Main Economic Indicators Sources and Methods: Labour and Wage Statistics

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

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1.

Introduction

This publication contains detailed descriptions of the methodologies used by Member countries in the compilation of key labour market indicators published in Parts One and Two of OECD's Main Economic Indicators (MEI) publication. The topics covered are employment, unemployment, wages and other labour indicators such as job vacancies, labour disputes, hours of work and unit labour cost.

MEI has expanded in response to the many changes which have taken place in the labour market itself and in the statistics needed to measure newly emerging trends. Although a discussion on these issues is not usual in a publication dealing with the sources and methods of statistical indicators, its inclusion is felt warranted as an effort 'to set the scene' for what has 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 facilitate comparison of the different characteristics of the national statistics regarding their coverage, definition, use of standards, data collection methods, data compilation and quality aspects.

Labour Market Developments The evolution of the labour market in the past two decades has been significant not only in terms of its wide-ranging nature, but also in terms of the pace with which it has proceeded. Some statistical series, for example the numbers of persons with temporary work contracts, have been, or are being, produced in response to this new environment. However, methodological and budgetary difficulties have prevented all statistical gaps from being filled. Furthermore, changes in the market are continuing and these will undoubtedly result in additional requirements for statistical measures. Outlined below are some of the major factors at work within the area, influencing present and future information needs. Given the trend towards increased international co-ordination of policy initiatives, greater emphasis on internationally comparable definitions and treatments should emerge.

Methodological descriptions are presented for the indicators of each country according to the principal source of the statistics. These are: (i) establishment surveys, which are frequently the source for information on employment, earnings and hours of work; (ii) household labour force surveys, which provide information on employment, unemployment and hours of work; and (iii) administrative or other sources, which are mainly used to compile unemployment, job vacancy and labour dispute statistics. Occasionally an indicator is derived from a combination of these sources where, for example, an establishment survey and administrative data each provide information on the subject covered. Additionally one source may be used for projections of benchmark data obtained from other sources.

The rise in unemployment and the associated urgency for job creation programmes have highlighted the need for a wider range of statistics on unemployment. A deeper insight is needed into the composition of unemployment (by age group, by gender, by skill/education levels, etc.) and its duration (shortterm versus long-term). There is also the need to accommodate within the statistics: (i) the concept of 'underemployment' where persons in paid or self employment are available for and seeking additional work, (ii) the concept of 'labour market withdrawal' where persons are discouraged from seeking work and who would, under present definitions, not be considered as unemployed; (iii) the concept of 'hidden unemployment' where persons are effectively unemployed but are, for example, enrolled in government employment or training schemes, or where the label ‘disabled’ has a different meaning in different countries.

For each principal source, indicators are presented according to the same categories and sub categories used in Part Two of MEI. An asterisk flags those indicators which are included only in Part One of MEI. The publication is up-to-date for the indicators included in the April 1997 issue of MEI. A sources and methods guide in this area was published nearly twenty years ago1 and covered a narrower range of subjects, albeit concentrating on the main indicators of employment, hours and wages. Over the years, the range of indicators published in 1

Sources and Methods: Employment, Hours and Wages (Paris, OECD, 1978).

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in the OECD region differ with respect to the use of such identifiers. The Nordic countries, for example, use official identifying numbers and Central Persons Registers, which facilitate the linking of multiple sources of data.

At the same time as the interest in the characteristics of unemployment has increased, there have been demands by analysts for a better measurement of the structure of the labour force. These demands relate to the marked decrease in job security, the increase in own account work, the need for a higher level of skills, the increasing role of the services sector as the provider of jobs, the ageing of the labour force, the development of non-standard employment (part-time positions, work sharing etc.) and even the increased awareness of hidden employment where employment is not declared to the appropriate authorities.

Changes in data collection One notable change over the recent period has been the increased importance of the labour force survey as the principal vehicle for statistical data collection. All labour market statistics tend to evolve over time, with adjustments made to such aspects as sample size and structure (for labour force survey sources, for example) and to the administrative provisions (for administratively derived data). In most cases such changes are minor, but occasionally can cumulatively become significant and affect the intertemporal comparability of the series. For example unemployment figures from monthly counts at public employment offices can be quite seriously affected by changes in the eligibility for benefits.

Labour Market Accounting Developments in the use to which statistics are put are themselves important influences on the statistical base, often exerting a need for new series. In the area of labour market analysis, labour market accounting has gained prominence. Certain countries aim for the comprehensive integration of statistics on all aspects of the operation of the labour market to attain a better, more consistent statistical description of related phenomena. The accounting process may comprise an investigation into the differences between sources, and plotting of the often complex inter-relationships between the indicators. For other countries the main objective is to explain inconsistencies between the different sources rather than achieve complete reconciliation.

This increased reliance on labour force surveys results primarily from the need of national agencies to have not only an up-to-date measure but a more detailed picture of trends in employment and unemployment. To a lesser degree, there is a need to meet requirements for international comparability of data. At the national level, adherence to international conventions is understandably secondary to the need to have accurate and timely series for analysis and policy formulation. The rapid change in the labour market experienced in the last few decades underscored the inadequacy of the traditional data sources in this area and provided an impetus for the adoption of a labour force survey approach. Fortunately, it is this survey which produces data that allow international comparisons. Labour force surveys are the means by which countries are able to provide unemployment and employment statistics that are in line with the International Labour Office (ILO) guidelines. Work is currently underway at the OECD on a 'Sources and Methods' publication for standardised unemployment rates.

Labour market accounting may go beyond the rather simpler relationships explored in, for example, a labour force survey, seeking to examine such aspects as the relationship between job creation on the one hand and wages, non-wage labour costs, skill/educational levels, trade flows and prices, foreign investment, etc. on the other. The results of such an exercise may eventually be integrated in the framework of a social accounting matrix. For many National Statistical Offices the driving force behind the use of administrative and survey sources to complement one another has been the need to reduce the response burden on businesses, and also to cut their own data collection costs by reducing the number of surveys, while at the same time responding to the increased demand for statistical information. One important effect of the use of a mix of different sources has been the increase in the quality of the statistics as the process of comparison and reconciliation has shed light on previous shortcomings in the data.

Establishment surveys will no doubt continue to be an important data source, particularly when the requirement is for detailed data by economic sector, or when precise data are needed for use in the development of series such as unit labour costs and productivity measures. Given the substantial response burden associated with these surveys, it is unlikely that they will be extended to any degree beyond their present application, primarily the larger firms in the

Linking databases from different sources is easier when unique identifiers exist for persons. Countries

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industrial sector. And yet it is in the commercial or private service sector, which often comprises smallscale establishments, where most employment growth is to be found and where the need for statistics is greatest. The labour force survey may be a more efficient and cost effective approach to generate the required information for this sector as a whole or for major groups.

release of the data. Alongside the use of computers there has been an increased tendency to replace the face-to-face interview with a telephone interview. In such cases the electronic questionnaire is completed directly onto the computer, again considerably speeding up the processing of the data. All such systems have built-in verification procedures and checks to ensure the viability of the data.

For reasons of both cost and timeliness, the use of administrative data has been significant, particularly as regards the number of registered unemployed and job vacancy data. But this source was not initially intended as a statistical source. It was and is a basis for the review of particular social programmes, the provisions of which are often subject to frequent change. As an example, in times of budgetary restraints, governments reduce the length of time during which unemployment benefits are paid and this obviously impacts on the number of 'registered unemployed'. Because of such shortcomings, there has been a move away from administrative data to survey sources for labour market information. This goes against the general tendency in statistics to rely less heavily on surveys and more on administrative sources.

To match the changes in the methods of data collection, there have been substantial improvements in the area of data dissemination. There is no doubt that the traditional form of dissemination, statistics in print, still dominates, but it is equally evident that it is being augmented by electronic forms of access. Many of the key publications on labour market statistics in Member countries are now available on diskette or CD-Rom, and the growth of on-line services is a key development with the Internet providing great potential for the user. Many national statistical agencies now have their own Internet web sites and some international organisations also provide access to information on statistical methods and/or the data themselves. However, opening up access to microdata on these different types of media raises questions about the confidentiality of data gathered, for example, in household or establishment surveys and as a consequence stringent efforts are made in the area of disclosure control.

Although labour force surveys can produce the type of data that both the statistician and the policy analyst require, cost considerations often preclude their extension to a monthly or sometimes even quarterly basis. As a consequence, some countries adjust the benchmark labour force survey results on unemployment with administrative data to derive monthly estimates. Some countries also combine administrative data, for example employer tax records for smaller establishments, with data derived from sample or census surveys for larger establishments. In this way, costs are reduced but accurate information is obtained, albeit at a delay compared with labour force survey results.

Method of Updating the Sources and Methods publication This revised version of the Sources and Methods publication has been produced with the co-operation of the National Statistical Offices and other agencies of OECD Member countries. The process followed was to first devise a questionnaire for each of the subject headings, identifying all items in the table listed on page 9. The questionnaires were then completed, as much as possible using existing information2. In order to verify the information and to ensure that any recent changes were incorporated, the questionnaires were sent to the relevant statistical agencies for comment. Comments were received from the

Impact of information technology on changes in data collection and dissemination Developments in information technology have considerably improved data collection and data editing. Information can now be collected from firms by means of electronic questionnaires and interactive editing. Interviewers in the household surveys are now often equipped with a portable computer. At the end of a period of fieldwork for collection, the interviewer sends the completed questionnaires electronically to the statistical bureau where the statistical collation takes place thus speeding up the eventual

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Various ILO Sources and Methods publications proved to be a valuable source: Sources and Methods: Labour Statistics, Volume 2 Employment, Wages, Hours of Work and Labour Costs (Establishment Surveys) (ILO, Geneva, 1995); Volume 3 Economically Active Population, Employment, Unemployment and Hours of Work (Household Surveys) (ILO, Geneva, 1990); Volume 4 Employment, Unemployment, Wages and Hours of Work (Administrative Records and Related Sources) (ILO, Geneva, 1989); Volume 7 Strikes and Lockouts (ILO, Geneva, 1993).

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of metadata items). Relevant items are filled in when information is available: titles of missing items do not appear in the text. Information is presented by country and within each country by principal source. The source is indicated at the beginning of the section. It should be noted that the mention “Indicators from administrative and others sources” is used even if the data are compiled from only the one source.

majority of statistical agencies in the Member countries.

Organisation of metadata The methodological information is presented according to a standard structure for OECD Sources and Methods publications (see page 9 for a complete list

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2.

Explanatory notes items have been omitted because they were not relevant or on occasions, because the information was not available. The list is as follows:

Within each category (e.g. Labour) and subcategory (e.g. Employment), each indicator is described according to a standard list of metadata items. Depending on the indicator, some of these

METADATA ITEMS SOURCE

DATA COLLECTION (continued)

Source agencies Key national publication sources Series title in national publications Breakdown available Methodological references Run of data available Periodicity Unit of measurement

Administrative source details Description Update procedures Quality assessment Access and control for statistical usage Statistical techniques for processing data Multiple source details Description Standard combination framework Statistical techniques for combining multiple sources Reporting date in relation to the event measured Time lapse between event and processing

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition Coverage Reference period Geographical coverage Statistical population Classification coverage Particular exclusions

DATA MANIPULATION Aggregation / Grossing up Grossing up method Aggregation method Weights for aggregation Seasonal and other adjustments Other manipulations

STANDARDS Standard systems / framework Standard classifications / nomenclatures International comparability Departures from international standards

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Sampling errors and their corrections Other errors and their corrections Missing data in time series Breaks in time series Preliminary estimates Revision policy Corroborating data Timeliness Release dates

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units Reporting method Survey details Description of questionnaire Master list Survey description Non-response rate

ABBREVIATIONS USED EU ICSE ILO ISCED

-

ISIC

- International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities; ISCO - International Standard Classification of Occupations; NACE - General industrial classification of economic activities within the European Communities.

European Union; International Classification by Status in Employment; International Labour Office; International Standard Classification of Education;

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CANADA

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS)

(a) Civilian employment * (b) Part-time

Labour - Unemployment (c) Total (d) Rate (e) Short-term unemployment

and unemployment data by: - age; - gender; - duration; - province; - job search method.

SOURCE Source agencies Data are compiled by Statistics (Household Surveys Division).

Canada

Key national publication sources

Methodological references

Data are available in the monthly publication, Statistics Canada, The Labour Force. Most of the information is also available on-line through CANSIM (Canadian Socio-Economic Information Management System) and on CD-Rom.

Methodological information can be found in the following publications of Statistics Canada, Guide to Labour Force Survey Data, (Catalogue 71-528), Redesigning the Canadian Labour Force Survey Questionnaire, The Labour Force.

Series title in national publications

Run of data available

(a) (b)

Employment; Part-time employment;

The monthly survey has been carried out since 1953.

(c) (d)

Unemployment; Unemployment rate;

Periodicity

(e)

Duration of unemployment, 4 weeks or less.

Unit of measurement

Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Breakdown available

Civilian employment, Part-time employment, Unemployment: number of persons;

Employment data are published in the national source by:

Unemployment rate: percentage;

-

Short-term unemployment: original data expressed as number of persons are converted to an index by OECD.

age; gender; industry; occupation; full-time\part-time; province; number of hours worked; job tenure; status in employment (employees, self employed, etc.);

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CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition (a) Employed persons are those who, during the reference week, did any work for pay or profit. This includes paid work in the context of an employeremployee relationship, or self employment. It also

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(d) The Unemployment rate is defined as the number of unemployed persons expressed as a per cent of the civilian labour force. Labour force comprises the unemployed plus the employed. (e) Short-term unemployment refers to the number of persons who have been unemployed for four weeks or less.

includes unpaid family work, which is defined as unpaid work contributing directly to the operation of a farm, business or professional practice owned and operated by a related member of the same household. Also included are those who had a job but were not at work due to own illness or disability, personal or family responsibilities, weather, vacation, labour dispute or other reasons (excluding persons on lay-off and those with a job to start at a future date). (b) Part-time employment refers to those persons fulfilling the basic requirements to be counted as in civilian employment, but usually working less than 30 hours per week. (c) Unemployed persons are those who, during the reference week, were without work and

Coverage Reference period Data refer to a specific week each month, normally the week containing the 15th day. Geographical coverage Coverage is national except for the Yukon and North West Territories. Measures are taken to ensure even coverage throughout the ten provinces.

− had actively looked for work in the past four weeks (ending with the reference week) and were available for work. Students seeking part-time work are regarded as available and are included in the unemployed. Full-time students looking for full-time work are classified as not available for work in the reference week and are therefore not unemployed;

Statistical population Canadian non-institutional population aged 15 and over. Particular exclusions

− had not actively looked for work in the past four weeks but had been on lay-off and were available for work (persons classified as being on lay-off only when they expect to return to the job from which they were laid off);

The Yukon and North West Territories are not included in the survey. Also excluded are persons living on Indian reserves, persons living in institutions (such as inmates in prisons or patients in hospitals and nursing homes) and full-time members of the armed forces.

− had not actively looked for work in the past four weeks but had a new job to start in four weeks or less from the reference week, and were available for work. ‘Actively looking for work’ means having taken any of the following steps in the four weeks before the interview: checking with a public or private employment agency; with unions or employers directly, or with friends and relatives; placing or answering an advertisement; looking at job advertisements, etc.

STANDARDS Standard systems / framework Definitions of employment and unemployment are in line with the ILO guidelines.

Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry: 1980 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC), which conforms to ISIC, 306 groups.

Since 1976 the LFS has collected job description information for those regarded as unemployed but who have worked within the past five years. However, from January 1996 these questions were asked only of those who have worked within the past 12 months. The changes were made to improve the relevance of the classifications of the data by industry and occupation, in particular providing a better measure of labour displacement.

Occupations: 1980 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) 498 groups.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units Households.

Reporting method The LFS uses household interviews with a rotating sample of units occurring at each stage of the multi-

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stage design. Households are replaced every six months while successively higher staged units remain in the sample for longer periods of time.

between redesigns. The LFS has a sample of approximately 48 000 households involving some 100 000 persons.

Data collection is carried out during the week following the reference week of the survey by members of a permanent survey organisation. Interviewers contact each of the households in the sample through personal and/or telephone interviews. Each interviewer contacts approximately 65 designated dwellings and conducts a personal interview in all dwellings where interviews are being conducted for the first time. In most areas, provided the respondent agrees, subsequent interviews may be conducted by telephone. The interviewers are allowed to accept response about all eligible members of the household from any responsible member (14 years of age and over) of that household.

Each of the ten provinces is divided into a number of economic regions which are basically geographical areas of the country with similar economic structures. Each of these regions is then divided into selfrepresenting units and non-self-representing units, the former being urban areas which are large enough to yield a sample of at least 50 dwellings and the latter are those areas lying outside the self-representing units comprising rural and small urban areas. These two classifications are then used to determine the stratification of the sample. Hospitals, schools, hotels, military establishments and the like, as well as remote areas, are designated as special areas. Non-response rate

Survey details

Special measures are used to compensate for nonresponse including deriving a suitable response based on other information collected in the LFS, using data gathered from a correspondent from a previous interview or choosing a response from a respondent with similar demographic and socio-economic characteristics. Total non-response is handled by either using information from a previous interview or re-weighting the results to compensate for the missing data.

Description of questionnaire The current questionnaire is computer assisted, replacing the paper and pencil version last used in 1994. From early 1995 interviewers have recorded the household responses onto a laptop computer when in the field, or directly onto a computer in the case of subsequent telephone interviews. The structure of the questionnaire has also been the subject of extensive revision with the new version implemented in January 1997. The revision process addresses gaps in the survey due to changes in the labour market, the need to sequence questions more effectively and to make optimum use of the computer assisted interviewing technique. The respondent is give the option of answering in English or French and the sequence of questions is as follows: job attachment; past job attachment; job description; separation from work (e.g. temporary lay-off or termination of contract); main hours of work; absence from work; job search; availability for work; earnings, trade union membership, job permanency; firm size; class of worker and hours worked at other jobs; temporary lay-off job search; previous separation; school attendance; summer student context. Interviewers have relevant coding instructions and the computer indicates the direction of questioning according to the responses received.

DATA MANIPULATION Aggregations / Grossing up Grossing up method Inverse sampling ratios are used to provide estimates at national and sub-national levels.

Seasonal and other adjustments Seasonal adjustments are carried out using the X-11 variant of the US Bureau of the Census Method II Seasonal Adjustment Computer Programme and the ARIMA (auto-regressive integrated moving average) models to produce twelve-month projections of the unadjusted data series. For the country as a whole the seasonally adjusted data for unemployment are derived by the summation of the appropriately seasonally adjusted estimates for males and females (separately) aged 15-24 and 25 years and over. The unemployment rate is seasonally adjusted by the ‘indirect method’ (i.e., the seasonally adjusted unemployment rates are the seasonally adjusted unemployment levels expressed as a percentage of the seasonally adjusted labour force).

Master list The results of the latest decennial Census. Survey description The sampling frame is derived from the latest Census with updating taking account of population growth

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prior to January 1997 persons on temporary lay-off were not identified as such and were classified as “inactive’ rather than “unemployed”.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Sampling errors and their corrections The sampling error in the survey is not known although the standard deviation is estimated from the sample data. The various quality controls help ensure that sampling errors are minimised.

Revision policy

Non sampling errors are reduced by careful design of questionnaires, intensive training and supervision of interviewers and a thorough control of the processing operations.

The LFS undergoes a sample redesign every ten years following the decennial census and aimed at improving the efficiency and utility of the survey. The final stage of the latest redesign (following the 1991 census) was carried out in January 1997. Following the reviews of the survey method after each decennial census, key data are reworked on the revised basis back to 1976.

Breaks in time series

Timeliness

From January 1976 the revisions to sample size and survey method were introduced. In 1995 a computer assisted interviewing system replaced the paper and pencil method. In January 1997 major revisions were made to the questionnaire, sample design, collection technology and processing systems aimed at improving data quality. One result of this change is that

Data are released approximately ten working days after the reference period.

Other errors and their corrections

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Release dates The release dates for the upcoming year are announced in The Daily, (Catalogue no. 11-001XPE) in December of each year.

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CANADA

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the monthly Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH) and other sources

(a) Manufacturing: employees

Labour - Other (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 Division).

Periodicity

Key national publication source

Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Data are available in the monthly publication, Statistics Canada, Employment, Earnings and Hours, on CD-Rom, diskette, computer printout, microfilm, microfiche, magnetic tape and on-line through the CANSIM system.

Unit of measurement Employees: number of employees on payrolls; Weekly hours of work: number of hours; Hourly earnings: original data in Canadian dollars are converted to an index by OECD;

Series title in national publications (a) (b) (c) (d)

Unit labour cost: original data of the wage and salary component are in Canadian dollars.

Employees: manufacturing; Average weekly hours (incl. overtime): manufacturing; Average hourly earnings (incl. overtime): manufacturing; Wages and salaries per unit of output: manufacturing (unpublished).

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition (a) Employees: manufacturing refers to all persons in the manufacturing industries drawing pay for services rendered or for paid absences and for whom the employer must complete a particular revenue form (Revenue Canada T-4 Supplementary form). They include full-time employees, part-time employees, working owners, directors, partners and other officers of incorporated businesses. Employees are classified into the following three categories:

Breakdown available Data for Employment, Hours and Earnings are available in the national source by: - industry; - employee category; - geographic region.

Methodological references Detailed methodological information is published in Employment, Earnings and Hours.

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−

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employees paid by the hour; any employee whose basic wage is expressed as an hourly rate;

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−

−

salaried employees; any employee whose basic remuneration is a fixed amount for at least one week;

Coverage

other employees; those employees whose basic remuneration is in the form of commissions, piece rates, mileage allowances, etc.

Data refer to the last seven days of the month, but the questionnaire allows respondents to report for the last pay period of the month.

Reference period

Geographical coverage

(b) Weekly hours of work refer to hours paid for. They comprise all hours worked i.e. total overtime hours of employees paid by the hour, and hours in the standard work week of salaried employees. They also include hours of paid absence for holidays, sick leave, jury service, etc.

The whole country. Classification coverage Sections 101-399 of the 1980 Standard Industrial Classification. (SIC).

(c) Hourly earnings. Data are collected on the total payroll for each employee category. The payroll includes regular pay, overtime payments, regularly paid commissions and bonuses, salaries of working directors, as well as payments for time not worked (e.g., for paid holidays, sick leave including industrial injury and personal leave for reasons such as bereavement, jury service, etc.). Irregular payments or regular payments that do not apply to the reference period of the survey such as cumulative payments, vacation pay covering more than the reported pay period, termination pay, quarterly or annual payments, retroactive payments, commission settlements, cost of living allowances, etc., are collected separately and are adjusted to coincide with the reference period. Average hourly earnings is obtained by dividing the total weekly payrolls by the total weekly number of hours. (d) The Unit labour cost index is calculated by OECD. Wages and salaries are divided by output and the result converted to an index. Output is GDP at factor cost in the manufacturing sector and is based on the Index of Production in Manufacturing. The information on wages and salaries comes from the annual benchmark assessment carried out by the Labour Income Section of Statistics Canada, principally based on taxation records supplemented by other administrative sources. Wages and salaries include directors’ fees, bonuses, commissions, gratuities, income in kind, taxable allowances and retroactive wage payments. Wages and salaries are estimated on a gross basis. The monthly projections apply the results of the SEPHours to the annual baseline information on wages and salaries.

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Statistical population All firms and establishments. There is a census of all establishments with 300 or more employees, a sample survey of medium-sized establishments in the range 100-299 employees and a sample of administrative records for employers with fewer than 100 employees. Particular exclusions Excluded are casual workers where a T-4 revenue form does not apply; persons who did not receive any pay from the employer for the entire survey reference period (e.g. persons on strike, on unpaid holidays, receiving remuneration from an insurance, workmen’s compensation or other related funds). Employees paid by the employer for a part of the reference period and unemployed or on strike for the rest are counted as employed. The target population is all employers in Canada except those primarily involved in agriculture, fishing, trapping, private household services, religious organisations and defence services .

STANDARDS Standard systems / framework Definitions of employees comply with ILO recommendations.

Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry: 1980 SIC. Geographic region: 1986 Standard Geographical Classification (for Canada).

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−

DATA COLLECTION

− the reasons for large variations in employment, payrolls or hours from the previous month. The questionnaire is accompanied by a four-page leaflet containing general information on the survey purpose and confidentiality and instructions to complete the form.

Reporting units Establishments.

Reporting method A combination of surveys and administrative records including mail, telephone, computer reports, are used 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 medium size establishments each month. Telephone interviews are used for respondents expressing a preference for this approach. Computer printouts are supplied to those respondents who prefer to report their data through their computerised payroll systems.

The sampling frame for the establishment survey is derived from the Business Register and is reckoned to cover some 97 per cent of all units at any one time and virtually all those in employment. The administrative survey covers payroll deduction accounts where the data source for employment and gross monthly payrolls for smaller businesses is available and usable. The frame for small businesses used for the administrative survey is continuously updated with new business start-up information.

For small establishments, administrative information for total gross monthly payrolls and the total number of employees is obtained from payroll deduction accounts maintained by Revenue Canada. Additionally these small firms are covered by their own survey, the Small Business Payroll Survey (SBPS). This is conducted monthly using computer assisted telephone interview techniques and covers those pieces of information not covered by the administrative data;

In the establishment survey about 30 000 establishments are involved out of a total population of around 100 000. The population is stratified by industry, 12 geographical areas (provinces), and four size groups giving a total of 768 strata. The total sample is composed of around 20 000 census units and 10 000 sampled units.

Information on general government services is provided by the Public Institutions Division of Statistics Canada

The administrative survey accesses information on payrolls and employment in establishments for the last pay month based on returns to Revenue Canada. The information covers the majority of small businesses which account for 93 per cent of all employers in Canada. From these records a sample of around 86 000 accounts is selected from the 800 000 or so on file. The sample is longitudinal in that it is always made up of the same units except when new businesses are created and those out of business are identified. No sample rotation takes place. The Small Business Payroll Survey (SBPS) uses a small rotating sub sample of 7 500 establishments from this payroll information, classified by industry, provinces and territories. The establishment survey accounts for around 70 per cent of the total payroll employment in the country, with the balance made up by the administrative survey.

Survey details Description of questionnaire This consists of a bilingual two-page form which collects information for the last pay periods of the month and for each employee category and covers the following information: −

the beginning and end dates of the last pay periods;

− the number of employees; −

their regular gross pay (including overtime pay) and overtime pay (separately);

− their hours of work; and for the entire month information is also requested on: − irregular payments by employee category and period covered; −

Non-response rate Nationally less than one per cent of the firms surveyed refuse to report data. About 10 per cent of firms report too late to be included in the estimation process at all. Late reporters tend to be large firms

total payroll for the survey month and since the beginning of the year;

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the number of employees absent without pay;

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and those using the computer reporting service for data collection.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Sampling errors and their corrections

Administrative data are received for about 60 per cent of the payroll accounts; an additional 20 per cent are businesses without any employment or payrolls.

The standard error and relative standard error or coefficient of variation are computed each month.

In the establishment survey, data for non-responding units which have been in the survey for more than one month, are imputed by calculating a ratio from units that did respond and applying this ratio to the nonrespondent’s previous months data. For nonresponding units new to the survey, averages of the responding businesses in the same industry division, province and size are used. For establishments with more than 300 employees, their previous months’ reports are carried forward.

Other errors and their corrections The survey also has a statistical quality control programme at the data capture, business structure updating and data editing stages to minimise non-sampling errors. These programmes monitor and control the completeness, accuracy and consistency of the reported survey data. Procedures are in place to follow up for non-response and to cover for late responses.

Breaks in time series

In the administrative survey, there are four methods used to impute data: −

imputing zero, where the firm has indicated to Revenue Canada that there are no employees in the month;

−

imputing previous months information with a month-by-month change ratio where there are indications that the units have activity in the current month;

−

imputing based on current month stratum averages in some cases where only one value has been reported;

−

reweighting when an in-sample unit is suspected of being late in reporting.

Before the introduction of SEPH in 1983, three main sources were used to collect employment, earnings and hours data: the Employment, Payrolls and Manhours Survey, the Employment Sample Survey and other employment surveys. Breaks, for the period since 1983, arising from revisions to the series are shown under ‘Revision policy’.

Preliminary estimates Preliminary data are published within 60 days of the reference period, and revised estimates 30 days later.

Revision policy 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 and changes to the sampling frame. Historical revisions covering the period January 1983 to December 1991 were produced in 1992, mostly relating to changes in the Business Register and the replacement of the 1970 SIC with the 1980 version. In March of each year, benchmark revisions are introduced for the latest four years. A major revision for 1996 was released in July 1996

DATA MANIPULATION Aggregations / Grossing up Aggregation method Industrial information is produced at the 3 digit level then scaled up to the 2 digit level and then to the first level of aggregation .

Seasonal and other adjustments

Corroborating evidence

Seasonally adjusted estimates of employment and average weekly earnings for all employees, for selected industries, Canada, provinces and territories, are produced each month using the X-11 variant of the US Bureau of the Census Method II.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS OECD ©

The SEPH payroll employment estimates are frequently compared to those from the Labour Force Survey by way of a check of the statistics. A reconciliation process is also conducted between the SEPH data and public administration data to ensure compatibility.

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SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

Timeliness

Release dates

The data are available within 60 days of the end of the reference period.

The release dates for the upcoming year are announced in Statistics Canada, The Daily (Catalogue no. 11-001-XPE) in December of each year.

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18

SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

CANADA

Labour - Other

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Help-wanted advertising

SOURCE

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Source agency

Definition

Data are compiled by Statistics Canada (Labour Division).

Data measure the changes in the number of ‘helpwanted’ advertisements from employers in 22 selected metropolitan area newspapers. Two newspapers are selected for each of the metropolitan areas, Montreal and Ottawa.

Key national publication sources Data are available in the monthly publication, Statistics Canada, Canadian Economic Observer, on the daily computer printout and on-line through CANSIM.

Coverage Reference period Data refer to one Saturday each month, usually the Saturday of the Labour Force Survey reference week, or a week which contains the 15th day of the month.

Series title in national publications Help-wanted index.

Geographical coverage

Breakdown available

Selected metropolitan areas.

The Help-wanted index is published in the national source by: Metropolitan areas - province; region; Canada.

Statistical population 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, Statistics Canada, Help-wanted Index, (catalogue 71540).

Excluded from the survey are advertisements: −

which do not appear in the classified section;

−

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 COLLECTION

Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

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 OECD ©

19

SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

−

DATA MANIPULATION Aggregations / Grossing up Aggregation method For each newspaper, the number of advertisements is divided by its 12-month average in the base period, currently 1991, to derive raw indices at the level of each metropolitan area.

Data are adjusted for Easter week-end and Decemberholiday. When the reference date of the survey falls during Easter week or it is close to Christmas, the number of job advertisement usually declines significantly. On such occasions, the following adjustments are made:

Indices at regional level are then calculated as the weighted average of each metropolitan area indices with weights proportional to the population size. The Canada index is the sum of the weighted metropolitan area indices adjusted for the proportion of the population residing in the twenty areas surveyed.

Weights for aggregation The population within a region is calculated as the sum of the population residing in the metropolitan area surveyed.

−

Data are collected the Saturday of the week before Easter;

−

In December, data are collected for a Saturday which falls on or before the tenth day of the month.

Breaks in time series Prior to 1981, data are based on space occupied by help-wanted advertising in a sample of 18 metropolitan newspapers.

Seasonal and other adjustments 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 complete calendar year become available. At this date, data for the past four years are also revised.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Errors and their corrections

Timeliness

When newspapers are not available (due to strikes or delivery problems for instance), data are estimated as follows: −

if newspapers for the previous Saturday are not available, data for the missing month (m) are estimated using data for the previous month (m-1) and the percent of change of the sum of job advertisements over the past three years for previous month (m-1) over the current month (m).

Data are released on the Wednesday of the first or second week following the reference month.

if available, newspapers for the previous Saturday are used to compile the index;

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS OECD ©

20

SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

CANADA

Labour - Other

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Labour disputes - time lost

their employers but does not include indirect action not involving their immediate employer. Political strikes are included where the objective is to influence government policies on pay, working conditions or other labour related matters

SOURCE Source agency Data are compiled by Human Resources Development Canada (Labour Branch of the Workplace Information Directorate).

A lockout is a suspension of work initiated by the employer or a group of employers as a result of failure to reach agreement in the course of a dispute over terms of employment

Key national publication source Data are available in Human Resources Development Canada, Collective Bargaining Review.

Series title in national publications

Coverage

Person days lost in work stoppages.

Geographical coverage The whole country.

Breakdown available Information is regularly published in the national source by:

Statistical population All those in employment are covered.

- branch of economic activity - competent authority and geographical location.

Particular exclusions No particular sectors or occupations are excluded. Self employed workers are not within scope. Also workers laid off, temporary or casual workers and unpaid family workers are excluded. Overtime working is not included in the measurement of time not worked. Stoppages lasting less than half a day and with fewer than ten person days not worked are excluded from the original series.

Run of data available Data are available from July 1960.

Periodicity Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

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 using 1970 SIC of Statistics Canada.

Data cover strikes and lockouts as a result of a dispute 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 OECD ©

21

SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

-

DATA COLLECTION Reporting method Information is compiled on an ongoing basis using the following key sources: −

the provincial Departments of Labour

− −

the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service the Canada Manpower Centres

−

the media

−

employers

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Breaks in time series The introduction of a revised size threshold for inclusion in the series in 1986 has affected the data either side of that date. In 1986 a higher threshold for recording stoppages was introduced. Those lasting at least half a day and involving at least 500 workers only were included from that year. The original series (stoppages lasting at least half a day and with at least ten person days not worked) continues to be compiled and is available on request.

There is no legal obligation on any of these sources to provide information on strikes or lockouts. Data are collected on the following: -

number of strikes and lockouts; number of workers involved; duration of stoppage; matter in dispute (500 series);

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS OECD ©

outcome of strike or lockout (500 series); competent authority; name of employer; geographical location; economic activity of employer; name of trade union and its affiliation; status of the contract.

22

SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

MEXICO

Labour - Employment (a) Manufacturing

Indicators from the Monthly Industrial 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 1980=100.

Data are compiled by INEGI.

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 in manufacturing industries. Data cover all manual and non-manual workers who have worked in an establishment during the reference month and have received remuneration on a fixed or periodic basis. Data include all employees on strike, vacation or on sick leave. They exclude persons laid off for an unspecified period, pensioners, persons working without remuneration and persons working on a freelance basis (paid by agreement, on fees or commission). (b) Monthly hours of work refers to actual hours worked by all manual and non-manual workers (including temporary staff) in the manufacturing sector. Included are all regular and supplementary hours, time spent on maintenance of machinery, cleaning tools and preparation of the work. Excluded are interruptions for strikes, lockouts, technical stoppages, holidays, sick leave and work interruption due to natural phenomena or other reasons. (c) Real monthly earnings refer to wages, salaries and social benefits paid to all wage earners and salary earners (with indefinite or fixed-term contracts). Wages and salaries refer to total gross payments to manual and non-manual workers for regular and supplementary hours worked during the refer-

Series title in national publications (a) (b)

Indice del personal ocupado en la industria manufacturera. Indice de horas-hombre trabajadas en la industria manufacturera.

(c) Indices de las remuneraciones medias reales totales por persona ocupada : total.

Breakdown available Aggregated indices are published for total employees, for manual and for non-manual workers. Data for total employees are also published for each of the 9 CMAP divisions of the manufacturing sector (see Classification coverage below).

Methodological references Information on the methodology used to compile the data can be found in the monthly publication INEGI, Indicadores del Sector Manufacturero.

Run of data available Data are available from January 1980.

Periodicity Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS OECD ©

23

SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

ence month. Included are incentive and holiday pay, end of year and other bonuses, commissions paid to employees receiving regular wages and participation in enterprise profits. Excluded are pensions and fees or commissions received by persons working on a freelance basis. Social benefits include medical services, food, life insurance, employers' contribution to the Mexican Social Security Institute (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, IMSS) and the National fund for workers' housing (Instituto del Fondo Nacional de la Vivienda para los Trabajadores, INFONOVIT), compensation for lay-off, contributions to retirement schemes, and all contributions which should be paid by the workers but which are covered by the establishment. Social benefits do not include the value of uniforms, work clothes, and reimbursable expenses (for travel or representation costs).

Survey details Description of questionnaire The Monthly Industrial Survey collects information on employment, wages, hours worked, production and sales as well as the value of In-bond export services. Master list The sample frame is based on the 1994 INEGI industrial census. Survey description The sampling unit is the manufacturing establishment. Establishments are classified according to their principal activity (which may change over time) in CMAP. The sample is mainly purposive. In each of the 205 classes of activity covered by the survey, establishments are ranked by decreasing production value, according to the 1994 industrial census. Major establishments are selected from this list to represent at least 80% of the total value of the manufacturing production in each class of activity. For some classes of activity, where enterprise turnover is too small, a probabilistic sample has been used to complete the sample described above. In each class of activity, a maximum of 140 establishments are selected nationwide, even if they do not cover 80% of the total value of the production of these classes of activity.

Coverage Reference period Employment in manufacturing: averages of the number of employees on the payroll during each week of the reference month. Monthly hours of work, Real monthly earnings: the whole month. Classification coverage From 1994, data cover 205 classes of activity of the 1994 Mexican Classification of Activity and Products (Clasificación Mexicana de Actividades y Productos, CMAP). Prior to that date, data covered 129 CMAP classes of activity (from 1987 to 1993) and 57 CMAP classes of activity (from 1980 to 1986).

Non-response is estimated to be 5% (of the total production value). Establishments which do not respond to the questionnaire are revisited with a view to decreasing the non-response rate.

DATA COLLECTION

DATA MANIPULATION

Reporting units

Aggregations / Grossing up

Non-response rate

Aggregation method

Information is collected for major manufacturing establishments with more than 6 employees according to the 1994 industrial census.

Real monthly earnings: data are deflated by the consumer price index (in base 1994=100) to obtain real wages.

Reporting method Data are collected by questionnaire each month by enumerators from regional offices. They deliver the questionnaire to each establishment surveyed and help to complete it if necessary. Enumerators come back later in the month to collect the questionnaire.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS OECD ©

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Preliminary estimates Preliminary figures are indicated with a "P" in the publication Indicadores del Sector Manufacturero.

24

SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

A calendar with release dates is issued by INEGI on a regular basis. This information can be accessed via Internet on the INEGI server: http://www.inegi.gob.mx/.

Timeliness and release dates Data for a particular month m are published by INEGI between the 27th and the 29th day of the month m+2.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS OECD ©

25

SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

MEXICO

Labour - Employment Insured persons

Indicators from administrative and other sources

SOURCE

−

employers of insured workers;

Source agencies

−

members of production co-operatives;

−

agricultural workers on public land (ejidatarios);

−

independent workers and persons employed in a family business;

−

farm owners;

−

students;

−

professional members of the armed forces.

Data are compiled by the Mexican Social Security Institute (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, IMSS).

Key national publication sources Data are available in the monthly publication INEGI, 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 Data refer to persons who have been registered with the IMSS during the reference month.

Breakdown available 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 655 000 enterprises of all sizes in all economic sectors and in the whole country.

Data are available from January 1980.

