppages were not included in the statistics.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 74 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 AUSTRIA Labour - Employment Indicators from the Mikrozensus Total employment * (Household survey)

SOURCE worked at least one hour during the reference week and including those who were temporarily absent Source agency from work; private domestic servants; members of Data are compiled by the Austrian Central Statistical producers’ co-operatives; members of the armed Office (Österreichisches Statistisches Zentralamt - forces (including conscripts) as well as persons doing ÖSTAT). civilian service equivalent to military service.

Key national publication sources Coverage Data are available in ÖSTAT, Statistische Über- Reference period sichten. One week in the quarter.

Series title in national publications Geographical coverage Berufstätige: zusammen. The whole country.

Run of data available Statistical population The first Microcensus was conducted in 1968. All persons who are usual residents in the country, including those temporarily absent. Periodicity Particular exclusions Data are compiled on a quarterly basis. Employment also excludes the following groups: persons on temporary or indefinite lay-off without Unit of measurement pay; persons who performed some work during the The raw data, expressed in number of persons, are reference week, while being subject to compulsory converted to an index by the OECD. schooling, or retired and receiving a pension; persons engaged in their own housework; and persons doing unpaid community or social work. CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Definition DATA COLLECTION In the Microcensus the employed are all persons aged Reporting units 15 years and over who worked for pay or profit for at least one hour or more during the survey week, in- Dwellings as defined in the latest Census of Popula- cluding those who had a job but were not at work due tion and Housing (1991). to illness or injury, vacation or leave, maternity or parental leave, educational leave, absence without Survey details leave, bad weather, labour-management dispute or mechanical breakdown. Included in the definition are: Description of questionnaire full and part-time workers seeking other work during A questionnaire is used for mainly personal inter- the reference week; full and part-time students views and is designed for completion by trained in- working full or part-time (although they are often terviewers. It comprises a basic and a special ques- classified as inactive); paid apprentices and trainees; tionnaire, the latter covering selected topics which participants in employment promotion schemes; paid vary from survey to survey. and unpaid family workers, provided the latter have

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 75 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Survey description DATA MANIPULATION The basic sampling frame is the latest Census of Grossing up Population and Housing (currently 1991) which is used for the selection of dwellings. The basic frame The basic grossing up factor in each stratum is the is supplemented by information on newly constructed inverse of the sampling fraction. Grossing up factors dwellings. The sample is based on a one-stage strati- are adjusted for non-interview and non-response. The fied systematic design with stratification by the fol- ultimate factors are then gained through ranking ratio lowing factors: dwellings occupied or not; social estimates. position of the head of the dwelling; floor space; number of persons; quality and period of construc- DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS tion; and Federal State. Within strata sampling units (dwellings) are selected systematically with a random Other errors and their corrections start. The sample size is approximately 30 000 repre- Undercoverage appears in the age group 20-40 years senting around 0.9 per cent of the total. After each and is accounted for in the weighting process. quarterly survey, one-eighth of the sample is substituted so that each dwelling remains in the sample for Breaks in time series eight successive periods, this implies that the sample is completely renewed every two years. In 1974 a new sample design was adopted and the time criteria for employment was reduced from 14 to Non-response rate 13 hours. In 1982 a re-weighting of the sample was The non-response rate ranges from 10-15 per cent for made due to an underestimation for those aged 15-29. the basic questionnaire and from 3 to 8 per cent for In 1984 the sample was revised. the supplementary (special) questionnaire. The non- response is accounted for in the weighting procedure.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 76 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 AUSTRIA Labour - Employment Indicators from the Industrial (a) Mining and manufacturing Production Statistics Survey Labour - Other (‘Industriestatistik’) (b) Monthly hours worked in industry Wages (c) Monthly earnings (d) Hourly earnings

SOURCE Run of data available Source agency The Industrial Production Statistics Survey was introduced in 1970. Data are compiled by ÖSTAT. Periodicity Key national publication sources Data are compiled on a monthly basis. Data are available in ÖSTAT, Statistische Über- sichten. Unit of measurement Series title in national publications Employment: number of jobs;

(a) Beschäftigte in der Industrie: unselbständig Monthly hours worked: number of hours; (ohne Sägeindustrie, Bauindustrie und Elektriz- Monthly earnings: index; itätswerke); Original data for Hourly earnings expressed in schil- (b) Geleistete Arbeitsstunden Arbeiter (not lings are converted to an index by the OECD. published by national source, calculated especially for OECD). (c) Brutto-Monatsverdienst je Arbeiter in der CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Industrie (ohne Bauindustrie), Definition (d) Brutto-Studenverdienst je Arbeiter in der Industrie (ohne Bauindustrie). (a) Employment data refer to the number of employees on payrolls on the last day of the month in the Breakdown available mining and manufacturing industries excluding sawmills. They include wage earners, salaried The national source publishes data by: employees, trainees, workers on probation, piece - gender; workers, commission agents, casual, temporary - industries; and seasonal workers, part-time workers, persons - employee category (wage earners, salaried temporarily present on the payroll during their employees, home workers); notice period preceding retirement, resignation or dismissal as well as persons temporarily absent - size of establishment. from work because of paid vacation or holiday, temporary or indefinite lay-off, industrial dispute, sickness or accident, etc. (b) Data refer to Monthly hours actually worked by wage earners in the mining and manufacturing industries excluding sawmills. Information is col-

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 77 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 lected on hours paid for and hours actually ments which are members of the Austrian Federal worked per month for wage earners only Chamber of Commerce section ‘Industrie’, as well as (excluding home workers). Hours actually agricultural dairies and sawmills, water supply plants, worked are based on hours paid for less hours paid non-industrial heat supply establishments and alterna- for but not worked (e.g., holidays, sickness, etc.). tive fuel producers which are not members of the Only those firms which are members of the Chamber but carry out similar activities. “Industrie” section of their Chamber of Com- merce are asked to report on hours not worked. Particular exclusions Hours actually worked include normal hours of In Austria a distinction is made between ‘Industrie’ work; overtime; time spent at the place of work and ‘Gewerbe’. Gewerbe refers to small-scale manu- involving such activities as preparation of the facturing industry. Gewerbe are not covered by these workplace, repairs, maintenance, etc.; time spent statistics. at the place of work waiting or standing by for such reasons as lack of supply of work, break- Employment: employees who are temporarily absent down of machinery, etc.; and time spent taking because of unpaid leave or military service are ex- short rest breaks at the workplace including those cluded. for tea or coffee, etc. (normal meal breaks are ex- Hours worked by home workers are excluded. cluded). (c) Monthly earnings refer to gross earnings for wage earners in mining and manufacturing industries STANDARDS excluding sawmills, before deduction of taxes, Standard classifications / nomenclatures social security payments etc., and comprise pay for normal time worked, premium pay for over- Industry: ISIC Rev.2 1968. time, shift, night or holiday work, incentive pay, other regular bonuses and cost-of-living allow- Departures from international standards ances. They also include remuneration for time The concept of Hours actually worked conforms to not worked such as annual leave, vacation, public the international recommendations; holidays, other time off with pay and bonuses and gratuities paid irregularly, as well as earnings in The definition of Earnings complies with interna- kind. Data exclude separation payments, family tional recommendations. However, certain allow- allowances, and social security contributions ances such as housing, rent or transport allowances made by employers. are excluded from the data collected. (d) Hourly earnings refer to gross monthly earnings for wage earners in mining and manufacturing in- DATA COLLECTION dustries excluding sawmills, divided by the number of paid hours. Reporting units All establishments within scope of the survey. Coverage

Reference period Reporting method Employment: last day of the month; Data are collected via a postal questionnaire sent in the last week of each reference month with a legal Hours, Earnings: the calendar month. requirement that the forms are returned completed by the 10th day of the following month. Geographical coverage The whole country. Survey details

Classification coverage Description of questionnaire Divisions 2 and 3 of ISIC 1968. The postal questionnaire consists of three parts designed to gather information on the following: Statistical population - output; Mining, quarrying and manufacturing industries only - consumption of energy and fuel; are covered and within these sectors, all establish- - employment, hours of work, wages and salaries.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 78 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Master list DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS List of establishments derived from the Annual Indus- Other errors and their corrections trial Census. The questionnaires are first coded manually then data Survey description are verified manually and by computer. Checklists for errors and omissions are used to revise the question- The sample comprises some 8 800 establishments. naires and in the case of missing or inconsistent in- The survey uses the full list of establishments that are formation, the firms are contacted by post or tele- members of the ‘Industrie’ section of the Austrian phone. Chamber of Commerce as well as some additional sub-sectors who are not members (i.e., water supply Breaks in time series plants, non-industrial heat supply and alternative fuel supply establishments). Dairies, agricultural and in- Establishments in certain sectors who are not mem- dustrial sawmills are surveyed by sampling. bers of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce were included for the first time in 1992 (non-industrial heat Non response rate supply and alternative fuel producers). Completion and return of the questionnaire is compulsory under the law. Any small level of non- Corroborating evidence response is treated by imputing the figures from other The survey figures are checked against labour market records. data from employment offices of the Ministry of La- bour and Social Affairs, annual censuses and data DATA MANIPULATION from employers’ organisations. Seasonal and other adjustments Data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 79 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 AUSTRIA Labour - Employment Indicators from administrative Foreign workers and other sources

SOURCE Unit of measurement Source agencies Number of persons. Data are collected by the Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs (Bundesministerium für Arbeit und CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Soziales - BMAS) and published by ÖSTAT. Definition Key national publication sources Foreign worker numbers are supplied by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs from their records and Data are available in ÖSTAT Statistische Über- comprise foreigners holding a work contract and a sichten. residence permit. Series title in national publications Beschäftigung von ausländischen Arbeitskräften.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 80 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 AUSTRIA Labour - Unemployment Indicators from administrative (a) Registered unemployed and other sources (b) Rate Labour - Other (c) Unfilled vacancies

SOURCE Run of data available Source agencies The series started in January 1948. The Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs Periodicity (Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales - BMAS) Data are compiled on a monthly basis. is responsible for data collection from the regional employment offices (Arbeitmarktservice - AMS), Unit of measurement statistical processing and publication of the data. Data are provided to the OECD by ÖSTAT. Unemployment total: number of persons; Unemployment rate: percentage; Key national publication sources Unfilled vacancies: number of vacancies. Data are available in ÖSTAT Statistische Übersichten and AMS, Arbeitsmarktdaten. CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Series title in national publications Definition (a) Vorgemerkte Arbeitslose, insgesamt; (a) Unemployment figures are derived from the those (b) Arbeitslosenquoten; registering for work at the public employment service and satisfying the conditions for unem- (c) Offene Stellen nach Berufen und Ländern, ins- ployment (i.e., available for work). Persons seek- gesamt. ing part-time work and persons who regularly do seasonal work, first-time jobseekers, re-entrants to Breakdown available the labour force and employable disabled persons Unemployment figures are available in the national are included. Similarly, persons responsible for source by: the loss of their last job and persons on strike who have lost their job are included. Persons receiving - gender; invalidity benefits or retirement or other pensions - region; are included in the series only if they are seeking - foreign workers; work and are actually available for work. Persons - industry; on temporary or indefinite lay-off without pay are -age; also included. - duration; Persons are deleted from the register and thus the - educational level. unemployment count in the event of temporary Vacancy statistics are available in the national source inability to work (illness, holiday etc.). Participa- by: tion in State-aided schemes or job creation measures leads to deletion from the register. Rejection - region; of job offers does not lead to deletion. - industry; (b) The Unemployment rate is the unemployed as a - education level expected. percentage of the dependent labour force. The latter comprises employees registered with the

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 81 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 social security agencies plus the registered unem- DATA COLLECTION ployed. Reporting method Coverage Data are collected on-line from the 110 Employment Reference period Offices and branches in the different regions of the country. Control of data is carried in the regional The end of each month. offices and some tests are automated.

Geographical coverage DATA MANIPULATION The whole country. Seasonal and other adjustments Statistical population Data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD. Registrants at offices of the public employment service. The minimum age limit is 15 years with no maximum age limit. Austrian nationals and foreign- DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS ers living in the country are covered. Breaks in time series Particular exclusions Up until 1972 claimants for old age pensions or inva- Those not registered with the public employment lidity pensions were included in the unemployment service but who otherwise would satisfy the unem- data whether they were seeking a job or not. Up until ployment criteria would not be included. Students 1974 women after maternity leave who applied for seeking temporary employment during vacations are registration whether they were seeking a job or not excluded as well those seeking temporary work, un- were included in the unemployment data. Up until less this kind of work is typical for them. Persons who 1976 persons involved in training programmes were work more than approximately 12 hours per week are also normally included in the unemployment data. considered as in employment and are thus excluded from the unemployment statistics. Corroborating evidence Statistical evaluations are performed on the unemployment data using quarterly Microcensus data and statistics of Unemployment Benefits.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 82 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 AUSTRIA Wages Indicators from administrative Hourly rates and other sources

SOURCE rates are expressed on a gross basis before deductions for tax, social security etc. Source agency Reference period Data are compiled by ÖSTAT. End of month. Key national publication sources Geographical coverage Data are available in ÖSTAT, Statistische Über- sichten. The whole country. Statistical population Series title in national publications Collective agreements at national and regional level Tariflohnindex je Arbeiter in der Industrie (inkl. between trade unions and employers associations. Bauindustrie und Elektrizitätswerke). Particular exclusions Breakdown available Wage rates for trainees and young people under 18 Data are published in the national source by: (or 16 for some contracts) and salaries for home workers are not taken into account. - industry; - type of worker (wage earner, employee, public sector employee (total and transport). STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Run of data available Statistics of wage and salary rates are classified ac- Data are available from 1967. cording to the system of the Federal Chamber of Commerce. The structure of each sector’s index Periodicity complies with that of the component employers as- Data are compiled on a monthly basis. sociations of the Chamber of Commerce and is not directly comparable to any classification of economic Unit of measurement activities. Index. DATA COLLECTION CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Reporting method Definition The indices are calculated on the basis of wage rates applying to a number of occupations and skill levels Data refer to the agreed minimum gross basic rates from a sample of collective agreements. The selection for wage earners prescribed in collective agreements criteria are as follows: for adult full-time and part-time wage earners in industry including the construction and electricity pro- - employment coverage: agreements covering ducing industries. They exclude supplements such as large numbers of workers are selected. bonuses; payment for overtime, night or Sunday - geographic coverage: regional agreements work; payments for the 13th or 14th month and social are chosen in the case of industries with re- benefits. Piece rates are not taken into account. Wage gional variations in wage rate developments.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 83 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Collective agreements provide scales of wage rates Weights for aggregation for all skill levels in each occupation. Three skill levels (unskilled, skilled and semi-skilled) are retained The weights are average wage rates in the base year for the index. From each of the corresponding three multiplied by estimated wage earner employment in sets of scales contained in a selected agreement, only the baseyear. Employment figures are as follows: one scale, the most common one, is usually chosen. - for scale points: employment covered by the entire scale represented by the scale point; DATA MANIPULATION - for collective agreements: the number of wage earners covered by the agreement; Aggregations / Grossing up - for employers associations: wage earner employment in all member enterprises. Most Aggregation employment data were taken from statistics An index is calculated for each selected scale point. compiled by the Federal Chamber of Com- The wage rate effective at the end of the month under merce. review is expressed as a percentage of the corresponding average rate in the base year. Weighted arithme- DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS tic averages successively combine: Revision policy - all skill levels within an agreement; When new agreements provide for wage changes with - all agreements concerning an employers as- retrospective effect, the indices for the periods af- sociation (employers associations more or fected are revised. less correspond to industry divisions); - all employers associations.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 84 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 BELGIUM Labour - Employment Indicators from administrative and (a) Part-time (economic reasons) other sources Labour - Unemployment (b) Total (c) Rate Other (d) Unfilled vacancies

SOURCE Unit of measurement Source agencies Part-time (economic reasons), Unemployment: number of persons; The data are collected at the National Employment Offices (Offices Nationaux de l’Emploi - ONEM) and Unemployment rate: percentage; transmitted to the National Statistical Institute (Institut Unfilled vacancies: number of job vacancies. National de Statistique - INS). The Ministry of Em- ployment and Labour (Ministère de l’Emploi et du Travail - MET) is responsible for the labour force CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE data used to calculate the unemployment rate. Definition Key national publication sources (a) Part-time (economic reasons) refers to persons Part-time (economic reasons), Unemployment and registered at employment offices who are partially Unemployment rate are published in INS, Bulletin de unemployed for economic, climatic and other rea- Statistique. sons and who satisfy the conditions for registration. Unfilled vacancies are published in the monthly Bul- (b) Unemployment: The following categories of un- letin de la Banque Nationale de Belgique. employed are included: Series title in national publications − registered unemployed jobseekers, i.e. persons without work who are registered as job- (a) Chômeurs partiels; seekers at the ONEM and receive unem- (b) Chômeurs demandeurs d’emploi; ployment benefit. They are persons not bound by an employment contract and who (c) Taux de chômage par rapport à la population are seeking full-time employment. totale; − (d) Emplois vacants. other jobseekers without work who are required to register. This category comprises Run of data available certain fully unemployed persons who are temporarily disqualified from receiving un- Part-time (economic reasons) from January 1991. employment benefit, persons working at a job Unemployment from January 1982; where they have accepted reduced working time while in receipt of benefit, persons re- Unemployment rate from January 1980; ferred by the Public Social Welfare Centres, Unfilled vacancies from January 1955. and other categories of handicapped persons and young persons. Periodicity − jobseekers without work who voluntarily Data are compiled on a monthly basis. register. This category also includes young

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 85 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 people in part-time schooling seeking part- DATA COLLECTION time work. Reporting method (c) The Unemployment rate is calculated as the total number of registered unemployed jobseekers as a Unemployment: Registration must take place at the per cent of the total labour force including mem- regional employment office at the beginning of un- bers of the armed forces. The total labour force is employment. Twice a month, the communal ad- estimated by the MET at 30th June of each year, ministrations receive a list of the unemployed persons and comprises employees, the self-employed and subject to daily control (in theory persons should pre- helpers, plus the unemployed. sent themselves every day). The completed lists are (d) Unfilled vacancies remaining unfilled at the end forwarded to ONEM’s employment services. The of each month and notified to ONEM by employ- necessary information is then transmitted to the Na- ers. Vacancies within the framework of “special tional Directorate by computer. temporary work” (“Cadre spécial temporaire”), Unfilled vacancies : monthly count of vacancies noti- youth apprenticeships and special vacancies fied to ONEM. (“Troisième circuit du travail”) are included.

Coverage DATA MANIPULATION

Reference period Seasonal adjustment The last working day of the month. Data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD.

Geographical coverage DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS The whole country. Breaks in time series Statistical population Beginning in 1984, workers registered with the All persons aged 15-59, for women, and 15-64, for ONEM who had accepted a job with reduced working men, registered with the ONEM as unemployed job- hours, and jobseekers working in subsidised work- seekers. shops are excluded. Since 1985, the data exclude certain categories of elderly unemployed persons who previously had been required to register in order to obtain unemployment benefit, and who had ceased to look for work.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 86 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 BELGIUM Wages Indicators from administrative Hourly rates and other sources

SOURCE Geographical coverage Source agency The whole country. Data are compiled by the Ministry of Employment Statistical population and Labour (MET). Manual workers of the private sector of the economy.

Key national publication sources Particular exclusions Data are available in MET, Indice des salaires con- Civil servants and employees in institutions of public ventionnels. utility (such as council, government, etc.) are excluded. Series title in national publications Indice des salaires conventionnels - ouvriers adultes. STANDARDS

Methodological reference Standard classifications/ nomenclatures Methodological information is published in Ministère The NACE classification is used for economic activi- des Affaires Economiques, Aspects méthodologiques ties. de la statistique des salaires en Belgique. DATA COLLECTION Run of data available Reporting method Data are available from 1958. Hourly wage rate information is established by Periodicity monitoring collective bargaining agreements. Data are published on a quarterly basis. DATA MANIPULATION Unit of measurement Aggregations/Grossing up Index (1987=100). Aggregation method Data are calculated for men and women separately. CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE In each industry, wages indices are established by the Definition collective bargaining agreements. Data are aggregated at higher level (group, class and branch of ac- The wage rates refer to the minimum wage paid to tivity) using weights proportional to the number of adult manual workers in industry, agreed by the col- employees. Total wages are finally calculated as the lective bargaining process. Bonuses such as the thir- weighted average of the indices for men and for teenth month etc. are excluded. women.

Coverage Calculation of weights

Reference period All weights are derived from the results of the 1961 General Census, which have been updated using ad- End of the quarter. ditional information from the Social Security.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 87 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 BELGIUM Wages Indicators from administrative Hourly earnings * and other sources

SOURCE Coverage

Source agency Reference period Data are compiled by INS. January, April, July and October of each year.

Key national publication sources Geographical coverage Data are published in INS, Communiqué Hebdo- The whole country. madaire, Statistiques Sociales. Classification coverage Series title in national publications Data cover the sections C to F (Mining, Manufactur- ing, Electricity, Gas and Water and Construction of Indice des salaires horaires bruts gagnés par les ouvri- the NACE classification. ers masculins âgés de 21 ans et plus dans l’industrie. Statistical population Methodological reference Establishments. Methodological information is published in Ministère des Affaires Economiques, Aspects méthodologiques de la statistique des salaires en Belgique. STANDARDS Standard classifications/ nomenclatures Run of data available The NACE classification is used for economic activi- Data are available from 1980. ties.

Periodicity International comparability Data are published on a quarterly basis. Data are collected in line with EU recommendations.

Unit of measurement DATA COLLECTION Index (October 1980=100); Reporting method

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Earnings data are derived from the half-yearly survey on earnings conducted by the INS. Data are collected Definition for the two previous reference periods at the time of reporting. Data refer to gross hourly earnings paid for normal and extra hours to male manual workers aged 21 and over in industry. These exclude: special bonuses not Survey details paid each month; payments for days not worked Survey description (such as bonuses for holidays, compensations for dismissal, etc.); payments in kind; expenses for The sample used to select the establishments and the training and other social expenses. manual workers is probabilistic. Establishments are first classified into three strata depending on their size: large (more than 200 workers), medium (50-199 workers) and small (less than 50 workers).

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 88 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 All large establishments are selected in the sample; total number of actual hours worked. Data are then manual workers are selected at random within each calculated at higher levels (sub-group, group, classes establishment. Medium establishments are selected at and divisions of industry) using weights proportional random; manual workers are selected at random to the number of manual workers. within each establishment. Small establishments are selected at random; all manual workers are selected Calculation of weights for the establishments included in the sample. Weights are derived from the results of the survey on Data are collected from 2 500 establishments (of a the wage and salary structures. total of over 14 000) throughout the whole country and cover around 8% of the employees of these es- DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS tablishments. Breaks in time series DATA MANIPULATION Consistent historical data (according to NACE) have been recalculated by the INS from 1966 using a coef- Aggregations/Grossing up ficient derived from the 1972 wage and salary survey. Aggregation method Hourly gross wages are first calculated at establishment level by dividing the total gross earnings by the

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 89 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 CZECH REPUBLIC Labour - Employment Indicators from the Monthly Survey of (a) Manufacturing Industrial Enterprises Wages (b) Monthly earnings: manufacturing

SOURCE CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Source agency Definition Data are compiled by the Czech Statistical Office (a) Employment in manufacturing refers to all cate- (CSÚ). gories of employees with an employment contract in enterprises. All permanent, temporary and sea- Key national publication sources sonal employees are included, as are women on Data are available in the CSÚ publications, Statistical maternity leave. information, series industry (in Czech only), Current Apprentices, women on additional child-care CSO News and in the Statistical Yearbook of the leave (after the first 28 weeks), persons on paren- Czech Republic,. tal leave and persons engaged by companies on the basis of work execution or work activity Series title in national publication agreements are excluded. (a) Employment in industry: manufacturing; (b) Monthly earnings refer to total gross income, in line with regulations on wages and salaries, from (b) Average monthly wages and salaries in industry: employment of registered employees. Included manufacturing. are direct wages and salaries, personal bonuses Breakdown available and assessment, bonuses and gratuities, profit- sharing bonuses and remuneration for time not- Employment and Earnings data are published in the worked (employees now receive pay for a thir- national source by economic activity. teenth month which is split between June and De- cember). Family and other social benefits are ex- Methodological reference in publication cluded. Information on the methodology can be found in Sta- Coverage tistical Yearbook of the Czech Republic and in the monthly publication Statistics information, series Reference period industry. The whole month. Period coverage of time series in source Geographical coverage Employment data are available from January 1980; The whole country. Earnings data are available from May 1990. Statistical population

Periodicity of the data Manufacturing enterprises in both the public and private sectors, and co-operatives. The coverage of en- Data are compiled on a monthly basis. terprises has varied over time as follows: Unit of measurement of the data - 1991: enterprises with 100 employees or more; Employment: number of persons; - 1992-1994: enterprises with 25 employees or Earnings: Czech Koruna. more;

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 90 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 - 1995-1996: enterprises with 100 employees Survey details or more; - 1997: legal and natural persons with 20 em- Description of questionnaire ployees or more. The questionnaire collects information on employment, industrial output, wages and salaries. Classification coverage Data cover the major division ‘Manufacturing’ of the Master list national classification OKEC. The Czech Business Register. This contains a detailed description of the economic entities in the STANDARDS whole country (identification, main activity, legal form, name and location and statistical attributes such Standard classifications / nomenclatures as number of employees etc.). The Business Register is maintained and updated regularly by the CSÚ using Industry uses the classification Czech Branch Classi- administrative sources. fication of Economic Activity (OKEC) which is compatible with international classifications NACE and Survey description ISIC Rev. 3. The survey is exhaustive of all legal and natural persons with 20 employees and more. DATA COLLECTION

Reporting unit DATA QUALITY The enterprise. Revision policy Reporting method Data for the current year are revised and final data published when data for December are available. Data are derived from the monthly survey of industrial enterprises. Timeliness Data are published 45 days after the end of the reference month.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 91 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 CZECH REPUBLIC Labour - Employment Indicators from the Labour Force Total Survey

SOURCE Unit of measurement of the data Source agency Number of persons. Data are compiled by the Czech Statistical Office (CSÚ). CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition Key national publication sources Data cover all persons aged 15 or more who, during Data are available in the CSÚ publications, Employ- the reference week, were in paid employment or in ment and Unemployment in the Czech Republic - La- self-employment. No difference is made whether bour Force Sample Survey(quarterly) and Monthly their activity is of a permanent, temporary, seasonal Statistics of the Czech Republic. or occasional nature or whether the job is their main Detailed results of the labour force survey are also or second job. available on diskette. − The paid employed are persons with a formal job Series title in national publication attachment, irrespective of whether they are working (for a wage or salary for at least one Total employment. hour) during the reference week. The formal job attachment could be interpreted as an employment Breakdown available contract, appointment or election, work execution agreement, work activity agreement, contracts of Data are published in the national source by: copyright, etc. Also included are women on ma- - gender; ternity and child-care leave, paid apprentices, stu- -age; dents, home-workers and other persons mainly - economic activity; engaged in non-economic activities, and who - level of education; were paid during the reference week. The number of paid employees includes professional members - status in employment; of the armed forces and conscripts (from Winter - underemployment; 1996-1997). - full-time/part-time. − The self-employed refer to employers, own ac- Methodological reference in publication count workers and members of producer or agricultural co-operatives. Contributing family work- Information on the methodology can be found in ers are also considered to be self-employed, the Employment and Unemployment in the Czech Repub- number of hours worked during the reference lic - Labour force Sample Survey and in Statistical week being irrelevant. Yearbook of the Czech Republic. Data on total employment exclude women on additional child-care leave (after the first 28 Period coverage of time series in source weeks) as from Winter 1996-1997. The survey started in the first quarter 1993. Coverage

Periodicity of the data Reference period Data are compiled on a quarterly basis. Quarterly data of the Labour Force Survey refer to the seasons Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn, re-

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 92 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 spectively December-February, March-May, June- Survey details August and September-November. Interviews are held throughout the season. Once the reference week Description of questionnaire for each selected household is fixed, the interview The survey questionnaire is in two parts: takes place usually the following week, or excep- tionally the following two weeks. − Questionnaire A is destined for all the members of the household: The following characteristics are Geographical coverage collected for all household persons: relation to the The whole country. head of the household, sex, citizenship, nationality, age, marital status, economic situation, highest Statistical population educational attainment, subject of apprenticeship The survey covers all households living in dwellings or study, and income situation of the household. continuously for at least three months. − Questionnaire B is destined for persons aged 15 and over. This part is divided into five sections: • STANDARDS Section “Basis questions”, the respondent is asked whether he has a job and if he was pres- Standard classifications / nomenclatures ent at work in the reference period; the reason for not having worked is also indicated. The following classifications are used: • Section “Main employment” requests infor- Education/qualifications: national Standard Classifi- mation on the nature of their employment cation of Education Subjects (JKOV) - 2nd edition (kind of contract, duration, branch of industry, 1991. location of the workplace, status in employ- Economic activity: Branch Classification of Eco- ment, kind of work contract, hours worked, nomic Activities (OKEC), compatible with ISIC. and whether seeking another job). Occupations: Classification of Occupations (KZAM) • Section “Secondary employment” collects issued in 1996 (2nd enlarged edition). From 1995 details on its regularity, branch of industry, KZAM is fully compatible with ISCO-88. Up to status in employment and hours worked. 1994, KZAM was not fully compatible with the inter- • Section “Without employment” requests in- national classification ISCO-88 because of differences formation on the reason and time of termina- in the classification of members of the armed forces. tion of last employment (if any), branch of industry, its location and kind; other questions International comparability refer to job search, i.e. method used, readiness Data are compiled according to the ILO guidelines. to work full or part-time, duration of unemployment, required status in employment and ability to start working soon. DATA COLLECTION • Section “Conclusion” applies to persons regis- Reporting unit tered at the labour offices as job applicants. All persons living in dwellings chosen at random Inquiries are made on unemployment benefits throughout the country (in Czech Republic, more than and capacity (limited) to work. 98% of dwellings are occupied by single households). Master list Reporting method The list of addresses, derived from the 1991 Popula- tion and Housing Census, of houses and dwellings in Data are collected in face-to-face interviews, which each census district of the country. The master list is are under the responsibility of the CSÚ district units. updated on a regular basis by the survey interviewers When possible, the interviewer can arrange follow-up taking into account newly built and demolished contacts by phone. The information collected is sent dwellings. via modem to the Regional Division and then transmitted to the CSÚ central office. Survey description The sample of household dwellings is made by a two- stage random sampling. At the first stage, census

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 93 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 districts are chosen at random in each administrative DATA MANIPULATION district of the country with probability proportional to the number of permanently occupied dwellings. The Aggregations / Grossing up scope of the first-stage sample (the number of se- Grossing up method lected census districts) is the same in most of the administrative census. This number, however, is twice In each census district and for each variable surveyed, or three times higher in the most populated districts. survey results are grossed up to total population. Grossing up factors are inversely proportional to the At the second stage, a random systematic sample is probability for an individual to be selected in each made to select individual dwellings within each cen- sex/age group of the total population (24 groups in sus district. This is carried out by the interviewers total). These factors are derived from population according to the following rules: eight permanently estimates at 31st December of the previous year. occupied dwellings (of which three are so-called reserve dwellings) are selected at random in each census district of the sample. DATA QUALITY Information is collected for 28 000 dwellings (which Sampling errors and their corrections represent 0.8% of the total number of dwellings of the whole country). The total number of dwellings repre- Sampling errors are calculated at district and at na- sents around 60 000 persons aged 15 or over. The tional level. At the national level they were 2% for sample is rotated by one-fifth each quarter. Each the summer quarter 1996. selected dwelling is included five times in the survey, then dropped and replaced by a new one. Other errors and their corrections

Non response rate In order to evaluate the quality of the Labour Force Survey data, results are compared with unemploy- On the occasion of the first visit of the interviewer, ment statistics compiled by the Ministry of Labour the first five selected dwellings are contacted within a and Social Affairs on a monthly basis. census district. If a household is unable or unwilling to be surveyed, the interviewer contacts a household Timeliness and release dates in a randomly selected reserve dwelling. For the Czech Republic in total, the rate of non-response by Preliminary results are published 30 days after the end these reserve dwellings at the first visit amounts to of the reference period. Final data are available 50 19%; this figure is highest in Prague. Taking into days after the end of the reference period. account repeat visits, overall non-response is less than 4%, though higher in large towns.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 94 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 CZECH REPUBLIC Labour - Unemployment Indicators from administrative and (a) Registered unemployed other sources (b) Rate Labour - Other (c) Unfilled vacancies

SOURCE Methodological reference in publication Source agencies Methodological information is published in Monthly Statistics of the Czech Republic and in Statistical Data are compiled by the Ministry of Labour and Yearbook of the Czech Republic. Social Affairs, and transmitted to the OECD by the Czech Statistical Office (CSÚ). Period coverage of time series in source Key national publication sources Unemployed, Unemployment rate: data are available from January 1990; Data are published in CSÚ, Monthly Statistics of the Czech Republic. Vacancies: data are available from September 1990.

Series title in national publication Periodicity of the data (a) Unemployed job applicants registered by Labour Data are compiled on a monthly basis. Offices; (b) Unemployed job applicants: unemployment rate; Unit of measurement of the data (c) Vacancies. (a) Registered unemployed: number of persons; Breakdown available (b) Unemployment rate: per cent; (c) Vacancies: number of vacancies. (a) Unemployment data are published in the national source for the following categories: CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE - gender; - age group (15-24; 25-49; 50 plus); Definition - level of education; (a) The Unemployed are those persons who, irrespec- - districts/regions; tive of whether or not they receive unemployment - duration of registration; benefits, have no formal job or similar attachment - status of last jobs; to an organisation, are not gainfully self- - newly registered with Labour Offices; employed, and are registered at a Labour Office. - no longer registered with Labour Offices; (b) The Unemployment rate is the number of regis- - receiving unemployment benefits; tered unemployed as a per cent of the total labour - limited capacity to work. force. Total labour force is calculated as the sum of total employment (derived from the Labour (b) The Unemployment rate is published in the na- Force Survey) and the number of unemployed tional source by: registered job applicants. (See the section on the - gender; Labour Force Survey for a description of total - region. employment. (c) Vacancies notified to the Labour Offices in each district and remaining unfilled at the end of each

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 95 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 month. Vacancy statistics do not differentiate Reporting method between part-time, full-time and seasonal jobs. Employers are obliged by law to advertise new Monthly count of administrative data. Data, collected vacancies at Labour Offices, however firms are by the Labour Offices, are sent to the Ministry of La- not penalised for non-registration. It is also com- bour and Social Affairs for the compilation of aggre- pulsory to report back when jobs have been filled. gated data. It is estimated that between 30 and 40 per cent of total vacancies are not covered. DATA QUALITY Coverage Breaks in time series

Reference period Unemployment rate: from April 1994, total labour force figures are derived from the quarterly Labour Data refer to the end of the reference month. Force Survey. Prior to that date, total labour force figures were derived from establishment sources. The Geographical coverage employment data prior to April 1994 include women The whole country. on maternity and child-care leave, while conscripts and professional members of the armed forces are Statistical population excluded. The number of paid employees includes Vacancies: all employing organisations throughout professional members of the armed forces and con- the country. scripts from Winter 1996-1997. Timeliness DATA COLLECTION Unemployment data are published 10 days after the Reporting unit end of the reference month. Labour Offices in each of the 76 districts covering the country.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 96 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 DENMARK Labour - Employment

Indicators from administrative (a) Market services and other sources (b) Total employment *

SOURCE CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Source agency Definition Data are compiled by Statistics Denmark. The statistics represent the number of full-time employees required for performing the amount of work Key national publication sources actually performed by full-time employees and part- time employees, some of whom are employed only Data are published by Statistics Denmark in Nyt fra part of the quarter. Danmarks Statistik, Arbejdsmarked, Arbejdsmark- edsstatistik and , Statistik Månedsoversigt. (a) Market services measures employees in wholesale and retail trades, transport, post and telecommuni- Series title in national publications cations, financing and business services and other personal services. (a) Employees with jobs at full-time equivalence: (b) Total employment measures the total number of total (Labour Market Supplementary Pension employees in the whole economy. Fund - ATP statistics) (sum of four series - col- umns 5, 6, 7 and 11); Coverage (b) Employees with jobs at full-time equivalence Reference period (ATP statistics): total. The whole quarter. Breakdown available Geographical coverage The employment data are made available by industry and ownership conditions using the employers’ regis- The whole country. tration code number on the Central Register of Enter- Statistical population prises and Establishments. Market services: private sector employers; Methodological references Total employment: private and public sector employ- A Methodological description is published (in Dan- ers. ish) in Arbejdsmarked 1995:8. Particular exclusions

Run of data available Employees hired by employers not paying contributions into the ATP, persons employed less than 9 Data are available from 1990. hours a week and self-employed persons are excluded. Periodicity Data are compiled on a quarterly basis. STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Unit of measurement Industry: Danish Industrial Classification, Dansk Number of employees at full-time equivalence. Branchekode 1993 - DB93, which is comparable NACE Rev.1.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 97 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 DATA MANIPULATION DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Seasonal and other adjustment Breaks in time series The data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD. In January 1993 the industrial classification DB93 was introduced for the CRAM. Other manipulations Release dates The data are compiled on the basis of employers’ payments to the ATP. The payments are converted to Detailed statistics are published in preliminary form employment numbers, by setting one employee equal in Nyt fra Danmarks Statistik some six weeks after the to the amount of ATP contribution payable for one end of the reference quarter, and in final form in Ar- person employed full-time throughout the quarter. bejdsmarked some four months after the end of the reference quarter.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 98 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 DENMARK Wages Indicators from administrative Hourly earnings: wage earners and other sources

SOURCE In 1997 the index of wage costs will be replaced by new indices covering both the private and public Source agency sectors. Data are compiled by Statistics Denmark. Coverage Key national publication sources Reference period Data are published in Statistics Denmark, Nyt fra One wage period within February, May, August and Danmarks Statistik. November of each year.

Series title in national publications Geographical coverage Average hourly wage costs in mining, quarrying and The whole country. manufacturing. Statistical population Breakdown available Establishments with ten or more employees in the Earnings information is regularly published in the sectors of mining, quarrying and manufacturing. national source by: - industry; STANDARDS - gender. Standard classifications / nomenclatures Run of data available The Danish Industrial Classification DB93, which is compatible with NACE Rev.1, has been used since Data are available from 1971. 1994. Periodicity DATA COLLECTION Until 1993, the index was compiled on a monthly basis. Since 1994 the data are quarterly. Reporting method Since 1994, the information are based on Statistics Unit of measurement Denmark ‘New Quarterly Statistics of Earnings’, Index of hourly earnings . compiled from a sample survey of establishments. Survey items CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Master list Definition The Central Business Register (Det Centrale The statistics represent hourly earnings of wage earn- Erhversregister). ers in the manufacturing industry calculated before tax and include supplementary hours, cost of living or Survey description sick leave allowances and paid holidays, all adjusted for the number of working days in the reference The sampling frame consists of all units identified in month of the quarter. the annual Census of Industry. This is stratified by economic activity (29 groups) and by employment size (five bands). All establishments with 200 or

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 99 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 more employees are included. A sample of the re- DATA MANIPULATION maining firms is included on the basis of size. A total of around 2 000 establishments report, accounting for Other manipulations about 70 per cent of employment in the sectors cov- The reported data are first adjusted for the number of ered. working days in the month. Index numbers are then calculated which show the average hourly wage costs Non-response rate in a given month to average hourly wage costs in the It is mandatory for establishments to provide data. base year. Average hourly wage costs are found by The non-response rate averages around two per cent dividing total wage costs by the total number of man- in terms of establishments. Missing data are dealt hours worked by wage earners. with by imputation.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 100 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 DENMARK Labour - Unemployment Indicators from administrative (a) Total and other sources (b) Rate

SOURCE CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Source agency Definition Data are compiled by Statistics Denmark. (a) Unemployment includes all persons aged 16 to 66 years, who are without work, who are seeking Key national publication sources work of at least 15 hours per week and are im- Data are published by Statistics Denmark in Nyt fra mediately available for such work, are receiving Danmarks Statistik and Statistik Månedsoversigt. unemployment benefit from an unemployment insurance fund or social assistance from the munici- Series title in national publications pal social welfare offices and, as a condition for such payments, are registered at the employment (a) Unemployment; office or at the welfare office as persons seeking (b) Unemployment rate. work. Also included are those insured members of unemployment insurance funds in receipt of Breakdown available unemployment benefit or of social assistance if entitlement to benefit is temporarily lost, together Unemployment data are available in the national with non-insured persons receiving social assis- source by: tance. - gender; The following groups are covered: -age; − - marital status; insured and non-insured persons who are registered and seeking permanent employ- - citizenship; ment; - unemployment insurance fund; - insurance category; − first jobseekers if they are receiving social - cause of unemployment; assistance; or if they are receiving unem- - location; ployment benefit to which they are entitled - degree of unemployment. having completed a vocational training of at least 18 months duration; Methodological references − those on temporary or indefinite lay-off with- Documentation on methodology and sources is given out pay and persons with some form of on a regular basis in the news releases, Nyt fra Dan- minimal employment; marks Statistik. − other non-insured unemployed persons such as occasional workers, students, etc. Run of data available Registration of the unemployed is maintained The current monthly series goes back to 1979. through regular attendance at the employment offices or at the welfare offices. Furthermore, regis- Periodicity tration of the unemployed receiving unemployment benefit is maintained through the monthly Data are compiled on a monthly basis. deliverance of unemployment cards from the unemployed to the unemployment insurance funds. Unit of measurement Weekly data from these cards constitute the basis Unemployment: number of persons; for payment of benefit and the statistics on this category of unemployed. Unemployment rate: percentage.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 101 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 (b) The rate refers to the unemployed, defined above, DATA MANIPULATION as a per cent of the total labour force. Seasonal and other adjustment Coverage Data are seasonally adjusted using the X-11 variant Reference period (additive method) of the US Bureau of the Census Method II and the ARIMA-model, introduced in Monthly data are based on weekly averages of four or January 1996. five weeks ending the last Sunday but one in the month. Other manipulations Geographical coverage The monthly average of unemployment is calculated by adding each person’s degree of unemployment. The whole country. The degree of unemployment is defined as that part Statistical population of the period during which the person was unemployed and is calculated as the number of hours a All those registered as unemployed at local employ- person is unemployed divided by the number of hours ment offices or social welfare offices and meeting the for which that person is insured (or by the number of criteria. potential working hours). Hence, the statistics cover the total volume of unemployment including under- Particular exclusions employment. Those not registered with the public employment service are excluded. From those that are registered, DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS the following groups are not included in the monthly count of unemployment: Breaks in time series

− non-insured persons not receiving social January 1979 saw a move from manual to computer- assistance; based methods of data manipulation and this necessi- tated some changes to the methods, concepts and − those seeking work of less than 15 hours per classifications used. In 1985 changes were made to week; the age measure such that before this year age related − persons receiving invalidity benefits; to the unemployed person’s age in the middle of the year, since the change it now relates to the person’s DATA COLLECTION age at the end of the year. A new method for seasonally adjusting data was introduced in January 1996 Reporting method Data from 1988 have been affected by this change. The statistics are based on the CRAM maintained by Corroborating data the Labour Market Directorate. Statistics Denmark is responsible for the unemployment statistics register, The quarterly publication Statistics Denmark, LFS (in for data collection, processing and publication. Un- Danish), often compares data compiled using the employment benefit for those eligible is administered method of measuring unemployment (by the number by 38 Unemployment Insurance Funds set up by in- of persons) with the monthly data compiled using the dividual trade unions under State supervision. For method described in this section. those receiving social benefit the administration is Release dates carried out by the municipalities in collaboration with the employment offices or by the municipalities Data are published in a news release five weeks after alone. It is the employment offices or the welfare the reference month. offices that have responsibility for collating and for- Statistics Denmark publishes a one-week-ahead re- warding the basic information to the Labour Market lease calendar every day, which is available on Sta- Directorate each month. tistics Denmark's home page (http://www.dst.dk). A statement about when the next release is expected is included in each release.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 102 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 FINLAND Labour - Employment Indicators from the Labour Force (a) Total employment* Survey (b) Industry Labour - Unemployment (c) Total (d) Rate Labour - Other (e) Total hours worked: industry

SOURCE Hours of work are available in the national source by industry. Source agency Data are compiled by Statistics Finland. Methodological references Key national publication sources A methodology description is included in Statistics Finland, Labour Force Statistics. Brief methodologi- Data are published in Statistics Finland, Bulletin of cal descriptions are also included in the monthly and Statistics, and in Statistics Finland, Labour Market. quarterly statistical bulletins as well as in press re- Data are also available on the Statistics Finland Time leases. In addition there is a booklet entitled Labour Series Database: FINNSERIES. Force Survey Monthly Interview, Guide. Series title in national publications Run of data available (a) Total employed; Total employed, Unemployed, Unemployment rate are (b) Employed persons: industry; available from 1958; (c) Unemployed; Employment in industry is available from 1959; (d) Unemployment rate; Total hours worked is available from 1976. (e) Total hours worked: industry. Breakdown available Periodicity Employment statistics are regularly published in the Data are compiled on a monthly basis. national source by: Unit of measurement - industry; - occupation; Employment, Unemployment: number of persons; - socio-economic status; Unemployment rate: percentage; - employment status; - level of education/qualifications; Total hours worked: number of hours. Unemployment statistics are regularly published in the national source by : CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE - age; Definition - industry for public and private sector; (a) Employment: considered as employed are those - socio-economic status; persons who, during the reference week, did any - province; work for pay or profit (for at least one hour), - level of education/qualification; worked at least one-third of the normal working - gender.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 103 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 time (i.e., at least seven hours) as unpaid family excess over normal hours. Normal hours are those workers, or were temporarily absent from work. defined by collective agreement or, in their ab- Included under this definition would be the fol- sence, as the average of hours worked over three lowing: those performing some work during the months. reference week for pay or profit while being in compulsory schooling, or retired or receiving a Coverage pension; paid apprentices and trainees; participants in employment promotion schemes; mem- Reference period bers of the armed forces; persons with a job but The reference period in the Labour Force Survey is temporarily absent due to illness or injury, vaca- one week, normally the week containing the 15th day tion, maternity or paternity leave, etc. Persons on of each month. temporary lay-off are included in the employed as from January 1997, previously they were classi- The reference period for Hours worked is the whole fied as unemployed (if they were laid off for a pe- month. riod not exceeding two and a half months). Geographical coverage Excluded from employment and considered inactive are unpaid apprentices and trainees; persons The whole country. engaged in their own housework; and those doing Classification coverage unpaid community or social work. (b) Employment: industry refers to persons in em- Employment: industry, Total hours worked: industry ployment, as defined above, in the industrial sec- - Industry is covered by divisions C, D and E of the tor (mining, manufacturing, electricity, gas and industrial classification SIC (95). water). Statistical population (c) The Unemployed are all persons who, for the whole survey week, were without work, were All persons aged 15-74 residing in Finland and in- available for work within two weeks and had been cludes foreign workers, citizens who are temporarily seeking work for pay or profit during the last four abroad, members of the armed forces, non-resident weeks, or had made arrangements to start a new citizens, unsettled and institutional populations. job (within one month). Also included are persons who, for a part of the survey week, were STANDARDS without work and seeking work and for the rest of the week were otherwise engaged in non- Standard classifications / nomenclatures economic activities such as studying. Seasonal The Finnish classification by economic activity was workers awaiting agricultural or other seasonal used as follows: work are considered as unemployed if they fulfil the criteria for unemployment. Students at the - SIC 1979 for the years 1970-1989; first level of education are not counted as unem- - SIC 1988 for the years 1989-1995; ployed during the academic term even if they - SIC 1995 for the years from 1995. have been seeking work during this period, and had made arrangements to start within two weeks. Other classifications used in the LFS are, the Finnish Classification of Occupations (CSO) 1987 and the Persons not in employment (according to the Finnish Standard Classification of Education. above definitions) but who are registered as jobseekers are included up to 1996. International comparability (d) The Unemployment rate is defined as the number of unemployed persons expressed as a per cent of Definitions of unemployment and employment broadly the labour force. Labour force comprises the un- follow the ILO guidelines. From 1997 concepts and employed plus the employed. definitions were modified to be better in line with ILO guidelines. From this date the survey is harmo- (e) Total hours worked in industry: data refer to the nised with that of the EU. actual number of hours worked during the reference week, including all hours worked both paid Departures from international standards and unpaid, overtime and hours worked in secondary jobs. Overtime hours are calculated as the The definition of unemployment differs slightly from the ILO recommendations according to which the

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 104 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 unemployed must have actively searched for work in hanced sample size. The sample size is approxi- the preceding four weeks. Under ILO guidelines, mately 12 000 persons per month and the sample data registration at an employment office is considered as (addresses, etc.) are updated on a regular monthly ‘actively searching’ for a job. This condition is inter- basis. preted more broadly in Finland since registration in- The monthly sample is broken down into five rotation tervals for the unemployed can extend up to six groups, each comprising 2 400 persons. Each rotation months. group is included in the survey five times over a period of 16 months. Each rotation group comes into DATA COLLECTION the sample for one month, is rotated out for two months and then returns to the sample for another Reporting units month, etc., except between the third and fourth in- Individuals. terviews where it is rotated out for five months. Non-response rate Reporting method The non-response rate runs at around six per cent for Data are collected by Statistics Finland’s permanent each survey. The most common reason for non- survey organisation which has a team of interviewers response is a refusal on the part of the interviewee to based throughout the country. Since 1991, this is the take part. No substitutions are made for non- responsibility of the Social Statistics Division. Data response. A proxy respondent can be used if the collection is organised according to several types: sample person cannot be reached. most questionnaires are completed in the household (85 per cent); around 10 per cent are carried out in the workplace; a further 4 per cent in private; the DATA MANIPULATION remaining one per cent is done by post. The field work lasts two weeks after the survey week. During Aggregations /Grossing up the years 1959-1982 the questionnaire was sent out by Grossing up method mail. This method of data collection was changed to telephone interviews in 1983 and used up to the end Within each sample stratum, data are grossed-up to of 1996. From 1997 a computer aided data gathering the level of the entire population aged 15-74 using procedure is used. simple stratified grossing-up estimators calculated from the actual number of responses in each stratum. Survey details Seasonal and other adjustment Description of questionnaire Seasonal adjustments on the Employment and Unem- The questionnaire contains several questions on employment series are carried out by Statistics Finland ployment conditions, unemployment and hours using a slightly modified version of the X-11 variant worked. From March 1997 new information has been of the US Bureau of the Census Method. However, collected and published on atypical work such as employment figures adjusted for seasonal variation fixed-term contracts, part-time work, those persons are not included in MEI. employed through labour market measures, etc. Data on underemployment and disguised unemployment are also new features in the surveys. DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS

Master list Other errors and their corrections Central Population Register (CPR) which is con- Field work is subject to regular quality controls at stantly updated. least once a year. Breaks in time series Survey description Since its introduction in 1959 the Labour Force Sur- Altogether 16 000 persons are drawn from the CPR vey has undergone a number of revisions that are twice a year. In each province, the sample is post- likely to have affected the series. The first major stratified by gender, age group and region to form a revision was in 1976 when the information requested total of 312 strata. Special rules apply to the province was expanded and the sampling and rotation methods of Aland where its small population requires an en-

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 105 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 were developed. In 1983 the survey became inter- registrations, as well as to other Statistics Finland view based rather than postal survey based and these statistics providing the same information. These changes led to significant disruptions in the series. studies are available to users. The latest ones are Since 1987 persons on unemployment benefit are published by Statistics Finland (in Finnish only) in counted as unemployed only if they are available for Working paper No. 131, (September 1992) and in and seeking work. Työvoimatutkimuksen ja työnvälitystilaston työt- tömyystietojen erot. They describe the difference SIC 1988 was introduced in 1989, and SIC 1995 in between the survey-based and the registered unem- 1995. Questionnaires were sent out by mail up to and ployment series. including 1992, interviews were by phone for the years 1993-1996, and the computer-aided data gathering procedure (Blaise) was introduced in 1997. Also Timeliness in 1997, the survey was harmonised with the EU. The results of the survey are released about four The effect of this is to increase the number of em- weeks after the reference month. ployed because of additional information requested on atypical jobs, in addition, those temporarily laid Release dates off are redefined as employed. In the old survey the latter were classified as unemployed. A release schedule for the coming year, specifying precise dates of release, is published in the Release Corroborating data Calendar on the first of January. The Calendar is There are periodic studies in which the Labour Force updated three times a year (at the beginning of Survey data are compared, for example, with the January, May, and September). Ministry of Labour data on employment exchange

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 106 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 FINLAND Labour - Employment Indicators from administrative and (a) Part-time (economic reasons) other sources Labour - Unemployment (b) Short-term Labour - Other (c) Unfilled vacancies (d) Employment training

SOURCE Employment training statistics are available in the national source by occupation. Source agencies Data are compiled by the Employment Service Sta- Methodological reference in publication tistics of the Ministry of Labour and transmitted to the Some explanatory notes are available in Finnish La- OECD by Statistics Finland. bour Review.

Key national publication sources Run of data available Data are available in the monthly publications, Minis- Short-term unemployment, Part-time (economic rea- try of Labour, Finnish Labour Review and Statistics sons), Employment training: data are available from Finland, Bulletin of Statistics. 1981; Data are also available on Statistics Finland Time Unfilled vacancies: data are available from 1961. Series Database: FINNSERIES. Periodicity Series title in national publications Data are compiled on a monthly basis. (a) Unemployed jobseekers on reduced working week; Unit of measurement of the data (b) Unemployed jobseekers at the Employment Short-term unemployment, Part-time (economic rea- Service; sons), Employment training: number of persons; (c) Employment Service, job vacancies; (d) Employment Service, on employment training. Unfilled vacancies: number of job vacancies.

Breakdown available CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Data for unemployed jobseekers are available in the Definition national source according to the following: (a) Part-time (economic reasons) covers employed -age; persons working a shorter working week than - gender; normal and registered with the public employment - occupation; service. - benefit status; (b) Short-term unemployment refers to persons regis- - duration of unemployment. tered with the public employment services as un- Vacancy statistics are available in the national source employed for between one and four weeks. Here according to the following: unemployment comprises all those jobseekers registered at the employment service on the refer- - industry groups; ence day who were without work, were laid off or - occupation.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 107 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 had arranged to start a job but had not yet started. STANDARDS Also included are persons seeking temporary work or work of at least four hours a day; persons Standard classifications / nomenclatures working less than four hours a day seeking other Unfilled vacancies: Industry uses ISIC and occupa- work; first time jobseekers and re-entrants to the tion uses ISCO. workforce; employable disabled persons and persons responsible for the loss of their last job. Persons on strike and registered pensioners are DATA COLLECTION excluded as are persons unable to work due to Reporting method accident or illness for more than ten days, those on leave or holiday of any duration and those not Monthly count at the public employment offices. fulfilling the registration maintenance requirements. DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS (c) Data refer to Vacancies which are reported to the public employment services and which had not Missing data in time series been filled on the reference dates. Vacancies notified to the public employment offices (d) Data on persons in Employment training refer to constitute between 25% and 35% of the total vacan- all those following training programmes supported cies existing at any one time. by the Ministry of Labour under its measures to alleviate unemployment. Breaks in time series Coverage As eligibility rules for the receipt of benefits have changed, so the coverage of Unemployment statistics Reference period has been affected resulting in breaks in the series. In 1972 eligibility for unemployment benefits was ex- The end of the month. tended; in 1985 new social security arrangements Geographical coverage meant that the upper income limit for eligibility for state benefits was raised. The whole country. Revision policy Statistical population Data are not revised. Short-term unemployment, Part-time (economic reasons), Employment training: all persons aged 15 and over registered with the public employment services. Persons not registered are excluded from the statistics.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 108 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 FINLAND Labour - Other Indicators from administrative Labour disputes - time lost and other sources

SOURCE CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Source agency Definition Data are compiled by Statistics Finland. Data refer to working days lost due to a labour dispute defined as a dispute between employees or organisa- Key national publication sources tions of employees and employers or organisations of employers and involving any one or more of the fol- Data are available (in Finnish only) in SVT: Hinta-ja lowing types of action: temporary work stoppage; palkkatiedote (not published in every issue). The refusal to work; go-slows; or other means of exerting series is also published in the annual Wages and pressure with a view to enforcing a demand. Salaries. The basic unit of measurement is the case of dispute. Series title in national publications The resumption of a strike or lockout that was interrupted and with the same cause is treated as the same Työtaistelut: Menetetyt työpäivät. dispute if the interruption does not exceed two working days. Work stoppages arising from the same Breakdown available cause and occurring simultaneously in different establishments of the same enterprise or establishments Statistics on labour disputes are published in the na- of different enterprises are counted as the same dis- tional source for the following categories: pute if the organisation is the same. Disputes lasting - cause of dispute (annual data only); less than one hour are not measured. Unpaid family - outcome of dispute (annual data only); workers, workers laid off, workers absent on sick - method of settlement (annual data only); leave or annual leave or any other legal absence from - economic activity; work are excluded. Overtime is not taken into ac- - occupational group; count. - number of workers involved (annual data); Coverage - duration of dispute; - time not worked; Reference period - type of dispute (annual data only); -other (province; employee association; em- The monthly data refer to disputes beginning during ployer association; etc.). the month plus those continuing from the previous month.

Period coverage of time series in source Geographical coverage Data are available from 1955. The whole country. Periodicity Statistical population Data are compiled on a monthly basis. All establishments in the public and private sectors. Unit of measurement of the data STANDARDS Number of days. Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry: Finnish Standard Industrial Classification (SIC).

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 109 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 International comparability − establishments of unorganised employers: these are usually small concerns with few employees The data follow the ILO recommendations. and data are requested from them using Statistics Finland’s labour dispute reporting form; DATA COLLECTION − public sector: data are obtained using Statistics Finland’s reporting form. Reporting units In the case of unorganised firms and public sector The economic unit is the establishment as recorded in organisations, Statistics Finland might first learn of the register of enterprises and establishments. the dispute through a newspaper report, for example. There is no legal obligation on firms to report the Reporting method occurrence of a dispute. Statistics Finland compiles the data from a range of sources as follows: DATA MANIPULATION − establishments or organised employers: employ- Other manipulations ers use their own forms for labour dispute notices, reporting through the Finnish Employers’ Confed- Time not worked is measured in working days by eration and directly to Statistics Finland. About ascertaining the total amount of time not worked on 90 per cent of labour disputes are covered in this each day of the dispute and summing these totals. way; The basic measure is working hours which is converted to working days lost on the basis of an eight hour day. Time not worked is measured for all workers of the affected establishment, whether directly involved in the dispute or indirectly influenced by the dispute. The shorter working hours of part-time workers are taken into account through the initial measure of working hours lost.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 110 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 FINLAND Wages Indicators from administrative Hourly earnings: manufacturing and other sources

SOURCE CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Source agencies Definition The Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers Data refer to average earnings for normal hours of (Teollisuus ja Työna) is responsible for collecting the work paid to wage earners (hourly paid employees) raw data and Statistics Finland for compiling the in- and salary earners (monthly paid employees). These dex. cover pay for normal time worked or work done, premium pay for shift, night or holiday work, com- Key national publication sources missions paid to sales and other personnel, incentive pay (production and profit-sharing bonuses, etc.), Data are available in the monthly publication , Statis- regular bonuses. Bonuses and gratuities paid irregu- tics Finland, Bulletin of Statistics and on the Time larly and earnings in kind are also covered by the Series database FINNSERIES. statistics (only for salary earners, not for wage earners). Series title in national publications Excluded from wages and salaries are remuneration Index of wage and salary earnings: manufacturing. for overtime, time not worked on annual leave, vacation, etc.; cost of living, house rent, transport and Breakdown available family allowances paid directly by the employer. The data are available in the national source by: Coverage - industry; - occupational; Reference period - age group. The whole quarter.

Methodological references Geographical coverage Methodological information is published in The index The whole country. of Wage and Salary Earnings 1990=100: Handbook for users. Methodology used to compile wage statis- Classification coverage tics can also be found in Statistics Finland, Study No. Division D of SIC 1995, for the years from 1995, and 124. SIC 1988 prior to this date.

Run of data available Statistical population Data are available from 1948. All establishments registered with the Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers . Periodicity Data are compiled on a quarterly basis. STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Unit of measurement Industry: SIC 1995 (compatible with NACE Rev.1); Index. Occupation: ISCO.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 111 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 DATA COLLECTION and salary earners into 127 groups. Their average earnings are determined from a total of 389 base se- Reporting units ries which are compiled in each sector by industry Establishments. and occupational group. An earnings index is calculated for each group by dividing the average earnings Reporting method in the current period by the average earnings in the base period for the corresponding group. Salary and Data are derived from the survey of establishments wage earner group indices are aggregated by weight- registered with the Confederation of Finnish Industry ing each group index with the group’s total earnings and Employers. Data collection takes place just after weight in the base period. the reference period by means of mailed questionnaires or in some cases automatic data transfer. Re- Other manipulations ply to the survey is voluntary for small establishments in some branches. If the reference period presents abnormal circumstances (e.g., strike, lockout, public holiday, fire, Survey details flood, etc.) the relevant data are omitted.

Survey description DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS The sample contains all establishments with more Timeliness than 10 employees (over 3 500 establishments) and a certain number of establishments with fewer than 10 Data are released 6 to 7 weeks after the end of each employees. This represents roughly 70 per cent of all quarter. wages paid in the industrial sector. Reply to the survey is voluntary for small enterprises in some Release dates branches . A release schedule for the coming year, specifying the Non-response rate month of release, is published in the Release Calendar on the first of January. The Calendar is updated three There is no adjustment for non-response. times a year (at the beginning of January, May, and September). DATA MANIPULATION Aggregations /Grossing up

Aggregation method The wage and salary index is calculated as a fixed- weight index of the Laspeyres type, by dividing wage

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 112 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 FRANCE Labour - Employment Indicators from the quarterly Survey (a) Employees: industries (b) Employees: market services on the Economic Activity and (c) Employees: manufacturing Working Conditions of the Labour Force Wages (Enquête sur l’Activité et les Conditions (d) Hourly rates: wage earners d’Emploi de la Main d’oeuvre - ACEMO)

SOURCE Methodological references Source agencies Each issue of Informations Rapides includes a brief description of the methodology and data sources. Employees: The National Statistical Office (L’Institut Each year, a survey article is published in Economie National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques et Statistique providing more details about the meth- - INSEE) compiles the figures which are collected by odology. the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Ministère du Travail et des Affaires Sociales - MTAS, Direction Period coverage de l’Animation de la Recherche, des Etudes et des Statistiques - DARES). Employees: data are available from fourth quarter Hourly rates: Data are collected, processed and pub- 1989; lished by the MTAS. Hourly wage rate: data are available from second quarter 1984. Key national publication sources Periodicity Data are available in the monthly publication, MTAS, Bulletin Mensuel des Statistiques du Travail, and in Data are compiled on a quarterly basis. INSEE, Informations Rapides. Unit of measurement Series title in national publications Employees: number of persons; (a) Emploi salarié: ensemble des secteurs; Hourly wage rate: Index (April 1993=100). (b) Emploi salarié: tertiaire; (c) Emploi salarié: industrie, non compris con- CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE struction; Definition (d) Indice des taux de salaire horaire des ouvriers: ensemble des secteurs. Employees: data cover registered full-time and part- Breakdown available time employees with an employment contract (in force or suspended) and include apprentices, regard- Employment and Hourly wage rate data are available less of whether the contract is for a fixed term or in the national source by: permanent. Also included are commission agents (except commercial travellers, representatives and - economic activity; brokers representing more than one firm), workers - skill group; from temporary employment agencies, casual and - size of establishment (four size bands). seasonal workers, as well as persons temporarily ab- In addition Employment data are available by type of sent from work because of paid or unpaid leave, tem- contract (temporary, fixed-term, part-time). porary or indefinite lay-off, industrial dispute (strike or lockout), sickness or injury.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 113 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Excluded from the employment data are trainees, Employees: manufacturing covers divisions EB to home workers, workers sub-contracted from other EG of NAF/NES. companies or firms, commercial travellers, representatives or brokers representing more than one firm, Statistical population unpaid family workers and persons temporarily absent Establishments employing 10 or more workers in the from work because of military service. private sector. The survey does not cover agriculture, (a) Employees: industries covers all industries except mining and quarrying; public administration; educa- agriculture, public administration, education, tion, health and the social sector; private domestic health and social services. services; and foreign diplomatic representatives or international organisations. (b) Employees: market services covers all services except public administration, education, health Particular exclusions and social services. Establishments with fewer than 10 employees are (c) Employees: manufacturing covers manufacturing excluded from the survey sample. However, em- and energy sectors. ployment data are corrected for this bias (see under (d) Hourly wage rate refers to gross basic hourly item ‘Other errors and their corrections’). wage or salary, as applied in the establishment for persons employed on a full-time basis. Trainees and persons on ‘assisted’ contracts (apprentices, STANDARDS vocational training, etc.) are not covered by the Standard classifications / nomenclatures indicator. Wages exclude all bonuses and gratuities as well as overtime pay. The series published Industry: Nomenclature d’Activité Française - an adap- in MEI refers to wage earners only, however, in- tation of NACE which is compatible with ISIC 1990. formation is collected for the following occupa- Departures from Standards tional categories: unskilled manual workers; skilled manual workers; supervisors (production); The definition of Hourly wage rate corresponds to the administrative and sales workers; technicians; concept of wage or salary rates. However, it is lim- and engineers and managers. For each of these ited to the basic rate since it excludes all bonuses and categories (and occupational levels within) the allowances, even if guaranteed. establishment declares the basic wage for a job considered to be representative of the category and this is used for each successive survey. DATA COLLECTION Coverage Reporting units Employment: the reporting unit is the establishment, Reference period defined as a group of employees working at a single The survey takes place at the end of the quarter. geographical location under the authority of one legal entity (enterprise or individual employer). In the case The reference period for Employment is end of quar- of certain large employers with several establish- ter and for Hourly wage rate it is the beginning of the ments, bilateral agreements allow the enterprise to following quarter. respond on behalf of all units. Geographical coverage Reporting method The whole of Metropolitan France. The survey is conducted by post with a permanent Classification coverage survey organisation responsible for collecting the Employees: industries covers divisions EB to EP of data. A reminder is sent out automatically to those the economic activity classification, Nomenclature establishments that have failed to reply by the end of d’Activité Française/Nomenclature Economique de the month. Synthèse (NAF/NES), compatible with ISIC 1990; Employees: market services covers divisions EJ to EP of NAF/NES;

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 114 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Survey details employees for the larger strata and to the number of establishments for the others. Description of questionnaire The questionnaire consists of four main sections de- Weights for aggregation signed to collect data on the following: actual hours The weights used are the total number of employees of work by manual and non-manual workers during reported by the UNEDIC (National Union for Em- the reference week; employees on the last day of the ployment in Industry and Commerce - Union Na- quarter, by category; basic monthly hours of work; tionale pour l’Emploi dans l’Industrie et le Com- and basic monthly wage or salary by category and merce) and other sources. skill level. Seasonal and other adjustment Master list The Employment data are adjusted for seasonal varia- Since January 1996, the sampling frame is an annual file of establishments, a by-product of the SIRENE tion using the X-11 variant of the US Bureau of the (Système Informatique pour le Repertoire des Enter- Census Method. prises et des Etablissements) database. INSEE is now responsible for this file, prior to 1996 it was the Min- DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS istry of Labour. Other errors and their corrections Survey description Establishments with 10 employees or fewer are not The sample is probabilistic and stratified. Strata are included in the survey sample. Employment data are defined by economic activity (according to the 100 corrected for this bias using annual statistics estab- groups of the NAF classification) by size of established by the UNEDIC. The trends are applied to the lishments and by geographic area. employment levels of the preceding quarter which are The survey covers a sample of around 60 000 estab- benchmarked on the results of the 1990 Census. lishments, including all those with 50 or more em- Breaks in time series ployees and one-eighth of those with 10 to 49 employees. From January 1996, a new system of sample New bases and new employee weights were intro- rotation was introduced whereby one-twentieth of the duced in the first quarter of each of the years 1973, sample of smaller establishments is rotated every 1985, 1988, 1991 and 1993. Prior to 1985 the survey quarter, thus ensuring a completely renewed sample covered all establishments with more than 49 em- every five years. The sample of establishments with ployees and one third of establishments with 10-49 50 or more employees is updated every year. employees. In April 1985 there were major changes to the design of the survey which involved revisions Non-response rate to the questions asked, the conduct of the survey and Around 45 to 50 per cent of establishments fail to its output. A revision of the survey is underway. respond after the final reminders. Timeliness and release dates The treatment of non-response in the case of the Employment data are available six weeks after the end Hourly wage rate indicator is to carry forward, for of the reference period. one quarter, results of the previous quarter. Preliminary data DATA MANIPULATION Employment data are first published Informations Aggregations/Grossing up Rapides.