Periodicity

Reporting method

Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Data are collected directly by the 36 regional IMSS offices in the whole country. This information is then transmitted to the national IMSS delegation in order to be compiled at the national level.

Unit of measurement Data refer to the number of insured persons.

Data are derived from the administrative records of affiliation to the IMSS for persons on permanent contracts (of unspecified duration) and persons insured on an voluntary basis.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition 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 production and productivity (due to the high mobility of these workers); while data on the number of other temporary workers are based on information derived from payrolls sent by the employers to the IMSS.

Persons are obliged to register with the IMSS if they are: −

bound by a working contract (including persons on permanent and on temporary contracts);

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS OECD ©

26

SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

Update procedures

Administrative source details

Employers are obliged to notify IMSS, within 5 days, of all changes to affiliation records (see above).

Description The IMSS affiliation records contain information on the five following topics:

Quality assessment

−

registration of a new business or new status of the employer;

−

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.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS OECD ©

It is compulsory for employers to communicate all information to the IMSS.

Data for a particular month are published by INEGI during the following month.

27

SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

MEXICO

Labour - Unemployment Rate

Indicators from the National Survey 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 labour force. The latter is defined as the number of employed persons plus the number of persons in “open” unemployment.

Key national publication sources Data are available in the monthly publication INEGI, Indicadores de Empleo y Desempleo.

Employed persons are those who, during the reference week:

Series title in national publications Tasa de desempleo abierto (R1).

Breakdown available Unemployment rates are published at national and city levels by: −

gender;

−

age group;

−

education level;

−

economic activity.

−

were aged 12 or over;

−

had worked for at least one hour for payment in kind or in money, or were self-employed;

−

were temporarily absent due to illness, holidays, leave, or for personal reasons, but were sure to return to their work or business;

−

did not work but were due to start work within the next four weeks. Persons are considered to be unemployed (in “open” unemployment), if during the reference week, they:

Methodological references The complete methodology used to compile the data can be found in INEGI (December 1995), Encuesta Nacional de Empleo Urbano, Documento Metdológico.

−

have not worked for more than one hour;

−

were available for work;

−

have actively sought employment during the last four weeks or have not searched for employment in the last two months because of reasons related to natural conditions (e.g. poor harvest) or because of work stoppage. The PEA includes professional members of the armed forces but excludes conscripts.

Methodological information can also be found in the monthly publication INEGI, Indicadores de Empleo y Desempleo.

Coverage

Run of data available

Reference period

Data are available from January 1985.

Interviews are held throughout the whole quarter. Information on employment refers to the week prior to the interview.

Periodicity Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Unit of measurement Percentage.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS OECD ©

28

SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

ment. (For more details see OECD, Main Economic Indicators, Sources and Methods: Mexico).

Geographical coverage 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 coverage has been 41 cities since January 1996.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units

According to the 1990 population census, the geographic coverage represents 92% of the total urban population in towns of 100 000 inhabitants or more and 65% of the population living in towns of 2 500 inhabitants or more.

Households in 41 cities throughout the whole country.

Reporting method Collection of unemployment data started in 1973 with the Continuous Survey on Employment (Encuesta Continua Sobre Ocupación, ECSO). Data were collected only for Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey (the three main cities). In 1985, the ECSO survey was replaced by the ENEU survey.

Statistical population Data are collected from households in urban areas in the whole country, except those living in collective dwellings such as hotels, hospitals, prisons, barracks. Information is collected for professional members of the armed forces only when their private dwellings are included in the survey sample.

Data are collected by questionnaire directly from households. The complete survey is conducted on a quarterly basis and a sub-sample of households (about one-third) is visited monthly. Interviewers visit each household and complete the questionnaire with the members of the household.

Particular exclusions Rural zones are excluded. Characteristics of the nonurban Labour Force are obtained from specific biannual 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 subsample is included only five times in the survey, then it is dropped and replaced by a new one.

STANDARDS International comparability

Survey details

The open unemployment rate (R1) is calculated according to ILO standards.

Description of questionnaire

• Informal sector

The questionnaire in basically its current form has existed since 1985. It covers topics related to both social characteristics and employment conditions of the household (e.g. location of work, size of employer's establishment, hours of work, income or benefits received).

In the case of Mexico, the use of ILO standards may be deceptive for several reasons. As there is no unemployment insurance in Mexico, many persons are engaged in marginal activities (street vending, carrying out repair jobs, etc.). Thus the size of the informal sector is substantial. Recent INEGI surveys on the informal sector have introduced the concept of “marginal employment” (Encuesta Nacional de Micronegocios). They show that, according to the ILO concept, 35 % of the Mexican working age population is occupied in "marginal" activities. These persons are not counted as unemployed in the sense of the ILO terminology.

Information on employment is collected from the members of the household aged 12 or over. Social characteristics (age, sex, relationship with the head of the household, school history, date of birth, etc.) are collected for all members of the household. Master list The sample frame is based on the 1990 INEGI population census.

INEGI calculates ten complementary rates of unemployment in an attempt to measure the underemployment that is not encompassed in the concept of the Open unemployment rate (R1). These ten rates are based on a combination of information on job searches, hours worked and income from employ-

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS OECD ©

Survey description The sample is stratified and probabilistic (For full details see OECD, Main Economic Indicators, Sources and Methods: Mexico).

29

SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

Non-response rate

Cities are divided into basic statistical units called Areas Geoestadísticas Básicas (AGEB) defined by INEGI for the main purpose of the population census. An AGEB is homogeneous according to socioeconomic criteria and includes on average 14-15 blocks of houses depending on the size of the city or the topography of the area.

Non-response is around 15 % of the total sample size.

DATA MANIPULATION Aggregations / Grossing up Grossing up method

AGEBs are first classified into 4 strata (according to socio-economic characteristics High, Medium, Low and Marginal). Within each city-strata a sample of households is drawn as follows:

In each city and for each of the variables surveyed, results are grossed-up to the total population aged 12 years and over. These grossing-up factors are inversely proportional to the selection probabilities of dwellings; they are derived from the results of the 1990 population census.

(i) AGEBs are first merged, if necessary, so as to create Primary Sample Units PSUs containing between 240 and 480 dwellings; (ii) PSUs are selected with probabilities proportional to the number of dwellings in them. The number of dwellings in each selected PSU is re-counted and updated to account for new dwellings, etc. since the last census; (iii) in each selected PSU, blocks of dwellings are merged if necessary so as to create subsets of dwellings containing between 20 and 50 PSUs. The corresponding subsets are the Secondary Sample Units (SSUs);

Grossing-up factors are corrected by the percentage of non-responses at SSU level.

Seasonal and other adjustments Seasonal adjustments are carried out by INEGI using X11-ARIMA/88.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Sampling error and their corrections Stages of quality control have been developed in the field and in offices: 10% of the households are reinterviewed and data consistency is checked through computer analysis.

(iv) in each PSU, six SSUs are selected with probabilities proportional to the number of dwellings. (v) finally an average of five dwellings is selected at random in each SSU.

Preliminary estimates Monthly estimates are calculated from a sub-sample covering 33% of the total quarterly sample.

New PSUs are introduced each quarter (rotating sample), and the sampling frame (dwelling stratum, new areas, changes in block size, etc.) is updated continually to take into account changes in city structure.

Timeliness and release dates Data for a particular month are published by INEGI between the 15th and the 18th day of the following month.

The sample size varies from 5 100 households visited quarterly in Mexico City to 2 100 households in the smallest of the 41 cities. The total size of the sample at national level is about 94 000 households. On a monthly basis, the survey is conducted with about 30 000 households in the whole country.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS OECD ©

A calendar of release dates is issued by INEGI on a regular basis. This information can be accessed via Internet on the INEGI server: http://www.inegi.gob.mx/.

30

SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

UNITED STATES

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the monthly Current Population Survey (CPS)

(a) Civilian employment * (b) Part-time (economic reasons)

Labour - Unemployment (c) Total (d) Rate (e) Short-term

- marital status; - level of education/qualification.

SOURCE Source agency

In addition, figures for unemployment are published by: - duration; - reason for unemployment.

The US Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce is responsible for the conduct of the survey and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Department of Labor for the specification of concepts and the dissemination of the results.

Methodological references

Key national publication sources

Detailed methodological documentation is published in the BLS, Handbook of Methods (Chapter 1), and also in Employment and Earnings.

Principal data series are published in the news release 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 and unemployed extend back to January 1948.

Series title in national publications (a) (b) (c)

Employed: total, 16 years and over; Employed persons: part-time for economic reasons; Unemployed persons: total, 16 years and over;

(d) (e)

Unemployed, per cent of civilian labor force; Unemployed persons, less than five weeks.

Periodicity Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Unit of measurement Employment, Unemployment: number of persons; Unemployment rate: percentage.

Breakdown available Data for employed and unemployed are regularly published in the national source by: -

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition

industry; race, Hispanic origin; gender; age; occupation; region; class of worker; part-time/full-time status;

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS OECD ©

(a) Employed persons are those who, during the reference week, either: −

31

did any work at all (of at least one hour) as paid employees, worked in their own business, profession or on their own farm, or who worked for 15 hours or more as unpaid work-

SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

Statistical population

ers in an enterprise operated by a member of the family; or −

The civilian non-institutional population aged 16 years and over.

all those who were not working but who had jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily absent because of vacation, illness, bad weather, child-care problems, maternity or paternity leave, labour-management dispute, job training or other family or personal reasons, whether or not they were paid for the time off or were seeking other jobs.

Particular exclusions The survey excludes the institutional population; persons aged under 16; and members of the armed forces stationed in both the USA and abroad.

STANDARDS

Each employed person is counted only once even if the person holds more than one job at the same time. In industrial and occupational classifications of the data, such multiple job holders are counted in the job at which they worked the greatest number of hours during the reference week.

Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry: 1990 Census Industrial Classification System; Occupation: 1990 Census Occupational Classification System;

(b) Part-time employment comprises individuals who gave economic reasons for working 1 to 34 hours during the reference week. Economic reasons include slack work or unfavourable business conditions, inability to find full-time work, and seasonal declines in demand. Those who usually work parttime must also indicate that they want and are available to work full-time. (c) Unemployed persons are all those who, during the reference week, had no employment and were available for work, except for temporary illness, and had made specific efforts to find employment some time during the four-week period ending with the reference week. Persons who were waiting to be recalled to a job from which they had been laid off need not have been looking for work to be classified as unemployed..

International comparability Definitions of employment and comply with the ILO guidelines.

unemployment

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units The reporting unit is the household or housing unit or other living quarters, as identified from the Population Census records.

Reporting method Data are collected in the monthly Current Population Survey of households. A combination of personal and telephone interviews is carried out by a permanent survey organisation. Each month during the calendar week, Sunday through Saturday, containing the 19th day, interviewers contact a responsible person in the sample households. For the first time of inclusion in the sample, the household is visited and a roster of household members is prepared, detailing their key characteristics. This roster is brought up to date at subsequent interviews. Personal visits are required in the first, second and fifth month that the household is involved with the survey. In other months the interview may be conducted by telephone if the respondent agrees (approximately two-thirds of households are interviewed by telephone).

(d) The Unemployment rate is the number of unemployed persons expressed as a per cent of the civilian labour force. The civilian labour force is equal to the unemployed plus the employed. (e) Short term unemployment relates to persons unemployed for fewer than five weeks.

Coverage Reference period The reference week of the survey is the calendar week, Sunday through Saturday, which includes the 12th day of the month. Geographical coverage The whole country.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS OECD ©

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SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

with the probability of selection proportionate to the population of the PSU. PSUs in strata by themselves are self-representing and are generally the most populated ones in each State. Other strata are formed by combining PSUs that are similar in characteristics such as unemployment, proportion of housing units with three or more persons, number of persons employed in various industries, and average monthly wages for various industries. The 1990 within-PSU sample design was developed using block-level data from the 1990 census. The selection of the housing units within each PSU involves a sorting of the blocklevel data to ensure that the within-PSU sample reflects the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the PSU. Within each block, housing units are sorted geographically and grouped together into clusters of approximately four units. A systematic sample of these clusters is then selected.

Survey details Description of questionnaire The questionnaire used was completely redesigned in 1994 and the use of computer-assisted interviewing introduced for the whole survey. The aim was to obtain more accurate, comprehensive and relevant information using the more efficient computer-aided system. The questions asked centre on the following: labour force status (employed, unemployed, inactive); duration, reason for unemployment; job search activities; occupation, industry and class of worker; multiple job holders; hours of work; part-time working and reason; ethnic group; earnings, etc. Master list Decennial Census of Population. Survey description

Part of the sample is changed each month and a given rotation group is interviewed for a total of eight months divided into two equal periods. It is in the sample for four consecutive months in one year, leaves for the following eight months and then rejoins for the same four months of the following year.

A redesigned CPS sample based on block-level data from the 1990 decennial census formed the basis of a new sample phased in between 1994/95. In 1996, the original 1990 census-based sample design reliability criteria were modified to reduce costs. The CPS sample is supplemented by a sample of records of new building permits for property built since the last census. The CPS sample is located in 754 areas comprising over 1 000 counties and independent cities. Altogether around 59 000 housing units and other living quarters are designated for the sample each month, of which some 50 000 are eligible for interview (around 9 000 are unoccupied or ineligible for other reasons). Information is obtained for about 92 000 individuals aged 16 and over each month, giving a sampling fraction of about one in 2 255 in terms of both households and persons.

Non-response rate The proportion of sample households not interviewed ranges from 4 to 5 per cent in any one month. An adjustment is made in weights for interviewed households to account for non-interviews.

DATA MANIPULATION Aggregations / Grossing up Grossing up method The estimation procedure involves weighting the data from each sample person by the inverse of the probability of the person being in the sample. This gives a rough measure of the number of actual persons that the sample person represents. Almost all sample persons within the same State have the same probability of selection. These estimates are then adjusted for non-interviews and the ratio estimation procedure applied.

The full sample is based on a stratified multi-stage design and is State-based. The entire area of the country consists of 3 141 counties and independent cities which is divided into 2 007 primary sampling units (PSUs). With some minor exceptions, a PSU consists of a county or a number of contiguous counties. Metropolitan areas within a State are used as a basis for forming PSUs. Outside metropolitan areas, normally counties are combined, except where the geographical area of the sample county is very large. A typical PSU therefore includes urban and rural residents of both high and low economic levels and encompasses as far as possible a diversity of occupations and industries.

Seasonal and other adjustments The seasonal adjustment procedure used for the labour force statistics is the X-11 ARIMA programme which is an adaptation of the standard ratio-tomoving-average method and provides for ‘moving’

The PSUs are grouped together into strata within each State and then one PSU is selected from each stratum

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tion of persons employed part-time for economic reasons was tightened by adding two new criteria, namely that the part-time employee must want and be available for full-time work (previously this information was inferred). Also in 1994, 1990 census-based population controls, adjusted for the estimated undercount, were introduced into the second stage estimation procedure. This change resulted in substantial increases in total population and in all major labour force categories. Effective 1996, these controls were introduced into the estimates for 1990-93.

adjustment factors to take account of changing seasonal patterns.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Sampling errors and their corrections Sampling errors exist but biases for most of the CPS estimates are thought to be within acceptable levels of confidence.

Breaks in time series

Timeliness

The lower age limit for official statistics on the labour force was raised from 14 to the present 16 in January 1967. Several modifications to the estimation procedures were made each year from 1972 to 1975, and in 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, and 1989. In 1994 major changes to the CPS were introduced which included a complete redesign of the questionnaire and the use of computer-assisted interviewing for the entire survey. Some of the labour force concepts were also changed, in particular, the identifica-

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The CPS data are available approximately three weeks after the reference period.

Release dates Release schedules for the coming year typically are published in the final news release of the current calendar year.

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SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

UNITED STATES

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the monthly Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey

(a) Non-farm (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 Employment and Earnings.

Data are compiled by the Department of Labor of the 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 series are available in the monthly publication BLS, Employment and Earnings.

Periodicity 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 (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

Weekly hours, Weekly overtime hours: number of hours;

Employees on private non-farm payrolls, total; Employees on private non-farm payrolls, manufacturing; Average weekly hours of production workers on private non-farm payrolls, manufacturing; Average overtime hours of production workers on private non-farm payrolls, manufacturing; Average hourly earnings of production workers on private non-farm payrolls, manufacturing.

Earnings: Original data in US dollars are converted to an index by OECD.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition (a) Non-farm employment refers to the number of employees on the payroll working in a full- or part-time capacity on private establishment payrolls who received pay for any part of the pay period which includes the 12th of the month. Salaried officers of corporations are included. Intermittent workers are counted if they performed any paid service during the month. Persons on establishment payrolls who are on paid sick leave (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

Breakdown available Data on employees, hours and earnings are available in the national source by: - industry; - gender; - State.

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SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

unemployed or on strike during the rest of the period are counted as employed. (b) Employment: manufacturing refers to employees as described above working in establishments in the manufacturing industries.

Particular exclusions Excluded from the employment estimates are persons who are on lay-off, on leave without pay, on strike for the entire pay period which includes the 12th of the month, or who were hired but have not yet reported during the period.

(c) Weekly hours of work refer to average weekly hours for which pay was received by full-time and part-time production workers in the manufacturing industry during the pay period which includes the 12th of the month. They include overtime hours, hours paid for stand-by or reporting time, hours not worked but for which pay was received directly from the firm for holidays, vacation, sick and other paid leave. (d) Weekly overtime hours refer to average weekly hours worked by full-time and part-time production workers in the manufacturing industry for which overtime premiums were paid because the hours were in excess of the number of hours of either straight-time workday or the workweek. They refer to the pay period which included the 12th of the month. Weekend and holiday hours are included if overtime premiums were paid. (e) Hourly earnings data are derived from the total payroll of all full-time and part-time production workers in the manufacturing industry who received pay for any part of the pay period which included the 12th of the month. Earnings are on a gross basis before deductions of any kind and include premium pay for overtime, late-shift work and incentive pay. They cover holidays, vacation and sick leave paid directly by the firm; other paid leave; regularly occurring bonuses paid at each pay period; and commissions paid monthly.

Excluded from overtime hours are hours for which only shift differential, hazard, incentive or other similar types of premium were paid. Excluded from earnings are irregular bonuses; other pay not earned in the pay period; tips; pay advances; annual pay for unused leave; and the value of free rent, fuel, meals, or other payments in kind. Employee benefits (e.g., health and other types of insurance) and payroll taxes paid by employers are also excluded.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry: 1987 Standard Industrial Classification.

Departures from international standards The definition of earnings complies with the international guidelines on regular earnings with the following exception: the value of payments in kind (such as food and drink, fuel, clothing, etc.) and housing and rent allowances are excluded.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units The reporting unit is the establishment or economic unit and is generally a single location and engaged predominantly in a single economic activity.

Coverage Reference period The pay period which includes the 12th of the month.

Reporting method

Geographical coverage

Data are collected in the monthly Current Employment Statistics Survey (CES) of non-farm establishments. Each month the state agencies collect data on employment, payrolls and paid hours, normally by post and through automated computer-assisted methods, or touch-tone self-response, voice recognition technology and electronic data interchange.

The whole country. Classification coverage Manufacturing industry as defined in the Standard Industrial Classification. 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

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a specified month is obtained; a ratio of the previous to the current month’s employment (i.e., the link relative technique) is computed from a sample of establishments which reported for both months; and beginning with the benchmark month and for each cell, the all-employee estimate for one month is obtained by multiplying the all-employee estimate for the previous month by the link relative for the current month. Estimates for each basic cell are then aggregated to obtain higher level industry estimates.

by the state agency before being returned to the respondent for use again the following month. The technical characteristics of the shuttle schedule are particularly important in maintaining continuity and consistency in reporting from month to month. The shuttle design automatically exhibits the trends of the reported data covered by the schedule during the year, thereby showing the relationship of the current data with those for the previous month. The schedules are checked for accuracy and consistency by the state agencies before forwarding to the BLS for analysis.

Annual universe counts or benchmark levels are generated in March each year and are used to realign the sample-based employment totals for March each year with total population counts for that date. Benchmark levels are generated from administrative sources, in the main on employees covered by unemployment insurance tax laws. Following the revision of basic employment estimates, all other derivative series are also recalculated.

Master list The universe file is the unemployment insurance register maintained by the State Employment Security Agencies. Virtually all establishments must apply for register when they are “born”. The register is constantly updated on the basis of new start-ups in business and overall it contains around seven million businesses.

Seasonal and other adjustments

Survey description

All seasonally adjusted national estimates are produced using X-12 ARIMA software developed by the Bureau of the Census. The X-12 ARIMA takes into account and adjusts for the variation in the number of weeks between survey reference periods. This new seasonal adjustment procedure was implemented in June 1996. All seasonally adjusted data from 1988 incorporate the new adjustment.

The sample design is known as ‘optimum allocation proportional to employment’ and universe establishments are stratified first by state and then by industry size forming 1 703 basic cells. All large establishments with 250 or more employees fall into the sample with certainty. The number of required sample units for each of the smaller size classes depends on 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, which represents around 4.4 per cent of the universe establishments and over one third of total universe employment.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Sampling errors and their corrections Several measures of the reliability of the estimates are computed. The standard errors for employment, hours and earnings are computed using the method of random groups and expressed as relative standard errors.

Non-response rate The link-relative method of adjustment avoids the need to make further adjustments for non-response. The reports with data for both the current and previous months form a matched sample and their overthe-month change is used to move the previous month’s estimates.

Breaks in time series The major changes that have occurred have involved 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 month. These are based on less than the full sample.

Grossing up method Estimates of employment are generated through an annual benchmark and monthly sample link procedure using the three basic steps as follows: a total employment figure for each basic estimating cell as of

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Revision policy Following the revision of basic employment estimates each March, all other derivative series such as aver-

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age hourly earnings are recalculated. New seasonal adjustment factors are calculated and all seasonally adjusted data series for the previous five years are readjusted prior to the full publication of the revised data each June.

Release dates Release schedules for the coming year typically are published in the final news release of the current calendar year.

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

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SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

UNITED STATES

Wages

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Unit labour cost

tion. It is computed by taking the ratio of the index of compensation of employees in manufacturing to the manufacturing component of the industrial production index and converting the result to an index.

SOURCE Source agencies The Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates the index using statistics on compensation of employees provided by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the index of industrial production in manufacturing prepared by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Compensation of employees comprises wages and salaries plus supplements to wages and salaries. This item is computed and seasonally adjusted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The seasonally adjusted index of industrial production in manufacturing is prepared by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and is based on data compiled by government agencies and by various trade organisations.

Series title in national publications Unit Labour cost: manufacturing.

Run of data available Coverage

Data are available from 1955.

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 Industrial Classification.

Index.

Statistical population

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Compensation of employees data covers all employed persons including the self-employed and unpaid family workers.

Definition 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-

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SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

UNITED STATES

Labour - Other

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Help-wanted advertising

The Conference Board.

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

Key national publication sources

Coverage

SOURCE Source agency

Data are published in The Conference Board, Business Cycle Indicators.

Geographical coverage 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

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SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

UNITED STATES

Labour - Other

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Labour disputes - time lost

ing of work by an employer or group of employers to enforce terms of employment on a group of employees.

SOURCE Source agency The statistics are collected and compiled by the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

A strike is recorded as any group of 1 000 or more workers involved in a work stoppage. The continuation of a strike or lockout that is interrupted but later resumes, still due to the same case of dispute, is treated as a new strike or lockout if the period of interruption exceeds one work shift. Work stoppages resulting from the same case of dispute and occurring simultaneously either in different establishments of the same enterprise, or in establishments of different enterprises, are regarded as one strike or lockout. Those resulting from the same case of dispute but occurring at different times in different establishments of the same enterprise, or in establishments of different enterprises, are counted as separate strikes or lockouts.

Key national publication sources Data are available in the BLS, Monthly Labor Review.

Series title in national publications Work stoppages involving 1 000 workers or more: number of days idle.

Breakdown available Information on work stoppages is also available in the national source for the following categories:

Periodicity

Time not worked is total time not worked measured in working days. It is derived by ascertaining the total amount of time not worked on each day of the strike and summing these totals. Time not worked is measured for all workers involved, whether directly or indirectly. The shorter working hours of part-time workers are taken into account as follows: the average number of hours normally worked per day by parttime employees is multiplied by the number of such employees and the resulting estimate of time lost is combined with the estimate for full-time employees. Overtime is not taken into account.

Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Coverage

-

industry; number of strikes and lockouts; number of workers involved; duration; time not worked.

Run of data available Data are available from 1947.

Unit of measurement

Reference period The monthly data refer to disputes beginning during the month plus those continuing from the previous month.

Number of working days lost.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Geographical coverage

Definition

The whole country.

A work stoppage is defined as a temporary cessation of work by a group of employees to express a grievance or enforce a demand or the temporary withhold-

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Statistical population All sectors and all occupations are covered.

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union periodicals and from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Telephone calls are then made to union and management officials to obtain more details. Even if there is no indication of a stoppage, telephone contact is made at the termination of an agreement to determine the outcome of the negotiations, including possible stoppages. There is no legal obligation to report the occurrence of a strike or lockout.

Particular exclusions The minimum threshold for inclusion in the statistics is those strikes and lockouts involving a minimum of 1 000 workers simultaneously with the stoppage lasting at least one full shift. Political strikes, working to rule, go-slows and overtime bans are not covered.

STANDARDS 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 statistics was raised from those stoppages involving six or more employees and lasting at least one shift to the much higher 1 000 workers or more.

Departures from international standards The statistics broadly follow the international guidelines except for the minimum threshold for inclusion.

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

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SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

JAPAN

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS)

(a) Total (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 MCA, Annual Report on the Labour Force Survey contains, in addition to the outline, more detailed information such as sampling method, estimation method, sampling errors of estimates and questionnaires used.

Data are compiled the Statistics Bureau of the Management and Co-ordination Agency (MCA).

Key national publication sources Data are available in the MCA publications, Monthly Report on the Labour Force Survey and Monthly Statistics of Japan. Some information is also available on internet (http://www.stat.go.jp/).

Run of data available The survey has been carried out regularly since July 1947.

Series title in national publications (a) (b) (c) (d)

Periodicity of the data

Employed persons: total; Employed persons by employment status: temporary employees; Unemployed; Ratio of unemployed in the labour force.

Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Unit of measurement Employment, Unemployment: number of persons; Unemployment rate: percentage.

Breakdown available Employment data are available in the national source by: -

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition

industry; occupation; employment status; level of education/qualification; size of enterprise; age; gender; part-time/full-time.

(a) Employment refers to employed persons at work (i.e., persons who worked for pay or profit for at least one hour during the reference week), family workers who worked at least one hour during the reference week and employed persons with a job but not at work. Included within this definition are full and part-time workers seeking other work during the reference week; full and part-time students working full or part-time; persons who performed some work for pay or profit during the reference week while being retired and receiving a pension or being registered as job seekers at an employment office; paid or unpaid apprentices or trainees; participants in employment promotion

Unemployment is available in the national source by: -

age; gender; relationship to head of households; reason for seeking a job (main activity or secondary activity).

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Unemployment: seasonal workers awaiting agricultural or other seasonal work are excluded from the unemployed and considered as out of the labour force.

schemes; paid and unpaid family workers provided the latter are not absent from work during the reference week; private domestic servants; national defence forces; persons with a job but temporarily absent due to illness, vacation, etc.; and persons on temporary release from work. This indicator also appears in Part One of MEI converted to an index by OECD. (b) Short-term employed are persons employed for a specific period of less than one year. (c) Unemployment: The unemployed are persons who did not work at all during the reference week but were available for work and ready to take a job immediately and were actively seeking a job or were waiting for the results of past job search activity. Included are persons without a job and 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 specified), full and part-time students seeking full or part-time work, and unpaid family workers who were temporarily absent from work during the reference week. (d) The Unemployment rate is the number of unemployed persons expressed as a per cent of the labour force. The labour force is equal to the unemployed plus the employed.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry: Japanese Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) which is linked to ISIC 1968; Occupation: Based on the Occupational Classification for the 1995 Population Census with some changes (linked to ISCO 1968).

International comparability Data are in accordance with the ILO guidelines.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units Households.

Reporting method Questionnaires are delivered personally to the sample households and collected after the reference week. The data are then transmitted via the Prefectural Governments to the Statistics Bureau.

Coverage

Survey details

Reference period The last seven days of each month except in December when the period is the 20th-26th.

Description of questionnaire The questionnaire is designed for self completion by the household. Topics covered each month include the following: name and gender; relationship to the head of household; date of birth; marital status; labour force status in the full week preceding the reference week; whether wanting a job as a main activity or as a secondary activity (for those unemployed); weekly hours worked; employment status; type of organisation and business of employer or self employment; occupation; total number of employees in the enterprise; whether wanting to change jobs or have an additional job. In addition, the reason for seeking a job is asked of unemployed respondents in the second month of enumeration in both the first and second year.

Geographical coverage The whole country. Statistical population All Japanese and foreigners aged 15 years and over who have lived (or will be living) in the country for more than three months, excluding foreign diplomats, foreign military personnel and those who accompany them. The national defence forces and inmates of reformatory institutions are separately enumerated and included in the results. Particular exclusions Employment: excluded from the employed and considered as out of the labour force are persons engaged in their own housework and persons doing unpaid community or social work.

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Master list The enumeration districts of the 1995 Population Census.

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These data are derived from the Population Census and are calculated monthly using vital statistics etc.

Survey description There are around 780 000 districts and every year lists of newly developed collective housing districts are prepared by the Prefectural Governments which are added to the existing enumeration districts.

Seasonal and other adjustments The X-11 variant of the US Bureau of the Census Method II is used to adjust unemployment and employment variables for seasonal variation.

The sample is based on a stratified two-stage design. 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 within the districts prepared by the enumerators. Systematic sampling with a random start number and a fixed sampling interval is used to select second-stage units from the list. Some 15 dwellings per sample enumeration district are selected and the total sample consists of about 40 000 dwelling units or around 100 000 persons aged 15 years and over.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Sampling errors and their corrections Information on sample errors is provided in Annual Report on the Labour Force Survey.

Other errors and their corrections No adjustments are made for the population not covered by the survey or for undercoverage or overcoverage.

A sample enumeration district remains in the sample for four consecutive months, then leaves the sample for the following eight months before rejoining the sample for the same four months in the following year. For each district two sets of dwelling unit are selected. In the first year of enumeration the households in the sample dwelling units in the first set are surveyed for the first two consecutive months and then replaced by the households in the dwelling units of the other set. In the second year, the dwelling units of the first set enter the sample again and are replaced by those of the other set in the same way as in the first year. Under this system, one quarter of the sample districts and one half of the sample households are replaced every month. Three quarters of the sample districts are common from month to month and half of them from year to year.

Breaks in time series In 1967 the household interview method was replaced by self completion of the questionnaire by the household and this resulted in substantial revisions to the questionnaire itself.

Revision policy Seasonally adjusted figures are revised every year at the time that the data for January are released. Otherwise, figures are not revised once they are released. As the methodology is prescribed by the regulation on the Labour Force Survey, it is necessary to consult with the Statistics Council and to change the regulation in instances when changes are made to the methodology. A major change would be identified when the new data are released.

Non-response rate The overall non-response rate is around 2 per cent and no adjustments are made to cover for this.

Timeliness As a rule, the results for the whole of Japan and the quarterly regional results are released at the end of the month following the reference month. However, sometimes they are released at the beginning of the next month depending on the schedule of data processing.

DATA MANIPULATION Aggregations / Grossing up Grossing up method Data are calculated at national level by category of age, gender and by area (two areas are used: the metropolitan area consisting of the seven largest cities and the rest of the country) using grossing up factors which are equal to the ratio of each estimated population over the total population. Grossing up factors are derived from the monthly Population Estimates.

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Release dates A schedule of precise dates of release for the following fiscal year is published at the end of March every year. Every issue of the Monthly Report on the Labour Force Survey carries this release schedule.

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SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

JAPAN

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Monthly Labour Survey

(a) Manufacturing

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 Planning and Research Department).

Employment in manufacturing refers to regular employees in manufacturing. Regular employees are workers who come under the following categories: persons hired for an indefinite period or for longer than one month; and persons hired on a daily basis or for less than one month and who were hired for 18 days or more in each of the two preceding months.

Key national publication sources Data are available in the MCA publications Monthly Labour Survey and Monthly Statistics of Japan. Hours and Earnings data are also available in the annual Report of the General Survey on Wages and Working Hours System.

Board directors of corporations who work regularly and are paid a monthly salary and family members of the owner of a business who work in that business regularly and are paid a salary every month are included.

Series title in national publications (a) (b) (c)

Regular employment indices in manufacturing; Hours worked indices in industry (manufacturing); Wage indices of regular employees by industry (manufacturing).

Part-time workers are included in the figures; they are either workers whose daily scheduled working hours are shorter than those of regular employees, or workers with the same daily hours as regular employees but whose weekly scheduled hours are shorter than those of regular employees.

Breakdown available Data are published in the national source by:

Also included as employees are: wage earners and salaried employees; apprentices; temporary and seasonal workers; persons temporarily absent from work because of paid or unpaid vacation or holiday, industrial dispute, sickness or accident, or for any other reasons, whether authorised or not, as well as persons temporarily present on the payroll during a notice period preceding retirement, resignation or dismissal.

- industry; - full-time/part-time.

Run of data available The survey was started in the late 1940s but in its present form dates from 1952.

The index is calculated by dividing the number of regular employees in the reference period by the number of regular employees observed in the base period.

Periodicity Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Unit of measurement

(a) Monthly hours of work refer to hours actually worked in the manufacturing industries by an employee during the survey period and are the

All data are published in the form of indices (1995=100).

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Classification coverage

sum of scheduled working hours plus nonscheduled working hours. Scheduled working hours refer to the actual number of hours worked between starting and ending hours of employment determined by the work regulations of the establishment. Non-scheduled working hours refer to the actual number of hour worked while reporting to work early in the morning, overtime hours worked, hours worked on emergency call-up, and hours worked while working on a day off. (b) Monthly earnings refer to cash earnings of employees in the manufacturing industries before deductions for income tax, social insurance contribution, and union dues, and before payment for goods purchased etc. Total cash earnings comprise contractual cash earnings (scheduled cash earnings and overtime pay) plus special cash earnings. −

Major division Manufacturing of the Japan Standard Industrial Classification Statistical population Establishments with 30 or more employees selected from the latest Establishment Census. Particular exclusions The definition of Employment excludes trainees and employees on probation, piece workers, commission agents, home workers, casual employees, employees sub-contracted from other companies or firms, employees from temporary work agencies, and persons absent from work because of temporary or indefinite lay-off or temporary military service. Monthly hours worked exclude rest periods (paid or unpaid). Night duty not connected with actual duties is also excluded.

Contractual cash earnings are earnings paid according to methods and conditions previously determined by labour contracts, collective agreements, or wage regulations of establishments. Overtime pay is the wage paid for work exceeding scheduled working hours, i.e. allowances for working outside of work hours, for night work, for reporting to work early in the morning, and for overnight duty.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Japanese Standard Industrial Classification (linked to ISIC 1968).

−

Special cash earnings are amounts paid to employees during the survey period for temporary or unforeseen reasons not based on any previous agreement, contract or rule. Also included are retroactive payments of wages as a result of a new agreement, and payments such as summer and year-end bonuses, and marriage allowances etc. The index of earnings published in Section One of MEI on the subject table ‘Hourly earnings’ refers to contractual cash earnings only. It excludes special cash earnings, on account of their very seasonal nature.

International comparability The definition of Hours worked corresponds to that of normal working hours in the international recommendations except for the treatment of short time rest.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units Establishments.

Reporting method Postal questionnaires are sent to the establishments with a requirement that they are returned by post to the Prefectural Office by the 10th of the following month.

Coverage 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 reference month.

Description of questionnaire The questionnaire for larger establishments is designed for self completion using the guidelines provided.

Geographical coverage The whole country.

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benchmarks for employment are used rather than the previous month’s estimate. The total employment figure for the manufacturing industry is obtained by summing estimates for each cell.

Master list The sampling frame is the Establishment Census which is carried out every five years. Survey description

To obtain average monthly earnings (or hours worked) for each individual estimating cell, the sum of the total payroll (or man-hours worked) reported by the establishment is divided by the total number of employees reported for the same establishment. The average monthly earnings (or hours worked) for manufacturing is obtained by applying the employment grossing-up factor (see above) to total payroll (or man-hours) for individual estimating cells. The resulting payroll figures (man-hours) are summed over cells and divided by the total estimate for employment in manufacturing.

The size and coverage of the sample varies. The national survey covers about 16 700 establishments with 30 or more employees and 16 500 with 5-29 employees, selected from approximately 1 900 districts of the 50 000 districts covering the whole country. The Prefectural survey covers about 21 500 establishments with 30 or more employees and 22 000 establishments with 5-29 employees selected from approximately 2 700 districts. The sample is stratified by industry and size of establishment. Establishments with 30 or more employees are selected according to a stratified one stage sampling method. All establishments with 500 or more regular employees are included. The sampling fraction for the other strata varies by industry and size of establishment. New samples are selected at approximate intervals of three years.

Seasonal and other adjustments The survey results are regularly adjusted for seasonal variation using the X-11 variant of the US Bureau of the Census Method II.

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 inconsistencies before being processed by computer. In case of missing or inconsistent data, enumerators follow up by telephone or personal visit.

DATA MANIPULATION Aggregations / Grossing up Grossing up method

Breaks in time series

Employment estimates are calculated using the linkrelative method. Monthly estimates for each individual estimating cell are derived by applying to the previous month’s employment estimate the ratio of employment in the current month to that of the previous month as given by the sample of establishments which reported in both months. When the results of the Establishment Census become available the new

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The survey has undergone a number of major revisions mainly affecting the scope of the sample. However, there is no break in the index series because the series have been retrospectively adjusted.

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JAPAN

Labour - Unemployment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Insurance beneficiaries

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 insurance benefits during the month, excluding seasonal workers.

Data are available in Report on Employment Insurance Activities’, (Japanese version only) and the MCA, Monthly Statistics of Japan..

Coverage

Some information is also available on internet at http://www.stat.go.jp/.

Reference period

Series title in national publications

The whole month.

Employment insurance: basic allowance beneficiaries.

Geographical coverage The whole country.

Breakdown available

Statistical population

Data are available in the national source by: -

Those persons who receive unemployment benefits and are registered with the Bureau of Employment Security.

level of education/qualification; full-time/part-time; 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.

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JAPAN

Labour - Other

Indicators from administrative and other sources

(a) New vacancies (b) Job offers to job applicants

SOURCE

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Source agency

Definition

Data are compiled by the Employment Policy Division, Employment Security Bureau, Ministry of Labour.

(a) New vacancies refer to the number of job vacancies coming to the attention of the Bureau of Employment Security each month; (b) Job offers to job applicants. This is the ratio between the total number of vacancies registered at the Bureau of Employment Security and the total number of persons seeking assistance in finding work, calculated at the end of each month.

Key national publication sources Data are available in Report on Employment Service, (in Japanese only, a summary version exists in English), and MCA, Monthly Statistics of Japan.

Coverage

Series title in national publications

Reference period New vacancies: the whole month;

(a) New job openings; (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 following categories: -

The whole country.

STANDARDS

part-time/full-time; size of establishment; Prefecture; age.