Aggregation method Revisions Indices are first calculated in each stratum of the Revisions are made to incorporate late monthly in- sample. These indices are then aggregated at higher formation. levels using weights proportional to the number of

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 115 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 FRANCE Labour - Unemployment Indicators from administrative and (a) Registered unemployed (b) Rate other sources (c) New jobseekers Labour - Other (d) New vacancies: total

SOURCE Methodological references Source agencies Each issue of Informations Rapides contains a brief description of the current methodology and data Data are compiled by the DARES of the Ministry of sources for unemployment statistics. Each year, an Labour and Social Affairs (MTAS) using information article on the labour market is published in Economie supplied by the National Employment Agency et Statistiques, which provides more detail about the (Agence Nationale pour l‘Emploi - ANPE). methodology of the household Employment Survey Key national publication sources (L’enquête sur l’emploi) and the definitive results of the previous year. Data are available in MTAS, Bulletin Mensuel des Statistiques du Travail, and in DARES/ANPE, Pre- Run of data available mières Informations et Premières Synthèses. (a) Registered unemployment data are available from Series title in national publication 1955; (b) The Unemployment rate is available from 1970 on (a) Demandes d’emploi en fin de mois; a quarterly basis and from 1979 on a monthly ba- (b) Taux de chômage au sens du BIT; sis; (c) Demandes d’emploi enregistrées au cours du (c) Data on New jobseekers are available from 1975; mois; (d) Data on New vacancies are available from 1986. (d) Offres d’emploi enregistrées au cours du mois. Periodicity Breakdown available Data are compiled on a monthly basis. Unemployment data are available in the national source by: Unit of measurement - gender; (a) Registered unemployed: number of persons; - age group; (b) Unemployment rate: percentage; - duration of unemployment; (c) New jobseekers : index (1990=100); - category of unemployed; (d) New vacancies: number of vacancies. - industry; - local area statistics; - reason for unemployment. CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition Data on vacancies are available in the national source by: Registered unemployed, New Jobseekers: data refer to persons without work who are immediately avail- - type of contract; able for work and are seeking permanent full-time - qualification; employment by registering at offices of the ANPE. - industrial sector. These are unemployed persons belonging to the first

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 116 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 of eight categories of jobseekers for which a distinc- Coverage tion is made at the ANPE (see under item ‘Standard classifications/nomenclatures’ for a description of the Reference period eight categories). Included are persons seeking a post Registered unemployed, New jobseekers: end of as a trainee in a firm and employable handicapped month; persons. Registered unemployment refers to the number of jobseekers registered at the end of the month New vacancies: the whole month. and New Jobseekers refer to those persons registering as unemployed during the course of a month. Geographical coverage (b) The Unemployment rate refers to the number of The whole country. persons unemployed, according to ILO definitions, as Classification coverage a per cent of the total labour force. The latter comprises the employed, the unemployed and all mem- New vacancies: in April 1995, a new classification bers of the armed forces. The rate uses benchmark for the type of job on offer was introduced to reflect unemployment data compiled from the results of the the changing nature of the job market. Categories annual household Employment Survey, updated using 1,2,3 and 4 corresponding to respectively, indefinite the changes in the monthly registered unemployment contract for a full-time job, indefinite contract for figures described under (a). The employment figures part-time job, seasonal or temporary full- or part-time used to calculate the total labour force are estimated job, and jobs of very short duration were replaced by using information from various sources, namely the classes A, B and C of the new classification ‘Type of population censuses, unemployment insurance sys- offer’ where: tems, Union de Recouvrement des Cotisations de Sécurité Sociale et d’Allocations Familiales − Class A covers indefinite contract or fixed- (URSSAF) or Union Nationale pour l’Emploi dans term contract of more than 6 months, l’Industrie et le Commerce (UNEDIC) and the quar- − Class B covers fixed-term or interim contract terly employment survey, ACEMO, which is de- of between 1 and 6 months and scribed in the previous section. − Class C refers to fixed-term or interim con- The definition of unemployment retained in the Em- tract of duration less than 1 month. ployment Survey is as follows: Statistical population − All persons aged 16 years and over who, in the reference week, were without work, Registered unemployed, New jobseekers: all persons available for work or self employment (within aged 16 and over and residing in the country; 15 days), and were seeking work (during the New vacancies: public and private sectors. month before the survey). Actively seeking work can mean continued registration with the ANPE by those registering as unemployed STANDARDS or actual job seeking activities during the ref- Standard classifications / nomenclatures erence period (e.g., placing or replying to advertisements). Unemployed persons include Statistics on jobseekers registering at the ANPE are full and part-time students seeking full or classified into eight categories of jobseekers as fol- part-time work; seasonal workers awaiting lows: agricultural or other seasonal work; and un- 1. Persons without work, immediately available for employed persons who did not seek work work and who are seeking permanent full-time during the reference period because of minor employment; illness, provided that they continued to register with the ANPE. 2. Persons without work, immediately available for work, who are seeking permanent part-time em- (d) Data refer to New vacancies reported to the ANPE ployment; during the month. Figures cover permanent or indefinite contracts, temporary and interim contracts. 3. Persons without work, immediately available for work, who are seeking work of a restricted duration or temporary or seasonal work;

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 117 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 4. Persons without work, not immediately available − general questions on the dwelling, i.e. type, num- for work, who are seeking work that is full-time or ber of rooms, social characteristics of the mem- part-time, temporary or permanent; bers of the household, etc. 5. Persons with work, who are looking for other − individual questions to the members of the housework; hold, i.e. main activity, changes which occurred 6. Persons not immediately available for work but during the previous year, method used to find ac- looking for another full-time job and taking posi- tual job, income, under-employment, etc. tive steps to find one; Master list 7. Persons not immediately available for work but The sample frame is based on the results of the latest looking for another part-time job and taking posi- population census. Information is updated between tive steps to find one; two population censuses using statistics on residential 8. Persons not immediately available for work but building permits issued. looking for temporary or seasonal work of short duration and taking positive steps to find such Survey description work. The sample of the annual Labour Force Survey is International comparability probabilistic. The sample of households is designed as follows: The definition of the Unemployment rate follows ILO guidelines. − Primary sample units (PSUs) are the administrative divisions of the departments (cantons, for rural areas) and the urban areas. DATA COLLECTION − Secondary sample units (SPUs) are the munici- Reporting method palities (in the rural areas) and the census districts (in the urban areas). SPUs are merged, if neces- Registered unemployed, New jobseekers, New va- sary, so as to create homogeneous sets containing cancies: monthly count of administrative data. The between 500 and 1 000 dwellings. Within each ANPE provides information on registrations and va- PSU, SPUs are selected with probability propor- cancies at each of the local offices throughout France. tional to the total population. Most of the offices cover a specific geographical area, − whilst others specialise in certain key occupations or Tertiary sample units (TSUs) are sets of around 80 sectors. dwellings; they are created to be homogeneous in terms of dwellings description. Within each se- Unemployment rate: the annual Employment Survey lected SPU (see above), TSUs are chosen with of private households of metropolitan France carried probability proportional to the number of dwell- out in March each year provides the benchmark un- ings. employment data, which is updated using the monthly count of administrative data (jobseekers registered The TSUs are finally divided into four zones contain- with the ANPE). The employment component of the ing the same number of dwellings. One of the four labour force used to calculate the rate is estimated zones of the TSU is selected with equal probability from the results of the establishment survey and all dwellings of this zone are sampled. (ACEMO) and other administrative sources In total, 78 385 dwellings were selected in the survey (UNEDIC and USSARF). sample in 1993. Survey details The sample is a rotating sample: one-third of the sample is replaced each year, and each group of This section describes the Employment Survey which dwellings is selected in the sample during 3 years. is used to compile variables used in the calculation of When a group is dropped from the sample, it is re- the Unemployment rate. placed by another group with the same characteristics. Description of questionnaire Non-response rate The questionnaire used in the survey consists of two Grossing up factors are corrected for non-response at sets of questions: zone level (grossing up factors are inversely proportional to the response rate). At a second stage, the

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 118 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 ‘weight’ of each household is corrected to insure jobseekers between the months of May and June consistency between the results of the survey and the 1995. In June 1995 new categories (6, 7 and 8) of results of the population census. jobseekers were created. Persons allocated to these categories, having worked more than 78 hours during the month, were considered as not being DATA MANIPULATION ‘immediately available for work’. Persons in catego- Seasonal and other adjustment ries 6, 7, and 8 were previously included in categories 1, 2, and 3 respectively. The main aggregates were Data are seasonally adjusted using the X-11 variant of recalculated back to May 1992 taking account of the the US Bureau of the Census Method II. changes. See item ‘Standards’ for a description of the eight categories. DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS For breaks in the series New vacancies see under item Other errors and their corrections ‘Classification coverage’. The main problem for data accuracy is posed by those Timeliness not registering at the ANPE. Because of the introduction of new jobseeker categories, the new regis- Unemployment figures are available no later than one tration procedure, and various regional incidents month after the reference month. which occurred during the collection of regional data, data are not consistent throughout the year 1995. Revisions The Unemployment rate is revised twice a year on the Breaks in time series basis of the results from the Employment Survey. At Unemployment: there have been some changes to the the end of June of year n, the detailed results of the administration of unemployment that may have had a March enquiry and a more reliable estimate of the small effect on the data. For example, the unem- evolution of employment for the year n-1 are avail- ployment compensation rules were changed in 1979, able. Accordingly, the monthly rates are modified at 1982 and 1984. Also in 1984, unemployed persons in the beginning of year n-1. At the beginning of year receipt of benefit and aged 55 or more were exempted n+1, the unemployment figures are seasonally ad- from seeking employment and therefore from regis- justed and the employment figures are updated (using tering with the ANPE. The adoption, at the ANPE, of the definitive figures for the end of year n-2 and semi- a new registration document for updating information definitive figures for year n-1). Thus in general, on jobseekers (Déclaration de situation mensuelle) revisions are made to the latest three years. resulted in a discontinuity in the series of the stock of

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 119 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 FRANCE Labour - Other Indicators from administrative Labour disputes - time lost and other sources

SOURCE CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Source agencies Definition The statistics are compiled by the Departmental and A labour dispute includes all voluntary and collective Regional Labour Directorates and transmitted to the work stoppages, whatever the duration, the numbers Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. taking part or the cause. In the statistics, the dispute represents the strike (a continuous work stoppage) or Key national publication sources the ‘débrayage’ (a discontinuous work stoppage). A ‘generalised’ strike is a work stoppage following a Data are available in MTAS, Bulletin Mensuel de call to strike from outside the enterprise or its estab- Statistiques du Travail. lishments where there is more than one involved. A ‘localised’ strike is a work stoppage following a call Series title in national publication to strike from within one or more establishments. Conflits localisés du travail: France métropolitaine + The statistics cover the following types of dispute: DOM-TOM. constitutional or official strikes; unofficial strikes; sympathetic strikes; political or protest strikes; gen- Breakdown available eral strikes; rotating or revolving strikes; and sit-ins. Data on labour disputes are available in the national The continuation of a strike that is interrupted but source by: later resumes, still due to the same case of dispute, is considered to be the same strike only if the interrup- - cause of dispute (four categories); tion did not last longer than 48 consecutive hours - method of settlement (two categories); (during working days). - economic activity; The series published in MEI refers to time not worked - size of establishment; due to localised strikes only. - region. Time not worked is total time not worked measured Methodological references in working days and is derived by multiplying the number of workers involved between the first and last Methodological information used to compile the data days of the month, by the number of days the strike can be found in Bulletin Mensuel des Statistiques du lasted over the same period. Time not worked is Travail. measured for workers directly and indirectly involved. The shorter working hours of part-time Run of data available workers are taken into account, but there is no fixed method for this. Overtime is not taken into account. Data are available from January 1955. Work stoppages initiated by employers, working to Periodicity rule, go-slows and overtime bans are not included. Also the minimum size threshold for inclusion in the Data are compiled on a monthly basis. statistics is that the product of the duration and the number of workers involved should be at least one Unit of measurement working day. Time lost in days.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 120 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Coverage DATA COLLECTION

Reference period Reporting units The monthly data refer to disputes beginning during The basic unit of measurement is the economic unit: the month plus those continuing from the previous the establishment in the case of localised strikes and month. the enterprise for general strikes.

Geographical coverage Reporting method The whole country. The labour inspectors are responsible for identifying strikes in their areas and for completing a detailed form Classification coverage for each strike. Other administrative bodies which The industrial classification used for localised strikes learn of strikes by various means but particularly only covers the 38 groups according to the classifica- through press reports, also inform the inspectors. tion, Nomenclature d’Activité et de Produits: 40 grou- However, there is no legal obligation to report the oc- pements (NAP40). currence of a strike, therefore, some disputes will not come to the attention of the relevant authorities. Statistical population All public and private sectors are included, with the exceptions of agriculture and the civil service.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 121 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 FRANCE Wages Indicators from administrative (a) Labour cost: engineering industries and other sources (b) Labour cost: textile industries

SOURCE CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Source agency Definition The National Statistical Institute (INSEE) is responsi- (a) Labour cost represents the total expenditure on ble for the collection and the publication of the data. wages and salaries paid to employees and on employers’ contributions during the reference period. Key national publication sources These include: Data are available in MTAS, Bulletin Mensuel de Sta- − Wages and salaries: tistique.. total gross remuneration paid by the establishment (before deduction of professional Series title in national publications dues, taxes and other charges paid by the employees); (a) Coût de la main-d’oeuvre: industries mé- caniques et électriques; − Employers’ contributions (including statutory (b) Coût de la main-d’oeuvre: industries textiles. and non-obligatory contributions): allowances paid to employees (including Breakdown available payments for absence due to illness, for early retirements and other special benefits); In addition to the series described here, a special index on the cost of trade in services between enterprises is payments in kind for private use of cars, for also available in the national source. housing and other benefits;

Methodological references social security contributions (for sickness, old- age, etc.); Each issue of Informations Rapides includes a brief description of the methodology and data sources. unemployment insurance; Each year, a survey article is published in Economie et employers’ contribution to housing loans; Statistique which provides more details about the methodology. pensions funds, provident funds and paid leave (for those establishments which are af- Period coverage filiated to paid leave funds); vocational and apprenticeship training costs; (a) Labour cost: engineering industries: data are available from 1962; − Other payments of social welfare character (b) Labour cost: textile industries: data are avail- (such as canteens, holiday camps, transport able from July 1960. cost, payments in connection with workers’ participation, etc.). Periodicity Coverage Data are compiled on a monthly basis. Geographical coverage Unit of measurement The whole of Metropolitan France. Data are published on base January 1973=100.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 122 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 DATA COLLECTION Survey details Reporting method (See earlier section for more details on the ACEMO survey) Information on wages and salaries is mainly derived from the establishment sample survey: Quarterly Sur- vey on the Economic Activity and Working Conditions DATA MANIPULATION of the Labour Force (ACEMO). The results of the Aggregation/grossing up method ACEMO survey are completed with information from Chambers of Commerce (for textile industries and for Monthly figures are calculated as the product of a engineering industries). (See earlier section for more monthly index of wages and salaries, and a monthly details on the ACEMO survey) index of employers’ contributions. Data for employers’ contributions are estimated by The index of wages and salaries is compiled on a INSEE from various sources: administrative sources quarterly basis (this is the Hourly wage rate described (from social security registers, and employers’ decla- in an earlier section); intermediate monthly figures are ration to tax offices), surveys carried out by INSEE calculated taking into account additional information (three-yearly Labour Cost Survey, ACEMO and Sur- from Chambers of Commerce). vey on Wage Structure); and statistics compiled by the Social Security.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 123 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 GERMANY Wages Indicators from the Survey of Earn- Hourly earnings ings in Industry and Commerce

SOURCE total gross wages for each performance group divided by the corresponding number of hours paid for. Source agencies Earnings data refer to total gross wages and salaries Data are compiled by the Federal Statistical Office which include all regular payments paid (including (Statistisches Bundesamt - FSO) in co-operation with remuneration for time not worked), together with cer- the statistical offices of the States (Länder). tain employer payments. Regular payments include the following: collectively or individually agreed Key national publication sources wages or salaries; performance and efficiency pay- Data are available in Statistisches Bundesamt, ments and bonuses and other payments whether or not provided for in collective agreements; income tax Löhne und Gehälter, Fachserie 16: Reihe 2.2 - payments and employees’ social security contributions Angestelltenverdienste in Industrie und Han- to funds voluntarily taken over by the employer; del, and also on Statis-bund, the on-line data commission; bonuses, end-of-year premiums, thir- base of the FSO. teenth month payments, profit sharing payments, etc., which are paid in monthly instalments; monthly con- Series title in national publications tributions paid by the employer to workers’ savings Index der durchschnittlich Brutto-Stundenverdienste - and capital formation schemes; vacation pay of con- der Arbeiter in der Industrie. struction workers even if refunded by the vacation funds; reimbursement of travel expenses and relevant Breakdown available allowances for travelling to and from work; the tax value of free board and free accommodation in so far Data are available in the national source by: as these benefits constitute all or part of the gross wage - industry; or salary; and deductions retained in the reference - occupational category (for salaried employees period for reimbursing loans, salary advances, etc. only). Coverage Run of data available Reference period The Survey of Earnings and Industry and Commerce began in 1910 for wage earners and 1957 for salary Hourly earnings: average for quarter . earners. Data are available on the MEI database from 1955. Geographical coverage Periodicity Germany before re-unification. Data are compiled on a quarterly basis. Classification coverage The survey covers mining and quarrying, manufactur- Unit of measurement ing, energy supply, construction, commerce, banking Index (1991=100). and insurance. The earnings series published in the MEI publication refers to the manufacturing industry only. CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition Statistical population Hourly earnings: the series refers to average gross Establishments with more than 10 employees. hourly earnings of full-time wage earners and is the

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 124 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Particular exclusions ing to 83 economic activities and six size classes. The sampling rates within each stratum are chosen so as to Regular wages and salaries exclude certain employer produce the minimum sampling error. The size of the payments (e.g., to social security, health schemes, etc.) sample in each stratum is determined according to the and other payments included in gross wages or sala- ‘Neyman-Tschuprov’ law: the number of units to be ries. included in each stratum is proportional both to the size of the universe and to the standard deviation of the STANDARDS variable (gross hourly earnings) within the stratum. Standard classifications / nomenclatures The sampling units are selected by systematic random sampling in accordance with a prescribed system that From 1995, the Industrial Classification of Economic substitutes new establishments for those that have Activity WZ 93 (compatible with NACE Rev.1) has previously taken part. The total sample size is around been used and WZ 79 (compatible with ISIC 68) prior 40 500 establishments. The sample is changed follow- to 1995. ing each census and at that time the survey is con- International comparability ducted in both the old and new samples in order to maintain continuity in the series. The definition of gross wages and salaries corresponds to the concept of gross earnings in the international Non-response rate guidelines. For those establishments not responding because they were no longer producing in the relevant sector or DATA COLLECTION similar reasons, these would not be replaced in the sample. For non-response due to a failure to reply, a Reporting units replacement factor is applied which corresponds to the The sampling and reporting unit is the establishment, quotient of the number of establishments contacted defined as a local unit of an enterprise. less the number of non-existent establishments and the number of establishments that replied plus the number Reporting method of non-responding establishments.

Information is collected by the statistical offices of the DATA MANIPULATION States using a postal questionnaire. Aggregations /Grossing up Survey details Grossing up method Description of questionnaire The sample results per stratum are multiplied by the Separate questionnaires are used for wage earners and grossing up factor (i.e., the ratio of the number of es- salaried employees, depending on the different collec- tablishments in the universe to the number within the tive or individual agreements and on the branch of sample) corrected by the replacement factor. The ex- activity covered. If workers in the various production trapolated figures are then aggregated. units of an establishment are paid under different col- DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS lective agreements in force, then a separate questionnaire is completed for each branch of activity and Sampling errors and their corrections agreement. If there is only one collective agreement, workers are grouped together on one form, and the The simple relative standard error for the average establishment is classified according to its main activ- hourly earnings for the individual branches of activity ity. should not exceed one per cent for national data and 5% for States data. Master list Breaks in time series Register of Production Industries and the Register of the Census for non-agricultural local units Reforms to the survey took place in 1964, 1973, 1982 and 1991 when new samples were selected using the Survey description results of the most recent Industrial Census. However, A stratified sampling design is used with establish- conversion coefficients have been calculated to ensure ments first stratified by State (16 States) and within continuity in the series. each State the establishments are then stratified accord-

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 125 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 GERMANY Labour - Employment Indicators from the Survey on (a) Manufacturing Industrial Production Labour - Other (b) Monthly hours of work

Wages (c) Wages (unpublished wage component of the series Unit labour cost) (d) Unit labour cost

SOURCE Unit labour cost: the series has been calculated from 1962 for Western Germany and from 1991 for both Source agencies Eastern Germany and for Unified Germany All series except Unit labour cost are compiled by the Federal Statistical Office in co-operation with the sta- Periodicity tistical offices of the States. Data are compiled on a monthly basis. The Unit labour cost index is compiled by the Central Bank (Deutsche Bundesbank) using data provided by Unit of measurement the FSO. (a) Employees: numbers of employees; Key national publication sources (b) Hours of work: hours/minutes; Data are available in FSO, Produzierendes Gewerbe - (c) Wages: Deutsche Mark. Fachserie 4, Reihe 4.1.1. and on Statis-bund. (d) Unit labour cost: index (1991=100). The Unit labour cost index is published in Deutsche Bundesbank, Saisonbereinigte Wirtschaftszahlen. CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition Series title in national publications (a) Employees: data refer to the number of full-time (a) Beschäftigte insgesamt in Verarbeitende Indus- and part-time employees on employment rolls of trie; manufacturing local units on the last working day (b) Geleistete Arbeiterstunden; of the month. They include those on all forms of (c) Bruttolohn- und Gehaltsumme. leave whether with or without pay, as well as those laid off or on strike, even if absent from work and (d) Produktivität und Lohnkosten im Produzier- without pay for the whole of the month. The data enden Gewerbe ‘Löhne und Gehälter je Produk- include wage and salary earners, and working pro- tenheit’. prietors. Apprentices, trainees and family workers Breakdown available are regarded as wage or salary earners, depending on the function they perform. Unpaid family Data are published in the national source by industry. workers are included only if they usually work at Run of data available least one-third of normal hours in the reporting local unit. Employees, Hours of Work and Wages are available (b) Hours of work: data refer to the total number of from 1977. hours actually worked in the month by wage- earners in the mining and manufacturing indus-

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 126 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 tries. They include supplementary hours but ex- Particular exclusions clude hours paid for but not worked such as bank Employees: the self employed and home workers are holidays and vacations. excluded. Wage earners are officially defined as workers having the obligation to adhere to the social insur- Hours of work: the self employed, home workers and ance scheme for wage earners. In practice, they salary earners are excluded from the statistics. Hours correspond to employees directly engaged in pro- paid for exclude the hours that were worked but were duction and related operations, including foremen, compensated only in the form of time off; rest days warehouse keepers, delivery staff and cleaners. granted within the scope of reduced working hours; meal breaks; and unpaid inactive periods of time spent (c) Wages and salary payments to employees (as de- outside the workplace. scribed in (a) above comprise total remuneration paid to all employees during the month under re- Wages: payments taken into account exclude labour view, including the cash equivalent of benefits in costs other than wages and salaries. Examples are kind. They cover basic wages and salaries, over- employers’ social insurance contributions and the cost time pay and all supplements, whether regularly to employers of amenities such as canteens and sport recurring or not, except those representing com- equipment provided to employees. pensation for expenses incurred by the workers (e.g. for dirty work and transport). STANDARDS Payments for normal hours not worked because of sick leave, public holidays or any other reason are Standard classifications / nomenclatures included. Retrospective payments following back- Industry: from 1995: WZ 93 (NACE Rev. 1); dated wage settlements are recorded in the month when they are paid rather than the months when 1970-1994: SYPRO 1976; prior to 1970: IB; they were earned. Goods Classification: from 1995: GP 95: prior to Wages and salaries are measured on a gross basis 1995: SYPRO and GP89 respectively. before any deductions are made, e.g. for employees’ social insurance contributions. (d) The Unit labour cost index measures the monthly DATA COLLECTION changes in the total amount of wage and salary Reporting units payments per unit of output in the mining, quarrying and manufacturing industries. The measure of The local unit. output used in the calculation is the index of industrial production and the measures of wages and Reporting method salaries are as described under (c). Only seasonally A monthly postal survey of establishments. adjusted data are published.

Coverage Survey details Reference period Description of questionnaire Employees: last working day of each month, An establishment breakdown is provided for employment. Monthly returns show the number of wage Hours of work , Wages, Unit labour cost: the whole earners and number of salary earners, including month. working proprietors, on employment rolls on the last Geographical coverage working day of the month. Monthly returns show the number of hours actually Germany from 1991 and Germany before reworked by wage earners during the entire month. unification prior to 1991. Hours statistics are classified on a principal activity Statistical population basis. Enterprises employing more than twenty persons. Survey description The entire panel comprises local units in the industry sector and handicraft enterprises in manufacturing with 20 or more employees.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 127 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Non-response rate adjusted for trading days, both working days and variable paid holidays, and seasonally adjusted using the Reporting is compulsory. The final response rate is Central Bank’s variant of the X-11 US Bureau of the very high. Rather than penalising non-respondents, Census Method. Data are adjusted for trading days responsible authorities try to demonstrate the useful- because the number of working days has an upward ness of co-operation. effect on production and wages whilst an increase in the number of paid holidays has an upward effect on DATA MANIPULATION wages relative to production. Aggregations /Grossing up DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Aggregation method Breaks in time series Data for industries and industry groupings are simple sums of reported data. There is a break in the series at 1970 due to the introduction of the industrial classification SYPRO 1976, Seasonal and other adjustment and again between December 1994 and January 1995 when the European classification NACE Rev.1 (WZ Employment figures are seasonally adjusted by the 93), and the goods (GP95) classifications (for the in- OECD. dustrial production component of Unit labour cost) Missing returns are replaced by the latest reported fig- were adopted. Data refer to Germany from 1991; and ures. Germany before re-unification prior to 1991.

Other manipulations Revision policy Unit labour cost: the raw index of industrial produc- Monthly figures of a given year are recalculated in tion in mining and manufacturing is divided by the April through June of the following year taking late index of wage and salary payments. This index is then returns into account.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 128 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 GERMANY Labour - Employment Indicators from administrative (a) Part-time (economic reasons) and other sources Labour - Unemployment (b) Registered unemployed (c) Rate Labour - Other (d) Unfilled vacancies

SOURCE Vacancies are published in the national source by: Source agencies - administrative area; - full-time/part-time. The Federal Labour Office (Bundesanstalt für Arbeit - FLO) is responsible for statistical collection, process- Run of data available ing and publishing the raw information. Seasonally adjusted data are published by the Central Bank. The unemployment series started in January 1950 and the vacancy series in January 1960. Key national publication sources Periodicity Raw data are published in FLO, Amtliche Nachrichten der Bundesanstalt für Arbeit. Data are compiled on a monthly basis. The seasonally adjusted Registered unemployed and Unit of measurement Unemployment rate series are published in Deutsche Unemployment, Part-time (economic reasons): num- Bundesbank, Saisonbereinigte Wirtschaftszahlen. ber of persons; Series title in national publications Unemployment rate: percentage;

(a) Kurzarbeiter; Unfilled vacancies: number of jobs. (b) Arbeitslose insgesamt; (c) Arbeitslosenquote bezogen auf alle zivilen CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Erwerbspersonen; Definition (d) Eckwerte des Arbeitsmarkstatistik in der Bun- desrepublik Deutschland - Gemeldete offene (a) Data refer to the number of employees working Stellen. part-time for economic reasons. These are persons whose normal working-time is reduced by more Breakdown available than 10% and who are receiving “Kurzarbeit” Unemployment data are published in the national (short-time work) benefits. source by: (b) The data refer to Unemployed jobseekers. A jobseeker according to the statistics of the Labour - gender; market refers to a person resident in Germany, who - administrative area; has registered at the employment office through an - occupation; employment agency for work or work at home of - economic activity; more than seven calendar days in the country or - type of application (e.g., disability, seeking abroad and who is able and entitled to perform the part-time work, etc.). work sought. Among job-seekers a distinction is

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 129 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 made between the unemployed and the non- various sources including statistics of employees unemployed jobseekers. covered by social insurance. The unemployed are job-seekers aged less than 65 (d) Data refer to vacancies notified to the public em- years who have no employment contract or only a ployment offices for work of a duration of more short-term contract, who are not attending full-time than seven calendar days and remaining unfilled at education or participating in job training schemes, the end of each month. who are not unfit for work, nor in receipt of a retirement or disability pension and are immediately Coverage available for employment. The unemployed must have registered in person at the appropriate em- Reference period ployment office. Unemployment, Rate, Unfilled vacancies: end of the The unemployed include persons seeking perma- month. nent work as employees for a duration of more Part-time (economic reasons): mid-month. than seven calendar days with 18 or more hours per week, who are not working or are working less Geographical coverage than 18 hours per week. Also included are persons seeking temporary work but only if the period Germany from September 1990, and Germany before sought is more than three months re-unification prior to this date. Persons seeking part-time work because of real or Classification coverage legal commitments and who are able to work for at least 18 hours per week are included. Work at Statistical population home is also included in part-time work. Unemployed: persons from all branches of economic Covered are first jobseekers who are leavers from education if available for work and not seeking activity and occupational groups who are at least 15 only academic or industrial training; and re- years old and under 65 and are seeking work as em- entrants to the labour force who are included from ployees. the date on which they register. Employable dis- Particular exclusions abled persons not receiving invalidity benefits are included and persons in receipt of pensions other Unemployed: persons who have specified a desire for than retirement or disability pensions may be in- work in a given firm, for work at home only and per- cluded. Persons participating in state assisted fur- sons on strike are excluded. Persons taking part in ther training or retraining schemes on a part-time work creation schemes supported by the employment basis or through correspondence courses who were offices are not classified as unemployed but as non- out of work prior to commencing and those who unemployed persons seeking work. lost their jobs during such schemes are considered Vacancies exclude those jobs not notified to the em- as unemployed. ployment offices. It is not compulsory for firms to Recipients of and applicants for unemployment notify the employment offices. benefits are both considered as unemployed. Per- sons not eligible for unemployment benefits can STANDARDS also meet the requirements to be counted among the unemployed. Standard classifications / nomenclatures (c) The Unemployment rate published in MEI refers to Industry: WZ93 from 1997 and WZ73 prior to this date. total unemployment, as defined above, expressed as a percentage of the civilian labour force Occupation: Classification by Occupation (1988). (dependant civilian labour force, self-employed, family workers). An alternative rate calculated and DATA COLLECTION published by the Federal Labour Office but not published in MEI is the unemployed as a per cent Reporting method of the dependent civilian labour force (employees subject to social insurance, civil servants, unem- The basic data source for unemployment figures is ployed). Civilian labour force is derived from administrative information from the registration of the

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 130 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 unemployed at the employment offices and for short- DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS time workers data are collected from reports of firms. Breaks in time series At the end of each period, those vacancies remaining unfilled are aggregated from local office records. Va- There is a break in the series at September 1990 as cancies are regularly checked to see whether they re- data prior to this date refer to Germany before remain vacant. unification. Revision policy DATA MANIPULATION Before each monthly count the situation of applicants Seasonal and other adjustment on the register is checked to ensure that all those included are still unemployed. Data are seasonally adjusted by the Central Bank using data compiled by the Federal Labour Office.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 131 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 GERMANY Wages Indicators from administrative Hourly rates: manufacturing and other sources

SOURCE level, adults or juveniles, and sometimes a specific region. Source agency Wage earners are defined as those workers covered by Data are compiled from printed copies of collective the social insurance scheme for wage earners. In prac- agreements forwarded to the Federal Statistical Office tice, they correspond to employees directly engaged in by the contracting parties. production and related operations including foremen, warehouse keepers, delivery staff and cleaners. Adult Key national publication sources wage earners is taken to mean wage earners on adult Data are available in FLO, Löhne und Gehälter, Fach- rates of pay. These rates are paid from the age of 21 serie 16: Reihe 4.3 - Index des Tariflöhne und Ge- years in most industries. hälter and also on Statis-bund. Wage rates are minimum cash entitlements of adult Series title in national publications full-time workers for one hour of normal work. In addition to basic wages, they include the “investment Index der tariflichen Stundenlöhne in der gewerbli- bonus” if it is laid down in the agreement and provided chen Wirtschaft und bei Gebietskoerperschaften 1985 it is regularly paid each month. All other wage sup- = 100 - Verarbeitendes Gewerbe. plements and benefits in kind are excluded. Wage rates are expressed on a gross basis before any deduc- Breakdown available tions are made, e.g. for income tax or social insurance Data are available in the national source by industry. contributions. Run of data available Coverage Data are available from 1950. Reference period Periodicity The wage rates and hours used for a quarter’s index are those effective at the end of the first month of the Data are compiled on a quarterly basis. quarter from 1964; previously they related to the end Unit of measurement of the mid-quarter month. Geographical coverage Index (1985=100) (1991=100 is in preparation). Data refer to Germany before re-unification. CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Classification coverage Definition Statistical population The index measures the quarterly changes in the Manufacturing industries. minimum gross pay rates prescribed in collective bar- Particular exclusions gaining agreements for adult wage earners paid at time rate in the manufacturing industries. The index is also Apprentices and home workers are not covered by the available for the following industries, however, they statistics. Piece rates and decisions taken at enterprise are not included in MEI: mining, quarrying, energy level are not taken into account. supply, construction, commerce, banking, insurance and public services. STANDARDS As a rule, wage and salary earners are covered by dif- Standard classifications / nomenclatures ferent agreements. In those of wage earners, a scale of pay rates applies to a group of occupations or a skill WZ 1993 is used for the most recent period, WZ 1961 from 1974 and Systematische Verzeichnis der Arbe-

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 132 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 itsstätten (1950) prior to 1974. The collective bargain- try). Each index expresses the hourly wage rate effec- ing pattern does not coincide with Germany’s indus- tive at the end of the period under review as a percent- trial classification. A correspondence key allows each age of the average hourly wage rates in the base year. agreement to be assigned to the appropriate industry or Hourly wage rates are either found as such in the col- industries. lective agreements or obtained by dividing normal weekly hours into weekly wage rates. They represent DATA COLLECTION estimates of total minimum entitlements of all em- Reporting method ployed wage earners for one hour of normal work in the base year. Data are collected from a sample of collective agree- If an agreement applies to more than one industry, the ments between trade unions and employers’ associa- elementary indices compiled from the rates therein are tions. The information provided comprises normal used with different weights in the calculation of indi- weekly hours of work and hourly or, in a few excep- ces for the different industries. As a result of the tional cases, weekly wage rates. They are usually change in sampling procedures, the number of weights concluded for “collective agreement areas” which may in the whole system of wage rate indices is approxi- be a part of a State, a whole State or several States. mately 11 000. Wage rates are regulated by collective agreements in Weights are products of average hourly wage rates in all industries of some importance. While collective the base year and corresponding employment in the bargaining is generally conducted for individual indus- industry for which an index is being calculated. Thus, trial sectors, the resulting agreements may contain for compiling the different weights given to the same wage scales applicable in more than one industry. elementary index in different industries, the same Survey details wage rate is multiplied by different employment figures. Survey description Average hourly wage rates are derived from rates ef- When selecting the sample of collective agreements, fective at the end of the four reference months of the priority is given to the more important in terms of base year. Employment figures are drawn from the number of workers concerned so that the sample latest ‘Gehalts- und Lohnstrukturerhebung’ preceding would have a satisfactory employment coverage in the base year. This is a large-scale survey of wage and every industry. The current sample was set up in salary structure taken at intervals of a varying number 1980. From the existing 3 000 agreements, 400 were of years. The information it provides includes, for selected in order to meet the target coverage then fixed each industry, a wage scale and gender breakdown of at 75% of employment in each industry. Some typi- the numbers of workers covered by collective agree- cally handicraft trades have their own agreements and ments. the latter are represented in the sample. All of the wage scales contained in selected agree- DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS ments are taken into account since 1980. Previously, the scales applying to the highest and the lowest skill Breaks in time series levels were chosen, together with a few others having A new sample was introduced in 1980. There are also large employment coverage. breaks in the series due to the introduction of the new A scale point, i.e. a wage rate, is selected from each of industrial classifications (WZ 1961) from 1979 and the above-mentioned wage scales. This is the one WZ 1993 from 1995. corresponding to adults and, if rates are not uniform Revision policy throughout the collective agreement area (part of a State, a whole State, or several States), to the region When collective bargaining extends over a long period where the rates are highest. and wage advances are paid, pending a final agreement, these advances are not recorded. But when an DATA MANIPULATION agreement with retrospective effect is reached, the Aggregations /Grossing up indices for periods affected by wage rate changes are revised. Aggregation method Fixed weights are applied to elementary indices which are calculated by gender for each selected scale point (usually corresponding to a skill level in a given indus-

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 133 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 GREECE Labour - Employment Indicators from the Payroll (a) Manufacturing Survey of Establishments Labour - Other (b) Weekly hours of work Wages (c) Hourly earnings

SOURCE Hours of work, Earnings are available on a quarterly basis. Source agency Unit of measurement Data are compiled by the National Statistical Service of Greece (NSSG). Employment: index (1990=100); Hours of work: number of hours; Key national publication sources Earnings: raw data provided to OECD in drachmas Data are available in NSSG, Monthly Statistical Bul- converted to index (1990=100). letin.

Series title in national publications CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

(a) Employment index of salaried employees and Definition wage earners in manufacturing; (a) Employment data refer to both manual and non- (b) Hours of weekly work paid for (workers) in manual employees. Included are workers on pro- manufacturing; bation, temporary, casual and seasonal workers, (c) Hourly payments to workers in manufacturing. persons absent from work because of vacation, strike, sickness, etc. Breakdown available Excluded are working proprietors and directors, apprentices and trainees, part-time workers, piece Hours of work, Earnings are published in the national workers, commission agents, home workers, per- source by: sons sub-contracted from other companies or - industry; firms, unpaid workers and workers temporarily - size of establishment; absent from work because of unpaid vacation or - manual/non-manual workers; lay-off. - region; (b) Hours of work: data refer to hours paid for - gender. being the hours worked during normal periods of work, paid overtime, time spent at the place Run of data available of work for preparation of the workplace, repairs, maintenance, preparation and cleaning of The survey has been conducted since third quarter tools, etc. They also include time spent at 1961. place of work waiting or standing by for reasons such as breakdown of machinery, lack of Periodicity supply of materials or clients, bad weather or time spent at place of work during which no Employment is available on a monthly basis. work is done but for which payment is made under a guaranteed employment contract, time corresponding to short rest periods at the

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 134 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 workplace including tea or coffee breaks, meal International comparability breaks and study or training periods. They also include hours paid for but not worked such as The definitions of Earnings and Hours generally con- vacation and public holidays. form to the international recommendations. Excluded are hours not worked because of sickness or accident, occupational injury, maternity DATA COLLECTION leave, parental or personal leave, military or related service, civic duties, study leave, profes- Reporting units sional training, lay-off or short time working, Establishments, which are defined as: a location in strikes and lockouts and disciplinary suspension, which one or more persons, being under single con- time spent on travel from home to and from work, trol, are permanently engaged in the production, re- and time devoted to trade union or employers’ or- pairing or assembling of goods, or in auxiliary activi- ganisation activities. ties other than the main ones. (c) Earnings: data relate to gross earnings which cover the total remuneration in cash paid directly Reporting method and regularly to the employee each pay period, Data are collected by mail using questionnaires sent before deductions for taxes, social security contri- out each month and followed up by telephone or a butions and fines payable by employees. Gross visit from an enumerator. Each month data are col- earnings also include commissions for sales, in- lected for one-third of the sample: Monthly employ- centive pay, cost of living and family allowances, ment figures are derived from the monthly sub-sample remuneration for time not worked such as vaca- while Hours and Earnings are calculated from the tion, public holidays, other time off with pay and bonuses and gratuities paid regularly. They refer results of the total sample. to payments relating to the reference period. Survey details The earnings data exclude house rent and transport allowances, irregularly paid bonuses and Description of questionnaire gratuities and earnings in kind. The questionnaire is designed for self-completion by Coverage the establishment and instructions for each type of data to be reported are provided with it. Data are Reference period collected separately for manual and non-manual employees and by sex on the following: reference period: Employment figures refer to the week including the number of paid employees: total remuneration paid 18th of each month. to employees (regular payments, overtime pay, pre- Hours of work, Earnings are averages of figures re- miums for special work); working time paid for ferring to the week including the 18th of each month (workdays paid, normal hours worked, overtime hours in the quarter. paid for); and number of days worked.

Geographical coverage Master list The whole country. The Register of Establishments based on the results of the Industrial Censuses. This register is updated Statistical population regularly using information from various sources. Establishments in the manufacturing and handicraft Survey description industries with more than 10 employees. The survey sample is probabilistic. The frame is stratified by region, establishment size and industry STANDARDS groups. Samples are drawn from four size bands be- Standard classifications / nomenclatures low 100 employees, and all establishments with 100 or more employees are included. Establishments are Industry: ISIC 1968. selected from each cell with a minimum of two. The total sample comprises around 3 176 establishments employing 356 000 employees. This is divided into three samples with data collected from each third for

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 135 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 one month of the reference quarter. The survey re- the grossing up factor defined in the previous para- sults are not published if there are fewer than three graph. establishments in a branch of economic activity.

Non-response rate DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS No adjustments are made for non-response. Breaks in time series Major revisions over the last 20 years which have DATA MANIPULATION implications for breaks in the series have included the following: Aggregations / Grossing up - use of updated establishment registers, com- Grossing up method piled on the basis of the most recent Industrial Censuses; Hours of work, Earnings: for each establishment, data are first converted to the same time period (a - changes in the sample design to enable clas- month for non-manual workers and a week for man- sification of data by region and to obtain the ual workers) using an adjustment factor derived from closest correspondence possible to the NACE; information on the number of working days in the - extension of coverage where mines and quar- period, by type of worker, and the relevant number of ries were added in 1977 and electricity, gas working days for that particular establishment. These and water in 1989; data are then added over each industry group and size - modified contents of the questionnaire aimed stratum. This total is multiplied by a grossing up at more analytical information; factor equal to the total number of establishments in the industry group and size stratum, and the corre- - from 1977, division of the sample into three sponding number of establishments in the sample. sub-samples with data being collected for one month of the quarter for each third. Prior to Employment: the total number of persons employed 1977, the data referred to the central month of is estimated by adding the sample data for each cate- the quarter. gory (manual and non-manual workers), industry group and stratum size and multiplying the total by

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 136 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 GREECE Labour - Unemployment Indicators from administrative Registered unemployed and other sources

SOURCE tering with the offices of OAED. The work sought may be permanent or temporary, part-time or full- Source agencies time (no minimum duration is set). Also included are The figures are based on data collected and compiled first jobseekers and re-entrants to the workforce; by the Labour Force Employment Organisation some employable disabled persons and persons in (OAED). They are then transmitted to the OECD by receipt of benefits other than retirement pensions, the National Statistical Service of Greece. provided they have been registered at employment offices. Responsibility for the loss of their last job Key national publication sources does not prevent persons from being included in the unemployment count (although payment of unem- Data are available in NSSG, Monthly Statistical Bul- ployment benefit may be affected). letin. and Eurostat, Population and social conditions. Series B: Short-term trends - Unemployment. Excluded from the registered unemployed statistics are persons with some form of minimal employment seeking other work; and persons who participate in Series title in national publications education, training or job creation courses. Regis- Index of unemployed (Monthly statistical bulletin); trants who fail to report to employment offices once a month without good reason are deleted from the regis- Persons registered at employment offices (Eurostat ter and from the unemployment statistics one month publication). later. Breakdown available Unemployed people who are not registered with the OAED will not be included in the statistics. Unemployment figures are published in the national source by: Coverage - gender; - age groups; Geographical coverage - region. The whole country.

Run of data available Statistical population The series started in December 1957. All categories of unemployed persons aged 15 and Periodicity over of Greek or foreign nationality, whether they are members of unemployment benefit schemes or not. Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Unit of measurement DATA COLLECTION Raw figures referring to the number of persons are Reporting units converted to an index (1964=100) for publication in Data are collected at the 110 registration offices the national source. throughout the whole country.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE DATA MANIPULATION Definition Seasonal and other adjustments Data refer to persons without work, who are capable Data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD. of work and are seeking work as employees by regis-

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 137 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS In 1985, new legislation dealing with registered unemployment resulted in new motives for registration Breaks in time series and a corresponding heavy increase in the number of In 1976 the period allowed for the renewal of regis- registered unemployed. tration was changed from six months to one month.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 138 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 ICELAND Labour - Unemployment Indicators from administrative Rate (registered unemployed) and other sources

SOURCE be registered at the public unemployment agencies of the Labour Department. Registration at the agencies Source agencies is a prerequisite for unemployment compensation, Registered unemployment data are compiled by the however, not all unemployed persons make use of this Labour Office of the Ministry of Social Affairs. The right. Other persons not previously in employment labour force data for calculating the rate are estimated such as housewives seeking employment may not by the National Economic Institute (NEI). register as unemployed. Persons may also be registered without being available for work. The estimates Key national publication sources for labour force figures are derived from data on the Data are available in Central Bank of Iceland, Eco- number of working weeks supplied by the tax nomic Statistics and in National Economic Institute, authorities. The labour force data are expressed in Employment Overview. man-years, which is equivalent to the number of people working full-time for 52 weeks of the year. Series title in national publications Coverage Unemployment as a per cent of the labour force. Reference period Breakdown available The reference period for registered unemployment is Registered unemployment is available in the national the whole month and for labour force data it is the source by: whole year.

- duration; Geographical coverage - gender; -age; The whole country. - region. Methodological references DATA COLLECTION Methodological notes are published in Statistics Ice- Reporting method land, Labour Market Statistics. The numerator in the unemployment rate is based on registration information held at Labour Offices. The Run of data available estimates of man-years used in the denominator are Data are available from 1968. derived from data on the number of working weeks supplied by the tax authorities (estimates for the most Periodicity recent year are made by NEI). The number of working weeks of employees are counted in selected firms. Data are compiled on monthly basis. The total wage outlay for these firms represents more Unit of measurement than 70% of all wage outlays. The number of working weeks for the remaining employees are estimated Percentage. by taking into account average wages by economic sector. The number of working weeks of own- CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE account workers is estimated from monthly tax returns. Definition Registered unemployed as a per cent of the labour force. To be counted as unemployed a person has to

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 139 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 DATA MANIPULATION Other manipulations Seasonal and other adjustment The average number of persons unemployed is calculated by dividing the number of registered unem- Data are seasonally adjusted by OECD. ployment days by the average number of weekdays each month.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 140 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 ICELAND Labour - Unemployment Indicators from the Labour Rate Force Survey (LFS)

SOURCE employment and satisfied at least one of the following criteria: have been seeking work during the previous Source agency four weeks and are able to start working within two Statistics Iceland is responsible for the Labour Force weeks; have already found a job which begins later; Survey. are on temporary lay-off; or have given up seeking work but can start working within two weeks of find- Key national publication sources ing a job. To determine whether a person has been seeking work, 11 methods are listed of which two are Data are available in Statistics Iceland, Labour Mar- passive and for each enumerated method the respon- ket Statistics. dent is asked whether he or she has used that method. No distinction is made between active and passive Series title in national publications methods of job search. Unemployment as a per cent of the labour force. The unemployment rate is calculated as a per cent of total labour force. The latter is also compiled from Breakdown available the LFS and equals the unemployed plus the em- Unemployment is published in the national source by: ployed. According to the LFS the employed comprises all persons who worked one hour or more in the - gender; reference week, or were temporarily absent from their - place of residence; work during that week. Persons on parental leave are - educational level; considered attached to their previous job and there- - length of job search; fore are counted among the employed. Also included -age; in the employed are unpaid family workers. - type of job sought; - method of job search. Coverage Methodological references Reference period Methodological notes are published in Statistics Ice- One week prior to the survey, usually the first or sec- land, Labour Market Statistics. ond week of the interview month. As each survey is conducted over a 10 to 11 day period, the reference Run of data available week is moved forward after the seventh day for the The first survey was held in April 1991. remaining respondents. Geographical coverage Periodicity The whole country. Twice yearly (April and November). Statistical population Unit of measurement All Icelandic or foreign citizens aged 16-74 resident Percentage. in Iceland at the time of the survey.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Particular exclusions Definition All persons who reside abroad for more than six months are ineligible for inclusion in the sampling In the LFS, unemployed persons are defined as those frame. who, during the reference week, did not have gainful

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 141 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 STANDARDS Survey description Standard classifications / nomenclatures The sample is a rotating panel sample of around 4 400 individuals selected by random methods without re- Economic activity: NACE Rev. 1; placement from the sampling frame (certain catego- Occupation: ISCO 1988; ries of student are excluded). The sample is divided into four rotation groups of approximately 1 100 in- Education: ISCED. dividuals each of which participates in four successive surveys. Sample units are replaced after four years International comparability have elapsed since their first inclusion.

The definition of unemployment follows the ILO Non response rate guidelines. The non-response rate varies up to around 10 per cent, with more males than females in this category. To DATA COLLECTION counter the effects of non-response the weighting Reporting units process is adjusted accordingly. Individuals. DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Reporting method Sampling errors and their corrections Telephone interviews are used exclusively. Sampling errors are present and confidence intervals are calculated. Survey details Other errors and their corrections Description of questionnaire Non-sampling errors identified in the survey com- The questionnaire is based on comparable questions prise: coverage errors; non-response errors; and in the Nordic countries and has been developed for measurement errors by interviewers. Statistics Ice- comparability with Eurostat sources. Categories in- land corrects for these errors. Coverage errors occur clude: main activity; employment status; length of when persons go abroad for more than 6 months service; education; hours of work, etc. without registering their foreign address. Non- Master list response errors are corrected by weighting by sex and age-group information from the NR. In November National Register (NR) of all Icelandic and foreign 1992, computer aided telephone interviewing, citizens. (Blaise) was introduced. This has helped reduced measurement errors.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 142 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 ICELAND Wages Indicators from administrative Hourly earnings and other sources

SOURCE CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Source agencies Definition Data are compiled by the Institute of Labour Market Earnings data cover basic wages and salaries paid for Research (ILMR). In January 1996, ILMR and Statis- normal daytime working hours including premium tics Iceland signed an agreement to establish a new pay and bonuses (pay for dangerous or dirty work, Survey on Earnings and Labour Costs (SELC). bonuses for regular attendance, etc., performance bonuses for either individual or collective output). Key national publication sources Also covered are paid sick-leave and vacation, reimbursement for travel, uniforms, tools supplied by the Data are published in the newsletter from the commit- worker, etc. To calculate hourly earnings, total earn- tee responsible for examining wage issues, Frettabref ings are divided by the number of regular working Kjararannsóknarnefndar, in Statistics Iceland, Land- hours. shagir (Economic Conditions), and in Central Bank of Iceland, Hagtölur (Economic Statistics). Regular working hours are derived from the Wage Structure Survey and measure daytime hours of work. Series title in national publications They are the total number of paid hours of work and form the basis for calculating basic wages and sala- Greitt timakaup ries. (Overtime hours are also recorded in the survey but not covered by the index in MEI). Breakdown available Data are published in the national source by: Basic wages and salaries record the basic remunera- - occupation; tion for normal daytime hours. Basic remuneration is - gender; defined as basic payments for normal daytime hours - daytime workers excluding/including during one pay period, without any additional pay- bonuses; ments. - capital/rural area. Coverage Run of data available Three-month period. The ILMR has produced wage statistics since 1963, however data are available in MEI from 1980 only. Geographical coverage The whole country Periodicity Statistical population Monthly for raw data. The series published in MEI is on a quarterly basis. Restricted to membership of the Icelandic Labour Federation. Unit of measurement Particular exclusions Index. Earnings data exclude lump-sum payments and non- regular performance-related premiums.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 143 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 DATA COLLECTION Survey details

Reporting method Description of questionnaire Analysis of wages of members of the Icelandic La- The questionnaire asks for personal details (ID, gen- bour Federation. The index is a weighted average of der, data of birth, union membership, length of serv- non-clerical skilled workers and unskilled male and ice, occupation), and details of the enterprise (ID, female workers in the proportions 26.76%, 46.48% industry) plus details on wages and hours. and 26.76 % respectively. DATA MANIPULATION STANDARDS Aggregations / Grossing up Standard classifications / nomenclatures Weights for aggregation Industry: ISIC; The data are weighted by sectors using weights de- Occupations: Statistics Iceland’s own occupation rived from information from the Directorate of Inter- classification. nal Revenue.

DATA COLLECTION Other information Reporting method The Institute of Labour Market Research is now in the process of reviewing methods and sampling tech- The data are collected from company payrolls, most niques in collaboration with the Public Employees’ of which are obtained electronically. Wage Research Board and Statistics Iceland. In pre- paring the “New wage statistics” the aim has been to ensure that the data collected will fulfill the requirements of EU’s Wage and Labour Cost Surveys (SES, LCS, & ECCI) as well as local and national requirements.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 144 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 IRELAND Labour - Employment Indicators from the Survey of (a) Manufacturing: employees Employment, Earnings and Hours Labour - Other (SEEH) and other sources (b) Weekly hours of work Wages (c) Hourly earnings

SOURCE Periodicity Source agency The data are available on a quarterly basis.

Data are compiled by the Central Statistics Office Unit of measurement (CSO). (a) Employment: number of jobs occupied by em- Key national publication sources ployees; Data are available in the CSO publications, Statistical (b) Hours: number of hours; Bulletin, Statistical Release: Industrial Employment, (c) Earnings: index (1990=100). and in Industrial Earnings and Hours Worked. CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Series title in national publications Definition (a) Employment in manufacturing industries; (a) Employment covers persons engaged in estab- (b) Average hours worked per week - all industrial lishments in the manufacturing industry with three workers in manufacturing; or more persons employed and is derived from a (c) Average hourly earnings - all industrial workers combination of sources including the annual Cen- in manufacturing. sus of Industrial Production and the quarterly sample inquiry SEEH, supplemented with em- Breakdown available ployment figures for other establishments re- Employment, Hours and Earnings data are published sponding to the monthly industrial inquiry. in the national source by: (b) Hours of work relate to aggregate hours worked in - industry; the reference week by each of four industrial worker categories (men, women, youths and - gender; girls). Hours worked by industrial workers in- - category of worker. clude hours actually worked during normal peri- Methodological references ods of work, normal working hours of employees on holiday or sick leave with pay, paid overtime, Methodological information is published in CSO, time corresponding to short rest periods at the Industrial Employment, Earnings and Hours Worked: workplace, including tea or coffee breaks, time Updated Quarterly Series 1980-86. spent at the workplace for preparation, repairs and maintenance, etc., or waiting or standing by, and Run of data available periods of time spent at the workplace during which no work is done but for which payment is The SEEH survey was introduced in March 1950. made under a guaranteed employment contract.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 145 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 (c) Earnings refer to total gross earnings paid to the The majority of industrial establishments are individ- four industrial worker categories (men, women, ual factories, workshops, quarries, etc., involved in a youths and girls) in the different pay periods (i.e., single industrial activity. Two or more distinct indus- weekly, fortnightly and monthly) covering the trial activities conducted by an enterprise to any sig- reference week, before deduction of income tax nificant extent at one location are each distinguished and any other employees’ contributions. Gross as separate establishments. earnings include overtime payments, service pay, shiftwork and other allowances, commissions, Reporting method production and regular bonuses. They exclude irregular bonuses, back-pay, redundancy payments Employment information for every industrial estab- as well as the value of payments in kind. lishment known to be operating in the relevant reference week is used in compiling these estimates. The Coverage information is comprised of: - a full breakdown of employment from com- Reference period pleted quarterly inquiry (SEEH) question- Employment and Hours of work: a specific week in naires. the middle of March, June, September and December. - total employment of respondent establishments in the monthly industrial inquiry or Earnings: the same specific week as that for em- from special annual supplementary inquiries. ployment and hours is used but for other employees different pay periods apply for the same months. Hours, Earnings: SEEH questionnaires are posted to the establishments followed by postal reminders for Geographical coverage non-respondents and in some cases telephone contact The whole country. and personal visits by field staff.

Classification coverage Survey details

Manufacturing category of NACE (14, 22, 24-26, 31- Description of questionnaire 37, 41-49). The questionnaire of the SEEH is designed for self- Statistical population completion by a representative of the establishment. Employment: manufacturing establishments with It consists of a single page form accompanied by in- three or more employees. structions on definitions, inclusions and exclusions. Establishments are asked to provide details of: total Hours, Earnings: manufacturing establishments with persons engaged by category of worker; aggregate 10 or more employees. earnings paid to each of eight categories of employees according to pay periods; and aggregate hours Particular exclusions worked (hours paid for) in the reference week for Persons engaged in other business activities con- each of the four industrial worker categories, de- ducted by the enterprise at the same location (e.g., scribed under item ‘Definition’ and for clerical and wholesaling of products not manufactured by the managerial workers (the latter two categories are not firm) and any own-account workers employed on a covered by the indicator in MEI). The last section of contract or fee basis are excluded. the questionnaire is devoted to explanations of major changes in employment and earnings since the previous quarter. STANDARDS Master list Standard classifications / nomenclatures The Register of Industrial Establishments which is Industry: NACE Rev 1. updated on a continuous basis and includes information on all industrial firms with three or more persons DATA COLLECTION employed. Reporting units Survey description The industrial establishment is defined as a specific The SEEH survey is a sample survey which com- industrial activity conducted at a particular location. prises a representative selection of establishments

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 146 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 with ten or more persons engaged in each three-digit categories in each cell. These ratios are combined for NACE sector within the scope of the survey. Every broader groupings using as weights the estimated total effort is made to achieve full coverage of establish- annual earnings (or hours worked) of all correspond- ments with 100 or more persons engaged. Approxi- ing employees in the basic cell in the four quarters mately 2 300 postal questionnaires are dispatched ending the preceding September. The long-term index each quarter. These consist of about 1 000 regular is derived by linking these annual sets of quarterly respondents; 800 establishments which respond peri- ratios at each successive September. The index for all odically; and 500 establishments (mainly new firms) industrial workers is derived using as weights the which are usually canvassed to respond for a number corresponding total earnings (hours) for establish- of quarters and then eliminated if they fail to co- ments with 10 or more persons engaged using the operate. Each quarter estimates of earnings and hours latest Census of Industrial Establishment results. are based on full details provided by approximately 1 300 respondents who account for around 70 per cent Seasonal and other adjustments of total industrial employment. Employment estimates from the Industrial Inquiry are The employment survey consists of a complete enu- adjusted for seasonal variation using the multiplica- meration of industrial establishments with three or tive form of the X-11 variant of the US Bureau of the more persons engaged, through a combination of dif- Census Method II - Seasonal Adjustment Program. ferent sources: a completed quarterly inquiry (SEEH) questionnaire for respondent sample establishments DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS with ten or more persons engaged; total employment for other establishments obtained either from estab- Breaks in time series lishments with 20 or more persons engaged covered Hours, Earnings: since 1975 the quarterly inquiry by the Monthly Industrial Inquiry, or from special (SEEH) has been undertaken as an independent in- supplementary sources (usually annually). quiry when the short-term industrial production inquiry was converted to a monthly survey. Prior to Non-response rate March 1985 the estimates of earnings and hours re- Employment: imputed employment estimates for lated to firms with three or more employees. non-respondent establishments are made based on Preliminary estimates trends in employment for respondents to the quarterly inquiry of a similar size and activity. Provisional figures are published 4 months after the end of the reference quarter. Final figures are pub- Hours, Earnings: approximately 30 per cent of es- lished 7 months after the end of the quarter. tablishments covered by the SEEH fail to respond. The estimates for a non-respondent establishment are Revision policy compiled by updating the preceding quarter’s averages using the corresponding change shown by re- Advance notice of major changes in methodology is spondent establishments in the same NACE sector x given in the previous quarter's release. Revisions are Size cell. In the case of incomplete quarterly returns, identified in the regular quarterly release as they oc- the full details are imputed on the basis of the last cur, as are minor changes in methodology. complete return from the same establishment. In particular, the quarterly employment estimates are updated when the results of the annual Census of In- DATA MANIPULATION dustrial Establishments become available. There are no revisions made to the hours and earnings data. Aggregations/Grossing up Timeliness Aggregation method Four months after the end of the reference quarter. Hours worked and Earnings indices are compiled using an annual September chain-linked Laspeyres Release dates formula based on a matched respondent sample. A quarter-ahead advance release calendar showing Establishments in each size x NACE group which release dates on a "no later than" basis is issued by the responded in both the current and preceding Septem- CSO at the end of each month. In addition, a sched- ber are identified. The ratio of average earnings (or ule of precise release dates for those statistics that are hours) in the current quarter over the proceeding to be published by the CSO during the following September is calculated for each of the employee week is issued each Thursday by fax.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 147 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 IRELAND Labour - Employment Indicators from administrative (a) Part-time (economic reasons) sources and the Labour Force Labour - Unemployment Survey (LFS) (b) Registered unemployed (c) Rate (d) Short-term

SOURCE Labour Force Survey data are published in the national source by: Source agencies - industry; Registered unemployment figures described in this - occupation; section are compiled from the ‘Live Register’ (count -age; of registered unemployed) by the Department of So- cial Welfare and processed for publication by the - duration of job search; Central Statistics Office (CSO). The CSO is also - full-time/part-time); responsible for the unemployment rate which also - gender. uses results of the Labour Force Survey. Methodological references Key national publication sources A detailed methodological description of the household survey is published in CSO, Labour Force Sur- Unemployment figures are available in the CSO pub- vey. lications, Live Register Statement, and on diskette; A description of the methodology for calculating the Series title in national publications unemployment rate is published in Live Register Statement. (a) Persons working on systematic short-time basis registered at local employment offices excluded Run of data available from the Live Register; The Live Register Unemployment series started in (b) Total persons on the Live Register. January 1967. (c) Seasonally adjusted standardised unemployment rate. The Unemployment rate based on ILO guidelines was (d) Persons on the Live Register classified by dura- introduced in June 1992. tion of continuous registration - under 3 months. The annual household LFS has been carried out since Breakdown available 1983. Live Register data are published in the national Periodicity source by: Part-time (economic reasons), Registered unem- -age; ployed, Unemployment rate: data are compiled on a - gender; monthly basis; - duration of registration; Short-term unemployment: data are compiled at the - occupation; end of April and October. - flows on/off the register.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 148 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Unit of measurement which time they would be included in the register if they become unemployed. Employable dis- Part-time (economic reasons), Registered unem- abled persons may be included in the register un- ployed: number of persons; der the same conditions as the able-bodied. Unemployment rate: percentage; Persons fulfilling the conditions for unemployment but who are also in receipt of pensions other Short-term unemployment: original data in number of than retirement pensions are included; those persons converted to an index (1990=100) by the drawing a retirement pension before the normal OECD. retirement age and who have registered as seeking full-time work may be included up to age 65, al- CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE though the incentive to register is small since they would not be eligible for unemployment benefit. Definition Persons responsible for the loss of their last job or (a) The data for Part-time (economic reasons) refers who leave their employment without just cause to those persons registered at local employment are disqualified from unemployment benefit for a offices as working on a systematic short-time ba- set period but will be included in the Live Regis- sis. The data refer to the count at the end of the ter if they sign on for credited social insurance reference month. contributions. Persons seeking an industrial (b) Registered unemployed. The Live Register com- training placement through the employment serv- prises persons under 65 years of age who are reg- ice are included if they are entitled to benefit. Per- istered at Local Offices of the Department of So- sons on temporary or indefinite lay-off without cial Welfare as without full-time work, capable of pay are included. work and are available for full-time employment. (c) Unemployment rate refers to the seasonally ad- There is no legal definition of full-time but it is justed standardised unemployment rate (SUR) and generally taken to mean a working week of 40 is the number of persons unemployed expressed as hours. Part-time (working up to 3 days per week) a per cent of the total labour force (equal to un- seasonal and casual workers entitled to Unem- employed plus the employed). The definitions of ployment Assistance (UA)/ Unemployment persons employed and unemployed used to calcu- Benefit (UB) are included if they meet the statu- late the SUR are in accordance with those rec- tory conditions. ommended by ILO guidelines. The Live Register comprises the following The SUR for a particular month is the standard- classes: ised unemployment level as a per cent of the labour force, the latter is estimated on the ILO basis − All claimants for Unemployment Benefit, from the most recent LFS ( carried out in April of excluding systematic short-time workers. each year). The standardised level of unemploy- − Applicants for Unemployment Assistance, ment is calculated by multiplying the seasonally excluding small-holders and self-employed adjusted Live Register figure by the ratio of the persons. number of persons unemployed on an ILO basis (as measured by the most recent Labour Force − Other registrants including applicants for Survey) to the number of persons on the Live credited Social Welfare contributions but ex- Register for the corresponding April. cluding those directly involved in an industrial dispute. In the LFS, the unemployed are defined as all persons, who, during the week before the survey, Re-entrants to the workforce may remain in the were without work, currently available for work registered unemployed if they have paid or been and had taken specific steps to find work in the credited with at least one contribution during the preceding four weeks. The employed are defined past two years. It is not necessary for them to be in the LFS as all persons aged 15 years and over entitled to benefit, although many re-entrants may who indicate their usual situation with regard to not bother to register because of the limitations on employment as being at work. entitlements to benefits. Persons who have not paid contributions for more than two years must (d) Short-term unemployment measures those persons work at least for the required 26 weeks in insur- on the Live Register who have been unemployed able employment to re-qualify for benefit, at

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 149 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 for a continuous duration of less than three International comparability months. The official unemployment rate figure (SUR) corre- Coverage sponds with ILO definitions.

Reference period DATA COLLECTION Live Register data refer to the end of each month; Reporting method The reference period of the LFS is April of each year; Live Register data is a monthly count of administra- Unemployment by duration is available at the end of tive data. April and October. Unemployment/total labour force according to ILO Geographical coverage definitions are collected from a household sample survey by face-to-face interviews. The whole country.

Statistical population Survey details Live Register: All applicants for unemployment This section describes the Labour Force Survey. benefit, unemployment assistance or persons register- Description of questionnaire ing with local employment offices for reasons of entitlement to social security in the age range 16-64. The questionnaire is designed for completion by the interviewer and is divided into two parts. Part A is The Labour Force Survey covers the usually resident asked of all respondents and additionally Part B cov- population, aged 15 years and over, of all private and ers questions on private households only. Section A non-private households, in the State including the has the following sub-sections: emigration; details of armed forces. individuals (sex, date of birth, nationality, etc.); em- Particular exclusions ployment status (usual situation with regard to employment, nature of business, injury, illness and dis- Excluded from Live Register data are the following ability over the past 12 months); details of principal categories of persons: young persons seeking an in- job held (hours, shifts, night working, etc.); details of dustrial training placement; state retirement or old any second jobs held (occupation, hours, etc.); and age pensioners; persons taking part in state-assisted details of those currently looking for work (type of training or job creation measures; and persons on work sought, duration of search, methods, etc.). Fi- strike may or may not be included depending on the nally all respondents are asked about their highest circumstances. level of education attained, education or training received during the previous four weeks and if so, de- STANDARDS tails of its duration. Part B of the questionnaire is for private households only and enquires about the type Standard systems / framework of accommodation and related issues (e.g., number of rooms, rent, etc.). The Labour Force Survey results are compiled according to two classifications: Survey description (1) National Principal Economic Status (PES); and The LFS uses a two-stage sample design with eight (2) ILO recommended basis. primary strata as follows: county boroughs; suburbs of county boroughs; mixed urban/rural areas border- Standard classifications / nomenclatures ing on the suburbs of county boroughs; towns and their environs with population of 5 000 or over; Industry: national industrial classification as used in mixed urban/rural areas bordering on the environs of the 1991 Census of population; larger towns; towns and their environs with popula- Occupation: national occupational classification as tion of 1 000 to 5 000; mixed urban/rural areas; and used in the 1991 Census of Population. rural areas. The primary sampling units (PSUs) are based on the Enumeration Areas (EAs) defined for the 1991 Census of Population. The EAs comprise clusters of between 75 and 300 private households,

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 150 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 with the smaller clusters constituting the PSUs. A DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS total of 171 sub-strata are selected. For private households a systematic sample is selected in each Breaks in time series PSU from an up-to-date list of private households Commencing in May 1992, the coverage of the Live compiled by interviewers. The sampling interval Register was modified: varies from 1 in 12 to 1 in 5, depending on the number of private households currently in the inter- − The category “Systematic Short-time Work- viewer’s area. There were approximately 47 000 ers” which was already excluded was ex- private household addresses interviewed in the 1995 tended to include persons on week-on/week- survey. For non-private households, a sample of insti- off working arrangement, who worked for tutions with 15 or fewer residents is surveyed in each 50 per cent or more of their normal working selected PSU, with all large institutions (i.e., those days in the previous four-week period. with more than 15 residents) included. A total of 275 − In addition to UA small-holders who were al- non-private households were included in the 1995 ready excluded, other self-employed persons sample. who were in receipt of UA were also re- Non-response rate moved from the count. Response rates are consistently high with a figure of Corroborating data 96 per cent in 1995. There is no action taken in the event of non-responding households. Following concern over the growing gap between the unemployment rates derived from claimant records and from the Labour Force Survey, a special analysis DATA MANIPULATION was carried out by the CSO in 1996 to determine the characteristics of this discrepancy. This revealed that Aggregations/Grossing up almost 44 per cent of the sample of persons on the Grossing up method Live Register did not describe their status as unemployed in the LFS (using the principal economic The samples of private and non-private households status classification). This proportion rose to 50 per are separately grossed to the level of population. For cent according to the ILO classification which in- private households, the first stage grossing factor is volves a detailed sequence of questions to establish the inverse of the sampling fraction in each PSU ad- employment status. Of this group, significant propor- justed for non-response etc. The second stage factor tions indicated that they had full-time jobs (some of is the ratio of the total private household population in which were regarded as permanent), or were working the stratum to the private household population in the part-time or not strictly economically active (and selected PSU’s in the stratum as returned in the 1991 neither looking for or wanting work). The analysis Census of Population. also found that there were some people who were Small institutions are grossed in a way similar to that unemployed according to the LFS definition but were for private households. The grossing factor for large not on the Live Register. Overall the results con- institutions is the ratio of the usually resident popula- firmed that the only reliable source of unemployment tion to the number interviewed. At a second stage the date is the LFS. grossing factor is the ratio of the institutional population in the planning region to that in the selected Timeliness PSUs in the Planning region using the 1991 census Preliminary summary estimates from the LFS based figures. Finally, population totals are constrained on the national PES status classification, and distin- within each planning region by age and sex to agree guishing broad sectoral details of persons at work are to independent population estimates. published within six months of the reference period (in October) and the final detailed results are issued Seasonal and other adjustments the following April. The additive option of the X-11 variant of the US The Labour Force Survey will be conducted on a Bureau of the Census Method II is used. It is applied quarterly basis from June 1997 onwards, using com- in January and July of each year. puter assisted interviewing technology which will allow the detailed results to be published within three months of the end of the quarter.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 151 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Release dates CSO at the end of each month. In addition, a schedule of precise release dates for those statistics that are A quarter-ahead advance release calendar showing to be published by the CSO during the following release dates on a "no later than" basis is issued by the week is issued each Thursday by fax.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 152 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 IRELAND Labour - Other Indicators from administrative Labour disputes - time lost and other sources

SOURCE The statistics include the following types of strikes and lockouts: constitutional or official strikes; unof- Source agency ficial strikes; sympathetic strikes; political or protest Data are compiled by the Central Statistics Office. strikes; general strikes; work stoppages initiated by employers; rotating or revolving strikes; and sit-ins Key national publication sources where production is lost. Data are available in the CSO publications Irish Sta- The basic unit of measurement used to record a strike tistical Bulletin (March or June issues). and in Statis- or lockout is the case of dispute. The resumption of a strike or lockout that is interrupted but later resumes, tical Release: Industrial Disputes. still due to the same case of dispute, is considered to be the same strike or lockout regardless of the time Series title in national publications lapse. All work stoppages resulting from a single Industrial Disputes: disputes in progress during the case of dispute, occurring in different establishments quarter, total days lost. of the same enterprise or in establishments of different enterprises, whether simultaneously or at different Breakdown available times, are counted as only one strike or lockout.