Standard classifications / nomenclatures A detailed occupational classification specially prepared for referring job-seekers to jobs made by the Ministry of Labour is used. This classification is consistent with the Japanese Standard Classification of Occupation (JSCO) 1981 at the 2 digit level.

The ratio Job offers to job applicants is published in the national source for the following categories: - age; - 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 MANIPULATION

Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Seasonal and other adjustment Unit of measurement

Seasonal adjustments are carried out by national source using the X-11 variant of the US Bureau of the Census Method II.

New vacancies: number of vacancies; Job offers to job applicants: ratio.

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JAPAN

Wages

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Unit labour cost

SOURCE

Coverage Geographical coverage

Source agency Data are compiled by the Research Bureau of the Economic Planning Agency (EPA).

The whole country.

Key national publication sources

Major division Manufacturing of the Japan Standard Industrial Classification

Classification coverage

Data are available in EPA, Business Cycles in Japan and USA.

Statistical population Establishments with 30 or more employees selected from the latest Establishment Census.

Series title in national publications Unit labour cost (manufacturing).

Particular exclusions

Run of data available Data are available from January 1973.

Retirement pay is excluded from the earnings component.

Periodicity

STANDARDS

Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Standard classifications / nomenclatures

Unit of measurement

Industry: Japanese Standard Industrial Classification (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 index are seasonally adjusted as follows: the X-11 variant of the US Bureau of the Census Method II is used for the Regular Employment Index and the Wage Index of Contractual Cash Earnings (manufacturing). The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) method is used for the Index of Industrial Production (value added weights, manufacturing).

The Unit labour cost index is derived as the product of ‘Regular Employment Index’ and ‘Wage Index of Contractual Cash Earnings’ divided by the ‘Index of Industrial Production’. All indicators refer to the manufacturing industries. The source for the Index of Industrial Production is the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. The two other indices are compiled from the results of the Ministry of Labour’s Monthly Labour Survey described in the previous section.

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AUSTRALIA

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS)

(a) Total employment * (b) Manufacturing

Labour - Unemployment (c) Total (d) Rate

Labour - Other (e) Weekly hours of work

Unemployment statistics are available in the national source by:

SOURCE Source agency

-

Data are compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Key national publication sources Data are available in the monthly publication of ABS, Labour Force, Australia, (catalogue no. 6203.0). The LFS data (published and unpublished) are also available on diskette, microfiche, computer printout, etc.

Weekly hours of work are available in the national source by: -

Series titles in national publications (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

industry of last job; occupation of last job; educational attendance; age group; duration; reason for leaving last job; State and Territory; gender.

Employed persons: total; Employed persons: manufacturing; Unemployed: total; Unemployment rate; Average weekly hours worked: manufacturing.

industry; region; full-time/part-time; gender.

Methodological references Methodological information is published in Labour Force, Australia.

Breakdown available Run of data available

Employment statistics are available in the national source by: -

The monthly LFS began in February 1978, with quarterly surveys prior to that date in February, May, August and November from 1964.

full-time/part-time; age group; gender; economic activity; birth place; number of hours worked; occupation; employment status.

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Unit of measurement Employment, Unemployment: number of persons; Unemployed rate: percentage; Weekly hours of work: number of hours.

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the reference week for reasons other than bad weather or plant breakdown; or

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition

−

were waiting to be called back to a full-time or part-time job from which they had been stood down without pay for less than four weeks up to the end of the reference week (including the whole of the reference week) for reasons other than bad weather or plant breakdown. Also included are full and parttime students actively seeking full or parttime work. (d) The Unemployment rate is defined as the number of unemployed persons expressed as a per cent of the civilian labour force. Civilian labour force comprises the unemployed plus the employed. (e) Weekly hours of work are actual hours worked during the reference week and not paid hours. The figures may be affected by public holidays, leave, absenteeism, temporary absence from work due to illness, injury, accident and industrial disputes and stoppages of work due to bad weather, plant breakdown, etc. When hours are recorded, fractions of hours are disregarded and this results in a slightly lower figure than would be the case if all actual time was recorded. Persons stood down without pay for the whole of the reference week because of bad weather or plant breakdown at their place of employment are regarded as employed and therefore included (but working no hours) in the calculation of average hours worked. Persons stood down in the reference week for other reasons and waiting to be called back to their job are regarded as unemployed and are therefore excluded from the calculations.

(a) Employed persons comprise all those members of the civilian resident population of Australia aged 15 and over who, during the reference week, satisfied at least one of the following definitions: worked for one hour or more for pay, profit, commission or payment in kind in a job or business, or on a farm (including employees, employers and self-employed persons); or worked for one hour or more without pay in a family business or on a farm (i.e., unpaid family helpers); or were employees who had a job but were not at work and were on paid leave, on leave without pay for less than four weeks up to the end of the reference week, stood down without pay because of bad weather or plant breakdown at their place of employment for less than four weeks up to the end of the reference week, were on strike or lockout, were on workers’ compensation (related to either sick or accident leave or both) and expected to be returning to work, or receiving wages or salary while undertaking full-time study; were employers, self employed or unpaid family workers who had a job, business or farm, but were not at work. Also included are the following groups: paid apprentices and trainees; retired persons receiving a pension who worked for one hour or more for pay or profit during the reference week; full and parttime students seeking work during the reference period; full or part-time students working full or part-time; private domestic servants; members of producer co-operatives; and resident Australian exchange workers.

Coverage

(b) Employment in manufacturing comprises all persons employed, as described above, in industry division ‘manufacturing’, as defined by the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZIC), from August 1994, and by the Australian Standard Industrial Classification (ASIC) prior to this date. (c) Unemployed persons are defined as those aged 15 and over who, during the reference week: −

Reference period The reference period is the week before the interview and the surveys are conducted during the two weeks beginning on the Monday between the 6th and 12th of each month (except in December when they start earlier). Geographical coverage

had actively looked for full-time or parttime work at any time in the four weeks up to the end of the survey reference week and who were available for work in the reference week, or would have been available except for temporary illness (lasting less than fours weeks to the end of the reference week), or were waiting to start a new job within four weeks from the end of

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The whole country. Statistical population All usual residents of Australia aged 15 and over but excluding the following groups: members of the permanent defence forces; certain diplomatic personnel of overseas governments, normally excluded from

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the required measure of economically active population. From August 1996 the questionnaire was administered by telephone for second and consecutive interviews (first contact continues to be face-to-face).

census and related inquiries; overseas residents in Australia; and members of non-Australian defence forces and their dependants stationed in Australia. Particular exclusions

The questionnaire used has been revised from time to time. In 1986, for example, the revisions followed the extension of the definition of employed persons to include those who worked without pay between 1 and 14 hours per week in a family business or on a farm.

Persons doing unpaid community or voluntary work are not included in the employment and hours data. Persons doing unpaid community or voluntary work may be classified as unemployed if all the conditions for unemployment have been met.

Survey description STANDARDS

The Population Survey master sample is used for the LFS and is based on a multi-stage stratified design with area sampling equivalent to samples of dwellings. Australia is first classified into States and Territories with each State being divided into capital city and the remainder of the State. These major areas are then divided into smaller regions (based on statistical divisions or subdivisions) which are further split into strata. The sampling fraction differs for States and Territories enabling estimates of reasonable accuracy to be produced. The sampling fractions for each State or Territory are as follows: New South Wales and Victoria 1 in 230; Queensland 1 in 160; Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory 1 in 115; Tasmania 1 in 70. Separately sampled, mutually exclusive strata cover private dwellings (about 31 000 homes) and non-private dwellings (hotels, etc.) divided into urban and rural areas, further grouped by location and socioeconomic considerations. In total the master sample covers around two thirds of one per cent of the population of Australia.

Standard classifications/ nomenclatures Industry: ANZIC 1993 (linked to ISIC); Occupation: Australian Standard Classification of Occupations 1986; Employment Status: national classification which is broadly comparable to the ICSE;

International comparability Definitions used in the LFS are closely aligned with ILO guidelines.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units Persons in selected private and non-private dwellings as identified through the five yearly Population Census.

Reporting method

With the private dwelling strata, the sample in densely populated areas (DPAs) is self-weighting and selection is in three stages with differing probabilities of inclusion approximately proportional to the number of dwellings contained in each stage. Census Collector’s Districts are the first stage selection. Outside DPAs a self-weighting four stage area sample is used with towns or rural Local Government Areas as the primary sampling units at the first stage selection followed by the three stages used for the DPAs. The sample of non-private dwellings in urban and DPAs is a self-weighting two-stage cluster sample, becoming three stage outside these areas. The effect of new dwellings is taken into account in the sample selection procedure.

The Labour Force Survey component of the Monthly Population Survey. Data are collected by personal interviews conducted by staff employed by the ABS. The interviewers seek to obtain answers about all the persons in the dwelling who are within scope to the survey from the first responsible adult member of the household that the interviewer makes contact with. If that person is unable to supply some of the details on another person, then the interviewer will call back, although this is rare. ABS is progressively introducing the use of telephone interviewing for follow-up interviews.

Survey details

The Population Survey sample is re-selected every five years to allow data from the latest Census of Population and Housing to be used to improve the efficiency of the Population Survey sample design.

Description of questionnaire The questionnaire seeks responses to 88 questions which by sequencing and further derivation provide

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Every six months there is a revision of the private dwelling sample for growth areas and the list of special dwellings is updated every six months from local knowledge and other sources. Renewal of the sample is by rotation whereby seven eighths of the sample remain unchanged from one survey to the next.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Sampling errors and their corrections Standard errors are calculated and published monthly in Labour Force Australia. For monthly employment estimates, standard errors at the national level are approximately 0.3 per cent and for monthly estimates of unemployed persons at the national level they are approximately 1.4 per cent.

Non-response rate The non-response rate is around 4 per cent each month and estimation of the non-response is made through post-stratification at the age and gender levels. The estimation weighting process via calculation of weights at the population benchmark cell level (age, gender, part of State) automatically compensates for non-response.

Other errors and their corrections Non-sampling errors are minimised through the careful design of questionnaires, intensive training and 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 employed persons was extended to include persons who worked without pay for between 1 and 14 hours per week in a family business or in a farm (as unpaid helpers). Previously such persons would have been defined as either unemployed or not in the labour force, depending on whether they were actively looking for work. Estimates from January 1989 were revised to conform to revised population estimates following the 1991 Census and are not strictly comparable with estimates prior to this date.

Grossing up method The independent population statistics are used as the benchmarks and these are normally available every five years following the Census of Population and Housing. LFS estimates of persons employed, unemployed and not in the labour force are calculated in such a way as to add up to the independently estimated distribution of the usually resident civilian population aged 15 and over by age and gender. This procedure compensates for under-enumeration in the survey. The independent population statistics are the latest available estimates at the time the LFS is conducted.

Preliminary estimates Preliminary survey results are published in advance in ABS, Labour Force, Australia, Preliminary (catalogue no. 6202.0).

Seasonal and other adjustments

Revision policy

Seasonal adjustments are carried out using the ratioto-moving average method and the X-11 variant of the US Bureau of the Census Method II.

Seasonal factors are reviewed annually to take account of each additional year’s original data. Survey estimates are revised after each census of population and housing and when population estimation bases are reviewed.

Trend estimates are calculated and published in the national source for certain unemployment and employment variables. These monthly trend estimates are derived by applying 13-term Henderson-weighted moving averages.

Release dates Release dates for the current month are made available on the Internet at http://www.abs.gov.au

Other manipulations 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.

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AUSTRALIA

Labour - Other

Indicators from the Survey of Job Vacancies and Overtime

(a) Unfilled vacancies (b) Weekly overtime hours

SOURCE

Periodicity

Source agency

Data are compiled on a quarterly basis.

Data are compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Unit of measurement Job vacancies: numbers of jobs.

Key national publication sources

Overtime hours: number of hours.

Data are available in ABS, Job Vacancies and Overtime, Australia (catalogue no. 6354.0).

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Series title in national publication

Definition

(a) (b)

(a) A job vacancy is a job available for immediate filling on the survey reference date and for which recruitment action had been taken. Recruitment action includes efforts to fill vacancies by advertising, by factory notices, by notifying public or private employment agencies or trade unions and by contacting, interviewing or selecting applicants already registered with the enterprise or organisation. Vacancies for all employees are included, including managerial, temporary, seasonal, trainees, apprentices, etc. (b) The average hours of overtime per employee is calculated by dividing the total overtime hours paid for in a particular group, by the total number of employees in the same group (including those who were not paid for any overtime). Employee here refers to all wage and salary earners who received pay for any part of the reference week of the survey. Paid overtime hours refer to hours in excess of award, standard or agreed hours of work.

Job vacancies, all industries; Average weekly overtime hours per employee, manufacturing.

Breakdown available Job Vacancies are published in the national source for the following categories: - public/private organisations; - industry Overtime hours are published in the national source for the following categories: - State and Territories; - industry.

Methodological references Methodological information is available in Job Vacancies and Overtime, Australia and in the information paper of ABS, New Statistical Series: Employment, 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 thereafter.

Geographical coverage The whole country.

Overtime hours are available from 1985.

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Particular exclusions

for nine months. The card is two-sided with the first side outlining the purpose of the survey, the requirement that details must be supplied, assurance on confidentiality, etc. The reverse side of the form provides definitional information on the data requested, with the table itself asking for the following for each of the survey dates: total number of employees; paid overtime hours and the number of employees paid any overtime; and the number of job vacancies. The employer is asked to complete the form referring to the pay period ending on or before the survey dates, and reading out this information over the telephone when requested to do so.

Job vacancies for Australian permanent defence forces, in enterprises primarily engaged in agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, in private households employing staff, in overseas embassies, consulates, and vacancies located outside Australia are excluded. Also excluded are vacancies of less than one day’s duration; those to be filled by persons already hired or by promotion or transfer of existing employees; vacancies filled by employees returning from paid or unpaid leave or after industrial disputes; vacancies not available for immediate filling on the survey date; vacancies for work to be carried out under contract; vacancies unavailable in the State or Territory to which the return relates; vacancies for which no effort is being made to fill the position; vacancies available only to persons already employed by the organisation, government departments or authorities; and vacancies to which a person has been appointed but has not yet taken up duty.

Master list Lists of private and public employers held by ABS (Register of businesses). Survey description The sample is stratified by State, industry and number of employees. Employers with 1 200 or more employees are fully enumerated and a sample is selected from the remainder of employers. The total number of employers in the survey is about 4 800. The sample is updated each quarter to take account of births and deaths of enterprises and structural changes.

Excluded from the overtime hours are normal shift work and standard hours paid for at penalty rates.

STANDARDS 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 example, if the weight assigned to a unit in a given stratum is 500 and 4 out of 5 units respond, each responding unit has its weight increased to 625 to account for the one nonresponding unit. Treatment of non-response amongst Completely Enumerated (CE) strata:

-

A more complex methodology. If a non- responding CE unit occurs, the system imputes for the unit, based on the previous quarter’s data and a further adjustment is made based on the reported growth of the other CE units in the given stratum.

Reporting units A statistical unit for the survey comprises all activities of an employer in a particular State or Territory. Each statistical unit is classified to an industry which reflects the predominant activity of the business. In a small number of cases where a business has a significant number of employees in more than one industry, a separate statistical unit is created for each industry.

Reporting method A sample survey of employers. The sample is selected from the ABS register of businesses to ensure 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 benchmarks are used.

The selected sample of employers are sent a ‘Telephone Reporting Record’ card which is good

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that were not restricted to persons already employed within a particular department or authority. From May 1979, surveys are conducted by phone and vacancies in the public sector refer only to those vacancies which are not restricted to persons already employed within a particular government sector, e.g. State Public Service or the Australian Public service. Also vacancies of less then one day’s duration were excluded since May 1979.

Data are aggregated by applying appropriate weights to each response, and summing to various levels e.g. State, Sector etc.

Seasonal and other adjustments Job vacancies: The X-11 variant (multiplicative method) of the US Bureau of the Census Method II is used.

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

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AUSTRALIA

Labour - Other

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Labour disputes - time lost

An industrial dispute is defined as a withdrawal from work by a group of employees or a refusal by an employer or a number of employers to permit some or all of their employees to work, each withdrawal or refusal being made in order to enforce a demand, resist a demand or to express a grievance.

SOURCE Source agency Data are compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Key national publication sources

Industrial disputes: working days lost.

A standdown enables an employer to suspend employees for whom no work is available for reasons beyond the power of the employer (e.g., as a result of strikes, machinery breakdowns, interruption to the supply of materials, etc.). In practice, standdowns are included only where employees are stood down as a result of industrial disputes by other employees at the same establishment.

Breakdown available

Coverage

Data are available in the monthly publication of ABS, Industrial disputes, Australia, and also on diskette, tape cartridge, CD-Rom.

Series title in national publication

Data are available in the national source for the following categories: -

Reference period The monthly data refer to disputes beginning during the month plus those continuing from the previous month.

cause of dispute; method of settlement; industry; number of workers involved; duration; time not worked; State or Territory.

Geographical coverage The whole country. Statistical population All industry and services in the public and private sectors are covered.

Run of data available Data have been collected by the national source since 1913.

Particular exclusions Those disputes which fall below the minimum threshold of involving ten employee-days or more not worked at the establishments where the stoppages occurred are excluded. Also excluded are employees absent on sick or annual leave or absent for any other “approved” reason, the self employed, employers and unpaid family workers. Working-to-rule, go-slows, overtime bans and sit-ins are not included.

Periodicity Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Unit of measurement Number of working days lost.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

The method of recording the information relies on disputes coming to the notice of the ABS and it is therefore likely that the statistics will not cover all such disputes, although this will mainly affect the smallest strikes or lockouts.

Definition Data refer to the number of working days lost in industrial disputes.

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rectly involved, without distinction at the establishments where the strike occurred. The shorter working hours of part-time workers are taken into account.

STANDARDS Standard classifications/ nomenclatures Industry: ANZSIC.

Reporting method International comparability

The statistics are compiled mainly from data obtained from employers, from trade unions and from reports of government authorities. Identification of disputes is obtained from electronic media services, newspaper articles, trade journals, employers’ and trade union publications. There is no legal obligation to report the occurrence of a dispute. However, some State Jurisdictions cover legislative requirements on reporting, but it is not uniform.

The definitions used follow the ILO guidelines.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units The basic unit of measurement used to record a strike or lockout is the case of dispute at a single establishment, 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 strikes and lockouts. A dispute involving several establishments is counted as a single dispute if it is organised or directed by one person or one organisation in each State or Territory in which it occurs, otherwise it is counted as a separate dispute in each establishment (in each State or Territory) and in each industry in which it occurred. A strike or lockout interrupted but which later resumes, still due to the same cause or dispute, is counted as a continuation of the same strike or lockout if the period of interruption is less than two complete calendar months. Work stoppages resulting from the same case of dispute, occurring simultaneously in different establishments are counted as one dispute if the dispute is organised or directed by the same person or organisation.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Breaks in time series There was a change in the methodology in December 1987 affecting the calculation of the number of disputes. Prior to that date if the causes of several disputes were the same, the disputes were counted as one dispute in each of the States or Territories in which they occurred, irrespective of whether the dispute occurred in more than one industry. Further changes were introduced in January 1993 also affecting the counting of disputes covering more than one establishment, industry or State. From that date, the dispute is counted once in each industry and State, but only once in the total for Australia. Revisions to the 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 and lockouts on the basis of the number of employees involved at the establishments where the dispute took place and the duration of the strike or lockout. Time not worked is measured for workers directly and indi-

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Revision policy Minor revisions are made in following monthly publications.

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AUSTRALIA

Wages

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Hourly rates

SOURCE

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Source agency

Definition

Data are compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

Award rates of pay indexes are collected and compiled monthly using information obtained on a regular basis from the various wage fixing authorities and other related bodies. The source used to base the indexes is the May 1985 Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours and a representative ‘basket’ of award classifications is used. This survey collected information on the industry and occupation of individual employees, the award under which they are covered and their award classification. The information was used to help design a sample using stratifications by industry, occupation and state. Data on award rates of pay from June 1985 and subsequent months have been compiled for each of these classifications and estimates of weighted average award rates were calculated by expanding data from the sample of award classifications.

Key national publication sources Data are available in the monthly publication of ABS, Award Rates of Pay Indexes, Australia. Data can also be made available by ABS on diskette or hardcopy by request.

Series title in national publication Hourly award rates of pay indexes: full-time adult employees.

Breakdown available Data are published in the national source by: -

gender; industry; occupation; State and Territories.

Methodological references

The award rates of pay used to compile the index include the base rate and any allowances or loadings that are applicable to all employees under a specific award classification (e.g., industry allowance) and supplementary payments when they are specified within the award.

Methodological notes are published in Award Rates of Pay Indexes, Australia.

Coverage Reference period

Run of data available

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, 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.

Index (1985=100).

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Particular exclusions

Survey details

The award rates of pay used in the compilation of the indices exclude remunerative allowances, superannuation payments, as well as other payments such as severance and termination payments which are paid to employees as part of an award agreement and payments negotiated under formalised enterprise bargaining awards. The collection does not cover employees in agriculture, defence and those employees employed in private households. All legal award increases are included. Only non-official award rates are not covered.

Description of questionnaire Information is gathered from the administrative records of those bodies (e.g., industrial tribunals) involved with the setting of awards. Survey description A basket of award classifications is selected according to the pattern of employment that existed in the base year of 1985.

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 the award classification level. The weights applied to the award classifications are derived from the May 1985 Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours. Awards are divided into two groups, major and minor awards, depending on the estimated coverage of each award. All 200 major awards are included in the index but only a sample of the 500 minor awards.

Occupation: Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (partly convertible to ISCO 1988).

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units 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 classifications is obtained from a variety of sources. The primary updating sources are notices of award variations determined or authorised by industrial tribunals. A number of secondary sources are also used including various employers’ federations. Information obtained 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. In recent times, the flow of variation advices from these sources has slowed to the extent that only small movements are reflected in the indices.

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Originally only full-time adult male wage earners were included in the index. Full-time adult female wage earners were included when the series was rebased in 1954 and following the 1976 rebasing exercise, wage and salary earners were separately identified in the indices.

Revision policy In some cases such as when awards, etc., are varied, the new award rates are made retrospective. In addition, 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.

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NEW ZEALAND

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS)

(a) Total (b) Part-time

Labour - Unemployment (c) Total (d) Rate (e) Short-term

and Employment by:

SOURCE

-

Source agency Data are compiled by Statistics New Zealand.

Key national publication sources Data are available in the monthly publication of Statistics New Zealand, Key Statistics. Data are also available on-line on INFOS (Information Network For Official Statistics).

Methodological references Methodological information is available on INFOS.

Run of data available

Series title in national publications (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

occupation; industry; employment status; actual hours worked; part-time (wanting additional hours).

The Household Labour Force Survey started in October 1985.

Employed labour force; Employed part-time; Unemployed; Unemployment rate; Unemployment by duration (available on INFOS only).

Periodicity Data are compiled on a quarterly basis.

Unit of measurement

Breakdown available

Employment, Unemployment: number of persons;

Employment and Unemployment are available in the national source by:

Unemployment rate: percentage.

- gender; - age; - marital status; - region; - ethnic group; - educational qualifications; - full-time/part-time. In addition, Unemployment is available by:

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

-

Definition (a) The Employed include all persons in the working age population who, during the reference week, were in any of the following categories: worked for one hour or more for pay or profit in the context of an employer/employee relationship or self employment; worked without pay for one hour or more in work which contributed directly to the operation of a firm, business or professional practice owned or operated by a relative (unpaid family workers); or had a job but were not able to

job search method; occupation sought; reason for leaving last job; duration.

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Particular exclusions

work due to own illness or injury, personal or family responsibilities, bad weather or mechanical breakdown, direct involvement in an industrial dispute, or on leave or holiday. Included in the employed are: full and part-time workers seeking other work during the reference period; full and part-time students working full or part-time; persons who performed some work for pay or profit during the reference week while being subject to compulsory schooling, retired or receiving a pension, or registered as jobseekers at an employment office, or receiving unemployment benefit; unpaid family workers who were temporarily absent from work during the reference period; private domestic servants; and members of producer cooperatives. (b) Part-time employment refers to all employed persons working less than 30 hours during the reference week of the survey. (c) The Unemployed include all persons in the working age population who, during the reference week, were available for work, were without a paid job and had actively looked for work in the past four weeks ending with the reference week, or had a new job to start within four weeks. Included are full and part-time students seeking full or part-time work, seasonal workers awaiting agricultural or other seasonal work and share croppers, depending on their availability and job search activity. (d) The Unemployment rate is defined as the number of unemployed persons expressed as a per cent of the civilian labour force. Civilian labour force comprises the unemployed plus the employed. (e) Short-term unemployment measures those counted in the Labour Force Survey as being without work for between one and four weeks at the time of the survey.

Excluded from the civilian labour force are the retired, those with personal or family responsibilities such as unpaid housework and child care, those on temporary or indefinite lay-off without pay, those attending educational institutions, those permanently unable to work due to physical or mental handicap, those who were temporarily unavailable for work in the reference week, and those who are without work and available for work but who have not looked for work in the past four weeks because they were or had become discouraged. Persons doing unpaid community or social work and persons engaged in their own housework are excluded from the employed and considered as inactive.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry: New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (NZSIC 87) which is based on ISIC 1968; Occupation: New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (NZSCO90) which is based on ISCO 1968.

International comparability Definitions follow the ILO guidelines.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units Households.

Reporting method A combination of personal and telephone interviews is used on an on-going basis by a permanent team of part-time interviewers employed by the Department of Statistics. Personal interviews are conducted in non-private dwellings, but in private households they are only conducted in the quarter when each household is first brought into the survey. For the remaining seven quarters of involvement telephone interviews are conducted. For those households new to the survey, a first interview is carried out personally. Subsequent interviews are done by telephone.

Coverage Reference period The week ending on the Sunday before the interview. Statistics are the averages for the three-month period. Geographical coverage The whole country except off-shore islands. Statistical population The usually resident, non-institutional civilian population aged 15 years and over.

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the PSUs are stratified into small and large and urban and rural categories. In all but the small rural areas, the PSUs are further stratified by type of dwelling; in the small rural areas they are stratified into geographical strata equivalent to the private strata minus the large non-private PSUs. The desired sample size for the non-private dwelling is approximately 500 eligible persons.

Survey details Description of questionnaire The survey uses two core questionnaires. The first collects demographic information on all members of the household (age, gender, ethnic origin, country of birth, years resident in NZ, marital status and relationship to a reference person in the household). The second questionnaire is administered to each person in the household who is within the scope of the survey and contains sets of questions on the respondent’s labour market activities during the reference week. A ‘building block’ approach has been adopted in the design of the questionnaires so that it can provide information for different policy purposes (e.g., the unemployed seeking full-time work of 30 hours or more per week can be identified separately, as can the underemployed and the discouraged unemployed).

The survey uses a quarterly sample of 12 000 households involving some 25 000 persons. An equal number of PSUs are sampled in each stratum each month and the week of the interview is spread evenly throughout the quarter across strata. One-eighth of the households are changed each quarter so that private households only remain in the survey for up to two years, but seven-eighths of the households are the same over two consecutive quarters. Households are therefore interviewed eight times and the rotation is completed every two years.

Master list The latest Census of Population information.

Non-response rate A high response rate (over 90 per cent) is expected. For those households not responding, the interviewer completes a non-participation report.

Survey description The sampling frame uses a stratified cluster design 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 dwellings within selected geographical areas with the smallest unit called the ‘meshblock’. This normally consists of 0-200 dwellings with an average of 30. Combinations of meshblocks were used for the firststage frame each containing an average of 57 dwellings and in general between 20 and 80. These combinations of meshblocks form the primary sampling units (PSUs). For the non-private households, the same geographical areas are used and the second stage sampling unit is the dwelling, which can be a unit, room, bed, caravan, etc. The number of nonprivate dwellings in each PSU varies more than those for private households. In all there are 18 581 primary sampling units to cover the whole country.

DATA MANIPULATION Aggregations/Grossing up Grossing up method Sample estimates are adjusted to the population level using post-stratification techniques based on the age and gender distribution of the population.

Seasonal and other adjustments Data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Breaks in time series

The private sample frame is stratified in two stages. The first larger strata are formed on a geographic basis of which there are 29. Then within each of these the substrata are formed using cluster analysis and using such variables as ethnicity, car ownership, etc. The number of PSUs to be sampled was determined on the basis of this common pool of variables with the sample allocated to the different large strata accordingly. Within the non-private dwelling frame

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In September 1987 following the availability of new census information, the new population weights were introduced.

Revision policy The whole process of the survey is subject to strict quality controls which are intended to avoid any need for revisions to the data.

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NEW ZEALAND

Labour - Unemployment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Registered unemployed

Full-time work means any job requiring the attendance of the worker for 30 hours or more each week. Also included in the series are vacation workers (i.e., full-time students seeking full-time work during the summer vacation period only), first jobseekers, reentrants to the workforce, disabled persons capable of performing the work sought, persons responsible for the loss of their last job and persons with some form of minimal employment seeking other work, provided that they are available to work the required 30 hours minimum per week in their prospective job. Enrolment is voluntary, although recipients of some social welfare benefits are required to enrol. The following categories enrolled with the Employment Services are also considered as registered unemployed: persons working less than 20 hours a week, persons working between 20 and 30 hours per week, if they are available and willing to work more than 30 hours.

SOURCE Source agency Data are compiled by the New Zealand Employment Service of the Department of Labour.

Key national publication sources Data are available in the monthly publication of Statistics New Zealand, Key Statistics. Data are also available on-line on INFOS.

Series title in national publications Registered unemployed.

Breakdown available Data are available in the national source by: - occupational group; - all workers/vacation workers.

Coverage 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 All those aged 15-60 and meeting the definitional criteria are allowed to register for work at the public employment service offices.

Periodicity Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Particular exclusions

Unit of measurement

Excluded from the series are persons seeking temporary or part-time work, those receiving invalidity benefits or retirement and other pensions, persons on temporary or indefinite lay-off without pay or on strike. Those not maintaining their registration would also be deleted from the register.

Number of persons.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition The unemployed are those enrolled as an unemployed jobseeker with the Employment Services Division of the Department of Labour. To fulfil the requirements for inclusion they must also be not currently in employment, available for and willing to accept full-time work and be capable of performing the work sought.

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STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Occupation: New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (NZSCO90) which is based on ISCO.

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last Friday in the following month. Now the last working day of each month is used. Also up until March 1981 the occupational classification of the unemployed was according to usual occupation whereas now it is based on the occupation sought by the unemployed person.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting method Monthly count of administrative registration data.

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

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SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

NEW ZEALAND

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES)

(a) Total

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 Statistics New Zealand, Key Statistics. Data are also available on diskette, and Statistics New Zealand’s on-line database INFOS.

Unit of measurement Employment: number of jobs; Earnings: New Zealand dollars.

Series title in national publications CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE (a) (b)

Total filled jobs; Average weekly earnings: all surveyed industries.

Definition (a) Employment: The QES measures all persons engaged, basically covering all employees and working proprietors. Some industries, most notably agriculture, are excluded. Unpaid family workers are excluded. Working proprietors are defined as either a sole proprietor or partner actively engaged in the business, or a shareholder in a limited liability company actively engaged in its management and who is classified by the establishment as a working proprietor. Full-time employees are those regularly working 30 hours or more a week and includes those temporarily absent from work whether paid or not, as well as apprentices, trainees, workers on probation, piece workers, home workers, temporary, casual or seasonal workers, employees working for commission as well as managerial and executive staff. Part-time employees are those working less than 30 hours per week and falling under the above categories of employee. (b) Average weekly earnings include allowances and 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)

Breakdown available Data are available in the national source as follows: Employment by: - industry; - public and private ownership; - region; - full-time/part-time. Earnings by: -

overtime; ordinary; industry; public and private ownership; region.

Methodological references Methodological information is available on INFOS and in the annual publication Labour Market.

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and non-taxable payments, such as tool money, are excluded. The figures are averages for fulltime equivalent employees (full-time employees plus half of part-time employees) of business locations in all industries except agriculture, with more than two full-time equivalent employees. Average weekly earnings are calculated by dividing the total payroll by the total number of fulltime equivalent employees.

Survey details Description of questionnaire The questionnaire contains some prefilled information and respondents are asked to check this and amend as necessary. Information is collected, by gender, on the numbers of working proprietors, number of full and of part-time employees, ordinary time payments, overtime payments, ordinary hours worked and overtime hours worked. Explanatory notes are provided to assist completion.

Coverage Reference period

Master list

The pay week ending on or before the 20th of the middle month of each quarter (i.e., February, May, August and November).

The list of business enterprises held on Statistics New Zealand’s Business Frame. This list is updated continuously, using the February full-scale survey and from other sources such as various sector surveys

Geographical coverage

Survey description

The whole country.

The full survey each February covers around 60 000 establishments which together account for around 70 per cent of total filled jobs in the industries surveyed. The surveys in May, August and November are based on a stratified sample (sector, industry and employment size) each covering approximately 28 000 activity units. The population is broken down into single and multi-activity unit enterprises and the eligible population is all business locations with more than two full-time equivalent employees.

Statistical population All branches of economic activity except agriculture, hunting and trapping, fishing, sea-going work, domestic services in private households, owning and leasing of real estate, and the armed forces.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures

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 activity units. Units will remain in the sample for the entire duration until it is rebased, usually after a fiveyear period. Only those activity units that move in and out of scope are added or removed to the sample at one stage during the year.

Industry: NZSIC 1987.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units Employment: all establishments; Earnings: all establishments employing more than two full-time equivalent employees.

Non-response rate Two postal reminders and telephone follow-up are used for non-response (typically around 8 per cent of full-time equivalent employees). Missing data are imputed.

Reporting method Questionnaires are posted to the establishments prior to the pay periods and are required to be returned by post within seven days after the survey reference period. Some establishments provide data electronically. Data from the Annual Business Directory Update Survey are used to provide some components of filled jobs, i.e. the number of working proprietors and the number of employees at business locations with less than two full-time equivalent employees.

DATA MANIPULATION Aggregations/Grossing up Grossing up method Estimation factors are used to generate all the required estimates which are calculated using the February full coverage survey. These weights are estab-

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lished for each stratum (industry, sector, establishment size, region and gender) and then projected from the sample design to the level of the total population.

Preliminary estimates Employment data for May, August and November are provisional when first released. They are finalised when information from the following February Annual Business Directory Update survey is available.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Sampling errors and their corrections

Earnings data for February are provisional when first released. They are finalised when all returns for the full-coverage February survey have been processed.

The size of the sampling errors are controlled by the size of the sample and the use of random selection, stratification and sample allocation techniques. For average weekly earnings, sample errors are typically 0.5 per cent at the 95 per cent level of confidence.

Timeliness 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 responsible for conducting the QES. Since this date it has been carried out by Statistics New Zealand. Since February 1989 the survey has used a slightly different methodology but some previous years have been reestimated to match the new series.

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May: within 14 weeks; August: within 13 weeks; November: within 14 weeks.

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SOURCES AND METHODS April 1997

NEW ZEALAND

Wages

Indicator from the Quarterly Labour Cost Survey

Labour cost index: all salary and wage rates *

SOURCE

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Source agency

Definition

Data are compiled by Statistics New Zealand (Labour Market Division).

The labour cost index measures the movement of pay rates, including overtime rates and non-wage labour costs. Non-wage labour costs include annual leave and statutory holidays, Accident Compensation Commission (ACC) employers premiums and employers’ contributions to superannuation and medical insurance schemes, motor vehicles available for private use, and low interest loans. The wages and salary component of the index accounts for 83 per cent of labour costs.

Key national publication sources Data are available in the monthly publication of Statistics New Zealand, Key Statistics. Data are also available on diskette, and Statistics New Zealand’s on-line database INFOS.

Series title in national publications Labour cost index: all salary and wage rates, all manufacturing groups.

Coverage

Breakdown available

The pay period in which the 15th of the middle month of the quarter falls for salary and wage rates, annual leave and superannuation. For medical insurance, motor vehicles and low interest loans, the reference period is the quarter.

Reference period

Data are available in the national source by: -

industry; public and private ownership; type of labour cost; occupation.

Geographical coverage The whole country.

Methodological references

Statistical population

Methodological information is available in the annual publication Labour Market.

All establishments with paid employees, aged 15 years and over, in all occupations and all branches of economic activity except domestic services in private households.

Run of data available 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 (available from December 1977) which measured movements in ordinary time wage rates paid to fulltime adult employees.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry: New Zealand System of National Accounts industry production groups based on NZSIC 1987.

Periodicity

Occupation: New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations 1990 (NZSCO90), which is based on ISCO 1968.

Data are compiled on a quarterly basis.

Unit of measurement Index (December quarter 1992=100).

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DATA COLLECTION

DATA MANIPULATION

Reporting units

Aggregations/Grossing up

All establishments with employees.

Aggregation method The index is calculated using the price-relatives form of the base-weighted Laspeyres formula.

Reporting method The Quarterly Labour Cost Survey is a postal survey of employers which uses a separate questionnaire for each of the seven wage and non-wage costs.

Weights for aggregation Each job description used has been assigned a weight which reflects the relative importance of the job description within its sector of ownership, industry or occupational group. The main source of information used in determining these weights is the five-yearly Census of Population, supplemented by information contained in Statistics New Zealand’s Business Directory and by any information gathered from government organisations. Full and part-time census employee numbers are used in deriving weights for salary and ordinary time wage rates and component nonwage labour costs, with part-timers adjusted to a fulltime equivalent basis using census hours of work information.

Survey details Description of questionnaire The questionnaires contain prefilled information, including the data provided by establishments in the previous period. Questionnaires covering salary and ordinary time and overtime wage rates for a fixed set of job descriptions are sent out quarterly. Respondents are asked to update job descriptions, provide current pay rates and give reasons for differences between previous and current pay rates. Questionnaires relating to medical insurance costs, motor vehicles available for private use and low interest loans are posted out about two weeks after the end of each quarter since they relate to the whole quarter. Information on ACC employer premiums (i.e., compulsory payments by employers to meet the costs associated with workplace accidents) is collected once a year in June.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Sampling errors and their corrections The sample was selected purposively so that sampling errors cannot be calculated.

Other errors and their corrections

Master list

The index is quality controlled in that only changes in salary and wage rates for the same quality and quantity of work are reflected in the index. This is achieved by respondents giving the reasons for movements in salary and wages rates and an assessment of how much of movement is due to each reason.

The list of business enterprises held on Statistics New Zealand’s Business Frame. This list is updated continuously, using the February full-scale survey and from other sources such as various sector surveys. Survey description The sample is drawn from the Business Frame. There are some 2 600 employers supplying information on pay rates, annual leave entitlements and ACC employer premiums. Of these around 1 200 also provide information on superannuation costs, 600 on medical insurance costs, 400 on motor vehicles available for private use and about 50 on the cost of low-interest loans.

Breaks in time series The Labour Cost Index replaced the Prevailing Weekly Wage Rates Index, which ran from the December 1977 quarter to the June 1993 quarter.

Preliminary estimates Data are final when first released.

Non-response rate

Timeliness

Postal reminder questionnaires and telephone followup are used for non-response (typically 4 per cent for salary and wage rates and 6 per cent overall). Missing data are imputed.

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Data are available by the 23rd of the second month after the reference quarter (salary and wage rates) and by the 14th day of the third month after the reference quarter (non-wage and all labour costs).

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NEW ZEALAND

Labour - Other

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Labour disputes - time lost

is recorded and published as the period at which the last stoppage in the series ended.

SOURCE Source agency

Time not worked - total time not worked is measured in work days by ascertaining the total amount of time not worked on each day of the strike or lockout and summing these totals. Time not worked is measured for all workers involved, whether directly or indirectly. The shorter working hours of part-time workers are not taken into account and neither is overtime working.

Data are compiled by Statistics New Zealand.

Key national publication sources Data are available in the monthly publication of Statistics New Zealand, Key Statistics.

Series title in national publications Work Stoppages: person days of work lost.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Breakdown available

Definition

The following categories of the data are regularly published in the national source:

Data refer to the number of days lost due to work stoppages. Work stoppages comprise those disputes which result in a strike or a lockout or in which organised go-slow, or refusal to work overtime or other passive resistance methods are clearly manifested and includes unauthorised stopwork meetings as well as unauthorised delays in resuming work after recognised stopwork meetings. A single stoppage may include or consist of one or more stoppages or stopwork meetings held at different places or at different times concerning the same issue.

-

duration of stoppage; cause of dispute; outcome of dispute; method of settlement; economic activity.

Run of data available Statistics on work stoppages were first compiled in 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 employer or of different employers:

Periodicity Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

−

in discontinuing that employment, whether wholly or partially, or in reducing the normal 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 or lockout is the case of dispute. The continuation of a strike or lockout that is interrupted but later resumes, still due to the same case of dispute, is counted as the same strike or lockout. Work stoppages resulting from the same case of dispute and occurring simultaneously or at different times, in establishments of the same or different enterprises, are referred to as a ‘series’ and are counted as one strike or lockout which

−

in refusing or failing after any such discontinuance to resume or return to their employment; or

−

in refusing or failing to accept engagement for any work in which they are usually employed; or

−

in reducing their normal output or their normal rate of work.

Unit of measurement

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the said act being due to any combination, agreement, common understanding or concerted action, whether express or implied, made or entered into by any workers; but this does not include a union meeting allowed under the legislation or authorised by an employer. A Lockout is the act of an employer: −

Particular exclusions Those complete stoppages and lockouts involving less than 10 days not worked and partial stoppages where the number of workers involved multiplied by the duration is less than 10 days not worked are not counted.

in closing the employer’s place of business or suspending or discontinuing the employer’s business or any branch thereof; or

STANDARDS

−

in discontinuing the employment of any workers whether wholly or partially; or

Industry: NZSIC.

−

in breaking some or all of the employer’s contracts of service; or

DATA COLLECTION

in refusing or failing to engage workers for any work for which the employer usually employs them.

Employers are required by law to record details of all work stoppages and to supply this information to the Department of Labour if requested to do so. However, there is no legal obligation on employers to report the occurrence of a stoppage. The information is gathered using pro formas submitted by employers to the Department of Labour which is supplemented by information gleaned from newspaper and other sources.

−

Standard classifications / nomenclatures

Reporting method

with a view to compelling any workers or to aid another employer in compelling any workers to accept terms of employment or comply with any demands made by the employer.

Coverage Reference period

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS

The monthly statistics refer to strikes and lockouts ending during the month, regardless of the date of commencement.

Breaks in time series In 1970 a new method of reporting stoppages was introduced with the frequency of reporting changed from quarterly to monthly. In 1984 data were revised to include stoppages not directly related to terms and conditions of employment or where a demand was made of a third party. Prior to 1988 public sector stoppages were not included in the statistics.

Geographical coverage The whole country. Statistical population All establishments in the public and private sectors.

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AUSTRIA

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Mikrozensus (Household survey)

Total employment *

Data are compiled by the Austrian Central Statistical Office (Österreichisches Statistisches Zentralamt ÖSTAT).

worked at least one hour during the reference week and including those who were temporarily absent from work; private domestic servants; members of producers’ co-operatives; members of the armed forces (including conscripts) as well as persons doing civilian service equivalent to military service.

Key national publication sources

Coverage

SOURCE Source agency

Data are available in ÖSTAT, Statistische Übersichten.

Reference period One week in the quarter.

Series title in national publications

Geographical coverage

Berufstätige: zusammen.

The whole country. Statistical population

Run of data available

All persons who are usual residents in the country, including those temporarily absent.

The first Microcensus was conducted in 1968.

Periodicity

Particular exclusions

Data are compiled on a quarterly basis.

Employment also excludes the following groups: persons on temporary or indefinite lay-off without pay; persons who performed some work during the reference week, while being subject to compulsory schooling, or retired and receiving a pension; persons engaged in their own housework; and persons doing unpaid community or social work.

Unit of measurement The raw data, expressed in number of persons, are converted to an index by the OECD.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition

DATA COLLECTION

In the Microcensus the employed are all persons aged 15 years and over who worked for pay or profit for at least one hour or more during the survey week, including those who had a job but were not at work due to illness or injury, vacation or leave, maternity or parental leave, educational leave, absence without leave, bad weather, labour-management dispute or mechanical breakdown. Included in the definition are: full and part-time workers seeking other work during the reference week; full and part-time students working full or part-time (although they are often classified as inactive); paid apprentices and trainees; participants in employment promotion schemes; paid and unpaid family workers, provided the latter have

Reporting units

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Dwellings as defined in the latest Census of Population and Housing (1991).

Survey details Description of questionnaire A questionnaire is used for mainly personal interviews and is designed for completion by trained interviewers. It comprises a basic and a special questionnaire, the latter covering selected topics which vary from survey to survey.

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Survey description

DATA MANIPULATION

The basic sampling frame is the latest Census of Population and Housing (currently 1991) which is used for the selection of dwellings. The basic frame is supplemented by information on newly constructed dwellings. The sample is based on a one-stage stratified systematic design with stratification by the following factors: dwellings occupied or not; social position of the head of the dwelling; floor space; number of persons; quality and period of construction; and Federal State. Within strata sampling units (dwellings) are selected systematically with a random start. The sample size is approximately 30 000 representing around 0.9 per cent of the total. After each quarterly survey, one-eighth of the sample is substituted so that each dwelling remains in the sample for eight successive periods, this implies that the sample is completely renewed every two years.

Grossing up The basic grossing up factor in each stratum is the inverse of the sampling fraction. Grossing up factors are adjusted for non-interview and non-response. The ultimate factors are then gained through ranking ratio estimates.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Other errors and their corrections Undercoverage appears in the age group 20-40 years and is accounted for in the weighting process.

Breaks in time series In 1974 a new sample design was adopted and the time criteria for employment was reduced from 14 to 13 hours. In 1982 a re-weighting of the sample was made due to an underestimation for those aged 15-29. In 1984 the sample was revised.

Non-response rate The non-response rate ranges from 10-15 per cent for the basic questionnaire and from 3 to 8 per cent for the supplementary (special) questionnaire. The nonresponse is accounted for in the weighting procedure.

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AUSTRIA

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Industrial Production Statistics Survey (‘Industriestatistik’)

(a) Mining and manufacturing

Labour - Other (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 Übersichten.

Unit of measurement

Series title in national publications

Employment: number of jobs;

(a)

Monthly hours worked: number of hours;

(b)

(c) (d)

Beschäftigte in der Industrie: unselbständig (ohne Sägeindustrie, Bauindustrie und Elektrizitätswerke); Geleistete Arbeitsstunden Arbeiter (not published by national source, calculated especially for OECD). Brutto-Monatsverdienst je Arbeiter in der Industrie (ohne Bauindustrie), Brutto-Studenverdienst je Arbeiter in der Industrie (ohne Bauindustrie).

Monthly earnings: index; Original data for Hourly earnings expressed in schillings are converted to an index by the OECD.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition (a) Employment data refer to the number of employees on payrolls on the last day of the month in the mining and manufacturing industries excluding sawmills. They include wage earners, salaried employees, trainees, workers on probation, piece workers, commission agents, casual, temporary and seasonal workers, part-time workers, persons temporarily present on the payroll during their notice period preceding retirement, resignation or dismissal as well as persons temporarily absent 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-

Breakdown available The national source publishes data by: - gender; - industries; - employee category (wage earners, salaried employees, home workers); - size of establishment.

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lected on hours paid for and hours actually worked per month for wage earners only (excluding home workers). Hours actually worked are based on hours paid for less hours paid for but not worked (e.g., holidays, sickness, etc.). Only those firms which are members of the “Industrie” section of their Chamber of Commerce are asked to report on hours not worked. Hours actually worked include normal hours of work; overtime; time spent at the place of work involving such activities as preparation of the workplace, repairs, maintenance, etc.; time spent at the place of work waiting or standing by for such reasons as lack of supply of work, breakdown of machinery, etc.; and time spent taking short rest breaks at the workplace including those for tea or coffee, etc. (normal meal breaks are excluded). (c) Monthly earnings refer to gross earnings for wage earners in mining and manufacturing industries excluding sawmills, before deduction of taxes, social security payments etc., and comprise pay for normal time worked, premium pay for overtime, shift, night or holiday work, incentive pay, other regular bonuses and cost-of-living allowances. They also include remuneration for time not worked such as annual leave, vacation, public holidays, other time off with pay and bonuses and gratuities paid irregularly, as well as earnings in kind. Data exclude separation payments, family allowances, and social security contributions made by employers. (d) Hourly earnings refer to gross monthly earnings for wage earners in mining and manufacturing industries excluding sawmills, divided by the number of paid hours.

ments which are members of the Austrian Federal Chamber of Commerce section ‘Industrie’, as well as agricultural dairies and sawmills, water supply plants, non-industrial heat supply establishments and alternative fuel producers which are not members of the Chamber but carry out similar activities. Particular exclusions In Austria a distinction is made between ‘Industrie’ and ‘Gewerbe’. Gewerbe refers to small-scale manufacturing industry. Gewerbe are not covered by these statistics. Employment: employees who are temporarily absent because of unpaid leave or military service are excluded. Hours worked by home workers are excluded.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry: ISIC Rev.2 1968.

Departures from international standards The concept of Hours actually worked conforms to the international recommendations; The definition of Earnings complies with international recommendations. However, certain allowances such as housing, rent or transport allowances are excluded from the data collected.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units All establishments within scope of the survey.

Coverage

Reporting method

Reference period

Data are collected via a postal questionnaire sent in the last week of each reference month with a legal requirement that the forms are returned completed by the 10th day of the following month.

Employment: last day of the month; Hours, Earnings: the calendar month. Geographical coverage

Survey details

The whole country.

Description of questionnaire

Classification coverage

The postal questionnaire consists of three parts designed to gather information on the following:

Divisions 2 and 3 of ISIC 1968. Statistical population

- output; - consumption of energy and fuel; - employment, hours of work, wages and salaries.

Mining, quarrying and manufacturing industries only are covered and within these sectors, all establish-

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Master list

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS

List of establishments derived from the Annual Industrial Census.

Other errors and their corrections The questionnaires are first coded manually then data are verified manually and by computer. Checklists for errors and omissions are used to revise the questionnaires and in the case of missing or inconsistent information, the firms are contacted by post or telephone.

Survey description The sample comprises some 8 800 establishments. The survey uses the full list of establishments that are members of the ‘Industrie’ section of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce as well as some additional sub-sectors who are not members (i.e., water supply plants, non-industrial heat supply and alternative fuel supply establishments). Dairies, agricultural and industrial sawmills are surveyed by sampling.

Breaks in time series Establishments in certain sectors who are not members of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce were included for the first time in 1992 (non-industrial heat supply and alternative fuel producers).

Non response rate Completion and return of the questionnaire is compulsory under the law. Any small level of nonresponse is treated by imputing the figures from other records.

Corroborating evidence The survey figures are checked against labour market data from employment offices of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, annual censuses and data from employers’ organisations.

DATA MANIPULATION Seasonal and other adjustments Data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD.

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AUSTRIA

Labour - Employment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Foreign workers

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 Soziales - BMAS) and published by ÖSTAT.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition

Key national publication sources

Foreign worker numbers are supplied by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs from their records and comprise foreigners holding a work contract and a residence permit.

Data are available in ÖSTAT Statistische Übersichten.

Series title in national publications Beschäftigung von ausländischen Arbeitskräften.

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AUSTRIA

Labour - Unemployment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

(a) Registered unemployed (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 (Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales - BMAS) is responsible for data collection from the regional employment offices (Arbeitmarktservice - AMS), statistical processing and publication of the data. Data are provided to the OECD by ÖSTAT.

Periodicity Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Unit of measurement 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) (b) (c)

(a) Unemployment figures are derived from the those registering for work at the public employment service and satisfying the conditions for unemployment (i.e., available for work). Persons seeking part-time work and persons who regularly do seasonal work, first-time jobseekers, re-entrants to the labour force and employable disabled persons are included. Similarly, persons responsible for the loss of their last job and persons on strike who have lost their job are included. Persons receiving invalidity benefits or retirement or other pensions are included in the series only if they are seeking work and are actually available for work. Persons on temporary or indefinite lay-off without pay are also included. Persons are deleted from the register and thus the unemployment count in the event of temporary inability to work (illness, holiday etc.). Participation in State-aided schemes or job creation measures leads to deletion from the register. Rejection of job offers does not lead to deletion. (b) The Unemployment rate is the unemployed as a percentage of the dependent labour force. The latter comprises employees registered with the

Vorgemerkte Arbeitslose, insgesamt; Arbeitslosenquoten; Offene Stellen nach Berufen und Ländern, insgesamt.

Breakdown available Unemployment figures are available in the national source by: - gender; - region; - foreign workers; - industry; - age; - duration; - educational level. Vacancy statistics are available in the national source by: - region; - industry; - education level expected.

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social security agencies plus the registered unemployed.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting method

Coverage

Data are collected on-line from the 110 Employment Offices and branches in the different regions of the country. Control of data is carried in the regional offices and some tests are automated.

Reference period The end of each month. 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 foreigners living in the country are covered.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Breaks in time series

Particular exclusions

Up until 1972 claimants for old age pensions or invalidity pensions were included in the unemployment data whether they were seeking a job or not. Up until 1974 women after maternity leave who applied for registration whether they were seeking a job or not were included in the unemployment data. Up until 1976 persons involved in training programmes were also normally included in the unemployment data.

Those not registered with the public employment service but who otherwise would satisfy the unemployment criteria would not be included. Students seeking temporary employment during vacations are excluded as well those seeking temporary work, unless this kind of work is typical for them. Persons who work more than approximately 12 hours per week are 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.

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AUSTRIA

Wages

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Hourly rates

rates are expressed on a gross basis before deductions for tax, social security etc.

SOURCE Source agency

Reference period

Data are compiled by ÖSTAT.

End of month.

Key national publication sources

Geographical coverage

Data are available in ÖSTAT, Statistische Übersichten.

The whole country. Statistical population

Series title in national publications

Collective agreements at national and regional level between trade unions and employers associations.

Tariflohnindex je Arbeiter in der Industrie (inkl. Bauindustrie und Elektrizitätswerke).

Particular exclusions

Breakdown available

Wage rates for trainees and young people under 18 (or 16 for some contracts) and salaries for home workers are not taken into account.

Data are published in the national source by: - 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 according to the system of the Federal Chamber of Commerce. The structure of each sector’s index complies with that of the component employers associations of the Chamber of Commerce and is not directly comparable to any classification of economic activities.

Data are available from 1967.

Periodicity Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Unit of measurement 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 from a sample of collective agreements. The selection criteria are as follows:

Data refer to the agreed minimum gross basic rates for wage earners prescribed in collective agreements for adult full-time and part-time wage earners in industry including the construction and electricity producing industries. They exclude supplements such as bonuses; payment for overtime, night or Sunday work; payments for the 13th or 14th month and social benefits. Piece rates are not taken into account. Wage

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- employment coverage: agreements covering large numbers of workers are selected. - geographic coverage: regional agreements are chosen in the case of industries with regional variations in wage rate developments.

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Collective agreements provide scales of wage rates for all skill levels in each occupation. Three skill levels (unskilled, skilled and semi-skilled) are retained for the index. From each of the corresponding three sets of scales contained in a selected agreement, only one scale, the most common one, is usually chosen.

Weights for aggregation The weights are average wage rates in the base year multiplied by estimated wage earner employment in the baseyear. Employment figures are as follows: - for scale points: employment covered by the entire scale represented by the scale point; - for collective agreements: the number of wage earners covered by the agreement; - for employers associations: wage earner employment in all member enterprises. Most employment data were taken from statistics compiled by the Federal Chamber of Commerce.

DATA MANIPULATION Aggregations / Grossing up Aggregation An index is calculated for each selected scale point. The wage rate effective at the end of the month under review is expressed as a percentage of the corresponding average rate in the base year. Weighted arithmetic averages successively combine:

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Revision policy

- all skill levels within an agreement; - all agreements concerning an employers association (employers associations more or less correspond to industry divisions); - all employers associations.

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When new agreements provide for wage changes with retrospective effect, the indices for the periods affected are revised.

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BELGIUM

Labour - Employment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

(a) Part-time (economic reasons)

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 transmitted to the National Statistical Institute (Institut National de Statistique - INS). The Ministry of Employment and Labour (Ministère de l’Emploi et du Travail - MET) is responsible for the labour force data used to calculate the unemployment rate.

Unemployment rate: percentage; Unfilled vacancies: number of job vacancies.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition

Key national publication sources

(a) Part-time (economic reasons) refers to persons registered at employment offices who are partially unemployed for economic, climatic and other reasons and who satisfy the conditions for registration. (b) Unemployment: The following categories of unemployed are included:

Part-time (economic reasons), Unemployment and Unemployment rate are published in INS, Bulletin de Statistique. Unfilled vacancies are published in the monthly Bulletin de la Banque Nationale de Belgique.

Series title in national publications (a)

Chômeurs partiels;

(b) (c)

Chômeurs demandeurs d’emploi; Taux de chômage par rapport à la population totale; Emplois vacants.

(d)

−

registered unemployed jobseekers, i.e. persons without work who are registered as jobseekers at the ONEM and receive unemployment benefit. They are persons not bound by an employment contract and who are seeking full-time employment.

−

other jobseekers without work who are required to register. This category comprises certain fully unemployed persons who are temporarily disqualified from receiving unemployment benefit, persons working at a job where they have accepted reduced working time while in receipt of benefit, persons referred by the Public Social Welfare Centres, and other categories of handicapped persons and young persons.

−

jobseekers without work who voluntarily register. This category also includes young

Run of data available Part-time (economic reasons) from January 1991. Unemployment from January 1982; Unemployment rate from January 1980; Unfilled vacancies from January 1955.

Periodicity Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

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people in part-time schooling seeking parttime work. (c) The Unemployment rate is calculated as the total number of registered unemployed jobseekers as a per cent of the total labour force including members of the armed forces. The total labour force is estimated by the MET at 30th June of each year, and comprises employees, the self-employed and helpers, plus the unemployed. (d) Unfilled vacancies remaining unfilled at the end of each month and notified to ONEM by employers. Vacancies within the framework of “special temporary work” (“Cadre spécial temporaire”), youth apprenticeships and special vacancies (“Troisième circuit du travail”) are included.

DATA COLLECTION

Coverage

DATA MANIPULATION

Reporting method Unemployment: Registration must take place at the regional employment office at the beginning of unemployment. Twice a month, the communal administrations receive a list of the unemployed persons subject to daily control (in theory persons should present themselves every day). The completed lists are forwarded to ONEM’s employment services. The necessary information is then transmitted to the National Directorate by computer. Unfilled vacancies : monthly count of vacancies notified to ONEM.

Seasonal adjustment

Reference period

Data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD.

The last working day of the month. Geographical coverage

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS

The whole country.

Breaks in time series

Statistical population

Beginning in 1984, workers registered with the ONEM who had accepted a job with reduced working hours, and jobseekers working in subsidised workshops 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.

All persons aged 15-59, for women, and 15-64, for men, registered with the ONEM as unemployed jobseekers.

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BELGIUM

Wages

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Hourly rates

Geographical coverage

SOURCE

The whole country.

Source agency Data are compiled by the Ministry of Employment and Labour (MET).

Statistical population Manual workers of the private sector of the economy.

Key national publication sources

Particular exclusions

Data are available in MET, Indice des salaires conventionnels.

Civil servants and employees in institutions of public 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 des Affaires Economiques, Aspects méthodologiques de la statistique des salaires en Belgique.

The NACE classification is used for economic activities.

DATA COLLECTION Run of data available

Reporting method

Data are available from 1958.

Hourly wage rate information is established by monitoring collective bargaining agreements.

Periodicity 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. In each industry, wages indices are established by the collective bargaining agreements. Data are aggregated at higher level (group, class and branch of activity) using weights proportional to the number of employees. Total wages are finally calculated as the weighted average of the indices for men and for women.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition The wage rates refer to the minimum wage paid to adult manual workers in industry, agreed by the collective bargaining process. Bonuses such as the thirteenth month etc. are excluded.

Coverage

Calculation of weights All weights are derived from the results of the 1961 General Census, which have been updated using additional information from the Social Security.

Reference period End of the quarter.

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BELGIUM

Wages

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Hourly earnings *

SOURCE

Coverage

Source agency

Reference period

Data are compiled by INS.

January, April, July and October of each year. Geographical coverage

Key national publication sources Data are published in INS, Communiqué Hebdomadaire, Statistiques Sociales.

The whole country.

Series title in national publications

Data cover the sections C to F (Mining, Manufacturing, Electricity, Gas and Water and Construction of the NACE classification.

Classification coverage

Indice des salaires horaires bruts gagnés par les ouvriers 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 Data are available from 1980.

The NACE classification is used for economic activities.

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 Earnings data are derived from the half-yearly survey on earnings conducted by the INS. Data are collected for the two previous reference periods at the time of reporting.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition 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 paid each month; payments for days not worked (such as bonuses for holidays, compensations for dismissal, etc.); payments in kind; expenses for training and other social expenses.

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Survey details Survey description The sample used to select the establishments and the 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).

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total number of actual hours worked. Data are then calculated at higher levels (sub-group, group, classes and divisions of industry) using weights proportional to the number of manual workers.

All large establishments are selected in the sample; manual workers are selected at random within each establishment. Medium establishments are selected at random; manual workers are selected at random within each establishment. Small establishments are selected at random; all manual workers are selected for the establishments included in the sample.

Calculation of weights Weights are derived from the results of the survey on the wage and salary structures.

Data are collected from 2 500 establishments (of a total of over 14 000) throughout the whole country and cover around 8% of the employees of these establishments.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Breaks in time series

DATA MANIPULATION

Consistent historical data (according to NACE) have been recalculated by the INS from 1966 using a coefficient derived from the 1972 wage and salary survey.

Aggregations/Grossing up Aggregation method Hourly gross wages are first calculated at establishment level by dividing the total gross earnings by the

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CZECH REPUBLIC

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Monthly Survey of Industrial Enterprises

(a) Manufacturing

Wages (b) Monthly earnings: manufacturing

SOURCE

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Source agency

Definition

Data are compiled by the Czech Statistical Office (CSÚ).

(a) Employment in manufacturing refers to all categories of employees with an employment contract in enterprises. All permanent, temporary and seasonal employees are included, as are women on maternity leave. Apprentices, women on additional child-care leave (after the first 28 weeks), persons on parental leave and persons engaged by companies on the basis of work execution or work activity agreements are excluded. (b) Monthly earnings refer to total gross income, in line with regulations on wages and salaries, from employment of registered employees. Included are direct wages and salaries, personal bonuses and assessment, bonuses and gratuities, profitsharing bonuses and remuneration for time notworked (employees now receive pay for a thirteenth month which is split between June and December). Family and other social benefits are excluded.

Key national publication sources Data are available in the CSÚ publications, Statistical information, series industry (in Czech only), Current CSO News and in the Statistical Yearbook of the Czech Republic,.

Series title in national publication (a) Employment in industry: manufacturing; (b) Average monthly wages and salaries in industry: manufacturing.

Breakdown available Employment and Earnings data are published in the national source by economic activity.

Methodological reference in publication Information on the methodology can be found in Statistical Yearbook of the Czech Republic and in the monthly publication Statistics information, series industry.

Coverage Reference period 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 Manufacturing enterprises in both the public and private sectors, and co-operatives. The coverage of enterprises has varied over time as follows:

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

- 1991: enterprises with 100 employees or more; - 1992-1994: enterprises with 25 employees or more;

Unit of measurement of the data Employment: number of persons; Earnings: Czech Koruna.

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- 1995-1996: enterprises with 100 employees or more; - 1997: legal and natural persons with 20 employees or more.

Survey details Description of questionnaire The questionnaire collects information on employment, industrial output, wages and salaries.

Classification coverage

Master list

Data cover the major division ‘Manufacturing’ of the national classification OKEC.

The Czech Business Register. This contains a detailed description of the economic entities in the whole country (identification, main activity, legal form, name and location and statistical attributes such as number of employees etc.). The Business Register is maintained and updated regularly by the CSÚ using administrative sources.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry uses the classification Czech Branch Classification of Economic Activity (OKEC) which is compatible with international classifications NACE and ISIC Rev. 3.

Survey description 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.

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CZECH REPUBLIC

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Labour Force Survey

Total

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 the reference week, were in paid employment or in self-employment. No difference is made whether their activity is of a permanent, temporary, seasonal or occasional nature or whether the job is their main or second job.

Data are available in the CSÚ publications, Employment and Unemployment in the Czech Republic - Labour Force Sample Survey(quarterly) and Monthly Statistics of the Czech Republic. Detailed results of the labour force survey are also available on diskette.

− The paid employed are persons with a formal job attachment, irrespective of whether they are working (for a wage or salary for at least one hour) during the reference week. The formal job attachment could be interpreted as an employment contract, appointment or election, work execution agreement, work activity agreement, contracts of copyright, etc. Also included are women on maternity and child-care leave, paid apprentices, students, home-workers and other persons mainly engaged in non-economic activities, and who were paid during the reference week. The number of paid employees includes professional members of the armed forces and conscripts (from Winter 1996-1997).

Series title in national publication Total employment.

Breakdown available Data are published in the national source by: -

gender; age; economic activity; level of education; status in employment; underemployment; full-time/part-time.

− The self-employed refer to employers, own account workers and members of producer or agricultural co-operatives. Contributing family workers are also considered to be self-employed, the number of hours worked during the reference week being irrelevant.

Methodological reference in publication Information on the methodology can be found in Employment and Unemployment in the Czech Republic - Labour force Sample Survey and in Statistical Yearbook of the Czech Republic.

Data on total employment exclude women on additional child-care leave (after the first 28 weeks) as from Winter 1996-1997.

Period coverage of time series in source The survey started in the first quarter 1993.

Coverage

Periodicity of the data

Reference period Quarterly data of the Labour Force Survey refer to the seasons Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn, re-

Data are compiled on a quarterly basis.

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spectively December-February, March-May, JuneAugust and September-November. Interviews are held throughout the season. Once the reference week for each selected household is fixed, the interview takes place usually the following week, or exceptionally the following two weeks.

Survey details Description of questionnaire The survey questionnaire is in two parts: − Questionnaire A is destined for all the members of the household: The following characteristics are collected for all household persons: relation to the head of the household, sex, citizenship, nationality, age, marital status, economic situation, highest educational attainment, subject of apprenticeship or study, and income situation of the household.

Geographical coverage The whole country. Statistical population The survey covers all households living in dwellings continuously for at least three months.

− Questionnaire B is destined for persons aged 15 and over. This part is divided into five sections: • Section “Basis questions”, the respondent is asked whether he has a job and if he was present at work in the reference period; the reason for not having worked is also indicated.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures The following classifications are used:

• Section “Main employment” requests information on the nature of their employment (kind of contract, duration, branch of industry, location of the workplace, status in employment, kind of work contract, hours worked, and whether seeking another job).

Education/qualifications: national Standard Classification of Education Subjects (JKOV) - 2nd edition 1991. Economic activity: Branch Classification of Economic Activities (OKEC), compatible with ISIC.

• Section “Secondary employment” collects details on its regularity, branch of industry, status in employment and hours worked.

Occupations: Classification of Occupations (KZAM) issued in 1996 (2nd enlarged edition). From 1995 KZAM is fully compatible with ISCO-88. Up to 1994, KZAM was not fully compatible with the international classification ISCO-88 because of differences in the classification of members of the armed forces.

• Section “Without employment” requests information on the reason and time of termination of last employment (if any), branch of industry, its location and kind; other questions refer to job search, i.e. method used, readiness to work full or part-time, duration of unemployment, required status in employment and ability to start working soon.

International comparability Data are compiled according to the ILO guidelines.

DATA COLLECTION

• Section “Conclusion” applies to persons registered at the labour offices as job applicants. Inquiries are made on unemployment benefits and capacity (limited) to work.

Reporting unit All persons living in dwellings chosen at random throughout the country (in Czech Republic, more than 98% of dwellings are occupied by single households).

Master list The list of addresses, derived from the 1991 Population and Housing Census, of houses and dwellings in each census district of the country. The master list is updated on a regular basis by the survey interviewers taking into account newly built and demolished dwellings.

Reporting method Data are collected in face-to-face interviews, which are under the responsibility of the CSÚ district units. When possible, the interviewer can arrange follow-up contacts by phone. The information collected is sent 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 twostage random sampling. At the first stage, census

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districts are chosen at random in each administrative district of the country with probability proportional to the number of permanently occupied dwellings. The scope of the first-stage sample (the number of selected census districts) is the same in most of the administrative census. This number, however, is twice or three times higher in the most populated districts.

DATA MANIPULATION Aggregations / Grossing up Grossing up method In each census district and for each variable surveyed, survey results are grossed up to total population. Grossing up factors are inversely proportional to the probability for an individual to be selected in each sex/age group of the total population (24 groups in total). These factors are derived from population estimates at 31st December of the previous year.

At the second stage, a random systematic sample is made to select individual dwellings within each census district. This is carried out by the interviewers according to the following rules: eight permanently 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 represent 0.8% of the total number of dwellings of the whole country). The total number of dwellings represents around 60 000 persons aged 15 or over. The sample is rotated by one-fifth each quarter. Each selected dwelling is included five times in the survey, then dropped and replaced by a new one.

Sampling errors and their corrections Sampling errors are calculated at district and at national level. At the national level they were 2% for the summer quarter 1996.

Other errors and their corrections In order to evaluate the quality of the Labour Force Survey data, results are compared with unemployment statistics compiled by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs on a monthly basis.

Non response rate On the occasion of the first visit of the interviewer, the first five selected dwellings are contacted within a census district. If a household is unable or unwilling to be surveyed, the interviewer contacts a household in a randomly selected reserve dwelling. For the Czech Republic in total, the rate of non-response by these reserve dwellings at the first visit amounts to 19%; this figure is highest in Prague. Taking into account repeat visits, overall non-response is less than 4%, though higher in large towns.

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Timeliness and release dates Preliminary results are published 30 days after the end of the reference period. Final data are available 50 days after the end of the reference period.

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CZECH REPUBLIC

Labour - Unemployment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

(a) Registered unemployed (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 Yearbook of the Czech Republic.

Data are compiled by the Ministry of Labour and 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 Offices; (b) Unemployed job applicants: unemployment rate; (c) Vacancies.

Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Breakdown available

(b) Unemployment rate: per cent;

Unit of measurement of the data (a) Registered unemployed: number of persons; (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); level of education; districts/regions; duration of registration; status of last jobs; newly registered with Labour Offices; no longer registered with Labour Offices; receiving unemployment benefits; limited capacity to work.

Definition (a) The Unemployed are those persons who, irrespective of whether or not they receive unemployment benefits, have no formal job or similar attachment to an organisation, are not gainfully selfemployed, and are registered at a Labour Office. (b) The Unemployment rate is the number of registered unemployed as a per cent of the total labour force. Total labour force is calculated as the sum of total employment (derived from the Labour Force Survey) and the number of unemployed registered job applicants. (See the section on the Labour Force Survey for a description of total employment.

(b) The Unemployment rate is published in the national source by: - gender; - region.

(c) Vacancies notified to the Labour Offices in each district and remaining unfilled at the end of each

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month. Vacancy statistics do not differentiate between part-time, full-time and seasonal jobs. Employers are obliged by law to advertise new vacancies at Labour Offices, however firms are not penalised for non-registration. It is also compulsory to report back when jobs have been filled. It is estimated that between 30 and 40 per cent of total vacancies are not covered.

Reporting method Monthly count of administrative data. Data, collected by the Labour Offices, are sent to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs for the compilation of aggregated data.

DATA QUALITY Breaks in time series

Coverage

Unemployment rate: from April 1994, total labour force figures are derived from the quarterly Labour Force Survey. Prior to that date, total labour force figures were derived from establishment sources. The employment data prior to April 1994 include women on maternity and child-care leave, while conscripts and professional members of the armed forces are excluded. The number of paid employees includes professional members of the armed forces and conscripts from Winter 1996-1997.

Reference period Data refer to the end of the reference month. Geographical coverage The whole country. Statistical population Vacancies: all employing organisations throughout the country.

Timeliness DATA COLLECTION

Unemployment data are published 10 days after the end of the reference month.

Reporting unit Labour Offices in each of the 76 districts covering the country.

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DENMARK

Labour - Employment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

(a) Market services (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 actually performed by full-time employees and parttime employees, some of whom are employed only part of the quarter.

Key national publication sources Data are published by Statistics Denmark in Nyt fra Danmarks Statistik, Arbejdsmarked, Arbejdsmarkedsstatistik and , Statistik Månedsoversigt.

(a) Market services measures employees in wholesale and retail trades, transport, post and telecommunications, financing and business services and other personal services. (b) Total employment measures the total number of employees in the whole economy.

Series title in national publications (a)

(b)

Employees with jobs at full-time equivalence: total (Labour Market Supplementary Pension Fund - ATP statistics) (sum of four series - columns 5, 6, 7 and 11); Employees with jobs at full-time equivalence (ATP statistics): total.

Coverage Reference period The whole quarter.

Breakdown available

Geographical coverage

The employment data are made available by industry and ownership conditions using the employers’ registration code number on the Central Register of Enterprises and Establishments.

The whole country. Statistical population Market services: private sector employers;

Methodological references

Total employment: private and public sector employers.

A Methodological description is published (in Danish) in Arbejdsmarked 1995:8.

Particular exclusions Employees hired by employers not paying contributions into the ATP, persons employed less than 9 hours a week and self-employed persons are excluded.

Run of data available Data are available from 1990.

Periodicity STANDARDS

Data are compiled on a quarterly basis.

Standard classifications / nomenclatures

Unit of measurement

Industry: Danish Industrial Classification, Dansk Branchekode 1993 - DB93, which is comparable NACE Rev.1.

Number of employees at full-time equivalence.

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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 employment numbers, by setting one employee equal to the amount of ATP contribution payable for one person employed full-time throughout the quarter.

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Detailed statistics are published in preliminary form in Nyt fra Danmarks Statistik some six weeks after the end of the reference quarter, and in final form in Arbejdsmarked some four months after the end of the reference quarter.

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DENMARK

Wages

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Hourly earnings: wage earners

In 1997 the index of wage costs will be replaced by new indices covering both the private and public sectors.

SOURCE Source agency Data are compiled by Statistics Denmark.

Coverage Key national publication sources

Reference period

Data are published in Statistics Denmark, Nyt fra Danmarks Statistik.

One wage period within February, May, August and November of each year.

Series title in national publications

Geographical coverage

Average hourly wage costs in mining, quarrying and manufacturing.

The whole country. Statistical population

Breakdown available

Establishments with ten or more employees in the sectors of mining, quarrying and manufacturing.

Earnings information is regularly published in the national source by:

STANDARDS

- industry; - gender.

Standard classifications / nomenclatures The Danish Industrial Classification DB93, which is compatible with NACE Rev.1, has been used since 1994.

Run of data available Data are available from 1971.

Periodicity

DATA COLLECTION

Until 1993, the index was compiled on a monthly basis. Since 1994 the data are quarterly.

Reporting method

Unit of measurement

Since 1994, the information are based on Statistics Denmark ‘New Quarterly Statistics of Earnings’, compiled from a sample survey of establishments.

Index of hourly earnings .

Survey items

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Master list

Definition

The Central Business Register (Det Centrale Erhversregister).

The statistics represent hourly earnings of wage earners in the manufacturing industry calculated before tax and include supplementary hours, cost of living or sick leave allowances and paid holidays, all adjusted for the number of working days in the reference month of the quarter.

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Survey description The sampling frame consists of all units identified in the annual Census of Industry. This is stratified by economic activity (29 groups) and by employment size (five bands). All establishments with 200 or

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more employees are included. A sample of the remaining firms is included on the basis of size. A total of around 2 000 establishments report, accounting for about 70 per cent of employment in the sectors covered.

DATA MANIPULATION Other manipulations The reported data are first adjusted for the number of working days in the month. Index numbers are then calculated which show the average hourly wage costs in a given month to average hourly wage costs in the base year. Average hourly wage costs are found by dividing total wage costs by the total number of manhours worked by wage earners.

Non-response rate It is mandatory for establishments to provide data. The non-response rate averages around two per cent in terms of establishments. Missing data are dealt with by imputation.

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DENMARK

Labour - Unemployment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

(a) Total (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 work of at least 15 hours per week and are immediately available for such work, are receiving unemployment benefit from an unemployment insurance fund or social assistance from the municipal social welfare offices and, as a condition for such payments, are registered at the employment office or at the welfare office as persons seeking work. Also included are those insured members of unemployment insurance funds in receipt of unemployment benefit or of social assistance if entitlement to benefit is temporarily lost, together with non-insured persons receiving social assistance. The following groups are covered:

Key national publication sources Data are published by Statistics Denmark in Nyt fra Danmarks Statistik and Statistik Månedsoversigt.

Series title in national publications (a) Unemployment; (b) Unemployment rate.

Breakdown available Unemployment data are available in the national source by: -

gender; age; marital status; citizenship; unemployment insurance fund; insurance category; cause of unemployment; location; degree of unemployment.

Methodological references Documentation on methodology and sources is given on a regular basis in the news releases, Nyt fra Danmarks Statistik.

insured and non-insured persons who are registered and seeking permanent employment;

−

first jobseekers if they are receiving social assistance; or if they are receiving unemployment benefit to which they are entitled having completed a vocational training of at least 18 months duration;

−

those on temporary or indefinite lay-off without pay and persons with some form of minimal employment;

−

other non-insured unemployed persons such as occasional workers, students, etc. Registration of the unemployed is maintained through regular attendance at the employment offices or at the welfare offices. Furthermore, registration of the unemployed receiving unemployment benefit is maintained through the monthly deliverance of unemployment cards from the unemployed to the unemployment insurance funds. Weekly data from these cards constitute the basis for payment of benefit and the statistics on this category of unemployed.

Run of data available The current monthly series goes back to 1979.

Periodicity Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Unit of measurement Unemployment: number of persons; Unemployment rate: percentage.

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−

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(b) The rate refers to the unemployed, defined above, as a per cent of the total labour force.

DATA MANIPULATION Seasonal and other adjustment

Coverage

Data are seasonally adjusted using the X-11 variant (additive method) of the US Bureau of the Census Method II and the ARIMA-model, introduced in January 1996.