The following classifications are available in the na- Coverage tional source: - cause of dispute; Reference period - industry; Quarterly data refer to disputes beginning in the - economic units involved; quarter plus those continuing from the previous quar- - workers involved; ter. - duration of dispute (workdays lost). Geographical coverage Run of data available The whole country. Data are available on the MEI database from 1992. Statistical population Periodicity All industries in the public and private sectors. Data are compiled on a quarterly basis. Particular exclusions

Unit of measurement The minimum threshold for inclusion in the statistics is a duration of at least one day or aggregate time not Time not worked in working days. worked of at least 10 work days.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE STANDARDS Definition International comparability An industrial dispute is defined as a temporary stop- The definition of industrial dispute used is taken di- page of work willfully effected by a group of workers rectly from the ILO recommendations. or by one or more employers with a view to enforcing a demand.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 153 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 DATA COLLECTION DATA MANIPULATION Reporting method Other manipulations The CSO obtains information from the Monitoring In calculating days lost it is assumed that work would Unit of the Department of Enterprise and Employ- have continued if no dispute had occurred. No allow- ment, Local Employment Offices of the Department ance is made for loss of work from unemployment or of Social Welfare and from direct enquiries to em- other causes (such as bad weather) which might have ployers following newspaper or other media reports. occurred even if there had been no dispute. Thus There is no legal obligation on employers or trade days lost are calculated by multiplying the number of unions to report the occurrence of a dispute. persons involved by the number of normal working days during which they were involved in the dispute. Also, persons working, for example, approximately 40 hours per week are assumed to be working the equivalent of a five day week even if the work is spread in shifts over more than five days.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 154 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 ITALY Labour - Employment Indicators from the Labour (a) Total employment * (b) Industry including construc- Force Survey (LFS) tion Labour - Unemployment (c) Total (d) Rate

SOURCE Run of data available Source agency The labour force survey was first held in 1959.

Data are compiled by the National Institute of Statistics Periodicity (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica - ISTAT). Data are compiled on a quarterly basis. Key national publication sources Unit of measurement Data are available in ISTAT, Bollettino Mensile di Sta- tistica, and via the Internet. Total Employment: original figures expressed as number of persons are converted to an index by OECD. Series title in national publications Unemployment, Employment in industry: number of (a) Occupati totale; persons; (b) Occupati dichiarati, industria; Unemployment rate: percentage. (c) Persone in cerca di occupazione, totale; (d) Persone in cerca di occupazione % forze di lavoro. CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Breakdown available Definition Employment figures are published in the national source (a) The Employed comprise all persons aged 15 and by: over who, during the reference week, stated that they were in employment, even if they were temporarily - industry; absent from work due to illness or accident, vacation - employment status; or annual leave, strike or labour dispute, economic - level of education/qualification; recession or any other reason. Also included are - gender; persons who have stated that they were not em- - age; in addition ployed, but had performed at least one hour of work during the reference week. Also considered as em- Unemployment figures are published by: ployed are the following categories: persons who have been laid off; full and part-time workers seek- - level of education/qualification; ing other work during the reference week; persons - gender; who performed some work for pay or profit during - duration; the reference week while being retired and receiving -age. a pension or being registered as jobseekers at an employment office or receiving unemployment Methodological references benefits; full or part-time students working full or part-time; paid or unpaid apprentices and trainees; The implementation of new methodologies is reported participants in employment promotion schemes; in the annual publication ISTAT, Collana d'informazi- paid and unpaid family workers; private domestic one - Labour Force Survey. servants; members of producer co-operatives; ca-

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 155 reer military personnel and volunteer members of Statistical population the armed forces. The population aged 15 and over living in ordinary (b) Employment in industry covers persons employed in households and normally residing in Italy, including the mining, manufacturing, electricity, gas and wa- professional members of the armed forces. ter, and construction industries. (c) Unemployment covers the following categories: Particular exclusions − persons aged 15 and over who have lost their Excluded from the household survey are persons who jobs due to redundancy, termination of fixed- have temporarily migrated abroad, permanent members term contract or dismissal, have not worked of institutions and conscripted members of the armed during the reference week and have stated ex- forces. Excluded from the economically active are the plicitly that they were seeking paid employment following: persons engaged in their own housework; and were immediately (i.e., within 15 days) and persons doing unpaid community or social work. available for work; or that they had already found paid work which was to commence at a STANDARDS date later than the survey date; or that they had made arrangements to engage in a non-wage Standard classifications / nomenclatures earning independent activity (own-account Industry: NACE. workers) which was to commence at a later date than that of the survey; DATA COLLECTION − persons seeking their first job and who have never been in paid employment or self- Reporting units employed, or who have voluntarily stopped working for a period longer than one year and Households identified from the results of the most recent currently satisfy one of the above conditions for population census which is updated on a regular basis. being counted as unemployed; Reporting method − other persons seeking employment, such as housewives, students, retired persons, etc., who Information is collected during the week following the claim to be actively seeking work and are im- reference week through personal interviews with house- mediately available for work. Also included are hold members. persons who have lost their job for reasons other than redundancy, termination of fixed-term Survey details contract or dismissal. Description of questionnaire − also included are full or part-time students The questionnaire is designed for completion by the seeking full or part-time work and seasonal interviewer. In January 1984, a new survey question- workers awaiting seasonal work. naire was introduced which complies with the EU la- In all cases the reference period used for job search is bour force survey requirements in terms of structure, etc. the four weeks preceding the survey. Master list (d) The Unemployment rate is defined as the number of unemployed persons expressed as a per cent of the Municipal population register. labour force. Labour force comprises the unem- Survey description ployed plus the employed. The sample is drawn in two stages: Primary sampling Coverage units (PSUs) are the municipalities and secondary Reference period sampling units are registered households. One week which is usually the first holiday-free week of In the first stage, a sample of approximately 1 400 mu- the survey months of January, April, July and October. nicipalities is selected based on a population of 8 000 municipalities in Italy. A population threshold is set for Geographical coverage each province. All municipalities with a population above the threshold are selected. Below the threshold, The whole country.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 156 two municipalities from each stratum are chosen with a Breaks in time series probability proportional to the size of population. The survey methodology and the concepts used under- At the second stage, within each selected municipality, went major modifications in 1977. In January 1984, a households are selected by systematic sampling from the new questionnaire was adopted. Since July 1986, the municipal register. The sampling fraction varies from survey questionnaire has included a question on the reg- municipality to municipality in order to make the sam- istration of unemployed persons with a public employ- ple self-weighting within each geographic region. ment agency. The statistical definition of persons seek- 75 516 households are selected in all. ing employment was modified to exclude from the cate- The PSUs are not rotated. However, a municipality gory of the unemployed such persons as those having which, after a number of surveys can no longer provide claimed to be seeking employment but who had not a new sample of households, is replaced. Rotation of taken concrete steps to find a job. Prior to April 1986, households follows a 2-2-2 rotation plan. Households these persons would have been classified as among per- are interviewed in two consecutive quarters then are sons seeking employment. In July 1990, the basic sam- interviewed again in the same two quarters a year later. ple was restructured to cover 73 000 families living in 1 327 municipalities. In 1991, the method of weighting Non-response rate sample data was revised. From October 1992, the survey methodology was revised and the questions rede- Adjustments are made in the weighting process to take fined according to international standards: a new defi- account of non-responding households. Households that nition of unemployment was adopted to include only could not be interviewed owing to absence or refusal are those who were actively looking for a job within the 30 replaced by other households of similar composition and days preceding the survey and who were available for location. work. Questions were introduced to determine the ‘attitude’ of the respondent concerning his/her job Data manipulation search. In addition, the lower age limit of the labour force was raised from 14 to 15 years. Also in October Aggregations/Grossing up 1992 new coefficients were applied to gross up the Grossing up method population figures, by sex and age, taking account of the results of the 1991 census of population. These coeffi- The sample results are extrapolated stratum by stratum cients were applied back to 1991. and separately by age and sex, to the entire resident population (excluding permanent members of institu- Revision policy tions). The resident population at the survey date is The data are usually final when released and are not calculated beforehand by extrapolation from the most revised but after a major methodological revision, such recent data available to ISTAT, using the municipal as the one carried out in 1992, time series are revised registers. and published. Seasonal and other adjustments Corroborating data Data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD. The analysis of linkages and cross-checks with other employment data feed into the compilation of national DATA QUALITY accounts estimates. Sampling errors and their corrections Timeliness Sampling errors are published in all relevant ISTAT Data are available twelve weeks after the reference publications for the main indicators presented. week for the survey.

Other errors and their corrections Release dates Quality controls are conducted on a regular basis. For At the end of each year, ISTAT issues a calendar of each survey, statistics on non-sampling errors and the release dates for the forthcoming year. various checks carried out are documented.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 157 ITALY Labour - Other Indicators from administrative Labour disputes - time lost and other sources

SOURCE more employers which, during the reference month, led to a temporary work stoppage of any duration. Source agency Data are compiled by ISTAT. Coverage

Key national publication sources Reference period The monthly data refer to disputes beginning during Data are available in the annual publication ISTAT, the month plus those continuing from the previous Lavoro e Retribuzioni; and in ISTAT, Bollettino month. mensile di statistica. Geographical coverage Series title in national publications The whole country. Conflitti originali dal rapporto di lavoro: ore di lavoro perdute (migliaia). Statistical population All industries in the public and private sectors are Breakdown available included. The following classifications are available in the na- Particular exclusions tional source: Not included are those indirectly affected by the dis- - cause of dispute; pute such as workers laid off. Also excluded are - industry; those absent on the day of the stoppage for reasons - number of workers involved; other than a strike. Working to rule and overtime - number of strikes; bans are not included in the statistics. - time not worked; - geographical area. DATA COLLECTION Run of data available Reporting units Data are available from 1955. The basic unit of measurement used to record a strike Periodicity or lockout is the case of dispute. A strike or lockout interrupted but later resumed, still due to the same Data are compiled on a monthly basis. case of dispute, is counted as a continuation of the same action but only if the interruption does not ex- Unit of measurement ceed a period of one year. Work stoppages resulting from the same case of dispute, occurring simultane- Working hours lost. ously in different establishments of the same enterprise or in establishments of different enterprises, are CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE also counted as one strike or lockout. Those occurring at different times in different establishments of Definition the same enterprise or in establishments of different Data refer to workhours lost in industrial disputes enterprises, still due to the same case of dispute, are (strikes and lockouts). These are defined as a dispute also counted as one strike or lockout. between one or more groups of workers and one or

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 158 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 Time not worked is measured in terms of workhours DATA QUALITY and is the product of the number of workers involved and the duration. The shorter working hours of part- Other errors and their corrections time workers are taken into account but overtime is Not all stoppages will come to the attention of the not taken into account. local police.

Reporting method Release dates Information on stoppages is collected by the police at Data are available 70 days after the reference month. the provincial level and passed to ISTAT for aggregation and publication. There is no legal obligation to report the occurrence of a strike or lockout.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 159 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 ITALY Wages Indicators from administrative Hourly rates and other sources

SOURCE CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Source agency Definition Data are compiled by ISTAT. The index of contractual hourly rates is based on annual earnings per worker and length of the Key national publication sources work year as stipulated by collective labour agreements. It is calculated by dividing the index Data are available in ISTAT, Bollettino Mensile di of yearly wages agreed per employee by the index of Statistica and via the Internet. contractual hours worked over the year. The index presented in MEI refers to the wage rate for wage Series title in national publications earners in industry (including construction). Con- Numeri indici delle retribuzioni orarie contrattuali, tractual wages in industry cover in addition to industria, operai. the basic wage, regular bonuses and premium pay established in the national collective such Breakdown available as long service payments, other monthly or annual supplements, and additional months Hourly rates are available in the national source by: pay (13th month). Excluded are incentive premiums, premiums for working conditions -employment status (skilled, manual, and non- and those normally payable by the enterprise manual employees); or establishment. The index is calculated on a -industry. monthly basis. All non-monthly payments are Methodological references distributed equally over all months of the year. Changes due to new contracts are taken into A methodological description is published in Bollet- account only when, for the private sector, tino Mensile di Statistica. ISTAT has received a copy of the agreement An overview of the methodology is published annu- and, for the public sector, new terms of agree- ally in ISTAT, Lavoro e retribuzioni. Detailed infor- ment appear in the Official Gazette. mation on the methodological changes implemented is also disseminated in ISTAT, Informazioni. Coverage Reference period Run of data available The whole month. Data are available from 1955. Geographical coverage Periodicity The whole country. Data are compiled on a monthly basis. Statistical population Unit of measurement Labour agreements covering virtually all sections and Index (base year 1995=100). sub-sections of the NACE Rev. 1.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 160 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 STANDARDS lent figure in the base period. Aggregation to higher level (type of worker, division and sector of activity) Standard classifications / nomenclatures uses the Laspeyres formula with weights equal to the Industry uses the national classification by economic relevant total wage bill for the relevant category. activity (ISTAT/91). DATA QUALITY DATA COLLECTION Breaks in time series Reporting method A new national base year was introduced in 1991 Data are taken from national labour agreements and, which took account of the wage and employment for the agricultural and construction sectors, from the structure pertaining to 1980. Concerning employ- relevant provincial labour agreements. Data on actual ment, the new index also takes account of the new earnings are collected for large enterprises in industry classification by economic activity (ISTAT/91) and (those employing 500 or more persons) by means of by employment status. In addition only full-time the monthly Surveys of Large Enterprises of Services workers are covered; this was not the case previously. and Industry. Timeliness DATA MANIPULATION Data are usually available within one month of the reference month. Aggregations /Grossing up Release dates Aggregation method At the end of each year, ISTAT issues a calendar of Elementary indices are calculated by dividing the release dates for the forthcoming year. absolute figure of the reference period by the equiva-

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS 161 SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997 LUXEMBOURG Labour - Employment Indicators from the Monthly (a) Industry: employees Statistics on Industrial Activity Labour - Other (b) Monthly hours of work Wages (c) Monthly earnings

SOURCE Unit of measurement Source agency Indices. Data are compiled by the Central Service for Statistics and Economic Studies (Service Centrale de la Statis- CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE tique et des Etudes Economiques - STATEC). Definition Key national publication sources (a) Industry: employees. The data cover wage earners and salaried employees. Wage earners are defined Data are available in the following STATEC publica- as manual workers with an employment contract ei- tions: Indicateurs rapides - Série B, Annuaire statis- ther paid by the hour, a piece-rate, or a daily rate. tique, and Note de conjoncture. Wage earners paid on a monthly basis are also included. Excluded from this category are overseers. Series title in national publications Salaried employees include overseers, technicians, (a) Ensemble de l’industrie : nombre de salariés; managers and members of personnel. (b) Ensemble de l’industrie : volume de travail presté (b) Data refer to the total number of Hours worked dur- (heures-ouvriers travaillées); ing the reference month by wage earners and ap- (c) Ensemble de l’industrie : salaires et traitements. prentices. They include hours paid, less hours paid but not worked for reasons such as sickness, mater- Breakdown available nity, vacation etc. They cover normal working hours, overtime, Sunday work and night work etc. Employment data are regularly classified in the national (c) Data refer to Monthly earnings (before deductions source by : for taxes, social security contributions, etc.) of all - industry; employees in industry. Earnings comprise regular - employee category. pay as well as overtime and irregular payments such as cash payments, (for vacations, removals), various Methodological references allowances (housing, cost of living, family ), bonuses, value of share issues, other premiums, and Methodological information can be found in Annuaire payments for time not worked (e.g. paid holidays, Statistique and Bulletin du STATEC No 2-96. sick leave, etc.).

Run of data available Coverage

Employee data are available since 1970; Reference period Hours and Earnings figures are available since 1980. Employees: end of the month; Periodicity Hours, Earnings: the whole month. Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

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162 Classification coverage Survey details

Sections C+D+E of the economic activity classification Description of questionnaire NACE. Rev. 1. The questionnaire is in three parts. The first section Particular exclusions requests information on production. Information on the Excluded from Employee figures are unpaid family numbers of wage earners, apprentices and salaried workers, is reported in the second section, together with workers and home workers. details on earnings and hours worked. The third part Excluded from earnings are reimbursement of travel deals with turnover and orders. expenses, purchase of tools, and protective clothing. Master list STANDARDS STATEC’s Register of Enterprises. Standard classifications / nomenclatures DATA MANIPULATION Industry uses the economic activity classification NACE Rev.1. Aggregations / Grossing up Aggregation method DATA COLLECTION The calculation of indices is carried out in two stages. Reporting units At the first stage, elementary indices are calculated for the elementary headings of NACE, by summing abso- Establishments. lute figures for each enterprise within these headings. Aggregate indices are then calculated for higher levels Reporting method of industry using the Laspeyres formula with weights Sample survey of 1 976 establishments. The sample ac- equal to value added in the base year. counts for around 90% of total value added in industry.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997

163 LUXEMBOURG Labour - Employment Indicators from administrative Iron and steel: wage earners and other sources

SOURCE Unit of measurement Source agency Number of wage earners on the payroll. Data are compiled by STATEC. CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Key national publication sources Definition Data corresponding to all employees are published in Data refer to all wage earners in the iron and steel indus- Indicateurs rapides - Série C, STATEC. try. The MEI series which refers to wage earners only is not published in the national source. Coverage

Run of data available Reference period Data have been compiled since 1940. End of the month. Geographical coverage Periodicity Data refer to the concept of domestic employment, i.e. Data are compiled on a monthly basis. persons working within the territory of the grand Duchy, whether resident or not.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997

164 LUXEMBOURG Labour - Unemployment Indicators from administrative (a) Registered unemployed and other sources Labour - Other (b) Unfilled vacancies

SOURCE CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Source agencies Definition The Labour Administration (Administration de l’Emploi (a) To be counted as Unemployed an individual must be - ADEM) is responsible for collecting the data, which a resident of Luxembourg without work and seeking are then transmitted to STATEC for publication. work of at least 20 hours per week through the La- bour Administration and immediately available for Key national publication sources such work. Registration as a jobseeker at the Labour Administration is voluntary but is a prerequisite for Unemployment figures are available in STATEC publi- receipt of unemployment benefit. To remain regis- cations, Note de la Conjoncture and Indicateurs rapides tered a jobseeker must report regularly to the em- - Série L. ployment office of the Labour Administration, with different rules for those receiving and not receiving Series title in national publications benefit. (a) Demandes d’emploi non satisfaites; (b) Information relates to those Vacancies notified to the (b) Offres d’emploi non satisfaites. employment offices of the Labour Administration and remaining unfilled at end of each month. The Breakdown available declaration of job vacancies to the Employment Of- fices is obligatory. Unemployment figures are regularly published in the national source by: Coverage

- gender; Reference period -age. End of the month. In addition to the series described here, the number of vacancies notified during the month are published in the Geographical coverage national source. The whole of Luxembourg.

Run of data available Statistical population Unemployment: data are available from 1972; All unemployed persons in the age range 16-64 who reside in Luxembourg and who are registered as unem- Vacancies: data are available from 1960. ployed. Periodicity Particular exclusions Data are compiled on a monthly basis. Registered unemployed: the following groups are deleted from the register and are therefore excluded from Unit of measurement the count: Unemployment: number of persons; - jobseekers temporarily unable to work, for more than one month; because of leave, illness, etc. Vacancies: number of jobs.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997

165 (Recipients of unemployment benefit who be- DATA COLLECTION come unable to work remain on the register as jobseekers); Reporting method - participants in job creation measures organised Monthly count of records at the employment offices of by official organisations; the Labour Administration. - unemployed persons who refuse to fulfill register maintenance requirements; DATA MANIPULATION - unemployed persons with any temporary activity; - jobseekers who commit fraud or make false Seasonal and other adjustments statements. Data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997

166 NETHERLANDS Labour - Employment Indicators from the Labour (a) Total (b) Industry including construc- Accounts tion (c) Market services (d) Part-time

SOURCE Run of data available Source agency Data are available since 1987.

Data are compiled by Statistics Netherlands. Periodicity Key national publication sources Data are compiled on a quarterly basis.

Data are available in Statistics Netherlands, Sociaal- Unit of measurement economische Maandstatistiek. Number of jobs of employees. Series title in national publication (a) Banen van werknemers; CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE (b) Banen van werknemers: banen in industrie en bou- Definition wnijverheid; (c) Banen van werknemers: commerciële dienstverlen- (a) Total employment: data refer to the total number of ing; jobs of employees in the economy. They are derived (d) Banen van werknemers - deeltijd. from the Labour Accounts which use a combination of sources, including the labour force and establish- Breakdown available ment surveys. (b) Industry: employees. Data refer to employees as The Labour Accounts give an overall view of the labour defined under (a) in the mining, manufacturing, market. Related figures are : electricity, gas and water, and construction indus- - labour volume in man-years; tries, corresponding to divisions C, D, E and F of the - labour volume in hours worked. national industrial activity classification SBI 93. Jobs of employees are available in the national source (c) Employees in market services. Data refer to em- by: ployees as defined under (a) in the distributive trades, transport and communication, financial serv- - industry; ices, and other services industries, corresponding to - gender; divisions G through K of the national industrial ac- - part-time/full-time. tivity classification SBI 93. Methodological references (d) Part-time employment: data refer to employees who do not work for a full day or week but who have a Explanatory notes are given in Sociaal-economische fixed number of working hours. They exclude per- Maandstatistiek. For a more complete methodological sons working for temporary employment agencies or description see Statistics Netherlands, Labour Accounts as temporary replacements or who are available on 1989-1992, or Leunis W P and Altena J W (1996) La- stand-by. bour Accounts in the Netherlands 1987-1993: How to Cope with Fragmented Macro Data in Official Statis- tics, (International Statistical Review, Vol. 64:1, pp 1- 22).

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167 Coverage The next section describes the Household Labour Force Survey Reference period Data are quarterly averages. Reporting units

Geographical coverage Persons living in households. The whole country. Reporting method Statistical population Interviews are carried out by a permanent team of trained personnel who enter responses directly into port- All employees. able computers which are later fed into the computer network of Statistics Netherlands. All households in the STANDARDS sample receive an introductory letter inviting them to agree to an interview at a certain time and date. Inter- Standard systems / framework views are largely uniformly distributed over any month. The Labour Accounts process is essentially a way of overcoming the inconsistencies in sources of informa- Survey details tion on ostensibly the same indicator (such as employment) but derived from different sources (i.e., estab- Description of questionnaire lishment surveys, household surveys or administrative Questions relate to (among others) employment and data). The accounting process attempts to reconcile the unemployment status, age, sex, occupation, education methodological, definitional and other differences from and economic activity. the alternative sources through harmonisation leading to the achievement of full coverage and the minimisation Master list of measurement errors. List of addresses provided by the Post Office.

Standard classifications / nomenclatures Survey description Industry: the national economic activity classification The sampling frame consists of a complete list of ad- SBI 93 which is close to NACE 1993. dresses throughout the country. Addresses are sorted by postcode and the list is updated twice a year at the time when the sample addresses are selected. The sample is DATA COLLECTION based on a stratified multistage design with a monthly The Labour Accounts are based on a combination of sampling fraction of 1 in 617, i.e. a 2 per cent sample on different sources: a yearly basis. Interviews are largely uniformly distributed over any month. The sample size is 12 000 ad- - Household Labour Force Survey; dresses per month, except for July and August when the - Establishment surveys; size is reduced to 6 000. Municipalities are selected in a - Administrative sources; first stage and assembled into 80 strata. About 200 mu- Employment statistics are compiled using data from the nicipalities with more than 18 000 inhabitants are per- different surveys and administrative records by means of manent primary sampling units. A sample of the re- statistical integration in which different stages are dis- maining municipalities is selected within the strata with tinguished: a probability proportional to their size and the sample is subsequently retained for one or more consecutive - Harmonisation: this consists of correcting for months. differences in definition and classifications; The second stage involves the systematic selection of - Extension to full coverage; addresses in the municipalities selected from the first - Minimisation of measurement errors: a sys- stage. A minimum cluster of 12 addresses is chosen tematic search for errors is carried out by com- from a municipality. Each address has an indication of paring data from different sources; the number of delivery points (usually each delivery - Balancing: relatively small adjustments are point corresponds to a single household). Because made to the data to eliminate remaining dis- households living at the same address are expected to crepancies; resemble each other, there is a possibility of over-

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997

168 sampling. Consequently, when a single delivery is indi- Annual Survey on Employment and Earnings (ASEE); cated, only half the households (and not more than questions relate to jobs of employees, full-time/part- three) are interviewed in order to reduce the cluster ef- time, sex, age and economic activity. In the Quarterly fect. Survey on Employment and Total Earnings (QSTE) information is collected on jobs of employees and eco- Non-response rate nomic activity. The non-response rate was on average around 40 per Master list cent in 1987, mostly due to refusal or absence from home of the respondent. Missing values are imputed in The General Business Register, which is a comprehen- batch, the replacement values being selected within sive register of all firms and institutions in the Nether- strata with a probability proportional to the size of the lands. response classes. The size of the response class is based on the distribution of the known results for the variables Survey description to be imputed. In the annual survey around 65 000 companies and institutions are approached. The survey is exhaustive for DATA MANIPULATION establishments with 100 or more employees and for companies employing less than 100 employees a sample Other manipulations is taken. The QSTE interviews around 28 000 companies and institutions per quarter. Post-stratification of the LFS results is applied in order to fit the sample distributions of sex, age and marital Non-response rate status to the corresponding population distributions. The weighting is carried out in two stages with each using The non-response rate is around 15 per cent. different cross-classifications of population characteristics. In the first stage all cases are cross-classified by DATA QUALITY nationality (i.e., Dutch and foreigners), sex, age and region. The estimates from the first stage provide the Sampling errors and their corrections input for the second stage. Here all cases are cross- The computerised entry of responses and the built-in classified in two ways using the same variables of sex, checks it offers is thought to reduce the likelihood of marital status, age and region. The two cross- errors. classifications are based on a different collapsing of the regional classification and the three remaining variables. The final weights are determined by iterative propor- Other errors and their corrections tional fitting of the two distributions used in the second Both sampling and non-sampling errors may occur, but stage. are minimised by way of statistical integration.

The next section describes the Establishment Revision policy survey Data in the press release are provisional. Final data are published three years later. Reporting units The establishment reports on the number of jobs. Timeliness Data are normally available approximately five months Reporting method after the end of the reference period, but this is expected to be reduced to three months pending the benefits from Mailed questionnaire. electronic data interchange techniques. Survey details Release dates Description of questionnaire A release calendar is published semi-annually. The Until 1991, the primary source for estimating the num- actual date of release is announced on the last business ber of jobs was the Statistics of Employed Persons Sur- day of the prior week. vey (SEP). Since 1991, this has been combined with the

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169 NETHERLANDS Wages Indicators from administrative Hourly rates: manufacturing and other sources

SOURCE ten years) about the collective agreements used and the distribution over the workforce groups. From this in- Source agency formation estimates are made for every relevant collec- Data are compiled by Statistics Netherlands. tive agreement showing the distribution of workers for the salary structure and points of highest density are Key national publication sources selected to develop a partial wage index. The resulting Data are available in Statistics Netherlands, Sociaal- partial indices are weighted together to obtain Laspeyres economische Maandstatistiek. wage indices for aggregates of economic activity. The current series uses 8 100 salary points laid down in 354 Series title in national publication collective agreements out of a total of over 900 agreements. Cao-lonen per uur: industrie. Coverage Breakdown available Wage data are available in the national source by: Reference period - industry; The whole month. - adults/juveniles. Geographical coverage Methodological references The whole country. Explanatory notes are given in Sociaal-economische Statistical population Maandstatistiek. Manufacturing industry covered by collective agree- Run of data available ments normally involving at least 500 employees. Data are available since 1990. STANDARDS Periodicity Standard classifications / nomenclatures Data are available on a monthly basis. Industry: SBI 93. Unit of measurement Index (1990=100). DATA COLLECTION Reporting method CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Administrative data on collective agreements. Definition Data refer to the basic wage rates of all employees ac- DATA QUALITY cording to collective agreements in the manufacturing Breaks in time series industry and include holiday allowances and other bonuses. The indices are derived from statistical units The industrial classification SBI 93 was introduced in which are a selection of well-defined points in the salary 1990. scheme (representing a contractual wage level for a certain group of occupations, combined with indications Revision policy for seniority, age or skill). The selection of these points The sample is revised every ten years. is determined by surveying establishments (once every

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170 NETHERLANDS Labour - Unemployment Indicators from administrative (a) Total sources and the Labour Force (b) Rate Survey

SOURCE Periodicity Source agencies The monthly figures are compiled as centered 3-month moving averages. Statistics Netherlands is responsible for compiling the statistics. The information on registered unemployment Unit of measurement is collected by the Public Employment Offices (PEO). (a) Unemployed: number of persons; Key national publication sources (b) Rate: percentage. Labour Force Survey results are available in the annual publication Statistics Netherlands, Enquête CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Beroepsbevolking; Definition Registered unemployment figures are published in Sta- tistics Netherlands, Sociaal-Economische Maandstatis- (a) The Unemployed include persons registered at the tiek. PEO, who do not have a job or are working fewer than 12 hours per week, are actively looking for Series title in national publication work, and are currently available for work (i.e. within two weeks). Included are persons without a Geregistreerde werkloosheid. job, are currently available for work who and who have accepted a job to start on a date subsequent to Breakdown available the day of the interview. Provided they satisfy the Unemployment figures based on registration with the basic definition for being unemployed, the following PEO are available in the national source by: categories would also be included in the figures: full and part-time students seeking full or part-time -age; work; unpaid apprentices and trainees and unpaid - gender; participants in employment promotion schemes; - educational level; seasonal workers waiting for agricultural or other - region. seasonal work; persons doing unpaid community or social work. Data are also published in the national source on the number of persons claiming unemployment benefits (b) The Unemployment rate is calculated as the unem- (monthly). ployed (described above) as a per cent of the total labour force. The total labour force is derived from Methodological references the Labour Force Survey (see earlier section for description of this survey) and includes the armed For a methodological description see Statistics Nether- forces. Total labour force is estimated at the start of lands, Labour Force Survey 1994. Explanatory notes the period and held constant throughout the current are also given in Sociaal-Economische Maandstatistiek. year.

Run of data available Coverage Data are available from 1988. Geographical coverage The whole country.

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171 Classification coverage For details on the Labour Force Survey see earlier section under ‘LABOUR - Employment’ Statistical population

Unemployment: persons aged 16-64 registered at the DATA MANIPULATION PEO who are out of work or work fewer than 12 hours per week and are available for a job of 12 hours or more Registration data from the PEO and the monthly labour per week. force survey are combined by matching records at the micro level. Published figures for unemployment are Labour force estimates used to calculate the rate cover three-month moving averages. all persons living in private households, including persons absent from the household for short periods be- Seasonal and other adjustments cause of their studies, holidays, illness, business trips, etc. The administratively derived data are seasonally adjusted by Statistics Netherlands. DATA COLLECTION DATA QUALITY Reporting method Timeliness Monthly count of registered unemployment at the PEO and the household Labour Force Survey. The administratively derived data are available within three weeks of the last month of the moving average.

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172 NETHERLANDS Labour - Other Indicators from the Quarterly Unfilled Vacancies Establishment Survey

SOURCE STANDARDS Source agency Standard classifications / nomenclatures Data are compiled by Statistics Netherlands. Industry: NACE; Occupation: ISCO-88; Key national publication sources Education: SOI 95 (Dutch classification of education).

Data are published in Statistics Netherlands, Sociaal- DATA COLLECTION Economische Maandstatistiek. Reporting units Series title in national publication The establishment. Vacatures. Reporting method Breakdown available Mailed questionnaire. Data are published in the national source by: Survey details - industry; - establishment size. Description of questionnaire Respondents are asked for the number of unfilled va- Run of data available cancies at the end of each quarter (a breakdown of vacancies by occupation and educational level is requested Quarterly figures are available from 1989, and annual once a year). Information is also requested on new va- figures for the years 1980 to 1988. cancies created during the reference quarter, and the number of vacancies filled during the reference quarter, Unit of measurement however this information is not published in MEI. Number of vacancies. Survey description About 28 000 companies and institutions are contacted. CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE The survey is full-scope for all establishments with 100 Definition or more employees, and a sample structured by sector and by size of establishment is used for all those estab- Data refer to vacancies remaining unfilled at the end of lishments with fewer than 100 employees. the reference period, identified in the quarterly survey of vacancies. The figures published in MEI exclude those Non-response rate vacancies in government and education. The non-response rate is about 15%.

Coverage DATA QUALITY Geographical coverage Breaks in the series The whole country. Prior to Q4 1993, vacancies in social workshops, and agencies for temporary and contractual staff, as well as Statistical population in government and education, are not counted. All economic activities and all sizes of establishments.

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173 NORWAY Labour - Employment Indicators from the Labour Force (a) Total employment * Sample Survey (LFS) (b) Part-time (c) Manufacturing Labour - Unemployment (d) Total (e) Rate (f) Short-term

SOURCE Unemployment statistics are available in the national source by: Source agency - gender; Data are compiled by Statistics Norway. -age; - main activity; Key national publication sources - method of job search; Data are available in the weekly, monthly and annual - duration of unemployment; publications of Statistics Norway, respectively Ukens - weekly hours wanted; Statistikk (weekly), Statistisk Månedshefte (monthly), - region. and Arbeidsmarkedsstatistikk. The results of the LFS are also available on diskette. Methodological references Comprehensive documentation on the LFS is published Series title in national publication in Statistics Norway, Notater 93/27. Methodological (a) Sysselsatte; information is also available in English in Arbeidsmark- (b) Sysselsatte: deltid; edsstatistikk. (c) Sysselsatte etter naering: industri; Run of data available (d) Arbeidsledige; The labour force survey started in the first quarter of (e) Arbeidsledige i prosent av arbeidsstyrken; 1972. (f) Arbeidssøkere uten arbeidsinntekt etter søkings varighet: 1-4 uker. Periodicity Breakdown available The survey from which the indicators are derived is carried out on a monthly basis, however, published results Employment statistics are available in the national refer to the quarter. source by: Unit of measurement - industry; - occupation; Employment, Unemployment: number of persons; - employment status; Unemployment rate: percentage; - level of education/qualifications; - hours worked; Short-term unemployment: raw data expressed as num- age; ber of persons are converted to an index by OECD. - gender; - marital status; - region.