Reference period Monthly data are based on weekly averages of four or five weeks ending the last Sunday but one in the month.

Other manipulations The monthly average of unemployment is calculated by adding each person’s degree of unemployment. The degree of unemployment is defined as that part of the period during which the person was unemployed and is calculated as the number of hours a person is unemployed divided by the number of hours for which that person is insured (or by the number of potential working hours). Hence, the statistics cover the total volume of unemployment including underemployment.

Geographical coverage The whole country. Statistical population All those registered as unemployed at local employment offices or social welfare offices and meeting the criteria. Particular exclusions Those not registered with the public employment service are excluded. From those that are registered, the following groups are not included in the monthly count of unemployment: −

non-insured persons not receiving social assistance;

−

those seeking work of less than 15 hours per week;

−

persons receiving invalidity benefits;

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Breaks in time series January 1979 saw a move from manual to computerbased methods of data manipulation and this necessitated some changes to the methods, concepts and classifications used. In 1985 changes were made to the age measure such that before this year age related to the unemployed person’s age in the middle of the year, since the change it now relates to the person’s age at the end of the year. A new method for seasonally adjusting data was introduced in January 1996 Data from 1988 have been affected by this change.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting method The statistics are based on the CRAM maintained by the Labour Market Directorate. Statistics Denmark is responsible for the unemployment statistics register, for data collection, processing and publication. Unemployment benefit for those eligible is administered by 38 Unemployment Insurance Funds set up by individual trade unions under State supervision. For those receiving social benefit the administration is carried out by the municipalities in collaboration with the employment offices or by the municipalities alone. It is the employment offices or the welfare offices that have responsibility for collating and forwarding the basic information to the Labour Market Directorate each month.

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Corroborating data The quarterly publication Statistics Denmark, LFS (in Danish), often compares data compiled using the method of measuring unemployment (by the number of persons) with the monthly data compiled using the method described in this section.

Release dates Data are published in a news release five weeks after the reference month. Statistics Denmark publishes a one-week-ahead release calendar every day, which is available on Statistics Denmark's home page (http://www.dst.dk). A statement about when the next release is expected is included in each release.

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FINLAND

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Labour Force Survey

(a) Total employment* (b) Industry

Labour - Unemployment (c) Total (d) Rate

Labour - Other (e) Total hours worked: industry

Hours of work are available in the national source by industry.

SOURCE 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 methodological descriptions are also included in the monthly and quarterly statistical bulletins as well as in press releases. In addition there is a booklet entitled Labour Force Survey Monthly Interview, Guide.

Data are published in Statistics Finland, Bulletin of Statistics, and in Statistics Finland, Labour Market. Data are also available on the Statistics Finland Time Series Database: FINNSERIES.

Series title in national publications (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

Run of data available

Total employed; Employed persons: industry; Unemployed; Unemployment rate; Total hours worked: industry.

Total employed, Unemployed, Unemployment rate are available from 1958; Employment in industry is available from 1959; Total hours worked is available from 1976.

Breakdown available

Periodicity

Employment statistics are regularly published in the national source by:

Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Unit of measurement

- industry; - occupation; - socio-economic status; - employment status; - level of education/qualifications;

Employment, Unemployment: number of persons; Unemployment rate: percentage; Total hours worked: number of hours.

Unemployment statistics are regularly published in the national source by :

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition

- age; - industry for public and private sector; - socio-economic status; - province; - level of education/qualification; - gender.

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(a) Employment: considered as employed are those persons who, during the reference week, did any work for pay or profit (for at least one hour), worked at least one-third of the normal working

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excess over normal hours. Normal hours are those defined by collective agreement or, in their absence, as the average of hours worked over three months.

time (i.e., at least seven hours) as unpaid family workers, or were temporarily absent from work. Included under this definition would be the following: those performing some work during the reference week for pay or profit while being in compulsory schooling, or retired or receiving a pension; paid apprentices and trainees; participants in employment promotion schemes; members of the armed forces; persons with a job but temporarily absent due to illness or injury, vacation, maternity or paternity leave, etc. Persons on temporary lay-off are included in the employed as from January 1997, previously they were classified as unemployed (if they were laid off for a period not exceeding two and a half months). Excluded from employment and considered inactive are unpaid apprentices and trainees; persons engaged in their own housework; and those doing unpaid community or social work. (b) Employment: industry refers to persons in employment, as defined above, in the industrial sector (mining, manufacturing, electricity, gas and water). (c) The Unemployed are all persons who, for the whole survey week, were without work, were available for work within two weeks and had been seeking work for pay or profit during the last four weeks, or had made arrangements to start a new job (within one month). Also included are persons who, for a part of the survey week, were without work and seeking work and for the rest of the week were otherwise engaged in noneconomic activities such as studying. Seasonal workers awaiting agricultural or other seasonal work are considered as unemployed if they fulfil the criteria for unemployment. Students at the first level of education are not counted as unemployed during the academic term even if they have been seeking work during this period, and had made arrangements to start within two weeks.

Coverage Reference period The reference period in the Labour Force Survey is one week, normally the week containing the 15th day of each month. The reference period for Hours worked is the whole month. Geographical coverage The whole country. Classification coverage Employment: industry, Total hours worked: industry - Industry is covered by divisions C, D and E of the industrial classification SIC (95). Statistical population All persons aged 15-74 residing in Finland and includes foreign workers, citizens who are temporarily abroad, members of the armed forces, non-resident citizens, unsettled and institutional populations.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures The Finnish classification by economic activity was used as follows: - SIC 1979 for the years 1970-1989; - SIC 1988 for the years 1989-1995; - SIC 1995 for the years from 1995. Other classifications used in the LFS are, the Finnish Classification of Occupations (CSO) 1987 and the Finnish Standard Classification of Education.

Persons not in employment (according to the above definitions) but who are registered as jobseekers are included up to 1996. (d) The Unemployment rate is defined as the number of unemployed persons expressed as a per cent of the labour force. Labour force comprises the unemployed plus the employed. (e) Total hours worked in industry: data refer to the actual number of hours worked during the reference week, including all hours worked both paid and unpaid, overtime and hours worked in secondary jobs. Overtime hours are calculated as the

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International comparability Definitions of unemployment and employment broadly follow the ILO guidelines. From 1997 concepts and definitions were modified to be better in line with ILO guidelines. From this date the survey is harmonised with that of the EU.

Departures from international standards The definition of unemployment differs slightly from the ILO recommendations according to which the

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hanced sample size. The sample size is approximately 12 000 persons per month and the sample data (addresses, etc.) are updated on a regular monthly basis.

unemployed must have actively searched for work in the preceding four weeks. Under ILO guidelines, registration at an employment office is considered as ‘actively searching’ for a job. This condition is interpreted more broadly in Finland since registration intervals for the unemployed can extend up to six months.

The monthly sample is broken down into five rotation groups, each comprising 2 400 persons. Each rotation group is included in the survey five times over a period of 16 months. Each rotation group comes into the sample for one month, is rotated out for two months and then returns to the sample for another month, etc., except between the third and fourth interviews where it is rotated out for five months.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units Individuals.

Non-response rate

Reporting method

The non-response rate runs at around six per cent for each survey. The most common reason for nonresponse is a refusal on the part of the interviewee to take part. No substitutions are made for nonresponse. A proxy respondent can be used if the sample person cannot be reached.

Data are collected by Statistics Finland’s permanent survey organisation which has a team of interviewers based throughout the country. Since 1991, this is the responsibility of the Social Statistics Division. Data collection is organised according to several types: 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 remaining one per cent is done by post. The field work lasts two weeks after the survey week. During the years 1959-1982 the questionnaire was sent out by mail. This method of data collection was changed to telephone interviews in 1983 and used up to the end of 1996. From 1997 a computer aided data gathering procedure is used.

DATA MANIPULATION Aggregations /Grossing up Grossing up method Within each sample stratum, data are grossed-up to the level of the entire population aged 15-74 using 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 Unemployment series are carried out by Statistics Finland using a slightly modified version of the X-11 variant of the US Bureau of the Census Method. However, employment figures adjusted for seasonal variation are not included in MEI.

The questionnaire contains several questions on employment conditions, unemployment and hours worked. From March 1997 new information has been collected and published on atypical work such as fixed-term contracts, part-time work, those persons employed through labour market measures, etc. Data on underemployment and disguised unemployment are also new features in the surveys.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Other errors and their corrections

Master list

Field work is subject to regular quality controls at least once a year.

Central Population Register (CPR) which is constantly updated.

Breaks in time series

Survey description

Since its introduction in 1959 the Labour Force Survey has undergone a number of revisions that are likely to have affected the series. The first major revision was in 1976 when the information requested was expanded and the sampling and rotation methods

Altogether 16 000 persons are drawn from the CPR twice a year. In each province, the sample is poststratified by gender, age group and region to form a total of 312 strata. Special rules apply to the province of Aland where its small population requires an en-

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registrations, as well as to other Statistics Finland statistics providing the same information. These studies are available to users. The latest ones are published by Statistics Finland (in Finnish only) in Working paper No. 131, (September 1992) and in Työvoimatutkimuksen ja työnvälitystilaston työttömyystietojen erot. They describe the difference between the survey-based and the registered unemployment series.

were developed. In 1983 the survey became interview based rather than postal survey based and these changes led to significant disruptions in the series. Since 1987 persons on unemployment benefit are counted as unemployed only if they are available for and seeking work. SIC 1988 was introduced in 1989, and SIC 1995 in 1995. Questionnaires were sent out by mail up to and including 1992, interviews were by phone for the years 1993-1996, and the computer-aided data gathering procedure (Blaise) was introduced in 1997. Also in 1997, the survey was harmonised with the EU. The effect of this is to increase the number of employed because of additional information requested on atypical jobs, in addition, those temporarily laid off are redefined as employed. In the old survey the latter were classified as unemployed.

Timeliness The results of the survey are released about four weeks after the reference month.

Release dates A release schedule for the coming year, specifying precise dates of release, is published in the Release Calendar on the first of January. The Calendar is updated three times a year (at the beginning of January, May, and September).

Corroborating data There are periodic studies in which the Labour Force Survey data are compared, for example, with the Ministry of Labour data on employment exchange

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FINLAND

Labour - Employment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

(a) Part-time (economic reasons)

Labour - Unemployment (b) Short-term

Labour - Other (c) Unfilled vacancies (d) Employment training

Employment training statistics are available in the national source by occupation.

SOURCE Source agencies

Methodological reference in publication

Data are compiled by the Employment Service Statistics of the Ministry of Labour and transmitted to the OECD by Statistics Finland.

Some explanatory notes are available in Finnish Labour Review.

Key national publication sources

Run of data available

Data are available in the monthly publications, Ministry of Labour, Finnish Labour Review and Statistics Finland, Bulletin of Statistics.

Short-term unemployment, Part-time (economic reasons), Employment training: data are available from 1981;

Data are also available on Statistics Finland Time Series Database: FINNSERIES.

Unfilled vacancies: data are available from 1961.

Periodicity

Series title in national publications

Data are compiled on a monthly basis. (a) (b) (c) (d)

Unemployed jobseekers on reduced working week; Unemployed jobseekers at the Employment Service; Employment Service, job vacancies; Employment Service, on employment training.

Unit of measurement of the data Short-term unemployment, Part-time (economic reasons), Employment training: number of persons; Unfilled vacancies: number of job vacancies.

Breakdown available

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Data for unemployed jobseekers are available in the national source according to the following:

Definition

-

(a) Part-time (economic reasons) covers employed persons working a shorter working week than normal and registered with the public employment service.

age; gender; occupation; benefit status; duration of unemployment.

(b) Short-term unemployment refers to persons registered with the public employment services as unemployed for between one and four weeks. Here unemployment comprises all those jobseekers registered at the employment service on the reference day who were without work, were laid off or

Vacancy statistics are available in the national source according to the following: - industry groups; - occupation.

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had arranged to start a job but had not yet started. Also included are persons seeking temporary work or work of at least four hours a day; persons working less than four hours a day seeking other work; first time jobseekers and re-entrants to the workforce; employable disabled persons and persons responsible for the loss of their last job. Persons on strike and registered pensioners are excluded as are persons unable to work due to accident or illness for more than ten days, those on leave or holiday of any duration and those not fulfilling the registration maintenance requirements. (c) Data refer to Vacancies which are reported to the public employment services and which had not been filled on the reference dates. (d) Data on persons in Employment training refer to all those following training programmes supported by the Ministry of Labour under its measures to alleviate unemployment.

STANDARDS

Coverage

As eligibility rules for the receipt of benefits have changed, so the coverage of Unemployment statistics has been affected resulting in breaks in the series. In 1972 eligibility for unemployment benefits was extended; in 1985 new social security arrangements meant that the upper income limit for eligibility for state benefits was raised.

Standard classifications / nomenclatures Unfilled vacancies: Industry uses ISIC and occupation uses ISCO.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting method Monthly count at the public employment offices.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Missing data in time series Vacancies notified to the public employment offices constitute between 25% and 35% of the total vacancies existing at any one time.

Breaks in time series

Reference period The end of the month. Geographical coverage 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.

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FINLAND

Labour - Other

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Labour disputes - time lost

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 organisations of employees and employers or organisations of employers and involving any one or more of the following types of action: temporary work stoppage; refusal to work; go-slows; or other means of exerting pressure with a view to enforcing a demand.

Key national publication sources Data are available (in Finnish only) in SVT: Hinta-ja palkkatiedote (not published in every issue). The series is also published in the annual Wages and Salaries.

The basic unit of measurement is the case of dispute. The resumption of a strike or lockout that was interrupted and with the same cause is treated as the same dispute if the interruption does not exceed two working days. Work stoppages arising from the same cause and occurring simultaneously in different establishments of the same enterprise or establishments of different enterprises are counted as the same dispute if the organisation is the same. Disputes lasting less than one hour are not measured. Unpaid family workers, workers laid off, workers absent on sick leave or annual leave or any other legal absence from work are excluded. Overtime is not taken into account.

Series title in national publications Työtaistelut: Menetetyt työpäivät.

Breakdown available Statistics on labour disputes are published in the national source for the following categories: - cause of dispute (annual data only); - outcome of dispute (annual data only); - method of settlement (annual data only); - economic activity; - occupational group; - number of workers involved (annual data); - duration of dispute; - time not worked; - type of dispute (annual data only); - other (province; employee association; employer association; etc.).

Coverage Reference period The monthly data refer to disputes beginning during 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. Statistical population

Periodicity

All establishments in the public and private sectors.

Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Unit of measurement of the data

STANDARDS

Number of days.

Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry: Finnish Standard Industrial Classification (SIC).

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− establishments of unorganised employers: these are usually small concerns with few employees and data are requested from them using Statistics Finland’s labour dispute reporting form;

International comparability The data follow the ILO recommendations.

− public sector: data are obtained using Statistics Finland’s reporting form.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units

Reporting method

In the case of unorganised firms and public sector organisations, Statistics Finland might first learn of the dispute through a newspaper report, for example. There is no legal obligation on firms to report the occurrence of a dispute.

Statistics Finland compiles the data from a range of sources as follows:

DATA MANIPULATION

The economic unit is the establishment as recorded in the register of enterprises and establishments.

− establishments or organised employers: employers use their own forms for labour dispute notices, reporting through the Finnish Employers’ Confederation and directly to Statistics Finland. About 90 per cent of labour disputes are covered in this way;

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Other manipulations Time not worked is measured in working days by ascertaining the total amount of time not worked on each day of the dispute and summing these totals. 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.

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FINLAND

Wages

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Hourly earnings: manufacturing

SOURCE

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Source agencies

Definition

The Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers (Teollisuus ja Työna) is responsible for collecting the raw data and Statistics Finland for compiling the index.

Data refer to average earnings for normal hours of work paid to wage earners (hourly paid employees) and salary earners (monthly paid employees). These cover pay for normal time worked or work done, premium pay for shift, night or holiday work, commissions paid to sales and other personnel, incentive pay (production and profit-sharing bonuses, etc.), regular bonuses. Bonuses and gratuities paid irregularly and earnings in kind are also covered by the statistics (only for salary earners, not for wage earners).

Key national publication sources Data are available in the monthly publication , Statistics Finland, Bulletin of Statistics and on the Time Series database FINNSERIES.

Series title in national publications

Excluded from wages and salaries are remuneration for overtime, time not worked on annual leave, vacation, etc.; cost of living, house rent, transport and family allowances paid directly by the employer.

Index of wage and salary earnings: manufacturing.

Breakdown available The data are available in the national source by:

Coverage

- industry; - occupational; - age group.

Reference period The whole quarter.

Methodological references

Geographical coverage The whole country.

Methodological information is published in The index of Wage and Salary Earnings 1990=100: Handbook for users. Methodology used to compile wage statistics can also be found in Statistics Finland, Study No. 124.

Classification coverage Division D of SIC 1995, for the years from 1995, and SIC 1988 prior to this date. Statistical population

Run of data available

All establishments registered with the Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers .

Data are available from 1948.

Periodicity STANDARDS

Data are compiled on a quarterly basis.

Standard classifications / nomenclatures

Unit of measurement

Industry: SIC 1995 (compatible with NACE Rev.1);

Index.

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Occupation: ISCO.

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and salary earners into 127 groups. Their average earnings are determined from a total of 389 base series which are compiled in each sector by industry and occupational group. An earnings index is calculated for each group by dividing the average earnings in the current period by the average earnings in the base period for the corresponding group. Salary and wage earner group indices are aggregated by weighting each group index with the group’s total earnings weight in the base period.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units Establishments.

Reporting method Data are derived from the survey of establishments registered with the Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers. Data collection takes place just after the reference period by means of mailed questionnaires or in some cases automatic data transfer. Reply to the survey is voluntary for small establishments in some branches.

Other manipulations If the reference period presents abnormal circumstances (e.g., strike, lockout, public holiday, fire, flood, etc.) the relevant data are omitted.

Survey details Survey description

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS

The sample contains all establishments with more than 10 employees (over 3 500 establishments) and a certain number of establishments with fewer than 10 employees. This represents roughly 70 per cent of all wages paid in the industrial sector. Reply to the survey is voluntary for small enterprises in some branches .

Timeliness Data are released 6 to 7 weeks after the end of each quarter.

Release dates A release schedule for the coming year, specifying the month of release, is published in the Release Calendar on the first of January. The Calendar is updated three times a year (at the beginning of January, May, and September).

Non-response rate There is no adjustment for non-response.

DATA MANIPULATION Aggregations /Grossing up Aggregation method The wage and salary index is calculated as a fixedweight index of the Laspeyres type, by dividing wage

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FRANCE

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the quarterly Survey on the Economic Activity and Working Conditions of the Labour Force (Enquête sur l’Activité et les Conditions d’Emploi de la Main d’oeuvre - ACEMO)

(a) Employees: industries (b) Employees: market services (c) Employees: manufacturing

Wages (d) Hourly rates: wage earners

SOURCE

Methodological references

Source agencies

Each issue of Informations Rapides includes a brief description of the methodology and data sources. Each year, a survey article is published in Economie et Statistique providing more details about the methodology.

Employees: The National Statistical Office (L’Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques - INSEE) compiles the figures which are collected by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Ministère du Travail et des Affaires Sociales - MTAS, Direction de l’Animation de la Recherche, des Etudes et des Statistiques - DARES).

Period coverage Employees: data are available from fourth quarter 1989;

Hourly rates: Data are collected, processed and published 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 INSEE, Informations Rapides.

Data are compiled on a quarterly basis.

Unit of measurement Series title in national publications

Employees: number of persons;

(a) (b) (c)

Hourly wage rate: Index (April 1993=100).

(d)

Emploi salarié: ensemble des secteurs; Emploi salarié: tertiaire; Emploi salarié: industrie, non compris construction; Indice des taux de salaire horaire des ouvriers: ensemble des secteurs.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition Employees: data cover registered full-time and parttime employees with an employment contract (in force or suspended) and include apprentices, regardless of whether the contract is for a fixed term or permanent. Also included are commission agents (except commercial travellers, representatives and brokers representing more than one firm), workers from temporary employment agencies, casual and seasonal workers, as well as persons temporarily absent from work because of paid or unpaid leave, temporary or indefinite lay-off, industrial dispute (strike or lockout), sickness or injury.

Breakdown available Employment and Hourly wage rate data are available in the national source by: - economic activity; - skill group; - size of establishment (four size bands). In addition Employment data are available by type of contract (temporary, fixed-term, part-time).

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Excluded from the employment data are trainees, home workers, workers sub-contracted from other companies or firms, commercial travellers, representatives or brokers representing more than one firm, unpaid family workers and persons temporarily absent from work because of military service.

Employees: manufacturing covers divisions EB to EG of NAF/NES. Statistical population Establishments employing 10 or more workers in the private sector. The survey does not cover agriculture, mining and quarrying; public administration; education, health and the social sector; private domestic services; and foreign diplomatic representatives or international organisations.

(a) Employees: industries covers all industries except agriculture, public administration, education, health and social services. (b) Employees: market services covers all services except public administration, education, health and social services. (c) Employees: manufacturing covers manufacturing and energy sectors.

Particular exclusions Establishments with fewer than 10 employees are excluded from the survey sample. However, employment data are corrected for this bias (see under item ‘Other errors and their corrections’).

(d) Hourly wage rate refers to gross basic hourly wage or salary, as applied in the establishment for persons employed on a full-time basis. Trainees and persons on ‘assisted’ contracts (apprentices, vocational training, etc.) are not covered by the indicator. Wages exclude all bonuses and gratuities as well as overtime pay. The series published in MEI refers to wage earners only, however, information is collected for the following occupational categories: unskilled manual workers; skilled manual workers; supervisors (production); administrative and sales workers; technicians; and engineers and managers. For each of these categories (and occupational levels within) the establishment declares the basic wage for a job considered to be representative of the category and this is used for each successive survey.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry: Nomenclature d’Activité Française - an adaptation of NACE which is compatible with ISIC 1990.

Departures from Standards The definition of Hourly wage rate corresponds to the concept of wage or salary rates. However, it is limited to the basic rate since it excludes all bonuses and allowances, even if guaranteed.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units

Coverage

Employment: the reporting unit is the establishment, defined as a group of employees working at a single geographical location under the authority of one legal entity (enterprise or individual employer). In the case of certain large employers with several establishments, bilateral agreements allow the enterprise to respond on behalf of all units.

Reference period The survey takes place at the end of the quarter. The reference period for Employment is end of quarter and for Hourly wage rate it is the beginning of the following quarter. Geographical coverage

Reporting method

The whole of Metropolitan France.

The survey is conducted by post with a permanent survey organisation responsible for collecting the data. A reminder is sent out automatically to those establishments that have failed to reply by the end of the month.

Classification coverage Employees: industries covers divisions EB to EP of the economic activity classification, Nomenclature d’Activité Française/Nomenclature Economique de Synthèse (NAF/NES), compatible with ISIC 1990; Employees: market services covers divisions EJ to EP of NAF/NES;

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employees for the larger strata and to the number of establishments for the others.

Survey details Description of questionnaire

Weights for aggregation

The questionnaire consists of four main sections designed to collect data on the following: actual hours of work by manual and non-manual workers during the reference week; employees on the last day of the quarter, by category; basic monthly hours of work; and basic monthly wage or salary by category and skill level.

The weights used are the total number of employees reported by the UNEDIC (National Union for Employment in Industry and Commerce - Union Nationale pour l’Emploi dans l’Industrie et le Commerce) and other sources.

Seasonal and other adjustment

Master list

The Employment data are adjusted for seasonal variation using the X-11 variant of the US Bureau of the Census Method.

Since January 1996, the sampling frame is an annual file of establishments, a by-product of the SIRENE (Système Informatique pour le Repertoire des Enterprises et des Etablissements) database. INSEE is now responsible for this file, prior to 1996 it was the Ministry of Labour.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Other errors and their corrections

Survey description

Establishments with 10 employees or fewer are not included in the survey sample. Employment data are corrected for this bias using annual statistics established by the UNEDIC. The trends are applied to the employment levels of the preceding quarter which are benchmarked on the results of the 1990 Census.

The sample is probabilistic and stratified. Strata are defined by economic activity (according to the 100 groups of the NAF classification) by size of establishments and by geographic area. The survey covers a sample of around 60 000 establishments, including all those with 50 or more employees and one-eighth of those with 10 to 49 employees. From January 1996, a new system of sample rotation was introduced whereby one-twentieth of the sample of smaller establishments is rotated every quarter, thus ensuring a completely renewed sample every five years. The sample of establishments with 50 or more employees is updated every year.

Breaks in time series New bases and new employee weights were introduced in the first quarter of each of the years 1973, 1985, 1988, 1991 and 1993. Prior to 1985 the survey covered all establishments with more than 49 employees and one third of establishments with 10-49 employees. In April 1985 there were major changes to the design of the survey which involved revisions to the questions asked, the conduct of the survey and its output. A revision of the survey is underway.

Non-response rate Around 45 to 50 per cent of establishments fail to respond after the final reminders.

Timeliness and release dates

The treatment of non-response in the case of the Hourly wage rate indicator is to carry forward, for one quarter, results of the previous quarter.

Employment data are available six weeks after the end of the reference period.

Preliminary data DATA MANIPULATION

Employment data are first published Informations Rapides.

Aggregations/Grossing up

Revisions

Aggregation method Indices are first calculated in each stratum of the sample. These indices are then aggregated at higher levels using weights proportional to the number of

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Revisions are made to incorporate late monthly information.

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FRANCE

Labour - Unemployment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

(a) Registered unemployed (b) Rate (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 sources for unemployment statistics. Each year, an article on the labour market is published in Economie et Statistiques, which provides more detail about the methodology of the household Employment Survey (L’enquête sur l’emploi) and the definitive results of the previous year.

Data are compiled by the DARES of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MTAS) using information supplied by the National Employment Agency (Agence Nationale pour l‘Emploi - ANPE).

Key national publication sources Data are available in MTAS, Bulletin Mensuel des Statistiques du Travail, and in DARES/ANPE, Premières Informations et Premières Synthèses.

Run of data available (a) Registered unemployment data are available from 1955; (b) The Unemployment rate is available from 1970 on a quarterly basis and from 1979 on a monthly basis; (c) Data on New jobseekers are available from 1975;

Series title in national publication (a) (b) (c) (d)

Demandes d’emploi en fin de mois; Taux de chômage au sens du BIT; Demandes d’emploi enregistrées au cours du mois; Offres d’emploi enregistrées au cours du mois.

(d) Data on New vacancies are available from 1986.

Periodicity Breakdown available

Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Unemployment data are available in the national source by: -

Unit of measurement (a) Registered unemployed: number of persons;

gender; age group; duration of unemployment; category of unemployed; industry; local area statistics; reason for unemployment.

(b) Unemployment rate: percentage; (c) New jobseekers : index (1990=100); (d) New vacancies: number of vacancies.

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 available for work and are seeking permanent full-time employment by registering at offices of the ANPE. These are unemployed persons belonging to the first

- type of contract; - qualification; - industrial sector.

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of eight categories of jobseekers for which a distinction is made at the ANPE (see under item ‘Standard classifications/nomenclatures’ for a description of the eight categories). Included are persons seeking a post as a trainee in a firm and employable handicapped persons. Registered unemployment refers to the number of jobseekers registered at the end of the month and New Jobseekers refer to those persons registering as unemployed during the course of a month.

Coverage

(b) The Unemployment rate refers to the number of persons unemployed, according to ILO definitions, as a per cent of the total labour force. The latter comprises the employed, the unemployed and all members of the armed forces. The rate uses benchmark unemployment data compiled from the results of the annual household Employment Survey, updated using the changes in the monthly registered unemployment figures described under (a). The employment figures used to calculate the total labour force are estimated using information from various sources, namely the population censuses, unemployment insurance systems, Union de Recouvrement des Cotisations de Sécurité Sociale et d’Allocations Familiales (URSSAF) or Union Nationale pour l’Emploi dans l’Industrie et le Commerce (UNEDIC) and the quarterly employment survey, ACEMO, which is described in the previous section.

The whole country.

Reference period Registered unemployed, New jobseekers: month; New vacancies: the whole month. Geographical coverage

Classification coverage New vacancies: in April 1995, a new classification for the type of job on offer was introduced to reflect the changing nature of the job market. Categories 1,2,3 and 4 corresponding to respectively, indefinite contract for a full-time job, indefinite contract for part-time job, seasonal or temporary full- or part-time job, and jobs of very short duration were replaced by classes A, B and C of the new classification ‘Type of offer’ where:

The definition of unemployment retained in the Employment Survey is as follows:

−

Class A covers indefinite contract or fixedterm contract of more than 6 months,

−

Class B covers fixed-term or interim contract of between 1 and 6 months and

−

Class C refers to fixed-term or interim contract of duration less than 1 month. Statistical population

−

All persons aged 16 years and over who, in the reference week, were without work, available for work or self employment (within 15 days), and were seeking work (during the month before the survey). Actively seeking work can mean continued registration with the ANPE by those registering as unemployed or actual job seeking activities during the reference period (e.g., placing or replying to advertisements). Unemployed persons include full and part-time students seeking full or part-time work; seasonal workers awaiting agricultural or other seasonal work; and unemployed persons who did not seek work during the reference period because of minor illness, provided that they continued to register with the ANPE. (d) Data refer to New vacancies reported to the ANPE during the month. Figures cover permanent or indefinite contracts, temporary and interim contracts.

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end of

Registered unemployed, New jobseekers: all persons aged 16 and over and residing in the country; New vacancies: public and private sectors.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Statistics on jobseekers registering at the ANPE are classified into eight categories of jobseekers as follows: 1. Persons without work, immediately available for work and who are seeking permanent full-time employment; 2. Persons without work, immediately available for work, who are seeking permanent part-time employment; 3. Persons without work, immediately available for work, who are seeking work of a restricted duration or temporary or seasonal work;

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− general questions on the dwelling, i.e. type, number of rooms, social characteristics of the members of the household, etc.

4. Persons without work, not immediately available for work, who are seeking work that is full-time or part-time, temporary or permanent; 5. Persons with work, who are looking for other work; 6. Persons not immediately available for work but looking for another full-time job and taking positive steps to find one; 7. Persons not immediately available for work but looking for another part-time job and taking positive steps to find one; 8. Persons not immediately available for work but looking for temporary or seasonal work of short duration and taking positive steps to find such work.

− individual questions to the members of the household, i.e. main activity, changes which occurred during the previous year, method used to find actual job, income, under-employment, etc. Master list The sample frame is based on the results of the latest population census. Information is updated between two population censuses using statistics on residential building permits issued. Survey description The sample of the annual Labour Force Survey is probabilistic. The sample of households is designed as follows:

International comparability 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 municipalities (in the rural areas) and the census districts (in the urban areas). SPUs are merged, if necessary, so as to create homogeneous sets containing between 500 and 1 000 dwellings. Within each PSU, SPUs are selected with probability proportional to the total population.

Reporting method Registered unemployed, New jobseekers, New vacancies: monthly count of administrative data. The ANPE provides information on registrations and vacancies at each of the local offices throughout France. Most of the offices cover a specific geographical area, whilst others specialise in certain key occupations or sectors.

− Tertiary sample units (TSUs) are sets of around 80 dwellings; they are created to be homogeneous in terms of dwellings description. Within each selected SPU (see above), TSUs are chosen with probability proportional to the number of dwellings.

Unemployment rate: the annual Employment Survey of private households of metropolitan France carried out in March each year provides the benchmark unemployment data, which is updated using the monthly count of administrative data (jobseekers registered with the ANPE). The employment component of the labour force used to calculate the rate is estimated from the results of the establishment survey (ACEMO) and other administrative sources (UNEDIC and USSARF).

The TSUs are finally divided into four zones containing the same number of dwellings. One of the four zones of the TSU is selected with equal probability and all dwellings of this zone are sampled. In total, 78 385 dwellings were selected in the survey sample in 1993.

Survey details

The sample is a rotating sample: one-third of the sample is replaced each year, and each group of dwellings is selected in the sample during 3 years. When a group is dropped from the sample, it is replaced by another group with the same characteristics.

This section describes the Employment Survey which is used to compile variables used in the calculation of the Unemployment rate. Description of questionnaire

Non-response rate

The questionnaire used in the survey consists of two sets of questions:

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Grossing up factors are corrected for non-response at zone level (grossing up factors are inversely proportional to the response rate). At a second stage, the

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jobseekers between the months of May and June 1995. In June 1995 new categories (6, 7 and 8) of jobseekers were created. Persons allocated to these categories, having worked more than 78 hours during the month, were considered as not being ‘immediately available for work’. Persons in categories 6, 7, and 8 were previously included in categories 1, 2, and 3 respectively. The main aggregates were recalculated back to May 1992 taking account of the changes. See item ‘Standards’ for a description of the eight categories.

‘weight’ of each household is corrected to insure consistency between the results of the survey and the results of the population census.

DATA MANIPULATION Seasonal and other adjustment Data are seasonally adjusted using the X-11 variant of the US Bureau of the Census Method II.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS

For breaks in the series New vacancies see under item ‘Classification coverage’.

Other errors and their corrections The main problem for data accuracy is posed by those not registering at the ANPE. Because of the introduction of new jobseeker categories, the new registration procedure, and various regional incidents which occurred during the collection of regional data, data are not consistent throughout the year 1995.

Timeliness Unemployment figures are available no later than one month after the reference month.

Revisions The Unemployment rate is revised twice a year on the basis of the results from the Employment Survey. At the end of June of year n, the detailed results of the March enquiry and a more reliable estimate of the evolution of employment for the year n-1 are available. Accordingly, the monthly rates are modified at the beginning of year n-1. At the beginning of year n+1, the unemployment figures are seasonally adjusted and the employment figures are updated (using the definitive figures for the end of year n-2 and semidefinitive figures for year n-1). Thus in general, revisions are made to the latest three years.

Breaks in time series Unemployment: there have been some changes to the administration of unemployment that may have had a small effect on the data. For example, the unemployment compensation rules were changed in 1979, 1982 and 1984. Also in 1984, unemployed persons in receipt of benefit and aged 55 or more were exempted from seeking employment and therefore from registering with the ANPE. The adoption, at the ANPE, of a new registration document for updating information on jobseekers (Déclaration de situation mensuelle) resulted in a discontinuity in the series of the stock of

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FRANCE

Labour - Other

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Labour disputes - time lost

SOURCE

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Source agencies

Definition

The statistics are compiled by the Departmental and Regional Labour Directorates and transmitted to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

A labour dispute includes all voluntary and collective work stoppages, whatever the duration, the numbers taking part or the cause. In the statistics, the dispute represents the strike (a continuous work stoppage) or the ‘débrayage’ (a discontinuous work stoppage). A ‘generalised’ strike is a work stoppage following a call to strike from outside the enterprise or its establishments where there is more than one involved. A ‘localised’ strike is a work stoppage following a call to strike from within one or more establishments. The statistics cover the following types of dispute: constitutional or official strikes; unofficial strikes; sympathetic strikes; political or protest strikes; general strikes; rotating or revolving strikes; and sit-ins.

Key national publication sources Data are available in MTAS, Bulletin Mensuel de Statistiques du Travail.

Series title in national publication Conflits localisés du travail: France métropolitaine + DOM-TOM.

Breakdown available

The continuation of a strike that is interrupted but later resumes, still due to the same case of dispute, is considered to be the same strike only if the interruption did not last longer than 48 consecutive hours (during working days).

Data on labour disputes are available in the national source by: -

cause of dispute (four categories); method of settlement (two categories); economic activity; size of establishment; region.

The series published in MEI refers to time not worked due to localised strikes only. Time not worked is total time not worked measured in working days and is derived by multiplying the number of workers involved between the first and last days of the month, by the number of days the strike lasted over the same period. Time not worked is measured for workers directly and indirectly involved. The shorter working hours of part-time workers are taken into account, but there is no fixed method for this. Overtime is not taken into account.

Methodological references Methodological information used to compile the data can be found in Bulletin Mensuel des Statistiques du Travail.

Run of data available Data are available from January 1955.

Work stoppages initiated by employers, working to rule, go-slows and overtime bans are not included. Also the minimum size threshold for inclusion in the statistics is that the product of the duration and the number of workers involved should be at least one working day.

Periodicity Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Unit of measurement Time lost in days.

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Coverage

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units

Reference period

The basic unit of measurement is the economic unit: the establishment in the case of localised strikes and the enterprise for general strikes.

The monthly data refer to disputes beginning during the month plus those continuing from the previous month. Geographical coverage

Reporting method

The whole country.

The labour inspectors are responsible for identifying strikes in their areas and for completing a detailed form for each strike. Other administrative bodies which learn of strikes by various means but particularly through press reports, also inform the inspectors. However, there is no legal obligation to report the occurrence of a strike, therefore, some disputes will not come to the attention of the relevant authorities.

Classification coverage The industrial classification used for localised strikes only covers the 38 groups according to the classification, Nomenclature d’Activité et de Produits: 40 groupements (NAP40). Statistical population All public and private sectors are included, with the exceptions of agriculture and the civil service.

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FRANCE

Wages

Indicators from administrative and other sources

(a) Labour cost: engineering industries (b) Labour cost: textile industries

SOURCE

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Source agency

Definition

The National Statistical Institute (INSEE) is responsible for the collection and the publication of the data.

(a) Labour cost represents the total expenditure on wages and salaries paid to employees and on employers’ contributions during the reference period. These include:

Key national publication sources

−

Data are available in MTAS, Bulletin Mensuel de Statistique..

total gross remuneration paid by the establishment (before deduction of professional dues, taxes and other charges paid by the employees);

Series title in national publications (a)

Coût de la main-d’oeuvre: caniques et électriques;

(b)

Coût de la main-d’oeuvre: industries textiles.

industries mé−

In addition to the series described here, a special index on the cost of trade in services between enterprises is also available in the national source.

payments in kind for private use of cars, for housing and other benefits; social security contributions (for sickness, oldage, etc.);

Methodological references Each issue of Informations Rapides includes a brief description of the methodology and data sources. Each year, a survey article is published in Economie et Statistique which provides more details about the methodology.

unemployment insurance; employers’ contribution to housing loans; pensions funds, provident funds and paid leave (for those establishments which are affiliated to paid leave funds);

Period coverage Labour cost: engineering industries: data are available from 1962;

(b)

Labour cost: textile industries: data are available from July 1960.

Employers’ contributions (including statutory and non-obligatory contributions): allowances paid to employees (including payments for absence due to illness, for early retirements and other special benefits);

Breakdown available

(a)

Wages and salaries:

vocational and apprenticeship training costs; −

Periodicity

Other payments of social welfare character (such as canteens, holiday camps, transport cost, payments in connection with workers’ participation, etc.).

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.

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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 Survey on the Economic Activity and Working Conditions of the Labour Force (ACEMO). The results of the ACEMO survey are completed with information from Chambers of Commerce (for textile industries and for engineering industries). (See earlier section for more details on the ACEMO survey)

DATA MANIPULATION Aggregation/grossing up method Monthly figures are calculated as the product of a monthly index of wages and salaries, and a monthly index of employers’ contributions.

Data for employers’ contributions are estimated by INSEE from various sources: administrative sources (from social security registers, and employers’ declaration to tax offices), surveys carried out by INSEE (three-yearly Labour Cost Survey, ACEMO and Survey on Wage Structure); and statistics compiled by the Social Security.

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The index of wages and salaries is compiled on a quarterly basis (this is the Hourly wage rate described in an earlier section); intermediate monthly figures are calculated taking into account additional information from Chambers of Commerce).

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GERMANY

Wages

Indicators from the Survey of Earnings in Industry and Commerce

Hourly earnings

total gross wages for each performance group divided by the corresponding number of hours paid for.

SOURCE Source agencies

Earnings data refer to total gross wages and salaries which include all regular payments paid (including remuneration for time not worked), together with certain employer payments. Regular payments include the following: collectively or individually agreed wages or salaries; performance and efficiency payments and bonuses and other payments whether or not provided for in collective agreements; income tax payments and employees’ social security contributions to funds voluntarily taken over by the employer; commission; bonuses, end-of-year premiums, thirteenth month payments, profit sharing payments, etc., which are paid in monthly instalments; monthly contributions paid by the employer to workers’ savings and capital formation schemes; vacation pay of construction workers even if refunded by the vacation funds; reimbursement of travel expenses and relevant allowances for travelling to and from work; the tax value of free board and free accommodation in so far as these benefits constitute all or part of the gross wage or salary; and deductions retained in the reference period for reimbursing loans, salary advances, etc.

Data are compiled by the Federal Statistical Office (Statistisches Bundesamt - FSO) in co-operation with the statistical offices of the States (Länder).

Key national publication sources Data are available in Statistisches Bundesamt, Löhne und Gehälter, Fachserie 16: Reihe 2.2 Angestelltenverdienste in Industrie und Handel, and also on Statis-bund, the on-line data base of the FSO. Series title in national publications Index der durchschnittlich Brutto-Stundenverdienste der Arbeiter in der Industrie.

Breakdown available Data are available in the national source by: - industry; - occupational category (for salaried employees 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 earners. Data are available on the MEI database from 1955.

Hourly earnings: average for quarter . Geographical coverage Germany before re-unification.

Periodicity

Classification coverage

Data are compiled on a quarterly basis.

The survey covers mining and quarrying, manufacturing, energy supply, construction, commerce, banking and insurance. The earnings series published in the MEI publication refers to the manufacturing industry only.

Unit of measurement Index (1991=100).

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Statistical population

Definition

Establishments with more than 10 employees.

Hourly earnings: the series refers to average gross hourly earnings of full-time wage earners and is the

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Particular exclusions

ing to 83 economic activities and six size classes. The sampling rates within each stratum are chosen so as to produce the minimum sampling error. The size of the sample in each stratum is determined according to the ‘Neyman-Tschuprov’ law: the number of units to be included in each stratum is proportional both to the size of the universe and to the standard deviation of the variable (gross hourly earnings) within the stratum.

Regular wages and salaries exclude certain employer payments (e.g., to social security, health schemes, etc.) and other payments included in gross wages or salaries.

STANDARDS

The sampling units are selected by systematic random sampling in accordance with a prescribed system that substitutes new establishments for those that have previously taken part. The total sample size is around 40 500 establishments. The sample is changed following each census and at that time the survey is conducted in both the old and new samples in order to maintain continuity in the series.

Standard classifications / nomenclatures From 1995, the Industrial Classification of Economic Activity WZ 93 (compatible with NACE Rev.1) has been used and WZ 79 (compatible with ISIC 68) prior to 1995.

International comparability The definition of gross wages and salaries corresponds to the concept of gross earnings in the international guidelines.

Non-response rate For those establishments not responding because they were no longer producing in the relevant sector or similar reasons, these would not be replaced in the sample. For non-response due to a failure to reply, a replacement factor is applied which corresponds to the quotient of the number of establishments contacted less the number of non-existent establishments and the number of establishments that replied plus the number of non-responding establishments.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units The sampling and reporting unit is the establishment, defined as a local unit of an enterprise.

Reporting method Information is collected by the statistical offices of the States using a postal questionnaire.

DATA MANIPULATION Aggregations /Grossing up

Survey details

Grossing up method

Description of questionnaire

The sample results per stratum are multiplied by the grossing up factor (i.e., the ratio of the number of establishments in the universe to the number within the sample) corrected by the replacement factor. The extrapolated figures are then aggregated.

Separate questionnaires are used for wage earners and salaried employees, depending on the different collective or individual agreements and on the branch of activity covered. If workers in the various production units of an establishment are paid under different collective agreements in force, then a separate questionnaire is completed for each branch of activity and agreement. If there is only one collective agreement, workers are grouped together on one form, and the establishment is classified according to its main activity. Master list

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Sampling errors and their corrections The simple relative standard error for the average hourly earnings for the individual branches of activity should not exceed one per cent for national data and 5% for States data.

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 results of the most recent Industrial Census. However, conversion coefficients have been calculated to ensure continuity in the series.

Survey description A stratified sampling design is used with establishments first stratified by State (16 States) and within each State the establishments are then stratified accord-

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GERMANY

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Survey on Industrial Production

(a) Manufacturing

Labour - Other (b) Monthly hours of work

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

Unit labour cost: the series has been calculated from 1962 for Western Germany and from 1991 for both Eastern Germany and for Unified Germany

SOURCE Source agencies All series except Unit labour cost are compiled by the Federal Statistical Office in co-operation with the statistical offices of the States.

Periodicity

The Unit labour cost index is compiled by the Central Bank (Deutsche Bundesbank) using data provided by the FSO.

Unit of measurement (a)

Employees: numbers of employees;

Key national publication sources

(b)

Hours of work: hours/minutes;

Data are available in FSO, Produzierendes Gewerbe Fachserie 4, Reihe 4.1.1. and on Statis-bund.

(c)

Wages: Deutsche Mark.

(d)

Unit labour cost: index (1991=100).

Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

The Unit labour cost index is published in Deutsche Bundesbank, Saisonbereinigte Wirtschaftszahlen.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition

Series title in national publications (a)

Beschäftigte insgesamt in Verarbeitende Industrie;

(b)

Geleistete Arbeiterstunden;

(c)

Bruttolohn- und Gehaltsumme.

(d)

Produktivität und Lohnkosten im Produzierenden Gewerbe ‘Löhne und Gehälter je Produktenheit’.

(a) Employees: data refer to the number of full-time and part-time employees on employment rolls of manufacturing local units on the last working day of the month. They include those on all forms of leave whether with or without pay, as well as those laid off or on strike, even if absent from work and without pay for the whole of the month. The data include wage and salary earners, and working proprietors. Apprentices, trainees and family workers are regarded as wage or salary earners, depending on the function they perform. Unpaid family workers are included only if they usually work at least one-third of normal hours in the reporting local unit.

Breakdown available Data are published in the national source by industry.

Run of data available Employees, Hours of Work and Wages are available from 1977.

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(b) Hours of work: data refer to the total number of hours actually worked in the month by wageearners in the mining and manufacturing indus-

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Particular exclusions

tries. They include supplementary hours but exclude hours paid for but not worked such as bank holidays and vacations.

Employees: the self employed and home workers are excluded.

Wage earners are officially defined as workers having the obligation to adhere to the social insurance scheme for wage earners. In practice, they correspond to employees directly engaged in production and related operations, including foremen, warehouse keepers, delivery staff and cleaners.

Hours of work: the self employed, home workers and salary earners are excluded from the statistics. Hours paid for exclude the hours that were worked but were compensated only in the form of time off; rest days granted within the scope of reduced working hours; meal breaks; and unpaid inactive periods of time spent outside the workplace.

(c) Wages and salary payments to employees (as described in (a) above comprise total remuneration paid to all employees during the month under review, including the cash equivalent of benefits in kind. They cover basic wages and salaries, overtime pay and all supplements, whether regularly recurring or not, except those representing compensation for expenses incurred by the workers (e.g. for dirty work and transport).

Wages: payments taken into account exclude labour costs other than wages and salaries. Examples are employers’ social insurance contributions and the cost to employers of amenities such as canteens and sport equipment provided to employees.

STANDARDS

Payments for normal hours not worked because of sick leave, public holidays or any other reason are included. Retrospective payments following backdated wage settlements are recorded in the month when they are paid rather than the months when they were earned.

Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry: from 1995: WZ 93 (NACE Rev. 1); 1970-1994: SYPRO 1976; prior to 1970: IB; Goods Classification: from 1995: GP 95: prior to 1995: SYPRO and GP89 respectively.

Wages and salaries are measured on a gross basis before any deductions are made, e.g. for employees’ social insurance contributions.

DATA COLLECTION

(d) The Unit labour cost index measures the monthly changes in the total amount of wage and salary payments per unit of output in the mining, quarrying and manufacturing industries. The measure of output used in the calculation is the index of industrial production and the measures of wages and salaries are as described under (c). Only seasonally adjusted data are published.

Reporting units The local unit.

Reporting method A monthly postal survey of establishments.

Survey details

Coverage

Description of questionnaire

Reference period

An establishment breakdown is provided for employment. Monthly returns show the number of wage earners and number of salary earners, including working proprietors, on employment rolls on the last working day of the month.

Employees: last working day of each month, Hours of work , Wages, Unit labour cost: the whole month. Geographical coverage

Monthly returns show the number of hours actually worked by wage earners during the entire month. Hours statistics are classified on a principal activity basis.

Germany from 1991 and Germany before reunification prior to 1991. Statistical population

Survey description

Enterprises employing more than twenty persons.

The entire panel comprises local units in the industry sector and handicraft enterprises in manufacturing with 20 or more employees.

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Non-response rate

adjusted for trading days, both working days and variable paid holidays, and seasonally adjusted using the Central Bank’s variant of the X-11 US Bureau of the Census Method. Data are adjusted for trading days because the number of working days has an upward effect on production and wages whilst an increase in the number of paid holidays has an upward effect on wages relative to production.

Reporting is compulsory. The final response rate is very high. Rather than penalising non-respondents, responsible authorities try to demonstrate the usefulness of co-operation.

DATA MANIPULATION 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.

Missing returns are replaced by the latest reported figures.

There is a break in the series at 1970 due to the introduction of the industrial classification SYPRO 1976, and again between December 1994 and January 1995 when the European classification NACE Rev.1 (WZ 93), and the goods (GP95) classifications (for the industrial production component of Unit labour cost) were adopted. Data refer to Germany from 1991; and Germany before re-unification prior to 1991.

Other manipulations

Revision policy

Unit labour cost: the raw index of industrial production in mining and manufacturing is divided by the index of wage and salary payments. This index is then

Monthly figures of a given year are recalculated in April through June of the following year taking late returns into account.

Seasonal and other adjustment Employment figures are seasonally adjusted by the OECD.

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GERMANY

Labour - Employment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

(a) Part-time (economic reasons)

Labour - Unemployment (b) Registered unemployed (c) Rate

Labour - Other (d) Unfilled vacancies

Vacancies are published in the national source by:

SOURCE

- administrative area;

Source agencies

- full-time/part-time.

The Federal Labour Office (Bundesanstalt für Arbeit FLO) is responsible for statistical collection, processing and publishing the raw information. Seasonally adjusted data are published by the Central Bank.

Run of data available 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 Unemployment rate series are published in Deutsche Bundesbank, Saisonbereinigte Wirtschaftszahlen.

Unit of measurement

Series title in national publications

Unemployment rate: percentage;

(a)

Kurzarbeiter;

Unfilled vacancies: number of jobs.

(b)

Arbeitslose insgesamt;

(c)

Arbeitslosenquote bezogen auf alle zivilen Erwerbspersonen;

(d)

Eckwerte des Arbeitsmarkstatistik in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Gemeldete offene Stellen.

Unemployment, Part-time (economic reasons): number of persons;

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition (a) Data refer to the number of employees working part-time for economic reasons. These are persons whose normal working-time is reduced by more than 10% and who are receiving “Kurzarbeit” (short-time work) benefits.

Breakdown available Unemployment data are published in the national source by: -

(b) The data refer to Unemployed jobseekers. A jobseeker according to the statistics of the Labour market refers to a person resident in Germany, who has registered at the employment office through an employment agency for work or work at home of more than seven calendar days in the country or abroad and who is able and entitled to perform the work sought. Among job-seekers a distinction is

gender; administrative area; occupation; economic activity; type of application (e.g., disability, seeking part-time work, etc.).

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made between the unemployed and the nonunemployed jobseekers.

various sources including statistics of employees covered by social insurance.

The unemployed are job-seekers aged less than 65 years who have no employment contract or only a short-term contract, who are not attending full-time education or participating in job training schemes, who are not unfit for work, nor in receipt of a retirement or disability pension and are immediately available for employment. The unemployed must have registered in person at the appropriate employment office.

(d) Data refer to vacancies notified to the public employment offices for work of a duration of more than seven calendar days and remaining unfilled at the end of each month.

Coverage Reference period Unemployment, Rate, Unfilled vacancies: end of the month.

The unemployed include persons seeking permanent work as employees for a duration of more than seven calendar days with 18 or more hours per week, who are not working or are working less than 18 hours per week. Also included are persons seeking temporary work but only if the period sought is more than three months

Part-time (economic reasons): mid-month. Geographical coverage Germany from September 1990, and Germany before re-unification prior to this date.

Persons seeking part-time work because of real or legal commitments and who are able to work for at least 18 hours per week are included. Work at home is also included in part-time work.

Classification coverage Statistical population Unemployed: persons from all branches of economic activity and occupational groups who are at least 15 years old and under 65 and are seeking work as employees.

Covered are first jobseekers who are leavers from education if available for work and not seeking only academic or industrial training; and reentrants to the labour force who are included from the date on which they register. Employable disabled persons not receiving invalidity benefits are included and persons in receipt of pensions other than retirement or disability pensions may be included. Persons participating in state assisted further training or retraining schemes on a part-time basis or through correspondence courses who were out of work prior to commencing and those who lost their jobs during such schemes are considered as unemployed.

Particular exclusions Unemployed: persons who have specified a desire for work in a given firm, for work at home only and persons on strike are excluded. Persons taking part in work creation schemes supported by the employment offices are not classified as unemployed but as nonunemployed persons seeking work. Vacancies exclude those jobs not notified to the employment offices. It is not compulsory for firms to notify the employment offices.

Recipients of and applicants for unemployment benefits are both considered as unemployed. Persons not eligible for unemployment benefits can also meet the requirements to be counted among the unemployed.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures

(c) The Unemployment rate published in MEI refers to total unemployment, as defined above, expressed as a percentage of the civilian labour force (dependant civilian labour force, self-employed, family workers). An alternative rate calculated and published by the Federal Labour Office but not published in MEI is the unemployed as a per cent of the dependent civilian labour force (employees subject to social insurance, civil servants, unemployed). Civilian labour force is derived from

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Industry: WZ93 from 1997 and WZ73 prior to this date. Occupation: Classification by Occupation (1988).

DATA COLLECTION Reporting method The basic data source for unemployment figures is administrative information from the registration of the

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unemployed at the employment offices and for shorttime workers data are collected from reports of firms.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Breaks in time series

At the end of each period, those vacancies remaining unfilled are aggregated from local office records. Vacancies are regularly checked to see whether they remain vacant.

There is a break in the series at September 1990 as data prior to this date refer to Germany before reunification.

Revision policy

DATA MANIPULATION

Before each monthly count the situation of applicants on the register is checked to ensure that all those included are still unemployed.

Seasonal and other adjustment Data are seasonally adjusted by the Central Bank using data compiled by the Federal Labour Office.

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GERMANY

Wages

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Hourly rates: manufacturing

level, adults or juveniles, and sometimes a specific region.

SOURCE Source agency

Wage earners are defined as those workers covered by the social insurance scheme for wage earners. In practice, they correspond to employees directly engaged in production and related operations including foremen, warehouse keepers, delivery staff and cleaners. Adult wage earners is taken to mean wage earners on adult rates of pay. These rates are paid from the age of 21 years in most industries.

Data are compiled from printed copies of collective agreements forwarded to the Federal Statistical Office by the contracting parties.

Key national publication sources Data are available in FLO, Löhne und Gehälter, Fachserie 16: Reihe 4.3 - Index des Tariflöhne und Gehälter and also on Statis-bund.

Data are available in the national source by industry.

Wage rates are minimum cash entitlements of adult full-time workers for one hour of normal work. In addition to basic wages, they include the “investment bonus” if it is laid down in the agreement and provided it is regularly paid each month. All other wage supplements and benefits in kind are excluded. Wage rates are expressed on a gross basis before any deductions are made, e.g. for income tax or social insurance contributions.

Run of data available

Coverage

Series title in national publications Index der tariflichen Stundenlöhne in der gewerblichen Wirtschaft und bei Gebietskoerperschaften 1985 = 100 - Verarbeitendes Gewerbe.

Breakdown available

Reference period

Data are available from 1950.

The wage rates and hours used for a quarter’s index are those effective at the end of the first month of the quarter from 1964; previously they related to the end of the mid-quarter month. Geographical coverage

Periodicity Data are compiled on a quarterly basis.

Unit of measurement Index (1985=100) (1991=100 is in preparation).

Data refer to Germany before re-unification.

Classification coverage

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition

Statistical population

The index measures the quarterly changes in the minimum gross pay rates prescribed in collective bargaining agreements for adult wage earners paid at time rate in the manufacturing industries. The index is also available for the following industries, however, they are not included in MEI: mining, quarrying, energy supply, construction, commerce, banking, insurance and public services.

Manufacturing industries.

As a rule, wage and salary earners are covered by different agreements. In those of wage earners, a scale of pay rates applies to a group of occupations or a skill

Standard classifications / nomenclatures

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Particular exclusions Apprentices and home workers are not covered by the statistics. Piece rates and decisions taken at enterprise level are not taken into account.

STANDARDS

WZ 1993 is used for the most recent period, WZ 1961 from 1974 and Systematische Verzeichnis der Arbe-

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itsstätten (1950) prior to 1974. The collective bargaining pattern does not coincide with Germany’s industrial classification. A correspondence key allows each agreement to be assigned to the appropriate industry or industries.

try). Each index expresses the hourly wage rate effective at the end of the period under review as a percentage of the average hourly wage rates in the base year. Hourly wage rates are either found as such in the collective agreements or obtained by dividing normal weekly hours into weekly wage rates. They represent estimates of total minimum entitlements of all employed wage earners for one hour of normal work in the base year.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting method Data are collected from a sample of collective agreements between trade unions and employers’ associations. The information provided comprises normal weekly hours of work and hourly or, in a few exceptional cases, weekly wage rates. They are usually concluded for “collective agreement areas” which may be a part of a State, a whole State or several States.

If an agreement applies to more than one industry, the elementary indices compiled from the rates therein are used with different weights in the calculation of indices for the different industries. As a result of the change in sampling procedures, the number of weights in the whole system of wage rate indices is approximately 11 000.

Wage rates are regulated by collective agreements in all industries of some importance. While collective bargaining is generally conducted for individual industrial sectors, the resulting agreements may contain wage scales applicable in more than one industry.

Weights are products of average hourly wage rates in the base year and corresponding employment in the industry for which an index is being calculated. Thus, for compiling the different weights given to the same elementary index in different industries, the same wage rate is multiplied by different employment figures.

Survey details Survey description

Average hourly wage rates are derived from rates effective at the end of the four reference months of the base year. Employment figures are drawn from the latest ‘Gehalts- und Lohnstrukturerhebung’ preceding the base year. This is a large-scale survey of wage and salary structure taken at intervals of a varying number of years. The information it provides includes, for each industry, a wage scale and gender breakdown of the numbers of workers covered by collective agreements.

When selecting the sample of collective agreements, priority is given to the more important in terms of number of workers concerned so that the sample would have a satisfactory employment coverage in every industry. The current sample was set up in 1980. From the existing 3 000 agreements, 400 were selected in order to meet the target coverage then fixed at 75% of employment in each industry. Some typically handicraft trades have their own agreements and the latter are represented in the sample.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS

All of the wage scales contained in selected agreements are taken into account since 1980. Previously, the scales applying to the highest and the lowest skill levels were chosen, together with a few others having large employment coverage.

Breaks in time series A new sample was introduced in 1980. There are also breaks in the series due to the introduction of the new industrial classifications (WZ 1961) from 1979 and WZ 1993 from 1995.

A scale point, i.e. a wage rate, is selected from each of the above-mentioned wage scales. This is the one corresponding to adults and, if rates are not uniform throughout the collective agreement area (part of a State, a whole State, or several States), to the region where the rates are highest.

Revision policy When collective bargaining extends over a long period and wage advances are paid, pending a final agreement, these advances are not recorded. But when an agreement with retrospective effect is reached, the indices for periods affected by wage rate changes are revised.

DATA MANIPULATION Aggregations /Grossing up 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-

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GREECE

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Payroll Survey of Establishments

(a) Manufacturing

Labour - Other (b) Weekly hours of work

Wages (c) Hourly earnings

Hours of work, Earnings are available on a quarterly basis.

SOURCE 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 converted to index (1990=100).

Data are available in NSSG, Monthly Statistical Bulletin.

Series title in national publications

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

(a)

Definition

(b) (c)

Employment index of salaried employees and wage earners in manufacturing; Hours of weekly work paid for (workers) in manufacturing; Hourly payments to workers in manufacturing.

(a) Employment data refer to both manual and nonmanual employees. Included are workers on probation, temporary, casual and seasonal workers, persons absent from work because of vacation, strike, sickness, etc. Excluded are working proprietors and directors, apprentices and trainees, part-time workers, piece workers, commission agents, home workers, persons sub-contracted from other companies or firms, unpaid workers and workers temporarily absent from work because of unpaid vacation or lay-off. (b) Hours of work: data refer to hours paid for being the hours worked during normal periods of work, paid overtime, time spent at the place of work for preparation of the workplace, repairs, maintenance, preparation and cleaning of tools, etc. They also include time spent at place of work waiting or standing by for reasons such as breakdown of machinery, lack of supply of materials or clients, bad weather or time spent at place of work during which no work is done but for which payment is made under a guaranteed employment contract, time corresponding to short rest periods at the

Breakdown available Hours of work, Earnings are published in the national source by: -

industry; size of establishment; manual/non-manual workers; region; gender.

Run of data available The survey has been conducted since third quarter 1961.

Periodicity Employment is available on a monthly basis.

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workplace including tea or coffee breaks, meal breaks and study or training periods. They also include hours paid for but not worked such as vacation and public holidays. Excluded are hours not worked because of sickness or accident, occupational injury, maternity leave, parental or personal leave, military or related service, civic duties, study leave, professional training, lay-off or short time working, strikes and lockouts and disciplinary suspension, time spent on travel from home to and from work, and time devoted to trade union or employers’ organisation activities. (c) Earnings: data relate to gross earnings which cover the total remuneration in cash paid directly and regularly to the employee each pay period, before deductions for taxes, social security contributions and fines payable by employees. Gross earnings also include commissions for sales, incentive pay, cost of living and family allowances, remuneration for time not worked such as vacation, public holidays, other time off with pay and bonuses and gratuities paid regularly. They refer to payments relating to the reference period. The earnings data exclude house rent and transport allowances, irregularly paid bonuses and gratuities and earnings in kind.

International comparability The definitions of Earnings and Hours generally conform to the international recommendations.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units Establishments, which are defined as: a location in which one or more persons, being under single control, are permanently engaged in the production, repairing or assembling of goods, or in auxiliary activities other than the main ones.

Reporting method Data are collected by mail using questionnaires sent out each month and followed up by telephone or a visit from an enumerator. Each month data are collected for one-third of the sample: Monthly employment figures are derived from the monthly sub-sample while Hours and Earnings are calculated from the results of the total sample.

Survey details Description of questionnaire The questionnaire is designed for self-completion by the establishment and instructions for each type of data to be reported are provided with it. Data are collected separately for manual and non-manual employees and by sex on the following: reference period: number of paid employees: total remuneration paid to employees (regular payments, overtime pay, premiums for special work); working time paid for (workdays paid, normal hours worked, overtime hours paid for); and number of days worked.

Coverage Reference period Employment figures refer to the week including the 18th of each month. Hours of work, Earnings are averages of figures referring to the week including the 18th of each month in the quarter.

Master list

Geographical coverage

The Register of Establishments based on the results of the Industrial Censuses. This register is updated regularly using information from various sources.

The whole country. Statistical population Establishments in the manufacturing and handicraft industries with more than 10 employees.

Survey description The survey sample is probabilistic. The frame is stratified by region, establishment size and industry groups. Samples are drawn from four size bands below 100 employees, and all establishments with 100 or more employees are included. Establishments are 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

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry: ISIC 1968.

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the grossing up factor defined in the previous paragraph.

one month of the reference quarter. The survey results are not published if there are fewer than three establishments in a branch of economic activity.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS

Non-response rate No adjustments are made for non-response.

Breaks in time series

DATA MANIPULATION

Major revisions over the last 20 years which have implications for breaks in the series have included the following:

Aggregations / Grossing up

- use of updated establishment registers, compiled on the basis of the most recent Industrial Censuses;

Grossing up method Hours of work, Earnings: for each establishment, data are first converted to the same time period (a month for non-manual workers and a week for manual workers) using an adjustment factor derived from information on the number of working days in the period, by type of worker, and the relevant number of working days for that particular establishment. These data are then added over each industry group and size stratum. This total is multiplied by a grossing up factor equal to the total number of establishments in the industry group and size stratum, and the corresponding number of establishments in the sample.

- changes in the sample design to enable classification of data by region and to obtain the closest correspondence possible to the NACE; - extension of coverage where mines and quarries were added in 1977 and electricity, gas and water in 1989; - modified contents of the questionnaire aimed at more analytical information; - from 1977, division of the sample into three sub-samples with data being collected for one month of the quarter for each third. Prior to 1977, the data referred to the central month of the quarter.

Employment: the total number of persons employed is estimated by adding the sample data for each category (manual and non-manual workers), industry group and stratum size and multiplying the total by

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GREECE

Labour - Unemployment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Registered unemployed

tering with the offices of OAED. The work sought may be permanent or temporary, part-time or fulltime (no minimum duration is set). Also included are first jobseekers and re-entrants to the workforce; some employable disabled persons and persons in receipt of benefits other than retirement pensions, provided they have been registered at employment offices. Responsibility for the loss of their last job does not prevent persons from being included in the unemployment count (although payment of unemployment benefit may be affected).

SOURCE Source agencies The figures are based on data collected and compiled by the Labour Force Employment Organisation (OAED). They are then transmitted to the OECD by the National Statistical Service of Greece.

Key national publication sources Data are available in NSSG, Monthly Statistical Bulletin. 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 education, training or job creation courses. Registrants who fail to report to employment offices once a month without good reason are deleted from the register and from the unemployment statistics one month later.

Series title in national publications Index of unemployed (Monthly statistical bulletin); Persons registered at employment offices (Eurostat publication).

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; - region.

Geographical coverage The whole country.

Run of data available

Statistical population

The series started in December 1957.

All categories of unemployed persons aged 15 and over of Greek or foreign nationality, whether they are members of unemployment benefit schemes or not.

Periodicity Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Unit of measurement

DATA COLLECTION

Raw figures referring to the number of persons are converted to an index (1964=100) for publication in the national source.

Reporting units Data are collected at the 110 registration offices throughout the whole country.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

DATA MANIPULATION

Definition

Seasonal and other adjustments

Data refer to persons without work, who are capable of work and are seeking work as employees by regis-

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Data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD.

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In 1985, new legislation dealing with registered unemployment resulted in new motives for registration and a corresponding heavy increase in the number of registered unemployed.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Breaks in time series In 1976 the period allowed for the renewal of registration was changed from six months to one month.

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ICELAND

Labour - Unemployment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Rate (registered unemployed)

be registered at the public unemployment agencies of the Labour Department. Registration at the agencies is a prerequisite for unemployment compensation, however, not all unemployed persons make use of this right. Other persons not previously in employment such as housewives seeking employment may not register as unemployed. Persons may also be registered without being available for work. The estimates for labour force figures are derived from data on the number of working weeks supplied by the tax authorities. The labour force data are expressed in man-years, which is equivalent to the number of people working full-time for 52 weeks of the year.

SOURCE Source agencies Registered unemployment data are compiled by the Labour Office of the Ministry of Social Affairs. The labour force data for calculating the rate are estimated by the National Economic Institute (NEI).

Key national publication sources Data are available in Central Bank of Iceland, Economic Statistics and in National Economic Institute, Employment Overview.

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 the whole month and for labour force data it is the whole year.

Registered unemployment is available in the national source by: -

duration; gender; age; region.

Geographical coverage The whole country.

Methodological references

DATA COLLECTION

Methodological notes are published in Statistics Iceland, Labour Market Statistics.

Reporting method The numerator in the unemployment rate is based on registration information held at Labour Offices. The estimates of man-years used in the denominator are derived from data on the number of working weeks supplied by the tax authorities (estimates for the most recent year are made by NEI). The number of working weeks of employees are counted in selected firms. The total wage outlay for these firms represents more than 70% of all wage outlays. The number of working weeks for the remaining employees are estimated by taking into account average wages by economic sector. The number of working weeks of ownaccount workers is estimated from monthly tax returns.

Run of data available Data are available from 1968.

Periodicity Data are compiled on monthly basis.

Unit of measurement Percentage.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition Registered unemployed as a per cent of the labour force. To be counted as unemployed a person has to

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DATA MANIPULATION

Other manipulations

Seasonal and other adjustment

The average number of persons unemployed is calculated by dividing the number of registered unemployment days by the average number of weekdays each month.

Data are seasonally adjusted by OECD.

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ICELAND

Labour - Unemployment

Indicators from the Labour Force Survey (LFS)

Rate

employment and satisfied at least one of the following criteria: have been seeking work during the previous four weeks and are able to start working within two weeks; have already found a job which begins later; are on temporary lay-off; or have given up seeking work but can start working within two weeks of finding a job. To determine whether a person has been seeking work, 11 methods are listed of which two are passive and for each enumerated method the respondent is asked whether he or she has used that method. No distinction is made between active and passive methods of job search.

SOURCE Source agency Statistics Iceland is responsible for the Labour Force Survey.

Key national publication sources Data are available in Statistics Iceland, Labour Market Statistics.

Series title in national publications 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 the LFS and equals the unemployed plus the employed. According to the LFS the employed comprises all persons who worked one hour or more in the reference week, or were temporarily absent from their work during that week. Persons on parental leave are considered attached to their previous job and therefore are counted among the employed. Also included in the employed are unpaid family workers.

Breakdown available Unemployment is published in the national source by: -

gender; place of residence; educational level; length of job search; age; type of job sought; method of job search.

Coverage

Methodological references

Reference period

Methodological notes are published in Statistics Iceland, Labour Market Statistics.

One week prior to the survey, usually the first or second week of the interview month. As each survey is conducted over a 10 to 11 day period, the reference week is moved forward after the seventh day for the remaining respondents.

Run of data available The first survey was held in April 1991.

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 in Iceland at the time of the survey.

Percentage.

Particular exclusions

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

All persons who reside abroad for more than six months are ineligible for inclusion in the sampling frame.

Definition In the LFS, unemployed persons are defined as those who, during the reference week, did not have gainful

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Survey description

STANDARDS

The sample is a rotating panel sample of around 4 400 individuals selected by random methods without replacement from the sampling frame (certain categories of student are excluded). The sample is divided into four rotation groups of approximately 1 100 individuals each of which participates in four successive surveys. Sample units are replaced after four years have elapsed since their first inclusion.

Standard classifications / nomenclatures Economic activity: NACE Rev. 1; Occupation: ISCO 1988; Education: ISCED.

International comparability The definition of unemployment follows the ILO guidelines.

Non response rate The non-response rate varies up to around 10 per cent, with more males than females in this category. To counter the effects of non-response the weighting process is adjusted accordingly.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units 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 comprise: coverage errors; non-response errors; and measurement errors by interviewers. Statistics Iceland corrects for these errors. Coverage errors occur when persons go abroad for more than 6 months without registering their foreign address. Nonresponse errors are corrected by weighting by sex and age-group information from the NR. In November 1992, computer aided telephone interviewing, (Blaise) was introduced. This has helped reduced measurement errors.

The questionnaire is based on comparable questions in the Nordic countries and has been developed for comparability with Eurostat sources. Categories include: main activity; employment status; length of service; education; hours of work, etc. Master list National Register (NR) of all Icelandic and foreign citizens.

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ICELAND

Wages

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Hourly earnings

SOURCE

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Source agencies

Definition

Data are compiled by the Institute of Labour Market Research (ILMR). In January 1996, ILMR and Statistics Iceland signed an agreement to establish a new Survey on Earnings and Labour Costs (SELC).

Earnings data cover basic wages and salaries paid for normal daytime working hours including premium pay and bonuses (pay for dangerous or dirty work, bonuses for regular attendance, etc., performance bonuses for either individual or collective output). Also covered are paid sick-leave and vacation, reimbursement for travel, uniforms, tools supplied by the worker, etc. To calculate hourly earnings, total earnings are divided by the number of regular working hours.

Key national publication sources Data are published in the newsletter from the committee responsible for examining wage issues, Frettabref Kjararannsóknarnefndar, in Statistics Iceland, Landshagir (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. They are the total number of paid hours of work and form the basis for calculating basic wages and salaries. (Overtime hours are also recorded in the survey but not covered by the index in MEI).

Series title in national publications Greitt timakaup

Breakdown available Data are published in the national source by: - occupation; - gender; - daytime workers bonuses; - capital/rural area.

Basic wages and salaries record the basic remuneration for normal daytime hours. Basic remuneration is defined as basic payments for normal daytime hours during one pay period, without any additional payments.

excluding/including

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.

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Earnings data exclude lump-sum payments and nonregular performance-related premiums.

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DATA COLLECTION

Survey details

Reporting method

Description of questionnaire

Analysis of wages of members of the Icelandic Labour Federation. The index is a weighted average of non-clerical skilled workers and unskilled male and female workers in the proportions 26.76%, 46.48% and 26.76 % respectively.

The questionnaire asks for personal details (ID, gender, data of birth, union membership, length of service, occupation), and details of the enterprise (ID, industry) plus details on wages and hours.

DATA MANIPULATION STANDARDS

Aggregations / Grossing up

Standard classifications / nomenclatures Weights for aggregation

Industry: ISIC;

The data are weighted by sectors using weights derived from information from the Directorate of Internal Revenue.

Occupations: Statistics Iceland’s own occupation classification.

Other information

DATA COLLECTION

The Institute of Labour Market Research is now in the process of reviewing methods and sampling techniques in collaboration with the Public Employees’ Wage Research Board and Statistics Iceland. In preparing 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.

Reporting method The data are collected from company payrolls, most of which are obtained electronically.

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IRELAND

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Survey of Employment, Earnings and Hours (SEEH) and other sources

(a) Manufacturing: employees

Labour - Other (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 (CSO).

Unit of measurement (a)

Key national publication sources Data are available in the CSO publications, Statistical Bulletin, Statistical Release: Industrial Employment, and in Industrial Earnings and Hours Worked.

(b)

Employment: number of jobs occupied by employees; Hours: number of hours;

(c)

Earnings: index (1990=100).

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Series title in national publications (a) (b) (c)

Definition

Employment in manufacturing industries; Average hours worked per week - all industrial workers in manufacturing; Average hourly earnings - all industrial workers in manufacturing.

(a) Employment covers persons engaged in establishments in the manufacturing industry with three or more persons employed and is derived from a combination of sources including the annual Census of Industrial Production and the quarterly sample inquiry SEEH, supplemented with employment figures for other establishments responding to the monthly industrial inquiry. (b) Hours of work relate to aggregate hours worked in the reference week by each of four industrial worker categories (men, women, youths and girls). Hours worked by industrial workers include hours actually worked during normal periods of work, normal working hours of employees on holiday or sick leave with pay, paid overtime, time corresponding to short rest periods at the workplace, including tea or coffee breaks, time spent at the workplace for preparation, repairs and maintenance, etc., or waiting or standing by, and periods of time spent at the workplace during which no work is done but for which payment is made under a guaranteed employment contract.

Breakdown available Employment, Hours and Earnings data are published in the national source by: - industry; - gender; - category of worker.

Methodological references Methodological information is published in CSO, Industrial Employment, Earnings and Hours Worked: Updated Quarterly Series 1980-86.

Run of data available The SEEH survey was introduced in March 1950.

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The majority of industrial establishments are individual factories, workshops, quarries, etc., involved in a single industrial activity. Two or more distinct industrial activities conducted by an enterprise to any significant extent at one location are each distinguished as separate establishments.

(c) Earnings refer to total gross earnings paid to the four industrial worker categories (men, women, youths and girls) in the different pay periods (i.e., weekly, fortnightly and monthly) covering the reference week, before deduction of income tax and any other employees’ contributions. Gross earnings include overtime payments, service pay, shiftwork and other allowances, commissions, production and regular bonuses. They exclude irregular bonuses, back-pay, redundancy payments as well as the value of payments in kind.

Reporting method Employment information for every industrial establishment known to be operating in the relevant reference week is used in compiling these estimates. The information is comprised of:

Coverage

- a full breakdown of employment from completed quarterly inquiry (SEEH) questionnaires. - total employment of respondent establishments in the monthly industrial inquiry or from special annual supplementary inquiries.

Reference period Employment and Hours of work: a specific week in the middle of March, June, September and December. Earnings: the same specific week as that for employment 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 non-respondents and in some cases telephone contact and personal visits by field staff.

Geographical coverage The whole country. Classification coverage

Survey details

Manufacturing category of NACE (14, 22, 24-26, 3137, 41-49).

Description of questionnaire The questionnaire of the SEEH is designed for selfcompletion by a representative of the establishment. It consists of a single page form accompanied by instructions on definitions, inclusions and exclusions. Establishments are asked to provide details of: total persons engaged by category of worker; aggregate earnings paid to each of eight categories of employees according to pay periods; and aggregate hours worked (hours paid for) in the reference week for each of the four industrial worker categories, described under item ‘Definition’ and for clerical and managerial workers (the latter two categories are not covered by the indicator in MEI). The last section of the questionnaire is devoted to explanations of major changes in employment and earnings since the previous quarter.

Statistical population Employment: manufacturing establishments with three or more employees. Hours, Earnings: manufacturing establishments with 10 or more employees. Particular exclusions Persons engaged in other business activities conducted by the enterprise at the same location (e.g., wholesaling of products not manufactured by the firm) and any own-account workers employed on a contract or fee basis are excluded.

STANDARDS

Master list

Standard classifications / nomenclatures

The Register of Industrial Establishments which is updated on a continuous basis and includes information on all industrial firms with three or more persons employed.

Industry: NACE Rev 1. DATA COLLECTION Reporting units

Survey description

The industrial establishment is defined as a specific industrial activity conducted at a particular location.