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174 CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE month, except in July (third week) and in December (first week). Definition Geographical coverage (a) The Employed are all persons aged 16-74 who performed work for pay or profit for at least one hour The whole country. during the reference week. Included are persons temporarily absent from work due to illness or in- Statistical population jury, vacation or leave (annual, maternity/paternity, All persons aged 16-74 years, residing in the country educational), absence without leave, labour- and including members of the armed forces. management dispute, bad weather, mechanical breakdown, etc., provided those persons normally Particular exclusions have contractual working hours or are working Persons engaged in their own housework are excluded regularly as self-employed or unpaid family workers. from employment as are those doing unpaid community If the absence lasts more than 12 months, the person is classified as employed only if he or she still re- or social work and seasonal workers awaiting agricul- ceives pay or salary. Also classified as employed are tural or other seasonal work. professional and conscripted armed forces, and persons engaged by government measures to promote STANDARDS employment provided they receive wages. Standard classifications / nomenclatures (b) Part-time employment covers employed persons working between 1 and 36 hours per week. Industry: 1992 Norwegian SIC (comparable to ISIC); (c) Employment: manufacturing: data refer to persons Occupation: 1965 Standard Classification of Occupa- employed (as defined above) in the manufacturing tions in Norwegian Statistics; sector. Level of education/qualifications: 1973 Norwegian (d) The Unemployed are persons aged 16-74 who were Standard Classification of Education (comparable to not employed during the reference week, but who ISCED). had been trying to find work during the last four weeks and were available for work within two International comparability weeks. This definition includes persons on temporary lay-off with a formal job attachment, full or Concepts and definitions are in accordance with rec- part-time students seeking full or part-time work, ommendations given by the ILO. persons without a job and currently available for work who have made arrangements to start a new job on a date subsequent to the survey week and per- DATA COLLECTION sons who are still awaiting an answer from an em- Reporting units ployer after trying to find work for the last five to eight weeks and who are currently available for Households. work. (e) The Unemployment rate is defined as the number of Reporting method unemployed persons expressed as a per cent of the Data are collected by Statistics Norway’s permanent labour force. Labour force comprises the unem- survey team mostly by telephone interview (95 per cent) ployed plus the employed. and the remainder mostly by personal interview. The (f) The Short-term unemployed are those persons who fieldwork is performed during the two weeks around the have been seeking work for between one and four reference week. weeks. Coverage Survey details Description of questionnaire Reference period The questionnaire used has remained basically un- The reference period is a fixed week in each of the changed since 1988 (when information on working months of the quarter, normally the second week of each hours, underemployment and second jobs were added).

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997

175 Master list DATA QUALITY Central Population Register. Sampling errors and their corrections Survey description Sampling errors for quarterly figures are calculated and published. The sample is based on a two-staged design. Munici- palities, which are the primary sampling units, are di- Other errors and their corrections vided into 102 strata according to location, industrial structure and population size. Cities of more than No control is made during the fieldwork but errors iden- 30 000 inhabitants form separate strata. One primary tified from the questionnaires are followed up. Manual sampling unit is selected from each stratum. and automatic checks on the coding of questionnaires are made. For each municipality selected at the first stage, a register of addresses of household is established. A quarterly sample of households, representing around 24 000 per- Breaks in time series sons, is then randomly selected from this register. The following changes are likely to have affected the Overall sampling probability is equal for all households. series: The sample is rotated so that half the sample is identical - In 1975 a new estimation procedure was intro- in two subsequent surveys and half of the sample is duced which gave somewhat higher estimates identical in surveys held in the same quarter in two sub- for the total population and the employed; sequent years. Each household participates in the survey four times over a six-quarter period. - From the third quarter of 1976 a new questionnaire was introduced which led to higher esti- Non-response rate mates for family workers and employed persons temporarily absent from work; Adjustment is made for non-response using a correction factor to ensure consistency between units in sub groups - Up until the third quarter of 1978 persons who and table estimates and the figures derived from the were sick, disabled, pensioned or retired and Central Population Register. For the surveys conducted military conscripts were not asked whether they in 1994 and 1995 non-response varied from 5.0 % to needed or wished to have paid work. Since then 7.2 %. this question has been asked of all persons outside the labour force with the exception of military conscripts; DATA MANIPULATION - Since 1987 conscripts are included among the Aggregations/Grossing up employed. Also from that date all unpaid family workers who have worked for at least one Grossing up method hour during the reference week are also considered as employed; Sample data are grossed up to produce national estimates based on the principle that each person in the - From the first quarter of 1987 changes were sample represents several other persons in the overall introduced in the estimation procedure to re- population. Grossing up factors for 109 groups are cal- duce the standard deviation. This resulted in culated by post-stratification based on information from reduced estimates of employment for the pe- the Central Population Register, the Register of Em- riod 1980-86; ployees and the Tax Register. The 109 groups are de- - Since the second quarter of 1988 data are col- fined by the following characteristics: sex, age groups, lected monthly. The surveys are based on one registered employed, industry, non-registered unem- week each month of the quarter which leads to ployed, non-registered employed. somewhat higher estimates for the employed than previously; Seasonal and other adjustments - A new questionnaire was also introduced in the The data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD. second quarter of 1988. More information on respondents’ additional jobs was sought leading to higher estimates for working hours.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997

176 - From first quarter 1996 the “availability for Timeliness work criterion” in the definition of unemployment was changed from “during the reference Results from the LFS are normally available approxi- week” to “with two weeks”. mately six weeks after the end of the reference quarter. Revision policy Release dates Data are not routinely revised. Changes in methodology Exact release dates for the coming four months are pub- are announced in advance in Weekly Bulletin of Statis- lished in Weekly Bulletin of Statistics once a month and tics. on the Statistics Norway Internet site.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997

177 NORWAY Labour - Unemployment Indicators from administrative (a) Registered unemployed and other sources Labour - Other

(b) Unfilled vacancies (c) Employment measures

SOURCE Unit of measurement Source agencies Number of persons. Data are compiled by the Directorate of Labour (Arbeidsdirektoratet) but transmitted to the OECD by CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Statistics Norway. Definition Key national publication sources (a) Unemployed persons are those who, during the last two whole weeks before the end of the month, were Data are published in Statistics Norway, Ukens Statistikk registered as applicants for work at the offices of the and Statistisk Månedshefte. public employment service, were physically able and available for work, and did not have a job for pay or Series title in national publication profit. Persons seeking part-time or temporary work (a) Registrerte helt arbeidsledige; (except students seeking work during vacations who are only classed as applicants for work), first-time (b) Ledige plasser; job seekers and re-entrants to the labour force, re- (c) Sysselsatte ved arbeidsmarkedstiltak. tired persons, persons responsible for the loss of their job and early-age pensioners receiving income com- Breakdown available pensation, are included as unemployed. Registered unemployment statistics are published in the (b) Unfilled vacancies refer to those vacancies notified national source by: to the public employment services and remaining - gender; unfilled at the end of each month. - county and municipality of residence; (c) Data refer to employment measures provided by the -age; government to promote employment. They cover: - occupation; employment measures in government activities, - duration. supplementary wages, qualification measures and rehabilitation measures. Run of data available Reference period Registered unemployed, Unfilled vacancies: the series Registered unemployed: last two weeks of each month; started in 1945. Unfilled vacancies: end of month. Employment measures: data are available from 1988. Geographical coverage Periodicity The whole country. Data are compiled on a monthly basis. Statistical population All persons aged 16 and over.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997

178 Particular exclusions DATA MANIPULATION Registered unemployed: disabled persons, job seekers Seasonal and other adjustments who are already working and persons on strike are excluded. Those not fulfilling the registration require- Data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD. ments also would be excluded. DATA QUALITY DATA COLLECTION Timeliness Reporting method Data are available approximately six weeks after the Regular monthly count of administrative data. reference quarter.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS SOURCES AND METHODS OECD © April 1997

179 NORWAY Wages Indicators from the Survey: Hourly earnings Average Hourly Earnings in Manufacturing

SOURCE Unit of measurement Source agencies Index (1990=100). The Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (CNBI) is responsible for planning and conducting the CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE survey and compiling the data, with methodological Definition support from Statistics Norway. Statistics Norway are in the process of compiling new The data refer to the total remuneration of wage earners, quarterly wage statistics. before deductions for income or other taxes, social security contributions, etc. They include pay for normal Key national publication sources time worked, premium pay for overtime and shift working, night or holiday work, earnings of piece work- Data are published in Statistics Norway, Statistisk ers, incentive pay and other regular bonuses, cost of Månedshefte. living allowances, house rent, transport and family allowances, irregularly paid bonuses and gratuities, as Series title in national publication well as the value of payments in kind. Excluded are payments for annual vacation, public holidays, sick Gjennomsnittlig timefortjeneste for arbeidere i indus- leave and other paid leave. Data are collected separately tribedrifter tilsluttet Naeringslivets Hovedorganisasjon: for men and women. Voksne arbeidere I alt. Coverage Breakdown available Reference period The earnings information is available in the national source by: The whole quarter.

- industry; Geographical coverage - gender; - collective agreement. The whole country excluding Svalbard. Statistical population Methodological references Establishments of all types and sizes in the mining and The methodology is described in Lønns- og Fraværsta- quarrying, manufacturing, private construction and pri- tistikk, Kvartalsvis fra NHO, CNBI. vate land transport industries, affiliated to the CNBI.

Run of data available STANDARDS Data are available from 1959. Standard classifications / nomenclatures Periodicity Industry: 1992 Norwegian SIC (comparable to ISIC). Data are compiled on a quarterly basis.

180 Departures from international standards DATA MANIPULATION The concept of earnings used in the survey differs from Other manipulations the ILO guidelines in that it excludes remuneration for time not worked. Average hourly earnings are calculated by dividing total earnings paid to wage earners during the quarter by the number of hours worked during the same period. Hours DATA COLLECTION worked figures are obtained from the Labour Force Sur- vey. Reporting units

The establishment is defined as a functional unit which, DATA QUALITY at a single physical location, is engaged mainly in activities within a specific activity group. Preliminary estimates

Reporting method Quarterly data are first released by the CNBI in a quarterly booklet. Quarterly data are released by Statistics Full survey of all establishments affiliated to the CNBI. Norway in Monthly Bulletin of Statistics some time after Data are collected by postal questionnaire with the re- the release by the CNBI. sults fully computerised. Timeliness Survey details Data are available approximately three months after the Description of questionnaire end of the reference quarter.

Survey data are coded directly on the survey question- Release dates naire. Release dates for the coming four months are published Non-response rate in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics. About 10 per cent of all establishments surveyed fail to respond. No adjustments are made as a result.

181 PORTUGAL Labour - Employment Indicators from the Employment (a) Total employment * Survey (Inquérito ao Emprego) Labour - Unemployment (b) Total (c) Rate

SOURCE Periodicity Source agency Data are compiled on a quarterly basis.

Data are compiled by the National Institute of Statistics Unit of measurement (Instituto Nacional de Estatística - INE). Employment, Unemployment: number of persons; Key national publication sources Unemployment rate: percentage. Data are available in INE, Inquérito ao Emprego. CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Series title in national publication Definition (a) População empregada; (b) População desempregada; (a) Total employment comprises all persons aged 14 and over who, during the reference week, worked for one (c) Taxa de desemprego. hour or more as an employee, were self-employed or Breakdown available were temporarily absent from their present employment during the reference week whilst maintaining a Employment data are published in the national source formal job attachment. Persons laid off temporarily by: or for an indefinite period may be classified as employed if they retain a link with their former em- - gender; ployment (e.g., continued receipt of salary, assur- -age; ance of a return to work, etc.). Those not meeting - industry; these criteria would be classified as unemployed or - occupations; as inactive according to the definitional require- - employment status; ments. Conscripts are excluded. - level of education/qualification. (b) The unemployed are persons aged 14 years and over Unemployment data are published in the national source who during the reference week were without work, by: available for work within 15 days for a new job as employee or self-employed, and were seeking work - first job/new job; (in the 30 days immediately preceding the inter- -age; view). Available for employment means wanting to - gender. work and having previously held a job, or wanting a job paid at local rates, or wanting self employment Run of data available provided the necessary materials and financial resources are available. Full-time and part-time stu- The quarterly survey started in the second quarter of dents seeking full or part-time work are included as 1983. During the years 1972-82, a survey was carried unemployed as are persons without a job and cur- out twice a year based on concepts and definitions used rently available for work but who have made ar- in the census. rangements to start a new job on a date subsequent to the reference period.

182 (c) The Unemployment rate is defined as the number of Reporting method unemployed persons expressed as a per cent of the labour force. Labour force comprises the unem- Data are collected in a household sample survey by di- ployed plus the employed. rect interviews. Before the interviewer visits the household, a letter is sent to inform those interviewed of the Coverage purpose of the survey. The fieldwork takes place beginning in the months of January, April, July and Octo- Reference period ber; the reference period is the week preceding the interview and the survey is carried out over a six-week The week prior to the survey. period. The reference week therefore varies. Each in- Geographical coverage terviewer has to cover approximately 195 dwelling units. The whole country including the islands of Madeira and the Azores. Survey details

Statistical population Description of questionnaire All persons aged 14 years and over resident in the coun- The questionnaire is in two parts: one related to the try for at least three months or for less than three months family and the second to the individual. The section but not occupying another permanent dwelling abroad. destined for the family covers questions on the type of housing, numbers of families in the dwelling and the Particular exclusions number of family members. The section for individuals The survey excludes persons living in collective dwell- seeks information on a range of subjects including: ings who have no private dwelling such as inmates of employment, unemployment, hours of work, wages, relief establishments (e.g., hospices, asylums), the resi- employment in the informal sector, work in other EU dent service staff of collective households, members of countries, underemployment, reasons for second job, religious orders living under the same roof, and persons days absent from work, pensions, etc. residing in mobile housing units (e.g., boats, caravans, etc.). Master list The sampling frame comprises all dwellings compiled at STANDARDS the last general population census (i.e., 1991). Standard classifications / nomenclatures Survey description Industry: the national industrial classification CAE The survey uses a multi-stage area sample in which the (Classificação das Actividades Económicas, rev 1973) probability of selection is proportional to size. Selection which is compatible with ISIC 1963, for the years up to involves three stages as follows: and including 1991, and CAE Rev 2 thereafter; - Selection of primary units (communes): Occupations: the 1980 national classification of occu- 500 first stage units are systematically selected pations up to and including 1991, and ISCO 1988 there- from the universe on the basis of a sampling in- after; terval calculated from the number of primary units desired and the number of electors in the Employment Status: ICSE. universe. The primary units of a size equal to or greater than the interval are selected automati- International comparability cally and may comprise several secondary units. Generally conforms to ILO recommendations. The other primary units selected comprise only one secondary unit. DATA COLLECTION - Selection of secondary units (statistical sections Reporting units used in latest census): Here the objective is to obtain areas of an average size of 250 dwellings Individuals and family units living in dwellings as iden- and selection is in the same way as for primary tified in the decennial Census returns. units (i.e., by calculating a new sampling interval based on the ratio between the number of

183 electors and the number of dwellings in each DATA MANIPULATION primary unit). Grossing up method - Selection of tertiary units (dwellings): This is The results of the survey are grossed up to universe by done in such a way that the sample is self- weighting with total population data for the regions de- weighted (i.e., so that the product of the prob- rived from INE. In this way the estimate for the uni- ability of selection at the three stages is equal to verse of any given characteristic equals the number of the sampling rate). individuals in the sample who display this characteristic, Three samples are made, for metropolitan Portugal, the multiplied by the ratio of the population as a whole to Azores and Madeira. The sampling rates are 1 in 100 the total population of the sample. for metropolitan Portugal and 1 in 40 for the Azores and Madeira. This gives a numerical sample of approxi- Seasonal and other adjustments mately 16 000 dwellings quarterly in the metropolitan area and 1 000 in each of the autonomous regions giving Data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD. a total sample size of 18 000 per quarter. The total yearly sample is around 36 000 dwellings. DATA QUALITY The rotation plan allows for quarterly renewal of 25 per Other errors and their corrections cent of the sample. In every two successive surveys 75 per cent of the sample is maintained. Every dwelling Quality checks help ensure that the information received is visited at the most four times and the sample is en- from the survey is reliable. Supervisors examine the tirely renewed after two years. questionnaires and re-interviews selected households. Further checks occur when the information is processed Since 1991, although the sample design has remained by computer. the same, there are now 1 143 primary units with a total of 22 000 dwellings of which 19 000 in metropolitan Breaks in time series Portugal. Sample rotation allows a quarterly renewal of 16%, or one-sixth of the sample. A new survey was launched in first quarter 1992 comprising methodological and conceptual changes in line All individuals residing in the dwelling are interviewed. with the EU labour Force Surveys. At the same time the Non-response rate computerised collection of information was introduced and the new classification CAE Rev 2. In addition, the The non-response rate was 10.5 per cent for the first lower age limit for inclusion in the labour force was quarter of 1996 (6.1% in first quarter 1989). Non- raised from 12 years to 14. response is treated by duplicating the characteristics of the non-responding family with another in the sample section. Timeliness Data are published around 10 weeks after the beginning of the data collection.

184 PORTUGAL Labour - Unemployment Indicators from administrative (a) Registered unemployed and other sources Labour -Other (b) Unfilled vacancies

SOURCE CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Source agencies Definition The Employment and Professional Training Institute (a) Registered unemployed: persons registered at the (Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional) is re- employment offices who have no work, who are sponsible for the collection and compilation, and the looking for salaried employment and who are avail- Central Bank of Portugal (Banco de Portugal) for the able for work. transmission of data to OECD. (b) Unfilled vacancies: notified vacancies remaining unfilled at end of period. Key national publication sources Coverage Data are published by INE in Boletim Mensal de Es- tatística. Reference period Series title in national publication Data refer to the end of the month. (a) Applications for employment by the unemployed; Geographical coverage (b) Not published. The whole country including the islands of Madeira and the Azores. Run of data available

Data are available from 1974. DATA COLLECTION Periodicity Reporting method Data are compiled on a monthly basis. Count of administrative data.

Unit of measurement (a) Registered unemployed: numbers of persons; (b) Unfilled vacancies: number of vacancies.

185 PORTUGAL Labour - Other Indicators from administrative Labour disputes: time lost and other sources

SOURCE employer in order to exclude organised workers from those facilities. Source agencies The statistics are collected by the Ministério para Quali- Coverage ficação e Emprego (MQE) in collaboration with the Directorate-General for Labour Relations and the De- Reference period partment of Statistics. Statistics relate to strikes beginning during the month as well as those continuing from the previous month. Key national publication sources Geographical coverage Data are available in Informação Estatística (Síntese) - Greves, (quarterly and annual). From 1986, Mainland Portugal only i.e. excluding the islands of Madeira and the Azores. Previously they Breakdown available were included. Information is regularly published in the national source Statistical population for the following categories: Enterprises with at least five workers. - cause of dispute; Particular exclusions - outcome of dispute; - economic activity; There is no minimum duration threshold for inclusion in - duration of dispute; the statistics and general strikes are not included. Un- - type of dispute; paid family workers, workers laid off, or workers on - workers involved; leave, absent or sick are also excluded. Since 1986, - working time lost; strikes in public administration have been excluded. - region (districts). STANDARDS Run of data available Standard classifications / nomenclatures Data are available from 1st quarter 1986, based on new methodology. Industry: CAE 1973 (based on the ISIC 1968).

Periodicity DATA COLLECTION Data are available on a monthly basis. Reporting method Unit of measurement There is a legal obligation on trade unions to report the occurrence of a strike or lockout to the MQE and to the Total number of days not worked. employing body or employers’ association. The basic information required relates to the identification of the CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE firm and sector, the duration of the stoppage and cause. Up until 1985 the data were collected via the regional Definition services of the Ministry of Labour from newspaper reports or strike notices. Since 1986 they have been col- Strikes are defined as a work stoppage by organised lected differently. Either the statistical form ‘Boletim workers. A lockout is the closing of facilities by the

186 estatistico de greves’ is sent to the establishment for Breaks in time series completion and return to the Directorate-General for Labour Relations or the Department itself completes the In 1986 a revised method of measurement was intro- details from the information to hand. duced mainly affecting the exclusion of public administration workers and the islands of Madeira and the Azores. DATA QUALITY Other errors and their corrections Some disputes will go unrecorded, particularly those of short duration and involving few workers.

187 PORTUGAL Labour - Employment Indicators from the Monthly Survey Industry of Industrial Activity (Inquérito Men- sal à Indústria Volume de Negócios e Emprego)

SOURCE Coverage

Source agency Reference period Data are compiled by INE. Last full week of the month.

Series title in national publications Geographical coverage Índices de volume de emprego na industria. Continental Portugal plus the autonomous regions.

Breakdown available Classification coverage Industry: categories C+D+E of CAE Rev. 2. Employment figures are available by industry. Particular exclusions Methodological references Excluded from employment are persons on military or Methodological information was supplied by INE in the national service, other workers not on the payroll. paper Índices de Volume de Negócios e de Emprego na Indústria: Primeiros Resultados (1990-1994). DATA COLLECTION Run of data available Reporting units Data are available from 1990. The reporting unit is an enterprise or establishment.

Periodicity Survey items Data are compiled on a monthly basis. Description of questionnaire Unit of measurement Data are reported on: total turnover for the domestic market, for other EU countries and for non-EU coun- Data refer to the number of employees on payrolls con- tries; sales of goods, sales of finished and intermediate verted to an index. goods, payments for services; number of employees, gross earnings, and hours worked. CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Master list Definition The Central Business Register of Enterprises and Estab- The data refer to all persons on the payroll of enterprises lishments, held by INE. This comprises 66 000 units in the mining, manufacturing, electricity, gas and water having at least one person on the payroll or if no persons industries, and cover both full and part-time workers. on the payroll then a turnover greater than zero. Included are: home workers provided they are on the payroll, persons temporarily absent on vacation, ma- Survey description ternity leave, strike, training, sick leave of less than a The sampling is multi-stage. At the first stage the month’s duration. 66 000 enterprises sampled for the annual survey are

188 selected. These are enterprises whose main office is in enterprises and each variable relative to month n-12 is continental Portugal or the Autonomous Regions and then multiplied by this factor. These data are then ex- have at least one employee or turnover greater than zero. trapolated by multiplying the number of valid replies for At the second stage 14 000 enterprises, representing each category of the sample by a factor equal to the ratio 90% of turnover for each branch of activity in the annual of the number of enterprises in the universe of reference survey, are selected. And at the last stage around 3 100 and the number of valid replies for each category. enterprises are selected. All large (in terms of numbers of employees) enterprises DATA MANIPULATION are included in the sample. These account for at least 25% turnover and numbers of employees in each branch Aggregations / Grossing up of activity. Aggregation Non-response rate Elementary indices are calculated as ratios of the current Correction is made for non-response as follows: period to the monthly average of the base year at the lowest level of the CAE nomenclature. Elementary A factor is calculated which is equal to the ratio of the indices are aggregated at the next level of the CAE us- number of respondents replying both in the reference ing the Laspeyres formula with weights derived from the month (n) and in month n-12. The information for each value of the activity in 1992.

189 SPAIN Labour - Employment Indicators from the Economically (a) Total employment * Active Population Survey (Encuesta (b) Part-time de Población Activa - EPA) (c) Short-term (d) Industry Labour - Unemployment (e) Rate (f) Short-term

SOURCE Flujos de la Población Activa, and Evaluación de la Calidad de los Datos Source agency Summary information can also be found in Boletín Men- Data are compiled by the National Institute of Statistics sual de Estadística. (Instituto Nacional de Estadística -INE).

Key national publication sources Breakdown available Data are available in the following INE publications: Employment is published in the national source by: Encuesta de Población Activa, Principales Resultados; - industry; Encuesta de Población Activa, Resultados Detallados. - occupation; Employment (total, part-time and short-time), Unem- - employment status; ployment rate are also published in INE, Boletín Men- - level of education/qualifications; sual de Estadística). -age; gender; Employment in industry is published in the monthly - number of hours worked etc. bulletin of the Bank of Spain, Boletín estadístico. Unemployment is published in the national source by: Data are also available in electronic publications, on the INE databank, microdata files, and customised tabula- -age; tions. - level of education; - gender; Series title in national publication - search method; (a) Ocupados totales; - industry; - occupation and status in previous work. (b) Ocupados a tiempo parcial, total; (c) Ocupados con contrato temporal; Run of data available (d) Asalariados en industria; Total employment, Short-term employment and Short- (e) Tasa de paro, total; term unemployment are available from 1976; (f) Parados totales: menos de un mes. Employment in industry is available from 1987; Methodological reference in publication Part-time unemployment is available from 1992; Detailed information on the methodology is available on Unemployment rate is available from 1964. the INE Internet server (http://www.ine.es/). Methodol- ogy is also published in the following INE publications: Encuesta de Población Activa, Principales Resultados y Resultados Detallados, Tablas anuales, Estadística de

190 Periodicity unemployment benefits; participants in employment promotion schemes, if they work for a gratification or Data are compiled on a quarterly basis. From 1996 wage; paid and unpaid family workers including those monthly estimates from the quarterly labour force sur- temporarily absent from work; and private domestic vey are made and published via the Internet. servants. Unit of measurement Excluded from the employed are persons engaged in their own housework, occasional, seasonal or casual Employment, Unemployment: number of persons; workers who did not work in the reference week as part Unemployment rate: percentage. of their slack period, persons doing voluntary community or social work and in general all persons engaged in non-profit activities. CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE (b) Part-time. Data refer to employed persons, as de- Definition fined in (a), who work less than 30 hours per week plus those persons working between 30 and 35 hours (a) Total Employment refers to persons aged 16 and over whose normal working week is more than 35 hours. who, during the reference week, had a job in the service of an employer or were self-employed ac- (c) Short-term. Data refer to employees, as defined cording to the following definitions: under (a), who have a fixed-term contract. - Persons working in the service of an employer (d) Industry. Data refer to employees, as defined under include: those at work who, during the refer- (a), in the mining, manufacturing, electricity, gas ence week, worked at least one hour for salary, and water industries. wages or other similar remuneration in cash or (e) The Unemployment rate is defined as the number of kind; those with a job but not at work during unemployed persons expressed as a per cent of the the reference week but maintained a close at- labour force. Labour force comprises the unem- tachment to their jobs (i.e., that they are expect- ployed plus the employed. Employment is defined ing to resume their jobs). Persons absent from under (a). Unemployed persons include those aged work because of illness or accident, labour- 16 and over who, during the reference week, were: management dispute, suspension from work and without work (i.e., had no job either in the service of payment of wages as a disciplinary measure, an employer or on their own account); looking for holidays, study leave, maternity or any kind of work (i.e., those who had taken specific steps to find leave, voluntary absence, temporary work disor- work in the service of an employer or have made ar- ganisation for reasons such as bad weather or rangements to set up their own business during the mechanical breakdown are all considered as four weeks prior to the survey); and available for employees. Apprentices who have been paid in work (i.e., were able to start work within two weeks cash or kind and students who have worked full- from the date of the interview). Also considered as time for pay are considered as employees and unemployed are the following: all persons who in are therefore treated in the survey as ordinary the reference week were without work, available for employees during the reference week. work within two weeks following the date of the interview and waiting to start a new job at a date after - Self-employed workers are all persons who were the reference week; persons absent from work be- working at least one hour in exchange for cash cause they have been suspended for reasons of em- or in-kind benefit and those who normally have ployment regulation, who do not believe they will be a job but were not at work during the reference able to return to the enterprise that employed them week. This definition therefore includes em- and who have looked for work and are available for ployers, own-account workers, members of pro- work; students, persons engaged in their own ducer co-operatives working in such organisa- housework who are not paid and other persons en- tions and unpaid family workers. gaged mainly in non-economic activities covered by Also considered as employed are the following groups: the definition of employment, and persons looking full-time or part-time workers who looked for another for work as apprentices, provided they satisfy the job during the reference period; persons who did any remaining clauses of the definition of unemploy- work for pay or profit while being subject to compulsory ment. schooling, or retired and receiving a pension, or registered as jobseekers at an employment office or receiving

191 (f) Short-term unemployment measures those unem- International comparability ployed for less than one month as defined under (e). Data are in line with ILO guidelines. Coverage DATA COLLECTION Reference period Reporting units The reference period for most of the information collected in the survey is the week prior to the week in Households as enumerated by the latest Population and which the interview takes place. Exceptions are for the Housing Census. variables ‘Methods of job search’ (one month) and ‘Availability for work’ (within 15 days). The reference Reporting method period of the published data is each quarter and these Data are collected in the EPA by personal interview (the normally correspond to the calendar quarters (i.e., Janu- questionnaire being completed by the data collector) ary-March, April-June, etc.). with selected members of the sample households by Geographical coverage professional interviewers, organised on a province basis. Each interviewer carries out around 20 interviews per The whole country. week which means that around 5 300 interviews are completed each week throughout the country. To com- Statistical population plete the 64 000 interviews for each survey therefore The economically active population aged 16 years and takes a full quarter. over living in family dwellings used throughout the year A new method to collect information using lap-top or most of the year as their usual or permanent resi- computers is being tested in certain areas. dence. Included are Spanish citizens living abroad for less than one year and foreign civilians established in Survey details Spain for more than one year. Members of the armed forces, diplomats based abroad and the crews of Spanish Description of questionnaire ships and aircraft are also included by agreement. The questionnaire consists of four parts: Classification coverage − Identification (data collector, dwelling, etc.). Employment in industry: data cover Major divisions C, − Household members aged less than 16: information D and E of the National Classification of Economic is collected on remunerated work and demographic Activities (Clasificación Nacional de Actividades characteristics. Económicas CNAE-93). − Household members aged 16 and over: information Particular exclusions is collected on the main activity, the changes occurred during the previous year, the way they found Certain individuals living in collective households (e.g., their actual job, income, under-employment, etc., hospitals, hotels, orphanages, etc.) are not included in hours of work, nature of employment, identification the survey. of the company, etc. − All household members: information is collected on STANDARDS age, name, relationship to head of household, etc. Standard classifications / nomenclatures Master list Industry: CNAE-93 (compatible with ISIC Rev 3 and List of households in the selected areas from the latest NACE Rev 1); Population and Housing Census. Occupation: National Classification of Occupations Survey description (Clasificación Nacional de Ocupación - CNO 1994) A two-stage sample is used with stratification of the first compatible with ISCO 1988; stage census section units. The second stage units are Level of education/qualifications: national classification the principal family dwellings and non-mobile dwell- compatible with ISCED 1976. ings. No sub-sampling is carried out in second stage units; information is gathered from all persons habitu- ally resident therein. The first stage census section units

192 are stratified in two ways, firstly by geographical strati- Seasonal and other adjustments fication (grouped by province and municipality according to population size) and secondly by socio-economic The Unemployment rate is seasonally adjusted by the group. The survey uses 3 216 census sections and each Ministry of Economy and Industry (Ministerio de quarter interviews on average 20 dwellings per section. Economía y Hacienda) using the X-11 Arima version of This gives a total sample of 64 000 dwellings and the US Bureau of the Census Method II. 200 000 persons. Primary units are selected with probability proportional to size based on the number of fam- DATA QUALITY ily dwellings in each unit and the ultimate units are selected with equal probability by applying systematic Sampling errors and their corrections sampling to the list frame. The sample is uniformly Sampling errors are published for the main variables. distributed throughout the quarter, each of its sections being visited in one of the 12 weeks of the quarter. The Other errors and their corrections whole sample is divided into three independent monthly sub-samples, each of which represents the whole popu- A quality control programme checks the validity and lation. accuracy of the survey information at various stages. This includes re-interviewing approximately four per Every quarter the dwelling sample is partially renewed cent of the original sample to compare with the first by one-sixth. Each dwelling belongs to the sample for interview information. six consecutive quarters after which it leaves the sample and is replaced by another dwelling from the same section. Breaks in time series The EPA started in 1964 as a half-yearly or quarterly Non-response rate inquiry (depending on the year), becoming a quarterly Non-response from a household or interviewee is treated survey in the third quarter of 1975; in one of two ways. Firstly, those interviewees not The definitions, classifications and questionnaires used available first time round are revisited until the inter- were modified in the first half of 1972. Methodological view is completed. If there is refusal then another modifications were made in the third quarter of 1976. household from a similar section is substituted. In the Until the first quarter of 1980 data referred to the case of a total lack of response replacement is made by population aged 14 years and over and from the second using the information from the same household for the quarter of 1980 to those aged 16 and over. In the second previous quarter. The refusal rate is 3% and the not-at- quarter of 1987 a new methodology incorporating home rate is 7%. modifications to the survey’s definitions was introduced causing a break in the series. The series have been ad- DATA MANIPULATION justed back to 1972 to allow for discontinuities in coverage. Aggregations / Grossing up Revisions Grossing up method Revisions to data take account of the results of the cen- The results from each household and person are suses of population which take place every 10 years. weighted by the inverse of the probability of selection in Revisions to the population projections are made every every strata to obtain unbiased estimators. Information five years. from the quarterly population projections is used as an auxiliary element.

193 SPAIN Labour - Unemployment Indicators from administrative and (a) Registered unemployed other sources (b) Unfilled vacancies

SOURCE Vacancy figures are published in the national source by: Source agencies - occupation; - economic activity. Data are compiled by the National Institute of Employ- ment (Instituto Nacional de Empleo- INEM) of the Run of data available Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales - MTAS), seasonally ad- Unemployment figures are available from 1955; justed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Industry (Ministerio de Economía y Hacienda) and transmitted to Vacancy figures are available from 1976. the OECD by INE. Periodicity Key national publication sources Data are compiled on a monthly basis. Data are available in MTAS, Anuario de Estadísticas Laborales, on INE’s diskette SIMBAD and on INEM’s Unit of measurement server on the Internet http://www.mtss.es/. Unemployment: number of persons; In addition unemployment figures are available in Vacancy: number of vacancies. INEM, Boletín de Estadísticas Laborales, and vacancy statistics in INEM, Estadística de Empleo. CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Series title in national publication Definition (a) Paro registrado, total; (a) Registered unemployed covers all unemployed job (b) Oferta de Empleo (pendiente de cubrir). applicants registered with the employment offices at the end of each month. Registration as a jobseeker is Methodological reference in publication voluntary except for persons receiving unemploy- Methodological information can be found on the INE ment benefits or for persons being considered or Internet server (http://www.ine.es/), in MTAS, Anuario hired for work in connection with employment pro- de Estadísticas Laborales. and in INEM, Boletín de motion measures. Unemployed persons must report Estadísticas Laborales. in person every three months to renew their application except for those receiving unemployment Breakdown available benefits who must report monthly. Re-entrants to the workforce, employable disabled persons and per- Unemployment figures are published in the national sons responsible for the loss of their last job are all source by: included in the monthly count. -age; Persons aged 65 and over registered as jobseekers are not counted as unemployed. The following - gender; groups are also excluded from the definition: em- - level of education; ployed persons seeking work; workers registered at - occupation; an employment office whose employment contracts - economic activity. have been temporarily suspended owing to employment regulation measures; registered jobseekers whose normal daily hours of work have been re-

194 duced by decision of a competent authority as a STANDARDS means to regulate employment or as a result of changes in working conditions; persons receiving Standard classifications / nomenclatures unemployment benefit and participating in com- Industry uses CNAE-93 and occupation uses ISCO 68. munity-related work as part of employment promotion measures; persons seeking temporary work of less than three months duration (including students DATA COLLECTION seeking vacation work); persons seeking work of Reporting method less than 20 hours per week; jobseekers following regulated official courses of study provided that they Monthly count of administrative data. On the last day of are aged less than 25, or older if they are first job- each month all public employment offices prepare their seekers; persons attending vocational training statistics using a combination of manual and computer courses provided the course exceeds 20 hours a methods. The data are transmitted to INEM who com- week, they are receiving a subsistence grant and are pile the national figures. first jobseekers; persons who are temporarily unable to work or who are under medical care; persons re- DATA MANIPULATION ceiving benefit for complete or severe disability; young people on military service or national service; Seasonal and other adjustments persons registered at an employment office as a prerequisite to being considered for a particular job; The seasonally adjusted series are provided by the Min- persons who apply exclusively for work abroad or istry of Economic Affairs and Industry. for work in their homes; workers receiving an agricultural subsidy. DATA QUALITY (b) Data refer to pending or effective job vacancies notified to the INEM and remaining unfilled at the end Corroborating data of each month. The registered unemployed are compared on an ongoing basis with the unemployment figures derived from Coverage the Economically Active Population Survey, though no Geographical coverage revisions are made to the data as a result. The whole country.