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The SEEH survey is a sample survey which comprises a representative selection of establishments

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categories in each cell. These ratios are combined for broader groupings using as weights the estimated total annual earnings (or hours worked) of all corresponding employees in the basic cell in the four quarters ending the preceding September. The long-term index is derived by linking these annual sets of quarterly ratios at each successive September. The index for all industrial workers is derived using as weights the corresponding total earnings (hours) for establishments with 10 or more persons engaged using the latest Census of Industrial Establishment results.

with ten or more persons engaged in each three-digit NACE sector within the scope of the survey. Every effort is made to achieve full coverage of establishments with 100 or more persons engaged. Approximately 2 300 postal questionnaires are dispatched each quarter. These consist of about 1 000 regular respondents; 800 establishments which respond periodically; and 500 establishments (mainly new firms) which are usually canvassed to respond for a number of quarters and then eliminated if they fail to cooperate. Each quarter estimates of earnings and hours are based on full details provided by approximately 1 300 respondents who account for around 70 per cent of total industrial employment. The employment survey consists of a complete enumeration of industrial establishments with three or more persons engaged, through a combination of different sources: a completed quarterly inquiry (SEEH) questionnaire for respondent sample establishments with ten or more persons engaged; total employment for other establishments obtained either from establishments with 20 or more persons engaged covered by the Monthly Industrial Inquiry, or from special supplementary sources (usually annually).

Seasonal and other adjustments Employment estimates from the Industrial Inquiry are adjusted for seasonal variation using the multiplicative form of the X-11 variant of the US Bureau of the Census Method II - Seasonal Adjustment Program.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Breaks in time series Hours, Earnings: since 1975 the quarterly inquiry (SEEH) has been undertaken as an independent inquiry when the short-term industrial production inquiry was converted to a monthly survey. Prior to March 1985 the estimates of earnings and hours related to firms with three or more employees.

Non-response rate Employment: imputed employment estimates for non-respondent establishments are made based on trends in employment for respondents to the quarterly inquiry of a similar size and activity.

Preliminary estimates Provisional figures are published 4 months after the end of the reference quarter. Final figures are published 7 months after the end of the quarter.

Hours, Earnings: approximately 30 per cent of establishments covered by the SEEH fail to respond. The estimates for a non-respondent establishment are compiled by updating the preceding quarter’s averages using the corresponding change shown by respondent establishments in the same NACE sector x Size cell. In the case of incomplete quarterly returns, the full details are imputed on the basis of the last complete return from the same establishment.

Revision policy Advance notice of major changes in methodology is given in the previous quarter's release. Revisions are identified in the regular quarterly release as they occur, as are minor changes in methodology. In particular, the quarterly employment estimates are updated when the results of the annual Census of Industrial Establishments become available. There are no revisions made to the hours and earnings data.

DATA MANIPULATION 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 formula based on a matched respondent sample.

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

Establishments in each size x NACE group which responded in both the current and preceding September are identified. The ratio of average earnings (or hours) in the current quarter over the proceeding September is calculated for each of the employee

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IRELAND

Labour - Employment

Indicators from administrative sources and the Labour Force Survey (LFS)

(a) Part-time (economic reasons)

Labour - Unemployment (b) Registered unemployed (c) Rate (d) Short-term

Labour Force Survey data are published in the national source by:

SOURCE Source agencies

-

Registered unemployment figures described in this section are compiled from the ‘Live Register’ (count of registered unemployed) by the Department of Social Welfare and processed for publication by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The CSO is also responsible for the unemployment rate which also 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 Survey.

Unemployment figures are available in the CSO publications, Live Register Statement, and on diskette;

A description of the methodology for calculating the unemployment rate is published in Live Register Statement.

Series title in national publications (a)

(b) (c) (d)

Persons working on systematic short-time basis registered at local employment offices excluded from the Live Register; Total persons on the Live Register.

Run of data available The Live Register Unemployment series started in January 1967.

Seasonally adjusted standardised unemployment rate. Persons on the Live Register classified by duration of continuous registration - under 3 months.

The Unemployment rate based on ILO guidelines was introduced in June 1992. The annual household LFS has been carried out since 1983.

Breakdown available

Periodicity

Live Register data are published in the national source by: -

Part-time (economic reasons), Registered unemployed, Unemployment rate: data are compiled on a monthly basis;

age; gender; duration of registration; occupation; flows on/off the register.

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industry; occupation; age; duration of job search; full-time/part-time); gender.

Short-term unemployment: data are compiled at the end of April and October.

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which time they would be included in the register if they become unemployed. Employable disabled persons may be included in the register under the same conditions as the able-bodied. Persons fulfilling the conditions for unemployment but who are also in receipt of pensions other than retirement pensions are included; those drawing a retirement pension before the normal retirement age and who have registered as seeking full-time work may be included up to age 65, although the incentive to register is small since they would not be eligible for unemployment benefit. Persons responsible for the loss of their last job or who leave their employment without just cause are disqualified from unemployment benefit for a set period but will be included in the Live Register if they sign on for credited social insurance contributions. Persons seeking an industrial training placement through the employment service are included if they are entitled to benefit. Persons on temporary or indefinite lay-off without pay are included. (c) Unemployment rate refers to the seasonally adjusted standardised unemployment rate (SUR) and is the number of persons unemployed expressed as a per cent of the total labour force (equal to unemployed plus the employed). The definitions of persons employed and unemployed used to calculate the SUR are in accordance with those recommended by ILO guidelines. The SUR for a particular month is the standardised unemployment level as a per cent of the labour force, the latter is estimated on the ILO basis from the most recent LFS ( carried out in April of each year). The standardised level of unemployment is calculated by multiplying the seasonally adjusted Live Register figure by the ratio of the number of persons unemployed on an ILO basis (as measured by the most recent Labour Force Survey) to the number of persons on the Live Register for the corresponding April. In the LFS, the unemployed are defined as all persons, who, during the week before the survey, were without work, currently available for work and had taken specific steps to find work in the preceding four weeks. The employed are defined in the LFS as all persons aged 15 years and over who indicate their usual situation with regard to employment as being at work.

Unit of measurement Part-time (economic reasons), Registered unemployed: number of persons; Unemployment rate: percentage; Short-term unemployment: original data in number of persons converted to an index (1990=100) by the OECD.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition (a) The data for Part-time (economic reasons) refers to those persons registered at local employment offices as working on a systematic short-time basis. The data refer to the count at the end of the reference month. (b) Registered unemployed. The Live Register comprises persons under 65 years of age who are registered at Local Offices of the Department of Social Welfare as without full-time work, capable of work and are available for full-time employment. There is no legal definition of full-time but it is generally taken to mean a working week of 40 hours. Part-time (working up to 3 days per week) seasonal and casual workers entitled to Unemployment Assistance (UA)/ Unemployment Benefit (UB) are included if they meet the statutory conditions. The Live Register comprises the following classes: −

All claimants for Unemployment Benefit, excluding systematic short-time workers.

−

Applicants for Unemployment Assistance, excluding small-holders and self-employed persons.

−

Other registrants including applicants for credited Social Welfare contributions but excluding those directly involved in an industrial dispute.

Re-entrants to the workforce may remain in the registered unemployed if they have paid or been credited with at least one contribution during the past two years. It is not necessary for them to be entitled to benefit, although many re-entrants may not bother to register because of the limitations on entitlements to benefits. Persons who have not paid contributions for more than two years must work at least for the required 26 weeks in insurable employment to re-qualify for benefit, at

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(d) Short-term unemployment measures those persons on the Live Register who have been unemployed

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for a continuous duration of less than three months.

International comparability The official unemployment rate figure (SUR) corresponds with ILO definitions.

Coverage 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 administrative data.

Unemployment by duration is available at the end of April and October.

Unemployment/total labour force according to ILO definitions are collected from a household sample survey by face-to-face interviews.

Geographical coverage The whole country.

Survey details

Statistical population

This section describes the Labour Force Survey.

Live Register: All applicants for unemployment benefit, unemployment assistance or persons registering with local employment offices for reasons of entitlement to social security in the age range 16-64.

Description of questionnaire The questionnaire is designed for completion by the interviewer and is divided into two parts. Part A is asked of all respondents and additionally Part B covers questions on private households only. Section A has the following sub-sections: emigration; details of individuals (sex, date of birth, nationality, etc.); employment status (usual situation with regard to employment, nature of business, injury, illness and disability over the past 12 months); details of principal job held (hours, shifts, night working, etc.); details of any second jobs held (occupation, hours, etc.); and details of those currently looking for work (type of work sought, duration of search, methods, etc.). Finally all respondents are asked about their highest level of education attained, education or training received during the previous four weeks and if so, details of its duration. Part B of the questionnaire is for private households only and enquires about the type of accommodation and related issues (e.g., number of rooms, rent, etc.).

The Labour Force Survey covers the usually resident population, aged 15 years and over, of all private and non-private households, in the State including the armed forces. Particular exclusions Excluded from Live Register data are the following categories of persons: young persons seeking an industrial training placement; state retirement or old age pensioners; persons taking part in state-assisted training or job creation measures; and persons on strike may or may not be included depending on the circumstances.

STANDARDS Standard systems / framework 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 primary strata as follows: county boroughs; suburbs of county boroughs; mixed urban/rural areas bordering on the suburbs of county boroughs; towns and their environs with population of 5 000 or over; mixed urban/rural areas bordering on the environs of larger towns; towns and their environs with population of 1 000 to 5 000; mixed urban/rural areas; and 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,

(2) ILO recommended basis.

Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry: national industrial classification as used in the 1991 Census of population; Occupation: national occupational classification as used in the 1991 Census of Population.

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with the smaller clusters constituting the PSUs. A total of 171 sub-strata are selected. For private households a systematic sample is selected in each PSU from an up-to-date list of private households compiled by interviewers. The sampling interval varies from 1 in 12 to 1 in 5, depending on the number of private households currently in the interviewer’s area. There were approximately 47 000 private household addresses interviewed in the 1995 survey. For non-private households, a sample of institutions with 15 or fewer residents is surveyed in each selected PSU, with all large institutions (i.e., those with more than 15 residents) included. A total of 275 non-private households were included in the 1995 sample.

DATA QUALITY AND TIMELINESS Breaks in time series Commencing in May 1992, the coverage of the Live Register was modified:

Non-response rate Response rates are consistently high with a figure of 96 per cent in 1995. There is no action taken in the event of non-responding households.

The category “Systematic Short-time Workers” which was already excluded was extended to include persons on week-on/weekoff working arrangement, who worked for 50 per cent or more of their normal working days in the previous four-week period.

−

In addition to UA small-holders who were already excluded, other self-employed persons who were in receipt of UA were also removed from the count.

Corroborating data Following concern over the growing gap between the unemployment rates derived from claimant records and from the Labour Force Survey, a special analysis was carried out by the CSO in 1996 to determine the characteristics of this discrepancy. This revealed that almost 44 per cent of the sample of persons on the Live Register did not describe their status as unemployed in the LFS (using the principal economic status classification). This proportion rose to 50 per cent according to the ILO classification which involves a detailed sequence of questions to establish employment status. Of this group, significant proportions indicated that they had full-time jobs (some of which were regarded as permanent), or were working part-time or not strictly economically active (and neither looking for or wanting work). The analysis also found that there were some people who were unemployed according to the LFS definition but were not on the Live Register. Overall the results confirmed that the only reliable source of unemployment date is the LFS.

DATA MANIPULATION Aggregations/Grossing up Grossing up method The samples of private and non-private households are separately grossed to the level of population. For private households, the first stage grossing factor is the inverse of the sampling fraction in each PSU adjusted for non-response etc. The second stage factor is the ratio of the total private household population in the stratum to the private household population in the selected PSU’s in the stratum as returned in the 1991 Census of Population. Small institutions are grossed in a way similar to that for private households. The grossing factor for large institutions is the ratio of the usually resident population to the number interviewed. At a second stage the grossing factor is the ratio of the institutional population in the planning region to that in the selected PSUs in the Planning region using the 1991 census figures. Finally, population totals are constrained within each planning region by age and sex to agree to independent population estimates.

Timeliness Preliminary summary estimates from the LFS based on the national PES status classification, and distinguishing broad sectoral details of persons at work are published within six months of the reference period (in October) and the final detailed results are issued the following April.

Seasonal and other adjustments The additive option of the X-11 variant of the US Bureau of the Census Method II is used. It is applied in January and July of each year.

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−

The Labour Force Survey will be conducted on a quarterly basis from June 1997 onwards, using computer assisted interviewing technology which will allow the detailed results to be published within three months of the end of the quarter.

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CSO at the end of each month. In addition, a schedule of precise release dates for those statistics that are to be published by the CSO during the following week is issued each Thursday by fax.

Release dates A quarter-ahead advance release calendar showing release dates on a "no later than" basis is issued by the

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IRELAND

Labour - Other

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Labour disputes - time lost

The statistics include the following types of strikes and lockouts: constitutional or official strikes; unofficial strikes; sympathetic strikes; political or protest strikes; general strikes; work stoppages initiated by employers; rotating or revolving strikes; and sit-ins where production is lost.

SOURCE Source agency Data are compiled by the Central Statistics Office.

Key national publication sources

The basic unit of measurement used to record a strike or lockout is the case of dispute. The resumption of a strike or lockout that is interrupted but later resumes, still due to the same case of dispute, is considered to be the same strike or lockout regardless of the time lapse. All work stoppages resulting from a single case of dispute, occurring in different establishments of the same enterprise or in establishments of different enterprises, whether simultaneously or at different times, are counted as only one strike or lockout.

Data are available in the CSO publications Irish Statistical Bulletin (March or June issues). and in Statistical Release: Industrial Disputes.

Series title in national publications Industrial Disputes: disputes in progress during the quarter, total days lost.

Breakdown available The following classifications are available in the national source: -

Coverage Reference period

cause of dispute; industry; economic units involved; workers involved; duration of dispute (workdays lost).

Quarterly data refer to disputes beginning in the quarter plus those continuing from the previous quarter. Geographical coverage

Run of data available

The whole country.

Data are available on the MEI database from 1992.

Statistical population All industries in the public and private sectors.

Periodicity Data are compiled on a quarterly basis.

Particular exclusions

Time not worked in working days.

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

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

STANDARDS

Definition

International comparability

An industrial dispute is defined as a temporary stoppage of work willfully effected by a group of workers or by one or more employers with a view to enforcing a demand.

The definition of industrial dispute used is taken directly from the ILO recommendations.

Unit of measurement

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DATA COLLECTION

DATA MANIPULATION

Reporting method

Other manipulations

The CSO obtains information from the Monitoring Unit of the Department of Enterprise and Employment, Local Employment Offices of the Department of Social Welfare and from direct enquiries to employers following newspaper or other media reports. There is no legal obligation on employers or trade unions to report the occurrence of a dispute.

In calculating days lost it is assumed that work would have continued if no dispute had occurred. No allowance is made for loss of work from unemployment or other causes (such as bad weather) which might have occurred even if there had been no dispute. Thus days lost are calculated by multiplying the number of 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.

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ITALY

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Labour Force Survey (LFS)

(a) Total employment * (b) Industry including construction

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 (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica - ISTAT).

Periodicity Data are compiled on a quarterly basis.

Key national publication sources Unit of measurement

Data are available in ISTAT, Bollettino Mensile di Statistica, 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 (a) (b) (c) (d)

Unemployment, Employment in industry: persons;

Occupati totale; Occupati dichiarati, industria; Persone in cerca di occupazione, totale; Persone in cerca di occupazione % forze di lavoro.

number of

Unemployment rate: percentage.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Breakdown available

Definition

Employment figures are published in the national source by:

(a) The Employed comprise all persons aged 15 and over who, during the reference week, stated that they were in employment, even if they were temporarily absent from work due to illness or accident, vacation or annual leave, strike or labour dispute, economic recession or any other reason. Also included are persons who have stated that they were not employed, but had performed at least one hour of work during the reference week. Also considered as employed are the following categories: persons who have been laid off; full and part-time workers seeking other work during the reference week; persons who performed some work for pay or profit during the reference week while being retired and receiving a pension or being registered as jobseekers at an employment office or receiving unemployment benefits; full or part-time students working full or part-time; paid or unpaid apprentices and trainees; participants in employment promotion schemes; paid and unpaid family workers; private domestic servants; members of producer co-operatives; ca-

-

industry; employment status; level of education/qualification; gender; age; in addition

Unemployment figures are published by: - level of education/qualification; - gender; - duration; - age.

Methodological references The implementation of new methodologies is reported in the annual publication ISTAT, Collana d'informazione - Labour Force Survey.

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reer military personnel and volunteer members of the armed forces. (b) Employment in industry covers persons employed in the mining, manufacturing, electricity, gas and water, and construction industries. (c) Unemployment covers the following categories: −

−

−

−

Statistical population The population aged 15 and over living in ordinary households and normally residing in Italy, including professional members of the armed forces. Particular exclusions Excluded from the household survey are persons who have temporarily migrated abroad, permanent members of institutions and conscripted members of the armed forces. Excluded from the economically active are the following: persons engaged in their own housework; and persons doing unpaid community or social work.

persons aged 15 and over who have lost their jobs due to redundancy, termination of fixedterm contract or dismissal, have not worked during the reference week and have stated explicitly that they were seeking paid employment and were immediately (i.e., within 15 days) available for work; or that they had already found paid work which was to commence at a date later than the survey date; or that they had made arrangements to engage in a non-wage earning independent activity (own-account workers) which was to commence at a later date than that of the survey;

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry: NACE.

DATA COLLECTION

persons seeking their first job and who have never been in paid employment or selfemployed, or who have voluntarily stopped working for a period longer than one year and currently satisfy one of the above conditions for being counted as unemployed;

Reporting units Households identified from the results of the most recent population census which is updated on a regular basis.

Reporting method

other persons seeking employment, such as housewives, students, retired persons, etc., who claim to be actively seeking work and are immediately available for work. Also included are persons who have lost their job for reasons other than redundancy, termination of fixed-term contract or dismissal.

Information is collected during the week following the reference week through personal interviews with household members.

Survey details Description of questionnaire

also included are full or part-time students seeking full or part-time work and seasonal workers awaiting seasonal work.

The questionnaire is designed for completion by the interviewer. In January 1984, a new survey questionnaire was introduced which complies with the EU labour force survey requirements in terms of structure, etc.

In all cases the reference period used for job search is 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 labour force. Labour force comprises the unemployed plus the employed.

Municipal population register. Survey description The sample is drawn in two stages: Primary sampling units (PSUs) are the municipalities and secondary sampling units are registered households.

Coverage Reference period

In the first stage, a sample of approximately 1 400 municipalities is selected based on a population of 8 000 municipalities in Italy. A population threshold is set for each province. All municipalities with a population above the threshold are selected. Below the threshold,

One week which is usually the first holiday-free week of the survey months of January, April, July and October. Geographical coverage The whole country.

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two municipalities from each stratum are chosen with a probability proportional to the size of population.

Breaks in time series The survey methodology and the concepts used underwent major modifications in 1977. In January 1984, a new questionnaire was adopted. Since July 1986, the survey questionnaire has included a question on the registration of unemployed persons with a public employment agency. The statistical definition of persons seeking employment was modified to exclude from the category of the unemployed such persons as those having claimed to be seeking employment but who had not taken concrete steps to find a job. Prior to April 1986, these persons would have been classified as among persons seeking employment. In July 1990, the basic sample was restructured to cover 73 000 families living in 1 327 municipalities. In 1991, the method of weighting sample data was revised. From October 1992, the survey methodology was revised and the questions redefined according to international standards: a new definition of unemployment was adopted to include only those who were actively looking for a job within the 30 days preceding the survey and who were available for work. Questions were introduced to determine the ‘attitude’ of the respondent concerning his/her job search. In addition, the lower age limit of the labour force was raised from 14 to 15 years. Also in October 1992 new coefficients were applied to gross up the population figures, by sex and age, taking account of the results of the 1991 census of population. These coefficients were applied back to 1991.

At the second stage, within each selected municipality, households are selected by systematic sampling from the municipal register. The sampling fraction varies from municipality to municipality in order to make the sample self-weighting within each geographic region. 75 516 households are selected in all. The PSUs are not rotated. However, a municipality which, after a number of surveys can no longer provide a new sample of households, is replaced. Rotation of households follows a 2-2-2 rotation plan. Households are interviewed in two consecutive quarters then are interviewed again in the same two quarters a year later. Non-response rate Adjustments are made in the weighting process to take account of non-responding households. Households that could not be interviewed owing to absence or refusal are replaced by other households of similar composition and location.

Data manipulation Aggregations/Grossing up Grossing up method The sample results are extrapolated stratum by stratum and separately by age and sex, to the entire resident population (excluding permanent members of institutions). The resident population at the survey date is calculated beforehand by extrapolation from the most recent data available to ISTAT, using the municipal registers.

Revision policy The data are usually final when released and are not revised but after a major methodological revision, such as the one carried out in 1992, time series are revised and published.

Seasonal and other adjustments

Corroborating data

Data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD.

DATA QUALITY

The analysis of linkages and cross-checks with other employment data feed into the compilation of national accounts estimates.

Sampling errors and their corrections

Timeliness

Sampling errors are published in all relevant ISTAT publications for the main indicators presented.

Data are available twelve weeks after the reference week for the survey.

Other errors and their corrections

Release dates

Quality controls are conducted on a regular basis. For each survey, statistics on non-sampling errors and the various checks carried out are documented.

At the end of each year, ISTAT issues a calendar of release dates for the forthcoming year.

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ITALY

Labour - Other

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Labour disputes - time lost

more employers which, during the reference month, led to a temporary work stoppage of any duration.

SOURCE Source agency

Coverage

Data are compiled by ISTAT.

Reference period

Key national publication sources

The monthly data refer to disputes beginning during the month plus those continuing from the previous month.

Data are available in the annual publication ISTAT, Lavoro e Retribuzioni; and in ISTAT, Bollettino 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 included.

Breakdown available The following classifications are available in the national source: -

Particular exclusions Not included are those indirectly affected by the dispute such as workers laid off. Also excluded are those absent on the day of the stoppage for reasons other than a strike. Working to rule and overtime bans are not included in the statistics.

cause of dispute; industry; number of workers involved; number of strikes; 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 or lockout is the case of dispute. A strike or lockout interrupted but later resumed, still due to the same case of dispute, is counted as a continuation of the same action but only if the interruption does not exceed a period of one year. Work stoppages resulting from the same case of dispute, occurring simultaneously in different establishments of the same enterprise or in establishments of different enterprises, are also counted as one strike or lockout. Those occurring at different times in different establishments of the same enterprise or in establishments of different enterprises, still due to the same case of dispute, are also counted as one strike or lockout.

Periodicity Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Unit of measurement Working hours lost.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition Data refer to workhours lost in industrial disputes (strikes and lockouts). These are defined as a dispute between one or more groups of workers and one or

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Time not worked is measured in terms of workhours and is the product of the number of workers involved and the duration. The shorter working hours of parttime workers are taken into account but overtime is not taken into account.

DATA QUALITY

Reporting method

Release dates

Information on stoppages is collected by the police at 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.

Data are available 70 days after the reference month.

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Other errors and their corrections Not all stoppages will come to the attention of the local police.

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ITALY

Wages

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Hourly rates

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 work year as stipulated by collective labour agreements. It is calculated by dividing the index of yearly wages agreed per employee by the index of contractual hours worked over the year. The index presented in MEI refers to the wage rate for wage earners in industry (including construction). Contractual wages in industry cover in addition to the basic wage, regular bonuses and premium pay established in the national collective such as long service payments, other monthly or annual supplements, and additional months pay (13th month). Excluded are incentive premiums, premiums for working conditions and those normally payable by the enterprise or establishment. The index is calculated on a monthly basis. All non-monthly payments are distributed equally over all months of the year. Changes due to new contracts are taken into account only when, for the private sector, ISTAT has received a copy of the agreement and, for the public sector, new terms of agreement appear in the Official Gazette.

Key national publication sources Data are available in ISTAT, Bollettino Mensile di Statistica and via the Internet.

Series title in national publications Numeri indici delle retribuzioni orarie contrattuali, industria, operai.

Breakdown available Hourly rates are available in the national source by: - employment status (skilled, manual, and nonmanual employees); - industry.

Methodological references A methodological description is published in Bollettino Mensile di Statistica. An overview of the methodology is published annually in ISTAT, Lavoro e retribuzioni. Detailed information 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 sub-sections of the NACE Rev. 1.

Index (base year 1995=100).

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lent figure in the base period. Aggregation to higher level (type of worker, division and sector of activity) uses the Laspeyres formula with weights equal to the relevant total wage bill for the relevant category.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry uses the national classification by economic activity (ISTAT/91).

DATA QUALITY DATA COLLECTION

Breaks in time series

Reporting method

A new national base year was introduced in 1991 which took account of the wage and employment structure pertaining to 1980. Concerning employment, the new index also takes account of the new classification by economic activity (ISTAT/91) and by employment status. In addition only full-time workers are covered; this was not the case previously.

Data are taken from national labour agreements and, for the agricultural and construction sectors, from the relevant provincial labour agreements. Data on actual earnings are collected for large enterprises in industry (those employing 500 or more persons) by means of the monthly Surveys of Large Enterprises of Services and Industry.

Timeliness Data are usually available within one month of the reference month.

DATA MANIPULATION Aggregations /Grossing up

Release dates

Aggregation method

At the end of each year, ISTAT issues a calendar of release dates for the forthcoming year.

Elementary indices are calculated by dividing the absolute figure of the reference period by the equiva-

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LUXEMBOURG

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Monthly Statistics on Industrial Activity

(a) Industry: employees

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 Statistique et des Etudes Economiques - STATEC).

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition

Key national publication sources

Methodological information can be found in Annuaire Statistique and Bulletin du STATEC No 2-96.

(a) Industry: employees. The data cover wage earners and salaried employees. Wage earners are defined as manual workers with an employment contract either paid by the hour, a piece-rate, or a daily rate. Wage earners paid on a monthly basis are also included. Excluded from this category are overseers. Salaried employees include overseers, technicians, managers and members of personnel. (b) Data refer to the total number of Hours worked during the reference month by wage earners and apprentices. They include hours paid, less hours paid but not worked for reasons such as sickness, maternity, vacation etc. They cover normal working hours, overtime, Sunday work and night work etc. (c) Data refer to Monthly earnings (before deductions for taxes, social security contributions, etc.) of all employees in industry. Earnings comprise regular pay as well as overtime and irregular payments such as cash payments, (for vacations, removals), various allowances (housing, cost of living, family ), bonuses, value of share issues, other premiums, and payments for time not worked (e.g. paid holidays, sick leave, etc.).

Run of data available

Coverage

Data are available in the following STATEC publications: Indicateurs rapides - Série B, Annuaire statistique, and Note de conjoncture.

Series title in national publications (a) Ensemble de l’industrie : nombre de salariés; (b) Ensemble de l’industrie : volume de travail presté (heures-ouvriers travaillées); (c) Ensemble de l’industrie : salaires et traitements.

Breakdown available Employment data are regularly classified in the national source by : - industry; - employee category.

Methodological references

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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Classification coverage

Survey details

Sections C+D+E of the economic activity classification NACE. Rev. 1.

Description of questionnaire The questionnaire is in three parts. The first section requests information on production. Information on the numbers of wage earners, apprentices and salaried workers, is reported in the second section, together with details on earnings and hours worked. The third part deals with turnover and orders.

Particular exclusions Excluded from Employee figures are unpaid family workers and home workers. Excluded from earnings are reimbursement of travel expenses, purchase of tools, and protective clothing.

Master list STATEC’s Register of Enterprises.

STANDARDS 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. At the first stage, elementary indices are calculated for the elementary headings of NACE, by summing absolute figures for each enterprise within these headings. Aggregate indices are then calculated for higher levels of industry using the Laspeyres formula with weights equal to value added in the base year.

Reporting units Establishments.

Reporting method Sample survey of 1 976 establishments. The sample accounts for around 90% of total value added in industry.

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LUXEMBOURG

Labour - Employment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Iron and steel: wage earners

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 Indicateurs rapides - Série C, STATEC.

Data refer to all wage earners in the iron and steel industry.

The MEI series which refers to wage earners only is not published in the national source.

Coverage Reference period

Run of data available

End of the month.

Data have been compiled since 1940.

Geographical coverage

Periodicity

Data refer to the concept of domestic employment, i.e. persons working within the territory of the grand Duchy, whether resident or not.

Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

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LUXEMBOURG

Labour - Unemployment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

(a) Registered unemployed

Labour - Other (b) Unfilled vacancies

SOURCE

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Source agencies

Definition

The Labour Administration (Administration de l’Emploi - ADEM) is responsible for collecting the data, which are then transmitted to STATEC for publication.

(a) To be counted as Unemployed an individual must be a resident of Luxembourg without work and seeking work of at least 20 hours per week through the Labour Administration and immediately available for such work. Registration as a jobseeker at the Labour Administration is voluntary but is a prerequisite for receipt of unemployment benefit. To remain registered a jobseeker must report regularly to the employment office of the Labour Administration, with different rules for those receiving and not receiving benefit. (b) Information relates to those Vacancies notified to the employment offices of the Labour Administration and remaining unfilled at end of each month. The declaration of job vacancies to the Employment Offices is obligatory.

Key national publication sources Unemployment figures are available in STATEC publications, Note de la Conjoncture and Indicateurs rapides - Série L.

Series title in national publications (a) Demandes d’emploi non satisfaites; (b) Offres d’emploi non satisfaites.

Breakdown available Unemployment figures are regularly published in the national source by:

Coverage

- gender; - age.

Reference period End of the month.

In addition to the series described here, the number of vacancies notified during the month are published in the national source.

Geographical coverage The whole of Luxembourg.

Run of data available

Statistical population All unemployed persons in the age range 16-64 who reside in Luxembourg and who are registered as unemployed.

Unemployment: data are available from 1972; Vacancies: data are available from 1960.

Particular exclusions

Periodicity

Registered unemployed: the following groups are deleted from the register and are therefore excluded from the count:

Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Unit of measurement

- jobseekers temporarily unable to work, for more than one month; because of leave, illness, etc.

Unemployment: number of persons; Vacancies: number of jobs.

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-

(Recipients of unemployment benefit who become unable to work remain on the register as jobseekers); participants in job creation measures organised by official organisations; unemployed persons who refuse to fulfill register maintenance requirements; unemployed persons with any temporary activity; jobseekers who commit fraud or make false statements.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting method Monthly count of records at the employment offices of the Labour Administration.

DATA MANIPULATION Seasonal and other adjustments Data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD.

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NETHERLANDS

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Labour Accounts

(a) Total (b) Industry including construction (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, Sociaaleconomische Maandstatistiek.

Unit of measurement Number of jobs of employees.

Series title in national publication (a) Banen van werknemers; (b) Banen van werknemers: banen in industrie en bouwnijverheid; (c) Banen van werknemers: commerciële dienstverlening; (d) Banen van werknemers - deeltijd.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition (a) Total employment: data refer to the total number of jobs of employees in the economy. They are derived from the Labour Accounts which use a combination of sources, including the labour force and establishment surveys. (b) Industry: employees. Data refer to employees as defined under (a) in the mining, manufacturing, electricity, gas and water, and construction industries, corresponding to divisions C, D, E and F of the national industrial activity classification SBI 93. (c) Employees in market services. Data refer to employees as defined under (a) in the distributive trades, transport and communication, financial services, and other services industries, corresponding to divisions G through K of the national industrial activity classification SBI 93. (d) Part-time employment: data refer to employees who do not work for a full day or week but who have a fixed number of working hours. They exclude persons working for temporary employment agencies or as temporary replacements or who are available on stand-by.

Breakdown available The Labour Accounts give an overall view of the labour market. Related figures are : - labour volume in man-years; - labour volume in hours worked. Jobs of employees are available in the national source by: - industry; - gender; - part-time/full-time.

Methodological references Explanatory notes are given in Sociaal-economische Maandstatistiek. For a more complete methodological description see Statistics Netherlands, Labour Accounts 1989-1992, or Leunis W P and Altena J W (1996) Labour Accounts in the Netherlands 1987-1993: How to Cope with Fragmented Macro Data in Official Statistics, (International Statistical Review, Vol. 64:1, pp 122). MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS OECD ©

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The next section describes the Household Labour Force Survey

Coverage Reference period

Reporting units

Data are quarterly averages.

Persons living in households.

Geographical coverage The whole country.

Reporting method Interviews are carried out by a permanent team of trained personnel who enter responses directly into portable computers which are later fed into the computer network of Statistics Netherlands. All households in the sample receive an introductory letter inviting them to agree to an interview at a certain time and date. Interviews are largely uniformly distributed over any month.

Statistical population All employees.

STANDARDS Standard systems / framework The Labour Accounts process is essentially a way of overcoming the inconsistencies in sources of information on ostensibly the same indicator (such as employment) but derived from different sources (i.e., establishment surveys, household surveys or administrative data). The accounting process attempts to reconcile the methodological, definitional and other differences from the alternative sources through harmonisation leading to the achievement of full coverage and the minimisation of measurement errors.

Survey details Description of questionnaire Questions relate to (among others) employment and unemployment status, age, sex, occupation, education and economic activity. Master list List of addresses provided by the Post Office.

Standard classifications / nomenclatures

Survey description

Industry: the national economic activity classification SBI 93 which is close to NACE 1993.

The sampling frame consists of a complete list of addresses 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 based on a stratified multistage design with a monthly sampling fraction of 1 in 617, i.e. a 2 per cent sample on a yearly basis. Interviews are largely uniformly distributed over any month. The sample size is 12 000 addresses per month, except for July and August when the size is reduced to 6 000. Municipalities are selected in a first stage and assembled into 80 strata. About 200 municipalities with more than 18 000 inhabitants are permanent primary sampling units. A sample of the remaining municipalities is selected within the strata with a probability proportional to their size and the sample is subsequently retained for one or more consecutive months.

DATA COLLECTION The Labour Accounts are based on a combination of different sources: - Household Labour Force Survey; - Establishment surveys; - Administrative sources; Employment statistics are compiled using data from the different surveys and administrative records by means of statistical integration in which different stages are distinguished: - Harmonisation: this consists of correcting for differences in definition and classifications; - Extension to full coverage; - Minimisation of measurement errors: a systematic search for errors is carried out by comparing data from different sources; - Balancing: relatively small adjustments are made to the data to eliminate remaining discrepancies;

The second stage involves the systematic selection of addresses in the municipalities selected from the first stage. A minimum cluster of 12 addresses is chosen from a municipality. Each address has an indication of the number of delivery points (usually each delivery point corresponds to a single household). Because households living at the same address are expected to resemble each other, there is a possibility of over-

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Annual Survey on Employment and Earnings (ASEE); questions relate to jobs of employees, full-time/parttime, sex, age and economic activity. In the Quarterly Survey on Employment and Total Earnings (QSTE) information is collected on jobs of employees and economic activity.

sampling. Consequently, when a single delivery is indicated, only half the households (and not more than three) are interviewed in order to reduce the cluster effect. Non-response rate The non-response rate was on average around 40 per cent in 1987, mostly due to refusal or absence from home of the respondent. Missing values are imputed in batch, the replacement values being selected within strata with a probability proportional to the size of the response classes. The size of the response class is based on the distribution of the known results for the variables to be imputed.

Master list The General Business Register, which is a comprehensive register of all firms and institutions in the Netherlands. Survey description In the annual survey around 65 000 companies and institutions are approached. The survey is exhaustive for establishments with 100 or more employees and for companies employing less than 100 employees a sample is taken. The QSTE interviews around 28 000 companies and institutions per quarter.

DATA MANIPULATION Other manipulations Post-stratification of the LFS results is applied in order to fit the sample distributions of sex, age and marital status to the corresponding population distributions. The weighting is carried out in two stages with each using different cross-classifications of population characteristics. In the first stage all cases are cross-classified by nationality (i.e., Dutch and foreigners), sex, age and region. The estimates from the first stage provide the input for the second stage. Here all cases are crossclassified in two ways using the same variables of sex, marital status, age and region. The two crossclassifications are based on a different collapsing of the regional classification and the three remaining variables. The final weights are determined by iterative proportional fitting of the two distributions used in the second stage.

Non-response rate The non-response rate is around 15 per cent.

DATA QUALITY Sampling errors and their corrections The computerised entry of responses and the built-in checks it offers is thought to reduce the likelihood of errors.

Other errors and their corrections Both sampling and non-sampling errors may occur, but are minimised by way of statistical integration.

Revision policy

The next section describes the Establishment survey

Data in the press release are provisional. Final data are published three years later.

Reporting units Timeliness

The establishment reports on the number of jobs.

Data are normally available approximately five months after the end of the reference period, but this is expected to be reduced to three months pending the benefits from electronic data interchange techniques.

Reporting method Mailed questionnaire.

Survey details

Release dates

Description of questionnaire

A release calendar is published semi-annually. The actual date of release is announced on the last business day of the prior week.

Until 1991, the primary source for estimating the number of jobs was the Statistics of Employed Persons Survey (SEP). Since 1991, this has been combined with the

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NETHERLANDS

Wages

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Hourly rates: manufacturing

ten years) about the collective agreements used and the distribution over the workforce groups. From this information estimates are made for every relevant collective agreement showing the distribution of workers for the salary structure and points of highest density are selected to develop a partial wage index. The resulting partial indices are weighted together to obtain Laspeyres wage indices for aggregates of economic activity. The current series uses 8 100 salary points laid down in 354 collective agreements out of a total of over 900 agreements.

SOURCE Source agency Data are compiled by Statistics Netherlands.

Key national publication sources Data are available in Statistics Netherlands, Sociaaleconomische Maandstatistiek.

Series title in national publication Cao-lonen per uur: industrie.

Coverage

Breakdown available

Reference period

Wage data are available in the national source by:

The whole month.

- industry; - adults/juveniles.

Geographical coverage

Methodological references

The whole country.

Explanatory notes are given in Sociaal-economische Maandstatistiek.

Statistical population Manufacturing industry covered by collective agreements normally involving at least 500 employees.

Run of data available Data are available since 1990.

STANDARDS

Periodicity

Standard classifications / nomenclatures

Data are available on a monthly basis.

Industry: SBI 93.

Unit of measurement

DATA COLLECTION

Index (1990=100).

Reporting method

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Administrative data on collective agreements.

Definition

DATA QUALITY

Data refer to the basic wage rates of all employees according to collective agreements in the manufacturing industry and include holiday allowances and other bonuses. The indices are derived from statistical units which are a selection of well-defined points in the salary scheme (representing a contractual wage level for a certain group of occupations, combined with indications for seniority, age or skill). The selection of these points is determined by surveying establishments (once every

Breaks in time series The industrial classification SBI 93 was introduced in 1990.

Revision policy The sample is revised every ten years.

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NETHERLANDS

Labour - Unemployment

Indicators from administrative sources and the Labour Force Survey

(a) Total (b) Rate

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 is collected by the Public Employment Offices (PEO).

Unit of measurement (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 Beroepsbevolking;

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition

Registered unemployment figures are published in Statistics Netherlands, Sociaal-Economische Maandstatistiek.

For a methodological description see Statistics Netherlands, Labour Force Survey 1994. Explanatory notes are also given in Sociaal-Economische Maandstatistiek.

(a) The Unemployed include persons registered at the PEO, who do not have a job or are working fewer than 12 hours per week, are actively looking for work, and are currently available for work (i.e. within two weeks). Included are persons without a job, are currently available for work who and who have accepted a job to start on a date subsequent to the day of the interview. Provided they satisfy the basic definition for being unemployed, the following categories would also be included in the figures: full and part-time students seeking full or part-time work; unpaid apprentices and trainees and unpaid participants in employment promotion schemes; seasonal workers waiting for agricultural or other seasonal work; persons doing unpaid community or social work. (b) The Unemployment rate is calculated as the unemployed (described above) as a per cent of the total labour force. The total labour force is derived from the Labour Force Survey (see earlier section for description of this survey) and includes the armed forces. Total labour force is estimated at the start of the period and held constant throughout the current year.