195 SPAIN Labour - Other Indicators from the Survey of Wages (a) Monthly hours of work in Industry and Services (Encuesta de Wages Salarios en la Industria y los Servi- cios) (b) Hourly earnings

SOURCE CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Source agency Definition Data are compiled by the INE. (a) Data refer to Monthly hours actually worked by employees and are those hours which form part of Key national publication sources the employment contract. Hours actually worked are obtained by calculating the difference between the Data are available in the INE publications Boletín Men- agreed hours and hours not worked because of vaca- sual de Estadística and Survey of Wages in Industry and tion, temporary incapacity to work, lay-off or labour Services. dispute, and adding the hours actually worked in overtime. Agreed hours are those hours laid down in Series title in national publication the contract between the workers and the employer. (a) Numero de horas trabajadas (obrero mas empleado); The number of hours agreed on per month is the average per month of the number of agreed hours per (b) Ganancia media por hora trabajada. year. Methodological reference in publication Hours worked outside the employment contract would not be measured. Summary information can be found in Boletín Mensual (b) Earnings represent the remuneration paid to workers de Estadística . in cash or kind for the time worked or the work done, together with remuneration for time not Breakdown available worked such as holidays. They represent gross The information is regularly published by: earnings, before the deduction of taxes or other contributions. Earnings therefore include the basic sal- - industry; ary and supplements to basis salary such as bonuses, - professional groups (as used by the social secu- profit sharing payments, etc. rity system); Unofficial earnings in cash or kind are not included. - size of establishment. Coverage Run of data available Reference period Monthly hours of work is available from 1977; One month during the quarter. Hourly earnings is available from 1979. Geographical coverage Periodicity The whole country. Data are compiled on a quarterly basis. Statistical population Unit of measurement Establishments with five or more workers, which are Monthly hours of work: number of hours; also contribution centres listed for social security reasons, in industry, construction, trade, hotels, transport Hourly earnings: index (1995=100). and communication, banks and insurance sectors.

196 STANDARDS total number of contribution centres and aiming for a sampling error of less than five per cent. All establish- Standard classifications / nomenclatures ments with 200 or more workers are included in the Industry: CNAE 93 (compatible with ISIC Rev 3 and sample. The design corresponds to a continuous quar- NACE Rev 1). terly survey with the sample uniformly distributed over the three months of the quarter. The sampling frame is International comparability brought up to date once a year and 20 per cent of the non-exhaustive sample units are renewed so that in five The concept of hours worked does not correspond to the years the non-exhaustive sample is totally renewed. internationally accepted definition of hours actually worked; Non-response rate The definition of total earnings is in line with interna- The non-response rate of around two per cent of units is tional recommendations. corrected by imputing data from previous quarters.

DATA COLLECTION DATA MANIPULATION Reporting units Aggregations / Grossing up Establishments. Grossing up method

Reporting method The results from each establishment are grossed up using weights which are inversely proportional to the A questionnaire is sent by post every month to one-third probability of selection in the sample. of the sample. All establishments are visited by the enumerator when they become part of the sample and at Seasonal and other adjustments other appropriate times. The earnings figures are seasonally adjusted by the Survey details OECD.

Description of questionnaire DATA QUALITY The survey questionnaire consists of three main sections Sampling errors and their corrections covering the following areas: - workers during the reference month; Other errors and their corrections - workers on a normal working day; Data are checked for consistency with similar informa- - workers with shortened working hours. tion on the same establishments from previous surveys. Inconsistencies are followed by checking via the tele- Instructions for completion are sent with the question- phone or in person. naire.

Master list Breaks in time series The directory of establishments obtained from the social The survey has been conducted since the first quarter of security records of contribution accounts. It is brought 1989. In 1993 the questionnaire was modified but this up to date annually in order to record labour turnover in modification is not thought to have affected the series. the units covered. Also the definition of part-time worker was modified in 1994 from persons who worked between one and two- Survey description thirds of the normal working day, to those working less Stratified sampling is carried out according to size of than two-thirds of the working day. The economic ac- contribution centre and economic activity. Over 9 800 tivity classification CNAE-93 was adopted in the first establishments are selected using information on the quarter 1996 resulting in a wider coverage.

197 SPAIN Labour - Other Indicators from administrative Labour disputes: time lost and other sources

SOURCE Periodicity of the data Source agency Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Data are compiled by the Ministry of Labour and Social Unit of measurement Affairs (Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales - MTAS). Number of working days lost.

Key national publication sources CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Data are available in the MTAS publications, Yearbook Definition of Labour Statistics, Bulletin of Labour Statistics, Statis- tics of Strikes and Lockouts, Estadística de Huelgas y The series refers to working days lost in strikes and Cierres Patronales. lockouts. Data are also available on INE’s diskette SIMBAD and Strike - A temporary work stoppage decided on by on the MTAS Internet server: http://www.mtss.es/. workers or their representatives without the agreement of the employers. This term is also used for a work Series title in national publication stoppage where the responsible party is not necessarily identified or separately distinguished (for example in the Huelgas y cierres patronales, trabajadores participantes, case of a general strike). jornadas no trabajadas. Lockout - A temporary work stoppage decided on by Methodological reference in publication one or more employers as a result of a dispute with workers. Methodological information can be found on the MTAS Internet server. The basic unit of measurement used to record a strike or lockout is the case of dispute. The resumption of a Breakdown available strike or lockout that was interrupted but later recom- menced, still due to the same case of dispute, is counted The following categories are published in the national as a new incident if a new notice of a strike or lockout source: has been issued. Work stoppages arising from the same - cause of dispute; case of dispute, occurring simultaneously in establish- - outcome of dispute; ments of the same or different enterprises, are counted as one strike or lockout. Those resulting from the same - method of settlement; case of dispute but occurring at different times in estab- - economic activity; lishments of the same or different enterprises are - number of economic units involved; counted separately, according to the number of strike or - number of workers involved; lockout notices issued. - duration; - time not worked. Total time not worked, measured in working days, is the sum of the total time not worked on each day of the Run of data available stoppage. The shorter working hours of part-time workers are not taken into account nor is overtime working. Information on labour disputes is available since 1979, however, the series based on the current methodology is available from 1986 only.

198 Coverage DATA COLLECTION

Reference period Reporting units The monthly data refer to disputes beginning during the The economic unit is the workplace defined as the pro- month plus those continuing from the previous month. ductive unit or establishment.

Geographical coverage Reporting method The whole country. The party responsible for initiating the strike or lockout is required by law to inform the competent labour Statistical population authority (i.e., the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs All establishments excluding military establishments. or the autonomous community) of the occurrence of the dispute. The authority then uses a questionnaire to col- Particular exclusions lect information about the stoppage. However, some Those stoppages lasting less than one hour are not in- stoppages of work may not come to the notice of labour cluded. Workers indirectly involved are excluded as are offices. The questionnaire used for collecting strike data unpaid family workers, workers laid off and workers requests the following information: absent on sick or annual leave or absent for any other - Identification of the establishment, geographic reason. location, economic activity; - Motive for the strike, date the strike began and STANDARDS ended, numbers of workers involved, and numbers of days lost. Standard classifications / nomenclatures

Industry uses the NACE (two digit). DATA QUALITY International comparability Breaks in time series Data are compiled in line with international recommen- Up until 1988 civil servants working in public admini- dations. stration were not allowed to strike and were therefore not covered by the statistics until after this date. Data for the Basque region were excluded from 1986-1989 but have been included since 1990. Data for the Cata- luna region were excluded from 1983-1985 but have been included since 1986.

199 SWEDEN Labour - Employment Indicators from the Labour Force (a) Total employment * Survey (LFS) (b) Industry (c) Part-time Labour - Unemployment (d) Total (e) Rate (f) Short-term

SOURCE - number of hours worked; - private/public sector; Source agency - level of education/qualification. Data are compiled by Statistics Sweden. Unemployment figures are published in the national source by: Key national publication sources - gender; Data are available in Statistics Sweden, Statistiska Med- -age; delanden. Detailed results are published in the same - duration; series of publications under the title Base tables of the - number of hours sought. Labour Force Survey (AKU). Methodological references Data are available first on the electronic service Key Economic Indicators from Statistics Sweden. Custom- Methodological information is available in Bakgrundsfakta ised tables are also produced. till Arbetsmarknads- och Utbildningsstatistiken and in The Swedish Labour Force Survey, SCB 1996:3 Series title in national publication Extensive methodological information is also available on (a) Employed, total; Statistics Sweden’s Internet site at http://www.scb.se/textdb. (b) Employed, mining and manufacturing.; Run of data available (c) This is the sum of two series: Part-time 1-19 hours, Part-time 20-34 hours. The first labour force survey was carried out on a quar- (d) Unemployed; terly basis from August 1961 and became monthly in 1970. (e) Unemployment rate; (f) Unemployed by duration <1-4 weeks. Periodicity Breakdown available Data are compiled on a monthly basis. Employment figures are published in the national source Unit of measurement by: Employment, Unemployment: number of persons; - gender; -age; Unemployment rate: percentage. - industry; - occupation; - employment status; - type of contract;

200 CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Coverage Definition Reference period (a) Total employment includes those persons who, dur- The LFS covers all weeks in the year. This means that ing the reference week, were gainfully employed for every survey month contains either four or five refer- at least one hour as paid employees, or as entrepre- ence weeks. neurs or self-employed and persons working as un- Geographical coverage paid helpers in a business belonging to a spouse or other family member in the same household. The whole country. Persons on relief work, or in a sheltered place of Classification coverage work, or working as a temporary trainee, or employed with subsidised wages are classified as em- Although the title in the national source states mining ployed. and manufacturing, the series also includes the sector Also included are persons who did not carry out any electricity gas and water i.e. Groups C+D+E of SE-SIC work (as defined above) but who had employment or 92, from 1995. Prior to 1995, SE-SIC 68 was used. work either as unpaid family workers or as entrepre- Statistical population neurs or self-employed and who were temporarily absent during the entire reference week because of All inhabitants in Sweden aged 16-64 years covered by illness, vacation, leave of absence (for child care or the civil registration (including volunteer and career pursuit of studies, military service, labour conflict or members of the armed forces). other kind of absence, irrespective of whether or not the absence was paid for). Particular exclusions (b) Industry: the data refer to all persons employed, as Employment: excluded from the employed and consid- described under (a), in the mining, quarrying, manu- ered inactive are persons engaged in their own house- facturing, electricity, gas and water industries. work, persons engaged in military or civilian service, (c) Part-time: the data refer to all persons employed, as persons in certain labour force measure programmes, for described under (a), working less than 35 hours per example work development, introduction to work place, week. and labour market training. (d) The Unemployed are persons who, during the refer- Unemployment: full-time students seeking full or part- ence period, were not employed, but who were time work are excluded from the unemployed and con- willing and able to work and had looked for work, or sidered as inactive. would have looked for work if they had not been temporarily prevented from doing so, or who were STANDARDS waiting for the outcome of some measure they had taken during the preceding four weeks to get work. Standard classifications / nomenclatures Also included are persons who are waiting to begin a new job starting within four weeks. The total un- Industry: Swedish Industry Coding 1992 (SIC 92) employed figure is the average of the four or five which is comparable to NACE Rev 1. week period. Part-time students seeking full or part- Occupation: Nordic Occupational Classification (NYK) time work are classified as unemployed. which is based on the 1958 ISCO. (e) The Unemployment rate is the total number of un- Socio-economic: Statistics Sweden’s Standard Swedish employed as a per cent of the total labour force. Socio-Economic Classification (SEI). Total labour force is equal to the sum of the em- Level of education/qualification: Swedish Standard ployed and the unemployed as described under (a) Educational Classification (SUN). and (d) respectively. (f) Short-term unemployed refers to persons unem- International comparability ployed, as described under (d), for less than four weeks. The definitions of unemployment and employment follow the international guidelines.

201 DATA COLLECTION month to take account of migration, deaths and changes in marital status. Reporting units The number of independent units is around 68 000 an- The reporting unit is the person identified from the Cen- nually with an annual sample size of around 204 000 tral Register of the Total Population maintained by Sta- persons. The quarterly sample size is 51 000 and the tistics Sweden. monthly is 17 000 persons. Each person in the sample is Reporting method interviewed once a quarter on a total of eight occasions over a two-year period before being replaced. Each The Labour Force Survey is conducted on a continuing month one-eighth of the sample is renewed and the basis. Data are collected mainly by telephone. In a monthly sample is completely renewed after two years. small number of cases (about 0.5 per cent of the sample) where respondents cannot be reached by telephone, per- Non-response rate sonal interviews are made. Normally the interview is In 1993 a new estimation procedure was introduced performed with the sampled person but if that person is which uses auxiliary information from the National not available because of illness or holiday etc., then an Market Board’s register on those seeking work, and interview by proxy is carried out, subject to strict condi- from Statistics Sweden’s Register of Regional Employ- tions. This occurs for about 3 per cent of the sample. ment, in order to reduce non-response error. The non- response error is now less than 3 per cent for the num- Survey details ber of unemployed and one per cent for the employed. Description of questionnaire Interviewers use computerised questionnaires and as- DATA MANIPULATION sisted telephone technology and techniques with a stan- Aggregations / Grossing up dardised format. Information is collected on employment status, industry, occupation, union membership, Grossing up method hours worked, absences from work, overtime, under- The estimation of population totals from the sample employment, additional jobs. Regarding unemploy- values is made on the basis of the sampled person’s ment, information is collected on methods of job search, probability of selection, and current demographic data work hours desired, duration of unemployment. etc. from Statistics Sweden’s register of the total population. The general structure of the questionnaire is: The estimation uses two different poststratification methods with different types of auxiliary information; - general classification; one for those employed and one for those unemployed. - first job; To estimate unemployment, the sample and the popula- - second job; tion are divided into 16 poststrata using variables sex, - no work; age groups, and unemployed\not unemployed according - questions relating to the respondents’ activities to the National Labour Market Board’s register. A during the reference week; similar procedure using 147 poststrata occurs for em- - questions concerning study; ployment with variables sex, age groups, occupation - questions concerning the family. groups taken from the Register of Regional Employ- ment (compiled by Statistics Sweden). The first interview is thorough whilst subsequent interviews use this basic information and concentrate on Seasonal and other adjustments assessing the respondent's changes in their labour market status. The seasonally adjusted series published in MEI are adjusted by the OECD. Statistics Sweden seasonally Survey description adjusts series for employed and unemployed using a variant of the X11-ARIMA of the US Bureau of the The sample is stratified by county, sex, citizenship Census Method II, however the results are not made (Swedish, foreign) and employed/not employed available to OECD. (according to the register of employment) to derive 192 strata and a systematic sample is drawn within each stratum. The samples are drawn annually to cover the requirements of the following year and are updated each

202 DATA QUALITY rather than two weeks each month; the definitions of unemployed was adjusted to more closely follow ILO Sampling errors and their corrections guidelines and new estimation procedures adopted. Estimates of sampling errors are made in the form of In 1995, the new industrial classification standard SE- standard deviations, which are included in the Statistical SIC 92 was introduced. Report: Base Tables. In 1996, the weights of the months in the quarterly and Breaks in time series annual estimates were changed. All main indicators from 1987 through 1995, have been Since its introduction in 1970 the sample size has varied recalculated to adjust to the changes in 1993, 1995 and but concepts and definitions remained fairly consistent 1996. up to the mid 1980s. From 1961 through 1963, persons aged 14 and over Timeliness were included in the survey. Data are available within two weeks after the end of the From 1964 to June 1974, the sample covered those aged reference period. 14-74. From July 1974 to 1985, the sample covered those aged Release dates 16-74. Release dates for the year are included in the publication Starting 1986, the regular sample consisted of persons plan for Official Statistics of Sweden which is distrib- aged 16-64. uted at the beginning of each year. Dates are also announced in the electronic service, Key Economic Indica- In 1987, a comprehensive revision was undertaken, af- tors from Statistics Sweden and on Statistics Sweden’s fecting contents, definitions and collection method. In Web site. 1993 other changes occurred mostly concerning the methodology. Revision policy In 1987, a new variable was introduced, degree of at- The LFS data presented in the press release as well as in tachment to the labour market; the reference period for the statistical report are final. Each issue of the statisti- job search activities was reduced to four weeks instead cal publication describes earlier changes in methodology of 60 days; family workers working between 1 and 14 and classification systems and how to deal with them. hours, persons on lay-off, and students receiving wages Before a change in methodology is implemented con- were classified as employed. tacts have been made with major user groups. In 1993, the measurement period for the labour force survey was changed to represent all 52 weeks of the year

203 SWEDEN Labour - Unemployment Indicators from administrative and (a) Insured unemployed other sources Labour - Other (b) Unfilled vacancies

SOURCE at the end of each month. To qualify for compensation, members must have been insured for at least Source agencies 12 months before becoming unemployed, and have Data are collected by the National Labour Market Board been gainfully employed for certain periods of time. of the Ministry of Labour. Statistics Sweden provides Members claiming compensation must be registered the data to OECD. at the Employment Service as jobseekers, must be employable and willing and able to take suitable Key national publication sources employment of at least 17 hours a week. Persons seeking temporary work are included only when the Data are available in the monthly publication of Statis- unemployment insurance decides to give benefits. tics Sweden, Arbetsmarknadsstatistik. Also included in the figures are: persons seeking part-time work (except students seeking work during Series title in national publication vacations); employable disabled persons (receiving invalidity benefits or not); retired persons (except (a) Registered unemployed: members in labour market those with partial pensions seeking part-time work); insurance. persons laid off and those responsible for the loss of (b) Unfilled vacancies. their last job; and those marginally employed seeking other work. Breakdown available (b) Vacancies notified to the public employment service The data are published in the national source by: and remaining unfilled at the end of each month.

- gender; Coverage - duration. Geographical coverage Run of data available The whole country. The series started in January 1955. Statistical population Periodicity Unemployed covers only those members of insurance Data are compiled on a monthly basis. funds for which the minimum age is 16 and the maximum 64 years old. Unit of measurement Vacancies cover all industry and services in the public Unemployed: number of persons. and private sectors. Unfilled vacancies: number of vacancies. DATA COLLECTION

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Reporting method Definition Monthly count of administrative information from the Employment Service. (a) Insured unemployed refers to the stock of unemployed members, aged 16 to 64, of insurance funds

204 SWEDEN Labour - Other Indicators from the Survey of Wages (a) Monthly hours of work and Salaries in the Private Sector Wages (b) Hourly earnings (c) Hourly labour costs

SOURCE Run of data available Source agency The Survey on Wages and Salaries in the Private Sector was introduced in 1967. Data prior to this date are from Data are compiled by Statistics Sweden. the Survey of Wages and Employment in Mining and Manufacturing which was introduced in 1947. Key national publication sources Data are available in Statistics Sweden, Statistiska Med- Periodicity delanden. Hours and Earnings data are compiled on monthly basis; Series title in national publication Hourly labour cost figures are quarterly (February, May, (a) Actual hours worked by wage earners in mining, August, November). quarrying and manufacturing. (b) Average hourly earnings of wage earners in mining, Unit of measurement quarrying and manufacturing. Index (1990=100). (c) Index of labour costs, including taxes on the labour force for wage earners in mining, quarrying and manufacturing. CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Breakdown available Definition Hours and Earnings data are published in the national (a) Monthly hours of work refer to actual hours worked source by: by wage earners. They include normal hours of work; overtime; time spent at the place of work on - industry; preparation of workplace, repairs, maintenance, etc.; - size of establishment (seven bands). time spent at the place of work waiting or standing by due to breakdown, lack of supplies or bad Hourly labour cost data are published in the national weather; time spent at work during which no work source by industry. is done but for which payment is made under a guaranteed employment contract; and time correspond- Methodological references ing to short rest periods at the workplace, including Every issue of Statistical Report series AM 38 contains a tea and coffee breaks. detailed description of the methodology and data (b) Hourly earnings refer to gross earnings of wage sources. Major changes in methodology are announced earners. They include pay for normal time worked, in advance. premium pay for overtime and shift work, additional Extensive methodological information is also available on pay for inconvenient hours (e.g., night work) and Statistics Sweden’s Internet site: http://www.scb.se/textdb. piece work compensation, as well as bonuses and premiums regularly paid at each pay period. These components are known as ‘wages for hours worked’ and do not include remuneration for time not worked

205 (e.g., for holidays, sick leave, etc.) the value of STANDARDS earnings in kind and irregularly paid bonuses and premiums. Standard classifications / nomenclatures (c) The Hourly labour cost index takes account of Industry: Swedish Standard Industrial Classification ‘wages for hours worked’ described above plus re- 1992 (SE-SIC92) which is comparable to NACE Rev.1. muneration for time not worked (e.g., for holidays, sick leave, etc.) other cash payments, the value of International comparability earnings in kind, employers’ contributions to insur- (a) The concept of hours worked is in line with interna- ance and pension schemes, and a special payroll tax (determined by size and/or composition of the em- tional guidelines. ployed labour force). (b) The concept of earnings used is limited to direct ‘Wages for hours worked’ data are collected in the wages for time worked, including regular bonuses Survey of Wages and Salaries in the Private Sector. and gratuities. It excludes remuneration for time not Estimates of wages for time not worked are calcu- worked and the value of payments in kind. lated by modelling techniques using data from several sources: labour force survey, annual survey on DATA COLLECTION wages and salaries in the private sector, and other business statistics. The calculation of employers’ Reporting units contributions are based on total salary i.e. wages for The reporting unit is the enterprise which may consist of hours not worked plus wages for hours worked. one or more establishments, all of which are contacted The Hourly labour cost index is calculated as the separately. sum of salaries paid before taxes divided by the sum of hours worked. The index published in MEI in- Reporting method cludes the special payroll tax. An index excluding Postal sample survey of enterprises. Non-respondents taxes is also calculated and published by Statistics and inconsistent data are followed up by telephone. Sweden.

Coverage Survey details

Reference period Master list Hours and Earnings: the month or at least a two-week Central Register of Enterprises and Establishments period grossed up to the full month. which covers all enterprises of all sizes. The register is continuously updated from administrative sources and Hourly labour cost: middle month of every quarter by a special postal enquiry held every year. (February, May, August, November). Survey description Geographical coverage The survey is based on a sample of approximately 2 400 The whole country. enterprises with around 5 200 establishments. The sample is stratified by industry and employment size Classification coverage giving 20 strata altogether. All large enterprises and Groups C and D of the Standard Classification SE- individual establishments with 500 or more employees SIC92. are included with certainty, with a sample drawn from the other strata. The overall sampling fraction is around Statistical population 22 per cent. Rotation sampling is used whereby one- Establishments in mining, quarrying and manufacturing fifth of the strata rotates each year. are selected among enterprises employing five or more Non-response rate in the private sector. Only wage earners in the age range 18-64 are covered. The non-response rate is around 8 per cent in terms of non-responding units and 3 per cent in terms of weighted employment. In the case of non-response, the weights of the different strata are corrected according to the actual response rates.

206 DATA MANIPULATION Breaks in time series Grossing up method In 1995 there was a change in the classification of industrial groups. This has caused a break in the time series The sample results are grossed up to the level of the for some industrial groups. universe by using the inverse of the sampling fraction after adjustment for non-responses. Preliminary estimates. Seasonal and other adjustments Definitive figures are published seven months after the preliminary results. Monthly hours of work figures are seasonally adjusted by the OECD. Timeliness Hours and Earnings data are available nine weeks after DATA QUALITY the end of the reference month. Sampling errors and their corrections Release dates The standard error of average hourly earnings is computed each month with a 95 per cent confidence interval. Release dates for the year are included in the publication plan for Official Statistics Sweden. They are also available on Statistics Sweden’s Internet site.

207 SWITZERLAND Labour - Employment Indicators from the Employment (a) Total Sample Survey of Establishments (b) Total employment * (c) Manufacturing (d) Part-time

SOURCE Total employment (subject table): the index is available from Q3 1966. Source agency Data are compiled by the Federal Statistical Office Periodicity (Office Fédéral de la Statistique - OFS). Data are compiled on a quarterly basis.

Key national publication sources Unit of measurement Data are available in OFS, Statistiques de l’Emploi. Total, Manufacturing, Part-time: number of jobs; Data are also available via STATINF, the on-line data- Total employment (subject table): index. base of the OFS.

Series title in national publication CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE (a) This is the sum of three employment series: Plein Definition temps, Temps partiel 1 and Temps partiel 2; Employment data cover all persons working for at least (b) Indice de l’emploi: Total (secondaire et tertiaire), six hours a week in the establishment surveyed. In- plein temps et temps partiel (50-89%); cluded are proprietors, administrators, directors, manag- (c) Emploi: arts et métiers, industrie; ers, salaried employees, wage earners, apprentices, ex- (d) This is the sum of the series: Temps partiel 1 and ternal agents and volunteers, as well as auxiliary work- Temps partiel 2. ers, temporary workers and family workers. Also included are persons absent on the reference date because Breakdown available of military service, sickness, injury, leave or any other reason. Employed persons working outside the estab- Data are published in the national source by: lishment are taken into account at the head office of the - economic activity; establishment. - region; Production workers are workers assigned predominantly - full-time/part-time); to production in the strict sense, i.e. in industrial, craft - gender. and manual operations.

Methodological references Employment figures are classified by duration of work, i.e. those working full-time, those working between 50% Complete methodology can be found in the publication and 89% of full-time hours and those working less than OFS, Statistiques de l’emploi et de la population active 50% of full-time hours. occupée. (a) Total refers to all persons working full-time and all Run of data available persons working part-time; Total, Manufacturing, Part-time: the survey was intro- (b) Total employment (subject table) refers to all persons duced in Q3 1992, however, data are available in line working full-time plus persons working 50% to 89% with the new survey from Q3 1991. of full-time hours.

208 (c) Manufacturing refers to all persons employed in the Data are collected on employment, shortage/surplus of manufacturing sector. labour, and job vacancies. (d) Part-time refers to persons working less than 90% of Master list full-time hours. Register of enterprises and establishments. The register Coverage excludes those units operating less than 20 hours per week. The register is updated on a regular basis using Reference period other sources of information (e.g. register from post Data refer to the final pay day of the quarter. offices, etc.)

Geographical coverage Survey description The whole country. The survey is conducted on a random sample of establishments designed to supply optimum results and equal Statistical population quality for each economic class (the variable which is optimised is total full-time employment). Data refer to all types and sizes of establishments in the public and private sectors provided that they operate for The sample is stratified according to branch of eco- at least 20 hours per week (those working less that 20 nomic activity and size class (based on full-time workhours are not classed as establishments and hence are ers). The sample size is about 45 000 establishments out of scope). representing about 13 per cent of all the eligible establishments on the register. Particular exclusions Establishments tend to stay in the sample from one Establishments of the primary sector (agriculture, horti- quarter to the next, although to avoid problems with culture, forestry and fishing) are excluded as well as ageing, the intention is to rotate a panel on a regular international organisations. Home workers are also ex- basis in the future. Some enterprises, especially the cluded. larger ones with many establishments are not all in a position to supply figures each quarter for all local units STANDARDS or a sample of them. As a result, alternative sample designs have been developed. Standard classifications / nomenclatures Non-response rate Industry uses the 1985 Nomenclature Generale des Ac- tivites Economiques which is compatible with ISIC For the first survey (third quarter 1992) the response rate 1990. rose to around 80 per cent after reminders had been issued. No adjustments are made for non-responses. DATA COLLECTION DATA MANIPULATION Reporting units Aggregations / Grossing up Establishment or local unit. Grossing up method Reporting method First employment estimates are obtained by grossing up Questionnaires are sent to the establishments by mail or the sample results by stratum, i.e., by multiplying the via electronic data transfer. total employment in a stratum for the quarter surveyed by the universe sampling fraction. Survey details These estimates are then corrected taking into account Description of questionnaire total employment (at the level of each branch of economic activity) as measured in the previous establish- The questionnaire consists of one page including expla- ment survey or in the first survey which was conducted nations. The questionnaires are provided with a bar on the same sample. code to identify the sampling units for the year or quarter concerned. The Federal Statistical Office deals with the reading of the responses, normally done by scanner.

209 DATA QUALITY ‘enterprise demography’ aspect and to achieve greater representativeness. Breaks in time series The survey has been held in one form or another since Revision policy 1921 and on a regular quarterly basis since 1925. The published data are final and are not revised. A revised survey was introduced in the third quarter of 1992. The purpose of the changes was to reduce the risk Timeliness of incompatibility with enterprise surveys, to shorten the Data are published six weeks after the end of the refer- interval between exhaustive surveys, to include the ence quarter.

210 SWITZERLAND Labour - Unemployment Indicators from administrative (a) Registered unemployed and other sources (b) Rate Labour - Other (c) Unfilled vacancies

SOURCE Methodological references Source agency Information on the methodology can be found in La Situation sur le Marché du Travail. The OFIAMT also Data are collected by the employment offices and are publishes an annual bulletin, Arbeitslosigkeit in der then transmitted to the Federal Office of Industry and Schweiz, which includes an updated article on the con- Labour (Office Fédéral de l’Industrie, des Arts et Mé- ceptual basis of the Unemployment statistics. tiers et du Travail - OFIAMT) each month for aggregation to national level. Run of data available

Key national publication sources Unemployment: data are available from 1984. Data are available in the monthly Press Release of the Vacancies: data are available from 1982. OFIAMT, La Situation sur le Marché du Travail and in Département Fédéral de l’Economie Publique, La Vie Periodicity Economique. Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Series title in national publication Unit of measurement (a) Chômeurs inscrits. (a) Unemployment: number of persons; (b) Taux de chômage. (b) Unemployment rate: percentage; (c) Places vacantes annoncées aux offices du travail. (c) Unfilled vacancies: number of jobs. Breakdown available CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE (a) Unemployment figures are published in the national source by: Definition -age; (a) Data refer to unemployed jobseekers registered with - region (canton); an official employment office for the purpose of - full-time/part-time; finding work, whether they are seeking temporary or - duration of registration; permanent work. They must be entitled to work, be able and willing to do so, thus being suitable for - qualifications of last job. placement. Jobseekers are divided into persons (b) The Rate is published in the national source by: seeking full-time work and those seeking part-time activity. Only those without any gainful activity on -age; the day of the count are included in the figures. - region (canton). Registration at the employment office is compulsory (c) Vacancy data are published in the national source by: only when the jobseeker wishes to apply for unemployment benefits. Those registered must maintain - Canton and at national level; their registration through regular attendance at their - full-time/part-time. local employment office. Failure to meet these re-

211 quirements means that the person will be removed The cantonal offices are responsible for centralising the from the register. data and forwarding them to OFIAMT in order to (b) The Unemployment rate is calculated as the number compile statistics at national level. The information is of registered unemployed as a per cent of the total now collected and transmitted electronically using the labour force. Prior to 1990, total labour force was employment service’s computer systems. compiled from the results of the 1980 Federal Population Census, from 1990, total labour force is DATA MANIPULATION derived from the 1990 Federal Population Census. (c) Vacancies notified to the public employment office Seasonal adjustment in each canton and remaining unfilled at the end of Registered unemployment series is seasonally adjusted each month. Data cover both full-time (90% and by the OECD. over) and part-time jobs. Unemployment rate, Unfilled vacancies are seasonally Coverage adjusted by the OFIAMT.

Reference period DATA QUALITY Unemployment: usually the 25th of each month, although where this day falls on a non-working day, the Breaks in time series count takes place on the last working day before the Registered unemployment: in January 1984, legislation 25th. The count involving an analysis by age group on compensation in the event of insolvency and compul- takes place quarterly in January, April, July and Octo- sory employment insurance came into force. This had ber; some effect on the statistics of jobseekers in that a dis- Vacancies: end of month. tinction was made between persons seeking full-time work and those seeking part-time work, as well as be- Geographical coverage tween unemployed persons wholly or partially without work (those partially without work are excluded from The whole country. the series presented in MEI). Statistical population Revision policy Registered unemployed: all jobseekers aged 15 and over who meet the criteria are covered. Data are final and not revised. Vacancies: all employing organisations. Timeliness DATA COLLECTION Data are available 6 to 10 days after the end of the reference month. Reporting method Monthly count of administrative information from the communal, cantonal and regional employment offices.

212 TURKEY Labour - Employment Indicators from the Quarterly Manu- (a) Manufacturing facturing Industry Production Survey Labour - Other (b) Total hours worked: manufacturing Wages (c) Hourly earnings: manufacturing

SOURCE Unit of measurement Source agency Employment: number of jobs; Data are compiled by the State Institute of Statistics Total hours worked: number of hours; (SIS). Hourly earnings: Turkish lira (thousands). Key national publication sources CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Data are available in SIS, Quarterly Manufacturing In- dustry Production Survey. Definition (a) Employees in manufacturing include production Series title in national publication workers, administrative and other workers engaged (a) The MEI indicator is the sum of two series: Average in establishments in the manufacturing industry. number of production workers in manufacturing, Production workers include all employees who are Administrative and other workers in manufacturing; directly engaged in the production or related activi- (b) Total number of man-hours worked in manufacturing; ties of the establishment, including any clerical or (c) Not published in the national source. working supervisory personnel involved in the production process such as fabricating, processing, as- Breakdown available sembling, record-keeping etc. Administrative and other workers include adminis- Employment and Hours worked are published in the trative, technical and clerical personnel, salaried national source by industry (four digit level of ISIC managers and directors, research assistants, book- Rev. 2). keepers, etc. Run of data available (b) Data refer to the Total number of hours actually worked by operatives. They include overtime and The survey was introduced in 1974. Data on production waiting time, and exclude time spent on vacation, workers and hours worked are available from 1977. casual and sick leave. Data on administrative and other workers, and hours (c) The Hourly earnings figures are computed by divid- worked are available from 1983. Hourly earnings for ing total earnings by the total number of hours production workers, administrative and other workers worked. Total earnings comprise the following ele- are available from 1988. ments: Periodicity - direct wages and salaries for normal time worked or work done and remuneration for time Data are compiled on a quarterly basis. not worked; - premium pay for overtime;

213 - bonuses and gratuities, namely year-end and status and generally engaged in one type of economic seasonal bonuses, premiums and profit-sharing activity and which has the registers and accounting re- bonuses (included at the per diem amount ); sources necessary to fill in the questionnaires. - social security payments, payments in kind for meals, transport, clothing, etc., and employers’ Reporting method contributions to social security for their employ- Quarterly establishment survey of manufacturing indus- ees. try. Coverage Survey details Reference period Description of questionnaire The whole of the quarter. Information is requested on details of the establishment Geographical coverage (type of company, share of public capital in enterprise, The whole country. activity etc.), employment, hours worked, and payments made. In addition, production and sales of commodities, Classification coverage new orders and stocks, income and outlay, and fixed capital investment are reported. Manufacturing industry according to ISIC Rev. 2. Survey description Statistical population There is a full-scope survey of establishments with more All manufacturing establishments in the public sector than 10 persons engaged and a sample survey of those and manufacturing establishments with 10 or more per- with between one and nine persons. sons employed in the private sector are covered, representing approximately 80% of the value added in the Non-response rate manufacturing industry. Non-response is around 10%.

STANDARDS DATA QUALITY Standard classifications / nomenclatures Breaks in time series Industry: ISIC Rev. 2. Prior to 1983 all establishments in the public sector and Departures from international standards establishments with ten or more persons engaged in the private sector were covered. Between 1983 and 1992, Hours worked correspond to the concept of hours paid the survey collected detailed data from all manufactur- for; ing establishments in the public sector and manufacturing establishments with 25 or more persons engaged in Earnings: the definition of compensation of employees the private sector. In addition, manufacturing estab- conforms to the UN International Recommendations on lishments in the private sector employing between 10 Industrial Statistics and System of National Accounts. and 24 persons were covered by a less detailed questionnaire. All manufacturing establishments in the pub- DATA COLLECTION lic sector and those in the private sector with 10 or more persons engaged have been covered by the detailed Reporting units questionnaire since 1993. The reporting unit is the establishment, defined as a work place under a single ownership or controlling

214 TURKEY Labour - Employment Indicators from the Labour (a) Part-time (economic reasons) Force Survey (LFS) Labour - Unemployment (b) Rate (c) Short-term

SOURCE Unit of measurement Source agency Part-time (economic reasons): number of persons; Data are compiled by SIS. Unemployment rate: percentage. Short-term unemployment: original data expressed in Key national publication sources number of persons are converted to an index by OECD. Data are available in the SIS publications: Monthly Bulletin of Statistics, Statistical Yearbook, Annual La- CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE bour Statistics and Household Labour Force Survey Results. Definition (a) Part-time (economic reasons) refers to persons un- Series title in national publication deremployed and includes those who work less than (a) Persons underemployed; 40 hours because of economic reasons and who are (b) Unemployment rate; able to work more at their present job or are capable of doing a second job, plus persons seeking to (c) Persons unemployed from one to two months. change jobs or seek a second job because of insuffi- Breakdown available cient salary or because of not working in their usual occupation. Unemployment figures are published in the national (b) Unemployment rate refers to the number of unem- source by: ployed persons as a per cent of the total labour force. - duration; Here the unemployed are all persons aged 12 years - urban/rural; and over and who, during the reference week, were without work, currently available for work (within -age; 15 days) and actively seeking work. Total labour - gender; force equals the unemployed plus the employed. - educational status. The employed are all persons aged 12 years and over Methodological references and who during the reference week, were either at work, even only for one hour, or with a job but tem- Full documentation is available in Household Labour porarily absent from work (on vacation, maternity Force Survey Results , Publication No: 1709, SIS. leave etc.) but with a formal job attachment. In- cluded are: full and part-time students working full Run of data available or part-time, persons who performed some work for pay or profit during the reference week while subject Data are available from October 1988. to compulsory schooling or retired receiving a pension or registered as a jobseeker or receiving unem- Periodicity ployment benefits. Also included are paid and un- Data are available for April and October each year. paid apprentices, participants in employment promotion schemes, paid and unpaid family workers,

215 private domestic servants, and members of co- Survey details operatives. (c) Persons unemployed from one to two months. Description of questionnaire The questionnaire in its latest form appeared in October Coverage 1990 and contained revisions which included a reduced number of questions from 51 to 40 by taking out ques- Reference period tions relating to migration, income, days worked and The third week of the survey month (April and October). occupational training.

Geographical coverage Master list The whole country. The 1985 Population Census list of dwellings prior to October 1994, and the 1990 Population Census thereaf- Statistical population ter. All persons aged 12 years and over in private house- Survey description holds within Turkey, whose head is a Turkish national. A multi-staged stratified cluster sample is used. Two Particular exclusions sample sets, each comprising four sub-samples are con- Members of the armed forces (volunteers, career mili- structed with the main aim of carrying out regional es- tary and conscripts) not living in private households, as timates. Field work is subject to regular checks. Re- well as persons doing civilian service equivalent to interviews are carried out by supervisors (about one- military service are not covered by the labour force sur- tenth of questionnaires of each enumerator). The cur- vey. Also excluded from employment and therefore out rent questionnaire is so structured as to provide compa- of the labour force are persons engaged in own house- rable information to that from EU Labour Force Sur- work and persons doing unpaid community work. veys. Non-response rate STANDARDS Non-response rates are calculated and vary according to Standard classifications / nomenclatures location. In the 1994 survey the rural area rate was 4.1 per cent and in urban areas it was 6.6 per cent. From Occupations uses ISCO 1968; 1994, substitute households were used in the event of Industry uses ISIC Rev.2. non-response.

International comparability DATA MANIPULATION Definitions broadly comply with international guide- Aggregations / Grossing up lines. Grossing up method DATA COLLECTION Factors used to gross up the survey results to population are derived from the 1990 Population Census results. Reporting units

Dwellings as listed in the 1985 Population Census. DATA QUALITY Reporting method Sampling errors and their corrections Household sample survey, carried out by the SIS with Sampling errors are calculated for the household survey the aid of regional offices. Collection lasts about 15 results using the Clusters technique developed by the days for each survey round. Persons involved in the International Statistical Institute. collection operate from 22 regional offices throughout the country. Breaks in time series Responding to the demographic changes in the country, the sample structure and size used in the survey was revised in 1994. Further changes in October 1994 saw

216 the introduction of a revised method of weighting the substitute households reflecting similar characteristics to sample results to gross up to population. The new the non-responding households were introduced. method made use of national population projections by Preliminary estimates region, sex, and specific age groups. The results of the surveys prior to October 1994 were revised using the LFS results in the press releases are preliminary and new method. Also the treatment of non-responding subject to revision. They are available within 5 months households was changed so that from the 1994 survey after the reference period of the survey.

217 TURKEY Labour - Employment Indicators from administrative Insured wage earners and other sources

SOURCE CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Source agencies Definition Data are compiled by the Social Insurance Institution Number of operative workers covered by the Social and provided to the OECD by the SIS. Insurance Law.

Key national publication sources Coverage

Data are available in SIS, Monthly bulletin of Statistics. Reference period

Series title in national publication The whole month. Number of insured operative workers. Geographical coverage The whole country. Run of data available Statistical population Data are available from 1960. Persons covered under the Social Insurance Law. Ac- Periodicity cording to the Social Insurance Law, persons are automatically insured when they enter into service. How- Data are compiled on a monthly basis. ever, there are a few exceptions defined by the law. Unit of measurement DATA COLLECTION Number of insured employed persons. Reporting method The data are obtained from information contained in the contribution certificates furnished by employers as monthly insurance reports to the National Social Insur- ance Institution.

218 TURKEY Labour - Unemployment Indicators from administrative and (a) Registered unemployed other sources Labour - Other (b) New vacancies

SOURCE Run of data available Source agencies Registered unemployed: data are available from 1962; The Labour Placement Office (LPO) collects the data Job vacancies: data are available from 1955. which are then transmitted to SIS. Periodicity Key national publication sources Data are compiled on a monthly basis. Data are available in SIS, Monthly Bulletin of Statistics, and in LPO, Yearbook of Statistics and Monthly Bulle- Unit of measurement tin. Registered unemployed: number of persons; Vacancies are also announced weekly on the radio. Job vacancies: number of vacancies. Series title in national publication CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE (a) Registered unemployment; (b) Demand for labour through Labour Placement Of- Definition fice. (a) Registered unemployed: data refer to the number of Breakdown available applicants to the LPO who are in the active population and are able and willing to work but are not Registered unemployed: data are published in the na- gainfully employed at a minimum wage rate at the tional source by: time of their application and who have not been placed in employment by the LPO. Registration is - age groups; voluntary and applicants must apply in person at the - gender; LPO. - occupation; (b) Vacancies notified by employers to the LPO during - public/private sector; the month. - agricultural/non-agricultural sector. Job vacancies are published in the national source by: Coverage - private/public sectors; Reference period - gender; (a) Registered unemployed: end of month. - occupation; (b) Vacancies: whole month. - region/provinces; - economic activity; Geographical coverage - agriculture/non-agriculture; The whole country . - filled/cancelled job. Statistical population (a) Registered unemployed: all persons aged 14 and over with no upper age limit;

219 (b) Vacancies notified to the LPO by employers. training or job creation measures does not result in deletion from the register. Particular exclusions (a) Registered unemployed: those applicants who will DATA COLLECTION not accept job possibilities at other establishments and those who have a job but wish to move to a dif- Reporting method ferent one are excluded from the count as are retired Monthly count of administrative information at the persons seeking a new job. Persons receiving inva- LPO. lidity benefits, retirement or other pensions; those on temporary or indefinite lay-off without pay; those on strike; and those responsible for losing their DATA MANIPULATION last job are excluded from the count. Unemployed persons may reject up to two job offers after which Seasonal and other adjustments they are deleted from the register. Temporary in- Data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD. ability to work due to illness, accident or other leave does not lead to removal from the register. Also participation in, or refusal to participate in state

220 UNITED KINGDOM Labour - Employment Indicators from the Short-term (a) Employees - manufacturing Employment Enquiries and other (b) Employees - services sources (c) Total employment *

SOURCE Periodicity Source agency The quarterly short-term employment enquiry covers the whole economy and the monthly enquiry covers the Data are compiled by the Office for National Statistics production industries. (ONS). Employees in manufacturing: monthly; Key national publication sources Employees in services: quarterly; Data are available in ONS, Labour Market Trends. Total employment: quarterly. Information is also available on-line through NOMIS (National On-Line Manpower Information System). Unit of measurement Recently released data are also available through ONS Number of jobs. STATFAX by telefax.

Series title in national publication CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE (a) Employees in employment in Great Britain: manu- Definition facturing industries; Estimates of employees refer to the number of jobs held (b) Employees in employment in Great Britain: service by employees whose employer runs a ‘Pay as You Earn’ industries; (PAYE) scheme (whether the employees pay PAYE or (c) Workforce in employment: United Kingdom. not). People holding two jobs with different employers will be counted twice. Employees include wage and Breakdown available salary earners, permanent, temporary and casual em- (a) Employment data are published in the national ployees, apprentices, trainees, person temporarily absent source by: from work because of sickness, vacation, strike etc. Participants in government training schemes are in- - industry; cluded if they have an employment contract. - size of firm; - gender; (a) The figures refer to employees in employment in the - full-time/part-time; manufacturing sector; - geographical region. (b) The figures refer to employees in employment in service industries; Methodological references (c) Total employment. The figures refer to the workforce Methodological descriptions are published periodically in employment in the economy. They cover em- in Labour Market Trends. ployees in paid jobs, the self-employed, HM forces and participants on work-related Government training programmes. Run of data available The short-term statistics of employees in employment started in 1971. Figures on total employment are available from 1960.

221 Coverage points, one for salaried staff and one for weekly paid people, then there would be four reporting units). Reference period A specific day each month (for production industries) Reporting method and each quarter (for agriculture, construction and serv- Short-term (monthly and quarterly) Employment En- ices). quiries of a panel of employers. (The ONS proposes in Geographical coverage the future to merge the data collection from the short- term employment specific enquires with existing turn- The monthly survey of production industries covers over and sales enquiries). Questionnaires are posted to Great Britain only. The quarterly survey covers the the sample units up to two weeks prior to the reference United Kingdom. date. For the series published in MEI the coverage is as fol- About 69 per cent of the employee estimates in the lows: workforce are currently derived from this panel of em- - Employees: Great Britain; ployers, the remaining 31 per cent are from administrative data for major sectors such as banks and govern- - Total employment: United Kingdom. ment. Classification coverage Estimates of the self-employed are taken from the Employees in manufacturing: Group D of SIC 1992; household Labour Force Survey. Employees in services: Groups G through Q of SIC Survey details 1992. Description of questionnaire Statistical population The questionnaire includes instructions on definitions, All sectors of industry, public and private. inclusions and exclusions for each question. Different questions relate to different industries but broadly cover Particular exclusions the following: The Workforce in Employment (WiE) surveys exclude manual homeworkers on piece work rates and trainees - number of employees by sex, full-time and part- on government programmes who do not have a contract time, and reasons for significant changes since of employment. These groups are not included in the the last return; overall employment figures. - number of administrative, technical or clerical staff by sex; Employee figures exclude domestic servants in private - reasons why the business has stopped; households; they are regarded as self-employed in the - contact name for further enquiries. WiE surveys. Master list STANDARDS The Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR), based on PAYE and businesses known through their Standard classifications / nomenclatures Value Added Tax (VAT) returns, replaces the previous Industry uses the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC PAYE only register. IDBR is updated with information 1992) which is convertible to ISIC. drawn from the results of the Annual Employment Sur- vey (AES). Whilst the PAYE records are updated con- stantly, there may still be a time lag between the start-up DATA COLLECTION of a new business and notification to the authorities. Reporting units Survey description The reporting unit is the ‘data unit’ i.e., a specific PAYE The AES was carried out for the first time in 1995 and income tax paypoint at a single site which belongs to a replaces the biennial Census of Employment, conducted single industry (e.g. companies having a headquarters in 1987, 1989, 1991 and 1993 (all carried out in Sep- office and two branches would have three reporting tember). The sample size is 130 000 businesses cover- units; in addition, if one of the branches has two paying some one million workplaces. All businesses with

222 25 or more employees that have more than one work PAYE details, IDBR information and results of the latest place are fully covered each year in the AES. Other Census of Employment. multi-workplace businesses with fewer than 25 employees are surveyed once every four years. For businesses Weights for aggregation with only one site there is a full survey each year of The employment estimates are weighted on the basis of those with 50 or more employees. Those businesses the latest Census of Employment figures using a set with 25 to 49 employees are surveyed once every four formula. The full census provides a benchmark for years, and the survey interval is considerably longer for other sources of employment and related information, those with 25 or fewer employees. including annual estimates of employment. From 1995 The ‘Short-term Employment Enquiries’ update this a new Annual Employment Survey replaces the full employment information, monthly for the production Censuses of Employment. sector (i.e., primary except agriculture and manufacturing) and quarterly for the whole economy. Data are Seasonal and other adjustments obtained in returns from a panel of employers selected Short-term data are seasonally adjusted using the X-11 from the larger surveys. The panel was updated in 1996 variant of the US Bureau of the Census Method II pro- to reflect the industrial structure shown in the 1993 Cen- gramme, with additive factors produced for employ- sus of Employment and is updated every quarter to re- ment. There is an annual review of seasonal factors to flect births and deaths of businesses. The panel is strati- produce a consistent series. fied by region, industry and number of employees. A random sample of data units is drawn from each stratum. Each quarter approximately 30 000 units are in the DATA QUALITY sample with a monthly sub-sample of 6 000 units in the manufacturing and production sectors. The sample Breaks in time series consists of over 6 000 strata and the sampling fraction For the short-term series a new panel of employers was varies with each stratum. Large companies (generally selected in March 1992 and at the same time estimation those with 1 000 or more employees) are included with techniques and allowance for non-response were also certainty. Results of the AES are used to benchmark the modified. monthly and quarterly employment surveys. Revision policy Non-response rate When results from the Annual Employment Survey Estimates for non-response in the AES are made by (AES) become available, data are subject to revision means of linear regression equations on PAYE data held back to the previous AES. on the IDBR. Timeliness DATA MANIPULATION First release of data (via Press Release) is approximately Aggregations / Grossing up 12 weeks after the end of the survey reference period.

Grossing up method Release dates Estimates for total employment are made for businesses Advance release announcements are published in Na- not surveyed in the AES using either regression tech- tional Statistics Updates. niques or mean estimators using information from

223 UNITED KINGDOM Wages Indicators from the Wages and (a) Weekly earnings - employees Salaries Survey (b) Unit labour cost

SOURCE fore tax, national insurance or other deductions. They include basic wages, payments for hours of Source agency overtime worked, shift premia, grading increments, Data are compiled by the ONS. bonuses and other productivity or incentive payments, holiday pay, etc. Excluded are payments Key national publication sources which were made during the pay period but which related to another period (e.g., arrears of pay); reim- Data are available in ONS, Labour Market Trends. bursement of payments for travelling, subsistence Information is available on-line through NOMIS. Re- and similar expenses incurred in carrying out the cently released data are also available through ONS employer’s business; tips or gratuities received by STATFAX by telefax. the employee but not shown in the employer’s pay records. Series title in national publication Also excluded is the value of benefits in kind provided by the employer except for agricultural, cater- (a) Average earnings index: all employees; ing and other workers whose employers provide ac- (b) Wages and salaries per unit of output, seasonally commodation, meals, etc., for which reckonable val- adjusted, manufacturing. ues for pay purposes are laid down in the Wages Or- ders. The amounts are included in total gross earn- Breakdown available ings but not identified separately. Earnings data are available by industry. (b) The Unit labour cost index is derived from a combination of the earnings data from the Average Earn- Methodological references ings Index (compiled using the results of Wages and Salaries Survey), employment and output indicators. Methodological descriptions are published periodically in Labour Market Trends. Coverage

Run of data available Reference period Data are available from 1963. Weekly earnings: the last pay week of the month for weekly paid employees and the whole month for Periodicity monthly paid or four-weekly paid employees. Data are complied on a monthly basis. Geographical coverage Weekly earnings: Great Britain; Unit of measurement Unit labour cost: United Kingdom. Indices (1990=100). Classification coverage CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Group D of SIC 1992. Definition Statistical population (a) Weekly earnings refer to the average weekly earn- Firms with 25 or more employees in all branches of ings of all adult employees aged 18 and over in the industry although in those sectors where the majority of manufacturing industry. Earnings are gross pay be- firms is small, representation means that certain sectors

224 are excluded. The main excluded sectors are: sea trans- month in question; the amount included in that total in port; commission agents; house and estate agents; respect of arrears in pay; and the total number of em- legal services; accountants; education other than ployees whose wages and salaries are included in that school, further or higher; medical, dental or veterinary total. There is also space for the employer to indicate practices; hairdressing and other personal services; and any significant changes reflected in the month’s figures, charities, religious and community services. It should such as new pay rates, bonus payments and disputes. be noted that the indicators published in MEI cover only the manufacturing industries. Master list Register established at the last Census of Employment Particular exclusions held by the ONS. Firms with fewer than 25 employees are not included in the survey. Also not covered are working proprietors Survey description and working directors who do not receive a salary, The survey is a probability sample survey which covers young workers below the age of 16 and unpaid family each month approximately 8 000 companies and organi- workers. sations. The probability of sample selection is directly proportional to the size of the firm. Firms with more STANDARDS than 1 000 employees are included with certainty in the sample, although in some sectors where all firms are Standard classifications / nomenclatures large, a one-in-four sample is taken. Firms with between 500 and 1 000 employees are sampled on a one- Industry uses SIC 1992 (convertible to ISIC). in-two basis, while those with between 100 and 499 employees have a one-in-four chance of being selected. Departures from international standards Small firms with fewer than 100 employees (but more The definition of gross wages and salaries conforms to than 24) are sampled on a one-in-twenty basis. The the international recommendations on gross earnings in sample covers about 40 per cent of employees in em- cash. The value of earnings in kind is excluded from the ployment and the index represents around 90 per cent of concept used. all employees when the sample is grossed up. Non-response rate DATA COLLECTION Employers are required to respond by law and so the Reporting units response rate is high around 95 per cent. No adjustment is made for those that fail to respond. The sampling unit is the firm.

Reporting method DATA MANIPULATION Data are collected by postal questionnaire and employ- Aggregations / Grossing up ers are required by law to respond. Aggregation method Survey details Within each industry group an average level of wages and salaries is calculated from the sampled firms, taking Description of questionnaire account of the different sampling fractions for size of The questionnaire is designed to minimise the amount of firm. Averages for industry groups are then weighted information requested from employers. The following together according to the total numbers in employment seven items of information are requested: the total in each group to produce weighted average wages and amount of wages and salaries paid to weekly paid em- salaries data for industry classes and ultimately the ployees; the amount included for weekly paid employ- whole economy. It is a base weighted index and em- ees in that pay week in respect of holiday pay in ad- ployment weights are not changed when later data be- vance; the amount included for weekly paid employees come available. in the same week in respect of arrears of pay; the total number of weekly paid employees who are paid in that Weights for aggregation same week; the total amount of wages and salaries paid Weights used to calculate the index of earnings are de- to monthly paid or four-weekly paid employees in the rived from the Census of Employment.

225 Seasonal and other adjustments Revision policy Seasonally adjusted earnings indices are calculated us- When results from the Annual Employment Survey ing the X-11 variant of the US Bureau of the Census (AES) become available, data are subject to revision Method II. back to the previous AES. The seasonally adjusted series are revised annually to accommodate changes in Other errors and their correction seasonal factors.

Adjustments for temporary influences on the Average Timeliness Earnings Index are made through the construction of underlying rates of growth. Data are available approximately six weeks after the end of the reference period. DATA QUALITY Release dates Breaks in time series Advance release announcements are published in Na- In November 1989 a revision of the index was intro- tional Statistics Updates. duced but the overall effect on the index was small.

226 UNITED KINGDOM Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Labour Force Employment training Survey (LFS)

SOURCE Geographical coverage Source agency Great Britain. (A similar Labour Force Survey is carried out in Northern Ireland). Data are compiled by the ONS. Statistical population Key national publication sources Persons aged 16 and over resident in private households Data are available in ONS, Labour Market Trends and and in National Health Service (NHS) accommodation. Labour Force Survey Quarterly Bulletin. Particular exclusions Information is also available on-line through NOMIS and from Quantime Computer Bureau. Other forms of training are excluded; Persons on government-supported training programmes are considered Series title in national publication to be employed or self-employed and therefore appear in other categories in the LFS results. In employment: Government-supported training and employment programmes - not seasonally adjusted. DATA COLLECTION Run of data available Reporting units Quarterly series available from Spring 1992, annual Households and NHS accommodation based on post- from Spring 1983 to Spring 1991. code addresses.

Periodicity Reporting method Data are compiled on a quarterly basis. Household interviews are by telephone or face-to-face methods. Unit of measurement Number of persons. Survey details Description of questionnaire CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE The questionnaire covers a wide range of demographic Definition and employment-related information. Questions about economic activity (paid work, job search, etc.) are asked Persons on government-supported training programmes. of all people aged 16 and over and relate to the specified The three current programmes are: Training for Work, reference period (normally one week or four weeks de- Youth Training (including Youth Credits) and Modern pending on the topic). Apprenticeships. These are counted as in employment in the Labour Force Survey. Survey description The sampling frame is the Postcode Address File pre- Coverage pared by the Post Office for mailing purposes. In Eng- land and Wales a small users file is selected where ad- Reference period dresses receive fewer than 25 items of post per day, thus The week ending on the Sunday before the interview. ensuring near complete coverage of all private households. In Scotland the Postcode Address File is used also. The sample in each constituent part of the country

227 is divided into major strata according to districts based an estimate of the private household population of the on population size and local authorities. Around 60 000 country using Census of Population and mid-year esti- households form the sample with around half in the mates. A first stage grossing up factor is then calculated larger population urban areas. The remaining sample is by dividing the population estimates for private house- clustered on the basis of the more sparsely populated holds in specified areas by the number of responding areas. Each household remains in the sample for five persons in the sample survey in the same areas. The successive surveys with a fifth of the sample replaced second stage is calculated by dividing the grossed up each quarter. The first interview is carried out face-to- sample by the population estimates formed from other face and subsequent ones by telephone. characteristics such as marital status, sex and region. The final stage is multiplying the first and second stage Non-response rate factors together and weighting the survey data to popu- For questions asked every quarter, the response is car- lation totals accordingly. ried forward from the previous quarter if contact is not made with the respondent in the subsequent quarter. DATA QUALITY Revision policy DATA MANIPULATION Data are revised when population estimate are revised. Aggregations / Grossing up Timeliness Grossing up method Data are published six weeks after the end of the refer- The survey results are grossed up by applying weights to ence quarter. each respondent related to their age, sex, and region of residence. The procedure involves three stages based on

228 UNITED KINGDOM Labour - Unemployment Indicators from administrative (a) Registered unemployed and other sources (b) Rate (c) Short-term Labour - Other (d) Unfilled vacancies

SOURCE Methodological references Source agencies The methodological background to the monthly unemployment count is explained in the booklet How Exactly The data are compiled by the Office for National Statis- is Unemployment Measured? More detailed explana- tics (ONS) using data supplied by the Department for tions are given in special feature articles which appear Social Security. periodically in Labour Market Trends. Key national publication sources Run of data available Data are available in ONS, Labour Market Trend and The administrative unemployment series began in the ONS, Labour Market Statistics Monthly First Release. late nineteenth century but has undergone many changes Information is also available on-line through NOMIS. in that period. Data on the MEI database are available Recently released data is also available through ONS from 1955. STATFAX by telefax. Vacancy figures are available from July 1961. Series title in national publication Periodicity (a) Claimant unemployment; Data are compiled on a monthly basis. (b) Claimant unemployment, percentage of workforce; (c) Unemployed by duration: up to 4 weeks; Unit of measurement (d) Vacancies: unfilled vacancies at UK Jobcentres. Registered unemployment: number of persons; Breakdown available Unemployment rate: percentage; Unemployment data are published in the national source Short-term: original data expressed in number by: of persons are converted to index OECD; - geographical area (region, county, etc.); Vacancies: number of jobs. - outflow /inflow; - duration; CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE - age group; - occupation (sought and usual occupations). Definition Vacancy data are published in the national source by: (a) Registered unemployment: data refer to the claimant unemployed who are persons claiming benefits(up to - industry (for Great Britain only); October 1996 these were unemployment benefit, un- - occupation (for Great Britain only); employment-related income support or national in- - location (area). surance credits) at Employment Service local offices on the day of the monthly count (i.e., the second Thursday of each month) who, on that day, were unemployed, available for work and were actively

229 seeking work. From October 1996, unemployment dents seeking temporary employment during vacation benefits were replaced by the Jobseeker’s Allowance and intending to return to full-time education are ex- (JSA), and unemployment-related income support cluded from the series. Temporarily stopped workers were replaced by income-based JSA. Persons seek- expecting to return to their jobs are also excluded. ing temporary or part-time work are included pro- Vacancies notified to Jobcentres do not represent the vided the type of work sought offers reasonable total number of vacancies in the economy at any one prospects of finding a job. First time jobseekers time. Jobcentres account for about one third of all un- claiming and eligible for benefit are included as are filled vacancies nationally. Vacancies on government- some categories of disabled persons. Those jobseek- sponsored programmes are excluded except for some ers who quit their job voluntarily or were responsible community-based programmes in Northern Ireland. for losing their last job would be included even though they may not be eligible to receive benefits for a specified period. STANDARDS (b) The Unemployment rate refers to the total claimant Standard classifications / nomenclatures unemployed as a percentage of the latest mid-year estimate of total workforce in employment. The Occupation: Standard Classification of Occupations latter is defined as employees in employment (an (SOC), broadly comparable to ISCO, which was employer-based job count), the self-employed adopted in 1993 replacing the earlier Classification of (Labour Force Survey headcount), HM Forces Occupational Titles System (CODOTS). (figures from the Ministry of Defence), participants Industry: Standard Industrial Classification (SIC 92 on Government-supported training programmes from spring 1995) which is broadly comparable to ISIC. (figures from the Department of Employment and Earnings) and the claimant unemployed. (c) Short-term unemployment refers to the claimant un- DATA COLLECTION employed registered for up to four weeks. Reporting unit (d) Unfilled vacancies are job opportunities notified by an employer to a Jobcentre or Careers Office Monthly count of administrative data. (including self-employed opportunities created by employers) which have not been filled or cancelled Reporting method on the day of the count (i.e., the first Friday of each The count is based mainly on a computerised register of calendar month). The statistics cover vacancies for a all claimant records held at all unemployment benefit limited period only, full and part-time vacancies. offices. The count also includes some 11 000 clerical records. Each day information on new claims, cancella- Coverage tions, etc. is entered on the system which provides an Reference period up-to-date picture of claimants. Unemployment: second Thursday of the month. DATA MANIPULATION Vacancies: first Friday of the month. Seasonal and other adjustments Geographical coverage The national and regional series are adjusted using the United Kingdom. US Bureau of Census X-11 method.

Statistical population DATA QUALITY Unemployment: all persons aged 16 and over claiming benefits at a local unemployment benefit office. Breaks in time series Vacancies: all industries in the public and private sec- Unemployment: a significant change to the basis of the tors. count took place in October 1982 when the series became a count of those claiming benefit rather than just Particular exclusions those registering for employment at the employment Unemployment: those not eligible for benefits will tend offices. Since then there have been numerous adjustments (more than 30), particularly to the benefits sys- not to register at an unemployment benefit office. Stu-

230 tem, which have affected the series in some way. All The count is a by-product of the administration system changes have been documented in Labour Market used to pay benefits and can, therefore, reflect changes Trends. The latest change was in April 1996 with the in that system. Whenever a genuine discontinuity has introduction of new rules associated with the Jobseek- affected the coverage of the count and led to a loss of ers’ Allowance (JSA), which was implemented in Octo- comparability over time, ONS statisticians have recast ber 1996. Under the new rules, Job Seekers Allowance the seasonally adjusted national and regional series is paid for six months, rather than twelve months, as backwards, in order to keep their historical coverage previously Unemployment Benefit This change, as with consistent with current criteria for claiming benefits. all other significant discontinuities, involved a recasting of the seasonally adjusted series. Corroborating data Vacancies: a switch to a computerised system during Labour Market Trends includes occasional articles com- the period 1980 to 1984 improved the accuracy of re- paring the monthly claimant count and the quarterly ILO corded statistics. In 1985, coverage was changed to measure of unemployment derived from the Labour include “self-employed” vacancies. Both these changes Force Survey. resulted in a higher count of job vacancies. Timeliness Revision policy Unemployment data are available five weeks, and va- Registered unemployed. The raw series are never re- cancy data some six or seven weeks, after the count vised. The seasonally adjusted figures for the latest date. month are identified as provisional in the ‘First Release’, and revised in the subsequent month. Every spring, the Release dates seasonally adjusted series are also revised over a longer time-span. Release dates are published by the ONS in National Statistics Updates.

231 UNITED KINGDOM Labour - Other Indicators from administrative Labour disputes - time lost and other sources

SOURCE CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Source agency Definition Data are compiled by the ONS. The statistics cover stoppages of work due to labour disputes between employers and workers or between Key national publication sources workers and other workers connected with the terms and conditions of employment. They can be initiated by Data are available in ONS, Labour Market Trends. workers or their representatives (strikes) or by employ- Data are also available through ONS STATFAX by ers (lockouts); both are included in the series. Working telefax. days lost are defined as the number of working days not worked by people involved in a dispute at the establish- Series title in national publication ment at which the dispute is taking place. Account is taken only of time lost in the basic working week. Labour Disputes: working days lost in all stoppages in Overtime work is excluded. Where strikes last less than progress in the period, all industries and services. a working day, the hours lost are converted to full-time equivalents. Workers who are both directly and indi- Breakdown available rectly involved in the dispute are counted in the statis- Data on labour disputes are published in the national tics. Workers indirectly involved at other establish- source for the following categories: ments are excluded. - cause of dispute; Coverage - industry; - number of workers involved; Reference period - duration of stoppage; The monthly data refer to disputes beginning during the - time not worked; month plus those continuing from the previous month. - size of economic unit involved; - region. Geographical coverage United Kingdom. Run of data available Statistical population Data are available from 1957. All industries in the public and private sectors. Included Periodicity are the following types of action: constitutional or official strikes; unofficial strikes; sympathetic strikes; gen- Data are compiled on a monthly basis. eral strikes; lockouts; rotating or revolving strikes; and sit-ins. Unit of measurement Particular exclusions Number of working days lost. Political strikes, working to rule, go-slows and overtime bans are not included in the statistics. The minimum threshold for inclusion is that the stoppage must involve at least 10 workers or last at least one working day, unless the aggregate number of days not worked exceeds

232 100. Those strikes which do not come to the notice of Sunday, and these are treated as working days. Allow- the Employment Services will be excluded. ance is not usually made for absence from work for such reasons as sickness or unauthorised leave, unless the information is readily available. If the method described STANDARDS is not possible, then the total amount of time not worked Standard classifications / nomenclatures is calculated as the product of the number of workers involved and the duration of the stoppage. Time not Industry uses SIC 1992 (compatible with ISIC) from worked by part-time workers involved in a stoppage is 1994, SIC 1980 prior to this date. converted to full-time equivalent working days using the ratio of their normal hours to those of full-time workers. International comparability The definitions used broadly comply with the interna- Reporting method tional guidelines. For Great Britain the data are collected through the local Employment Services (ES) and other sources, including DATA COLLECTION centralised returns from certain large employers, press reports, trade unions and the Advisory, Conciliation and Reporting units Arbitration Service. The staff at the ES use standard forms to collect information at the start of the stoppage The basic unit of measurement used to record a strike or and then at the end of each month or at the conclusion of lockout is the case of dispute. Work stoppages arising the stoppage. Information for stoppages in Northern from the same case of dispute, occurring at different Ireland is collected through the Department of Eco- times in the same establishment, or simultaneously or at nomic Development. There is no legal obligation to different times in establishments of the same or different report the occurrence of a strike or lockout. enterprises are counted as the same strike or lockout, unless the period between stoppages is greater than two months. DATA QUALITY Time not worked is the total amount of time not worked. Revision policy It is measured in working days and is based on the total amount of time not worked on each day of the stoppage. Each month figures for the current calendar year may be If a strike or lockout lasts for less than the basic working revised. Approximately four months after the end of the day, the hours not worked are converted to full day year, the previous year’s data are frozen. equivalents. Account is taken only of the time not worked in the basic working week; overtime work is Timeliness not included, nor is weekend working or work on public Data are available in the main publication approxi- or annual holidays where this is not a regular practice. mately three months following the reference month. The number of days not worked by shift workers is determined by the average number of shifts a worker would work during a week running from Monday to

233