Run of data available

Coverage

Series title in national publication Geregistreerde werkloosheid.

Breakdown available Unemployment figures based on registration with the PEO are available in the national source by: -

age; gender; educational level; region.

Data are also published in the national source on the number of persons claiming unemployment benefits (monthly).

Methodological references

Geographical coverage

Data are available from 1988.

The whole country.

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For details on the Labour Force Survey see earlier section under ‘LABOUR - Employment’

Classification coverage Statistical population Unemployment: persons aged 16-64 registered at the 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 per week.

DATA MANIPULATION Registration data from the PEO and the monthly labour force survey are combined by matching records at the micro level. Published figures for unemployment are three-month moving averages.

Labour force estimates used to calculate the rate cover all persons living in private households, including persons absent from the household for short periods because of their studies, holidays, illness, business trips, etc.

Seasonal and other adjustments 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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NETHERLANDS

Labour - Other

Indicators from the Quarterly Establishment Survey

Unfilled Vacancies

SOURCE

STANDARDS

Source agency

Standard classifications / nomenclatures

Data are compiled by Statistics Netherlands.

Industry: NACE; Occupation: ISCO-88; Education: SOI 95 (Dutch classification of education).

Key national publication sources Data are published in Statistics Netherlands, SociaalEconomische Maandstatistiek.

DATA COLLECTION 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 vacancies at the end of each quarter (a breakdown of vacancies by occupation and educational level is requested once a year). Information is also requested on new vacancies created during the reference quarter, and the number of vacancies filled during the reference quarter, however this information is not published in MEI. Survey description

Run of data available Quarterly figures are available from 1989, and annual figures for the years 1980 to 1988.

Unit of measurement Number of vacancies.

About 28 000 companies and institutions are contacted. The survey is full-scope for all establishments with 100 or more employees, and a sample structured by sector and by size of establishment is used for all those establishments with fewer than 100 employees.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition Data refer to vacancies remaining unfilled at the end of the reference period, identified in the quarterly survey of vacancies. The figures published in MEI exclude those vacancies in government and education.

Non-response rate The non-response rate is about 15%.

Coverage

DATA QUALITY Breaks in the series

Geographical coverage

Prior to Q4 1993, vacancies in social workshops, and agencies for temporary and contractual staff, as well as in government and education, are not counted.

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NORWAY

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Labour Force Sample Survey (LFS)

(a) Total employment * (b) Part-time (c) Manufacturing

Labour - Unemployment (d) Total (e) Rate (f) Short-term

Unemployment statistics are available in the national source by:

SOURCE Source agency

-

Data are compiled by Statistics Norway.

Key national publication sources Data are available in the weekly, monthly and annual publications of Statistics Norway, respectively Ukens Statistikk (weekly), Statistisk Månedshefte (monthly), and Arbeidsmarkedsstatistikk. The results of the LFS are also available on diskette.

gender; age; main activity; method of job search; duration of unemployment; weekly hours wanted; region.

Methodological references Comprehensive documentation on the LFS is published in Statistics Norway, Notater 93/27. Methodological information is also available in English in Arbeidsmarkedsstatistikk.

Series title in national publication (a) Sysselsatte; (b) Sysselsatte: deltid; (c) Sysselsatte etter naering: industri;

Run of data available

(d) Arbeidsledige; (e) Arbeidsledige i prosent av arbeidsstyrken; (f) Arbeidssøkere uten arbeidsinntekt etter søkings varighet: 1-4 uker.

The labour force survey started in the first quarter of 1972.

Periodicity The survey from which the indicators are derived is carried out on a monthly basis, however, published results refer to the quarter.

Breakdown available Employment statistics are available in the national source by:

Unit of measurement

-

industry; occupation; employment status; level of education/qualifications; hours worked; age; - gender; - marital status; - region.

Employment, Unemployment: number of persons; Unemployment rate: percentage; Short-term unemployment: raw data expressed as number of persons are converted to an index by OECD.

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month, except in July (third week) and in December (first week).

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition

Geographical coverage

(a) The Employed are all persons aged 16-74 who performed work for pay or profit for at least one hour during the reference week. Included are persons temporarily absent from work due to illness or injury, vacation or leave (annual, maternity/paternity, educational), absence without leave, labourmanagement dispute, bad weather, mechanical breakdown, etc., provided those persons normally have contractual working hours or are working regularly as self-employed or unpaid family workers. If the absence lasts more than 12 months, the person is classified as employed only if he or she still receives pay or salary. Also classified as employed are professional and conscripted armed forces, and persons engaged by government measures to promote employment provided they receive wages. (b) Part-time employment covers employed persons working between 1 and 36 hours per week. (c) Employment: manufacturing: data refer to persons employed (as defined above) in the manufacturing sector. (d) The Unemployed are persons aged 16-74 who were not employed during the reference week, but who had been trying to find work during the last four weeks and were available for work within two weeks. This definition includes persons on temporary lay-off with a formal job attachment, full or part-time students seeking full or part-time work, 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 persons who are still awaiting an answer from an employer after trying to find work for the last five to eight weeks and who are currently available for work. (e) The Unemployment rate is defined as the number of unemployed persons expressed as a per cent of the labour force. Labour force comprises the unemployed plus the employed. (f) The Short-term unemployed are those persons who have been seeking work for between one and four weeks.

The whole country. Statistical population All persons aged 16-74 years, residing in the country and including members of the armed forces. Particular exclusions Persons engaged in their own housework are excluded from employment as are those doing unpaid community or social work and seasonal workers awaiting agricultural or other seasonal work.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry: 1992 Norwegian SIC (comparable to ISIC); Occupation: 1965 Standard Classification of Occupations in Norwegian Statistics; Level of education/qualifications: 1973 Norwegian Standard Classification of Education (comparable to ISCED).

International comparability Concepts and definitions are in accordance with recommendations given by the ILO.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units Households.

Reporting method Data are collected by Statistics Norway’s permanent survey team mostly by telephone interview (95 per cent) and the remainder mostly by personal interview. The fieldwork is performed during the two weeks around the reference week.

Survey details

Coverage

Description of questionnaire

Reference period

The questionnaire used has remained basically unchanged since 1988 (when information on working hours, underemployment and second jobs were added).

The reference period is a fixed week in each of the months of the quarter, normally the second week of each

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Master list

DATA QUALITY

Central Population Register.

Sampling errors and their corrections Sampling errors for quarterly figures are calculated and published.

Survey description The sample is based on a two-staged design. Municipalities, which are the primary sampling units, are divided into 102 strata according to location, industrial structure and population size. Cities of more than 30 000 inhabitants form separate strata. One primary sampling unit is selected from each stratum.

Other errors and their corrections No control is made during the fieldwork but errors identified from the questionnaires are followed up. Manual 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 persons, is then randomly selected from this register. Overall sampling probability is equal for all households.

Breaks in time series The following changes are likely to have affected the series:

The sample is rotated so that half the sample is identical in two subsequent surveys and half of the sample is identical in surveys held in the same quarter in two subsequent years. Each household participates in the survey four times over a six-quarter period.

- In 1975 a new estimation procedure was introduced which gave somewhat higher estimates for the total population and the employed; - From the third quarter of 1976 a new questionnaire was introduced which led to higher estimates for family workers and employed persons temporarily absent from work;

Non-response rate Adjustment is made for non-response using a correction factor to ensure consistency between units in sub groups and table estimates and the figures derived from the Central Population Register. For the surveys conducted in 1994 and 1995 non-response varied from 5.0 % to 7.2 %.

- Up until the third quarter of 1978 persons who were sick, disabled, pensioned or retired and military conscripts were not asked whether they needed or wished to have paid work. Since then 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 employed. Also from that date all unpaid family workers who have worked for at least one hour during the reference week are also considered as employed;

Aggregations/Grossing up Grossing up method Sample data are grossed up to produce national estimates based on the principle that each person in the sample represents several other persons in the overall population. Grossing up factors for 109 groups are calculated by post-stratification based on information from the Central Population Register, the Register of Employees and the Tax Register. The 109 groups are defined by the following characteristics: sex, age groups, registered employed, industry, non-registered unemployed, non-registered employed.

- From the first quarter of 1987 changes were introduced in the estimation procedure to reduce the standard deviation. This resulted in reduced estimates of employment for the period 1980-86; - Since the second quarter of 1988 data are collected monthly. The surveys are based on one week each month of the quarter which leads to somewhat higher estimates for the employed than previously;

Seasonal and other adjustments

- A new questionnaire was also introduced in the second quarter of 1988. More information on respondents’ additional jobs was sought leading to higher estimates for working hours.

The data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD.

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- From first quarter 1996 the “availability for work criterion” in the definition of unemployment was changed from “during the reference week” to “with two weeks”.

Timeliness Results from the LFS are normally available approximately six weeks after the end of the reference quarter.

Revision policy

Release dates

Data are not routinely revised. Changes in methodology are announced in advance in Weekly Bulletin of Statistics.

Exact release dates for the coming four months are published in Weekly Bulletin of Statistics once a month and on the Statistics Norway Internet site.

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NORWAY

Labour - Unemployment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

(a) Registered unemployed

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 Statistics Norway.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition

Key national publication sources

(a) Unemployed persons are those who, during the last two whole weeks before the end of the month, were registered as applicants for work at the offices of the public employment service, were physically able and available for work, and did not have a job for pay or profit. Persons seeking part-time or temporary work (except students seeking work during vacations who are only classed as applicants for work), first-time job seekers and re-entrants to the labour force, retired persons, persons responsible for the loss of their job and early-age pensioners receiving income compensation, are included as unemployed. (b) Unfilled vacancies refer to those vacancies notified to the public employment services and remaining unfilled at the end of each month. (c) Data refer to employment measures provided by the government to promote employment. They cover: employment measures in government activities, supplementary wages, qualification measures and rehabilitation measures.

Data are published in Statistics Norway, Ukens Statistikk and Statistisk Månedshefte.

Series title in national publication (a) Registrerte helt arbeidsledige; (b) Ledige plasser; (c) Sysselsatte ved arbeidsmarkedstiltak.

Breakdown available Registered unemployment statistics are published in the national source by: -

gender; county and municipality of residence; age; occupation; duration.

Run of data available

Reference period

Registered unemployed, Unfilled vacancies: the series started in 1945.

Registered unemployed: last two weeks of each month; Unfilled vacancies: end of month.

Employment measures: data are available from 1988.

Geographical coverage The whole country.

Periodicity

Statistical population

Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

All persons aged 16 and over.

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Particular exclusions

DATA MANIPULATION

Registered unemployed: disabled persons, job seekers who are already working and persons on strike are excluded. Those not fulfilling the registration requirements also would be excluded.

Seasonal and other adjustments Data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD.

DATA QUALITY DATA COLLECTION

Timeliness

Reporting method

Data are available approximately six weeks after the reference quarter.

Regular monthly count of administrative data.

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NORWAY

Wages

Indicators from the Survey: Average Hourly Earnings in Manufacturing

Hourly earnings

SOURCE

Unit of measurement

Source agencies

Index (1990=100).

The Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (CNBI) is responsible for planning and conducting the survey and compiling the data, with methodological support from Statistics Norway.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition The data refer to the total remuneration of wage earners, before deductions for income or other taxes, social security contributions, etc. They include pay for normal time worked, premium pay for overtime and shift working, night or holiday work, earnings of piece workers, incentive pay and other regular bonuses, cost of living allowances, house rent, transport and family allowances, irregularly paid bonuses and gratuities, as well as the value of payments in kind. Excluded are payments for annual vacation, public holidays, sick leave and other paid leave. Data are collected separately for men and women.

Statistics Norway are in the process of compiling new quarterly wage statistics.

Key national publication sources Data are published in Statistics Norway, Statistisk Månedshefte.

Series title in national publication Gjennomsnittlig timefortjeneste for arbeidere i industribedrifter tilsluttet Naeringslivets Hovedorganisasjon: Voksne arbeidere I alt.

Coverage

Breakdown available

Reference period

The earnings information is available in the national source by:

The whole quarter.

- industry; - gender; - collective agreement.

Geographical coverage The whole country excluding Svalbard. Statistical population

Methodological references

Establishments of all types and sizes in the mining and quarrying, manufacturing, private construction and private land transport industries, affiliated to the CNBI.

The methodology is described in Lønns- og Fraværstatistikk, Kvartalsvis fra NHO, 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.

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Departures from international standards

DATA MANIPULATION

The concept of earnings used in the survey differs from the ILO guidelines in that it excludes remuneration for time not worked.

Other manipulations 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 worked figures are obtained from the Labour Force Survey.

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

DATA QUALITY

Reporting method

Quarterly data are first released by the CNBI in a quarterly booklet. Quarterly data are released by Statistics Norway in Monthly Bulletin of Statistics some time after the release by the CNBI.

Preliminary estimates

Full survey of all establishments affiliated to the CNBI. Data are collected by postal questionnaire with the results fully computerised.

Timeliness Survey details

Data are available approximately three months after the end of the reference quarter.

Description of questionnaire Survey data are coded directly on the survey questionnaire.

Release dates Release dates for the coming four months are published in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics.

Non-response rate About 10 per cent of all establishments surveyed fail to respond. No adjustments are made as a result.

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PORTUGAL

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Employment Survey (Inquérito ao Emprego)

(a) Total employment *

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 (Instituto Nacional de Estatística - INE).

Unit of measurement 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; (c) Taxa de desemprego.

(a) Total employment comprises all persons aged 14 and over who, during the reference week, worked for one hour or more as an employee, were self-employed or were temporarily absent from their present employment during the reference week whilst maintaining a formal job attachment. Persons laid off temporarily or for an indefinite period may be classified as employed if they retain a link with their former employment (e.g., continued receipt of salary, assurance of a return to work, etc.). Those not meeting these criteria would be classified as unemployed or as inactive according to the definitional requirements. Conscripts are excluded. (b) The unemployed are persons aged 14 years and over who during the reference week were without work, available for work within 15 days for a new job as employee or self-employed, and were seeking work (in the 30 days immediately preceding the interview). Available for employment means wanting to work and having previously held a job, or wanting a job paid at local rates, or wanting self employment provided the necessary materials and financial resources are available. Full-time and part-time students seeking full or part-time work are included as unemployed as are persons without a job and currently available for work but who have made arrangements to start a new job on a date subsequent to the reference period.

Breakdown available Employment data are published in the national source by: -

gender; age; industry; occupations; employment status; level of education/qualification.

Unemployment data are published in the national source by: - first job/new job; - age; - gender.

Run of data available The quarterly survey started in the second quarter of 1983. During the years 1972-82, a survey was carried out twice a year based on concepts and definitions used in the census.

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(c) The Unemployment rate is defined as the number of unemployed persons expressed as a per cent of the labour force. Labour force comprises the unemployed plus the employed.

Reporting method Data are collected in a household sample survey by direct interviews. Before the interviewer visits the household, a letter is sent to inform those interviewed of the purpose of the survey. The fieldwork takes place beginning in the months of January, April, July and October; the reference period is the week preceding the interview and the survey is carried out over a six-week period. The reference week therefore varies. Each interviewer has to cover approximately 195 dwelling units.

Coverage Reference period The week prior to the survey. Geographical coverage 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 country for at least three months or for less than three months but not occupying another permanent dwelling abroad.

The questionnaire is in two parts: one related to the family and the second to the individual. The section destined for the family covers questions on the type of housing, numbers of families in the dwelling and the number of family members. The section for individuals seeks information on a range of subjects including: employment, unemployment, hours of work, wages, employment in the informal sector, work in other EU countries, underemployment, reasons for second job, days absent from work, pensions, etc.

Particular exclusions The survey excludes persons living in collective dwellings who have no private dwelling such as inmates of relief establishments (e.g., hospices, asylums), the resident service staff of collective households, members of religious orders living under the same roof, and persons residing in mobile housing units (e.g., boats, caravans, etc.).

Master list The sampling frame comprises all dwellings compiled at the last general population census (i.e., 1991).

STANDARDS

Survey description

Standard classifications / nomenclatures

The survey uses a multi-stage area sample in which the probability of selection is proportional to size. Selection involves three stages as follows:

Industry: the national industrial classification CAE (Classificação das Actividades Económicas, rev 1973) which is compatible with ISIC 1963, for the years up to and including 1991, and CAE Rev 2 thereafter;

- Selection of primary units (communes): 500 first stage units are systematically selected from the universe on the basis of a sampling interval calculated from the number of primary units desired and the number of electors in the universe. The primary units of a size equal to or greater than the interval are selected automatically and may comprise several secondary units. The other primary units selected comprise only one secondary unit.

Occupations: the 1980 national classification of occupations up to and including 1991, and ISCO 1988 thereafter; Employment Status: ICSE.

International comparability Generally conforms to ILO recommendations.

DATA COLLECTION

- Selection of secondary units (statistical sections used in latest census): Here the objective is to obtain areas of an average size of 250 dwellings and selection is in the same way as for primary units (i.e., by calculating a new sampling interval based on the ratio between the number of

Reporting units Individuals and family units living in dwellings as identified in the decennial Census returns.

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electors and the number of dwellings in each primary unit).

DATA MANIPULATION Grossing up method

- Selection of tertiary units (dwellings): This is done in such a way that the sample is selfweighted (i.e., so that the product of the probability of selection at the three stages is equal to the sampling rate).

The results of the survey are grossed up to universe by weighting with total population data for the regions derived from INE. In this way the estimate for the universe of any given characteristic equals the number of individuals in the sample who display this characteristic, multiplied by the ratio of the population as a whole to the total population of the sample.

Three samples are made, for metropolitan Portugal, the Azores and Madeira. The sampling rates are 1 in 100 for metropolitan Portugal and 1 in 40 for the Azores and Madeira. This gives a numerical sample of approximately 16 000 dwellings quarterly in the metropolitan area and 1 000 in each of the autonomous regions giving a total sample size of 18 000 per quarter. The total yearly sample is around 36 000 dwellings.

Seasonal and other adjustments Data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD.

DATA QUALITY

The rotation plan allows for quarterly renewal of 25 per cent of the sample. In every two successive surveys 75 per cent of the sample is maintained. Every dwelling is visited at the most four times and the sample is entirely renewed after two years.

Other errors and their corrections Quality checks help ensure that the information received from the survey is reliable. Supervisors examine the questionnaires and re-interviews selected households. Further checks occur when the information is processed by computer.

Since 1991, although the sample design has remained the same, there are now 1 143 primary units with a total of 22 000 dwellings of which 19 000 in metropolitan Portugal. Sample rotation allows a quarterly renewal of 16%, or one-sixth of the sample.

Breaks in time series A new survey was launched in first quarter 1992 comprising methodological and conceptual changes in line with the EU labour Force Surveys. At the same time the computerised collection of information was introduced and the new classification CAE Rev 2. In addition, the lower age limit for inclusion in the labour force was raised from 12 years to 14.

All individuals residing in the dwelling are interviewed. Non-response rate The non-response rate was 10.5 per cent for the first quarter of 1996 (6.1% in first quarter 1989). Nonresponse 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.

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PORTUGAL

Labour - Unemployment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

(a) Registered unemployed

Labour -Other (b) Unfilled vacancies

SOURCE

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Source agencies

Definition

The Employment and Professional Training Institute (Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional) is responsible for the collection and compilation, and the Central Bank of Portugal (Banco de Portugal) for the transmission of data to OECD.

(a) Registered unemployed: persons registered at the employment offices who have no work, who are looking for salaried employment and who are available for work. (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 Estatística.

Reference period Data refer to the end of the month.

Series title in national publication

Geographical coverage

(a) Applications for employment by the unemployed; (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.

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PORTUGAL

Labour - Other

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Labour disputes: time lost

employer in order to exclude organised workers from those facilities.

SOURCE Source agencies

Coverage

The statistics are collected by the Ministério para Qualificação e Emprego (MQE) in collaboration with the Directorate-General for Labour Relations and the Department of Statistics.

Reference period 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 were included.

Breakdown available

Statistical population

Information is regularly published in the national source for the following categories: -

Enterprises with at least five workers.

cause of dispute; outcome of dispute; economic activity; duration of dispute; type of dispute; workers involved; working time lost; region (districts).

Particular exclusions There is no minimum duration threshold for inclusion in the statistics and general strikes are not included. Unpaid family workers, workers laid off, or workers on leave, absent or sick are also excluded. Since 1986, strikes in public administration have been excluded.

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 employing body or employers’ association. The basic information required relates to the identification of the firm and sector, the duration of the stoppage and cause. Up until 1985 the data were collected via the regional services of the Ministry of Labour from newspaper reports or strike notices. Since 1986 they have been collected differently. Either the statistical form ‘Boletim

Total number of days not worked.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition Strikes are defined as a work stoppage by organised workers. A lockout is the closing of facilities by the MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS OECD ©

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estatistico de greves’ is sent to the establishment for completion and return to the Directorate-General for Labour Relations or the Department itself completes the details from the information to hand.

Breaks in time series In 1986 a revised method of measurement was introduced 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.

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PORTUGAL

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Monthly Survey of Industrial Activity (Inquérito Mensal à Indústria Volume de Negócios e Emprego)

Industry

SOURCE

Coverage

Source agency

Reference period

Data are compiled by INE.

Last full week of the month. Geographical coverage

Series title in national publications

Continental Portugal plus the autonomous regions.

Índices de volume de emprego na industria.

Classification coverage

Breakdown available

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 national service, other workers not on the payroll.

Methodological information was supplied by INE in the 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 Data are reported on: total turnover for the domestic market, for other EU countries and for non-EU countries; sales of goods, sales of finished and intermediate goods, payments for services; number of employees, gross earnings, and hours worked.

Unit of measurement Data refer to the number of employees on payrolls converted to an index.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Master list

Definition

The Central Business Register of Enterprises and Establishments, held by INE. This comprises 66 000 units having at least one person on the payroll or if no persons on the payroll then a turnover greater than zero.

The data refer to all persons on the payroll of enterprises in the mining, manufacturing, electricity, gas and water industries, and cover both full and part-time workers. Included are: home workers provided they are on the payroll, persons temporarily absent on vacation, maternity leave, strike, training, sick leave of less than a month’s duration.

Survey description The sampling is multi-stage. At the first stage the 66 000 enterprises sampled for the annual survey are

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selected. These are enterprises whose main office is in continental Portugal or the Autonomous Regions and have at least one employee or turnover greater than zero. At the second stage 14 000 enterprises, representing 90% of turnover for each branch of activity in the annual survey, are selected. And at the last stage around 3 100 enterprises are selected.

enterprises and each variable relative to month n-12 is then multiplied by this factor. These data are then extrapolated by multiplying the number of valid replies for each category of the sample by a factor equal to the ratio of the number of enterprises in the universe of reference and the number of valid replies for each category.

All large (in terms of numbers of employees) enterprises are included in the sample. These account for at least 25% turnover and numbers of employees in each branch of activity.

DATA MANIPULATION Aggregations / Grossing up Aggregation

Non-response rate

Elementary indices are calculated as ratios of the current period to the monthly average of the base year at the lowest level of the CAE nomenclature. Elementary indices are aggregated at the next level of the CAE using the Laspeyres formula with weights derived from the value of the activity in 1992.

Correction is made for non-response as follows: A factor is calculated which is equal to the ratio of the number of respondents replying both in the reference month (n) and in month n-12. The information for each

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SPAIN

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Economically Active Population Survey (Encuesta de Población Activa - EPA)

(a) Total employment * (b) Part-time (c) Short-term (d) Industry

Labour - Unemployment (e) Rate (f) Short-term

Flujos de la Población Activa, and Evaluación de la Calidad de los Datos

SOURCE Source agency

Summary information can also be found in Boletín Mensual de Estadística.

Data are compiled by the National Institute of Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estadística -INE).

Key national publication sources

Breakdown available

Data are available in the following INE publications: Encuesta de Población Activa, Principales Resultados; Encuesta de Población Activa, Resultados Detallados.

Employment is published in the national source by: -

industry; occupation; employment status; level of education/qualifications; age; gender; - number of hours worked etc. Unemployment is published in the national source by:

Employment (total, part-time and short-time), Unemployment rate are also published in INE, Boletín Mensual de Estadística). Employment in industry is published in the monthly bulletin of the Bank of Spain, Boletín estadístico. Data are also available in electronic publications, on the INE databank, microdata files, and customised tabulations.

-

Series title in national publication (a) Ocupados totales; (b) Ocupados a tiempo parcial, total; (c) Ocupados con contrato temporal; (d) Asalariados en industria; (e) Tasa de paro, total; (f) Parados totales: menos de un mes.

age; level of education; gender; search method; industry; occupation and status in previous work.

Run of data available Total employment, Short-term employment and Shortterm unemployment are available from 1976; 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 the INE Internet server (http://www.ine.es/). Methodology is also published in the following INE publications: Encuesta de Población Activa, Principales Resultados y Resultados Detallados, Tablas anuales, Estadística de

Unemployment rate is available from 1964.

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unemployment benefits; participants in employment promotion schemes, if they work for a gratification or wage; paid and unpaid family workers including those temporarily absent from work; and private domestic servants.

Periodicity Data are compiled on a quarterly basis. From 1996 monthly estimates from the quarterly labour force survey are made and published via the Internet.

Excluded from the employed are persons engaged in their own housework, occasional, seasonal or casual workers who did not work in the reference week as part of their slack period, persons doing voluntary community or social work and in general all persons engaged in non-profit activities.

Unit of measurement Employment, Unemployment: number of persons; Unemployment rate: percentage.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

(b) Part-time. Data refer to employed persons, as defined in (a), who work less than 30 hours per week plus those persons working between 30 and 35 hours whose normal working week is more than 35 hours. (c) Short-term. Data refer to employees, as defined under (a), who have a fixed-term contract. (d) Industry. Data refer to employees, as defined under (a), in the mining, manufacturing, electricity, gas and water industries. (e) The Unemployment rate is defined as the number of unemployed persons expressed as a per cent of the labour force. Labour force comprises the unemployed plus the employed. Employment is defined under (a). Unemployed persons include those aged 16 and over who, during the reference week, were: without work (i.e., had no job either in the service of an employer or on their own account); looking for work (i.e., those who had taken specific steps to find work in the service of an employer or have made arrangements to set up their own business during the four weeks prior to the survey); and available for work (i.e., were able to start work within two weeks from the date of the interview). Also considered as unemployed are the following: all persons who in the reference week were without work, available for work within two weeks following the date of the interview and waiting to start a new job at a date after the reference week; persons absent from work because they have been suspended for reasons of employment regulation, who do not believe they will be able to return to the enterprise that employed them and who have looked for work and are available for work; students, persons engaged in their own housework who are not paid and other persons engaged mainly in non-economic activities covered by the definition of employment, and persons looking for work as apprentices, provided they satisfy the remaining clauses of the definition of unemployment.

Definition (a) Total Employment refers to persons aged 16 and over who, during the reference week, had a job in the service of an employer or were self-employed according to the following definitions: - Persons working in the service of an employer include: those at work who, during the reference week, worked at least one hour for salary, wages or other similar remuneration in cash or kind; those with a job but not at work during the reference week but maintained a close attachment to their jobs (i.e., that they are expecting to resume their jobs). Persons absent from work because of illness or accident, labourmanagement dispute, suspension from work and payment of wages as a disciplinary measure, holidays, study leave, maternity or any kind of leave, voluntary absence, temporary work disorganisation for reasons such as bad weather or mechanical breakdown are all considered as employees. Apprentices who have been paid in cash or kind and students who have worked fulltime for pay are considered as employees and are therefore treated in the survey as ordinary employees during the reference week. - Self-employed workers are all persons who were working at least one hour in exchange for cash or in-kind benefit and those who normally have a job but were not at work during the reference week. This definition therefore includes employers, own-account workers, members of producer co-operatives working in such organisations and unpaid family workers. Also considered as employed are the following groups: full-time or part-time workers who looked for another job during the reference period; persons who did any work for pay or profit while being subject to compulsory schooling, or retired and receiving a pension, or registered as jobseekers at an employment office or receiving

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(f) Short-term unemployment measures those unemployed for less than one month as defined under (e).

International comparability 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 which the interview takes place. Exceptions are for the variables ‘Methods of job search’ (one month) and ‘Availability for work’ (within 15 days). The reference period of the published data is each quarter and these normally correspond to the calendar quarters (i.e., January-March, April-June, etc.).

Households as enumerated by the latest Population and Housing Census.

Reporting method Data are collected in the EPA by personal interview (the questionnaire being completed by the data collector) with selected members of the sample households by professional interviewers, organised on a province basis. Each interviewer carries out around 20 interviews per week which means that around 5 300 interviews are completed each week throughout the country. To complete the 64 000 interviews for each survey therefore takes a full quarter.

Geographical coverage The whole country. Statistical population The economically active population aged 16 years and over living in family dwellings used throughout the year or most of the year as their usual or permanent residence. Included are Spanish citizens living abroad for less than one year and foreign civilians established in Spain for more than one year. Members of the armed forces, diplomats based abroad and the crews of Spanish ships and aircraft are also included by agreement.

A new method to collect information using lap-top computers is being tested in certain areas.

Survey details Description of questionnaire The questionnaire consists of four parts:

Classification coverage

− Identification (data collector, dwelling, etc.).

Employment in industry: data cover Major divisions C, D and E of the National Classification of Economic Activities (Clasificación Nacional de Actividades Económicas CNAE-93).

− Household members aged less than 16: information is collected on remunerated work and demographic characteristics. − Household members aged 16 and over: information is collected on the main activity, the changes occurred during the previous year, the way they found their actual job, income, under-employment, etc., hours of work, nature of employment, identification of the company, etc.

Particular exclusions Certain individuals living in collective households (e.g., hospitals, hotels, orphanages, etc.) are not included in the survey.

− All household members: information is collected on age, name, relationship to head of household, etc.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures

Master list List of households in the selected areas from the latest Population and Housing Census.

Industry: CNAE-93 (compatible with ISIC Rev 3 and NACE Rev 1);

Survey description

Occupation: National Classification of Occupations (Clasificación Nacional de Ocupación - CNO 1994) compatible with ISCO 1988;

A two-stage sample is used with stratification of the first stage census section units. The second stage units are the principal family dwellings and non-mobile dwellings. No sub-sampling is carried out in second stage units; information is gathered from all persons habitually resident therein. The first stage census section units

Level of education/qualifications: national classification compatible with ISCED 1976.

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are stratified in two ways, firstly by geographical stratification (grouped by province and municipality according to population size) and secondly by socio-economic group. The survey uses 3 216 census sections and each quarter interviews on average 20 dwellings per section. This gives a total sample of 64 000 dwellings and 200 000 persons. Primary units are selected with probability proportional to size based on the number of family dwellings in each unit and the ultimate units are selected with equal probability by applying systematic sampling to the list frame. The sample is uniformly distributed throughout the quarter, each of its sections being visited in one of the 12 weeks of the quarter. The whole sample is divided into three independent monthly sub-samples, each of which represents the whole population.

Seasonal and other adjustments The Unemployment rate is seasonally adjusted by the Ministry of Economy and Industry (Ministerio de Economía y Hacienda) using the X-11 Arima version of the US Bureau of the Census Method II.

DATA QUALITY Sampling errors and their corrections Sampling errors are published for the main variables.

Other errors and their corrections A quality control programme checks the validity and accuracy of the survey information at various stages. This includes re-interviewing approximately four per cent of the original sample to compare with the first interview information.

Every quarter the dwelling sample is partially renewed by one-sixth. Each dwelling belongs to the sample for 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 inquiry (depending on the year), becoming a quarterly survey in the third quarter of 1975;

Non-response rate Non-response from a household or interviewee is treated in one of two ways. Firstly, those interviewees not available first time round are revisited until the interview is completed. If there is refusal then another household from a similar section is substituted. In the case of a total lack of response replacement is made by using the information from the same household for the previous quarter. The refusal rate is 3% and the not-athome rate is 7%.

The definitions, classifications and questionnaires used were modified in the first half of 1972. Methodological modifications were made in the third quarter of 1976. Until the first quarter of 1980 data referred to the population aged 14 years and over and from the second quarter of 1980 to those aged 16 and over. In the second quarter of 1987 a new methodology incorporating modifications to the survey’s definitions was introduced causing a break in the series. The series have been adjusted back to 1972 to allow for discontinuities in coverage.

DATA MANIPULATION Aggregations / Grossing up

Revisions

Grossing up method

Revisions to data take account of the results of the censuses of population which take place every 10 years. Revisions to the population projections are made every five years.

The results from each household and person are weighted by the inverse of the probability of selection in every strata to obtain unbiased estimators. Information from the quarterly population projections is used as an auxiliary element.

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SPAIN

Labour - Unemployment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

(a) Registered unemployed (b) Unfilled vacancies

Vacancy figures are published in the national source by:

SOURCE

- occupation; - economic activity.

Source agencies Data are compiled by the National Institute of Employment (Instituto Nacional de Empleo- INEM) of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales - MTAS), seasonally adjusted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Industry (Ministerio de Economía y Hacienda) and transmitted to the OECD by INE.

Run of data available Unemployment figures are available from 1955; Vacancy figures are available from 1976.

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 server on the Internet http://www.mtss.es/.

Unit of measurement Unemployment: number of persons;

In addition unemployment figures are available in INEM, Boletín de Estadísticas Laborales, and vacancy statistics in INEM, Estadística de Empleo.

Vacancy: number of vacancies.

Series title in national publication

Definition

(a) Paro registrado, total;

(a) Registered unemployed covers all unemployed job applicants registered with the employment offices at the end of each month. Registration as a jobseeker is voluntary except for persons receiving unemployment benefits or for persons being considered or hired for work in connection with employment promotion measures. Unemployed persons must report in person every three months to renew their application except for those receiving unemployment benefits who must report monthly. Re-entrants to the workforce, employable disabled persons and persons responsible for the loss of their last job are all included in the monthly count. Persons aged 65 and over registered as jobseekers are not counted as unemployed. The following groups are also excluded from the definition: employed persons seeking work; workers registered at an employment office whose employment contracts have been temporarily suspended owing to employment regulation measures; registered jobseekers whose normal daily hours of work have been re-

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

(b) Oferta de Empleo (pendiente de cubrir).

Methodological reference in publication Methodological information can be found on the INE Internet server (http://www.ine.es/), in MTAS, Anuario de Estadísticas Laborales. and in INEM, Boletín de Estadísticas Laborales.

Breakdown available Unemployment figures are published in the national source by: -

age; gender; level of education; occupation; economic activity.

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duced by decision of a competent authority as a means to regulate employment or as a result of changes in working conditions; persons receiving unemployment benefit and participating in community-related work as part of employment promotion measures; persons seeking temporary work of less than three months duration (including students seeking vacation work); persons seeking work of less than 20 hours per week; jobseekers following regulated official courses of study provided that they are aged less than 25, or older if they are first jobseekers; persons attending vocational training courses provided the course exceeds 20 hours a week, they are receiving a subsistence grant and are first jobseekers; persons who are temporarily unable to work or who are under medical care; persons receiving benefit for complete or severe disability; young people on military service or national service; persons registered at an employment office as a prerequisite to being considered for a particular job; persons who apply exclusively for work abroad or for work in their homes; workers receiving an agricultural subsidy. (b) Data refer to pending or effective job vacancies notified to the INEM and remaining unfilled at the end of each month.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry uses CNAE-93 and occupation uses ISCO 68.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting method Monthly count of administrative data. On the last day of each month all public employment offices prepare their statistics using a combination of manual and computer methods. The data are transmitted to INEM who compile the national figures.

DATA MANIPULATION Seasonal and other adjustments The seasonally adjusted series are provided by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Industry.

DATA QUALITY Corroborating data The registered unemployed are compared on an ongoing basis with the unemployment figures derived from the Economically Active Population Survey, though no revisions are made to the data as a result.

Coverage Geographical coverage The whole country.

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SPAIN

Labour - Other

Indicators from the Survey of Wages in Industry and Services (Encuesta de Salarios en la Industria y los Servicios)

(a) Monthly hours of work

Wages (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 the employment contract. Hours actually worked are obtained by calculating the difference between the agreed hours and hours not worked because of vacation, temporary incapacity to work, lay-off or labour dispute, and adding the hours actually worked in overtime. Agreed hours are those hours laid down in the contract between the workers and the employer. The number of hours agreed on per month is the average per month of the number of agreed hours per year. Hours worked outside the employment contract would not be measured. (b) Earnings represent the remuneration paid to workers in cash or kind for the time worked or the work done, together with remuneration for time not worked such as holidays. They represent gross earnings, before the deduction of taxes or other contributions. Earnings therefore include the basic salary and supplements to basis salary such as bonuses, profit sharing payments, etc.

Key national publication sources Data are available in the INE publications Boletín Mensual de Estadística and Survey of Wages in Industry and Services.

Series title in national publication (a) Numero de horas trabajadas (obrero mas empleado); (b) Ganancia media por hora trabajada.

Methodological reference in publication Summary information can be found in Boletín Mensual de Estadística .

Breakdown available The information is regularly published by: - industry; - professional groups (as used by the social security system); - size of establishment.

Unofficial earnings in cash or kind are not included.

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 also contribution centres listed for social security reasons, in industry, construction, trade, hotels, transport and communication, banks and insurance sectors.

Monthly hours of work: number of hours; Hourly earnings: index (1995=100).

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total number of contribution centres and aiming for a sampling error of less than five per cent. All establishments with 200 or more workers are included in the sample. The design corresponds to a continuous quarterly survey with the sample uniformly distributed over the three months of the quarter. The sampling frame is brought up to date once a year and 20 per cent of the non-exhaustive sample units are renewed so that in five years the non-exhaustive sample is totally renewed.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry: CNAE 93 (compatible with ISIC Rev 3 and NACE Rev 1).

International comparability The concept of hours worked does not correspond to the internationally accepted definition of hours actually worked;

Non-response rate

The definition of total earnings is in line with international recommendations.

The non-response rate of around two per cent of units is corrected by imputing data from previous quarters.

DATA COLLECTION

DATA MANIPULATION

Reporting units

Aggregations / Grossing up

Establishments.

Grossing up method The results from each establishment are grossed up using weights which are inversely proportional to the probability of selection in the sample.

Reporting method A questionnaire is sent by post every month to one-third of the sample. All establishments are visited by the enumerator when they become part of the sample and at other appropriate times.

Seasonal and other adjustments The earnings figures are seasonally adjusted by the OECD.

Survey details Description of questionnaire

DATA QUALITY

The survey questionnaire consists of three main sections covering the following areas:

Sampling errors and their corrections Other errors and their corrections

- workers during the reference month; - workers on a normal working day; - workers with shortened working hours.

Data are checked for consistency with similar information on the same establishments from previous surveys. Inconsistencies are followed by checking via the telephone or in person.

Instructions for completion are sent with the questionnaire.

Breaks in time series

Master list

The survey has been conducted since the first quarter of 1989. In 1993 the questionnaire was modified but this modification is not thought to have affected the series. Also the definition of part-time worker was modified in 1994 from persons who worked between one and twothirds of the normal working day, to those working less than two-thirds of the working day. The economic activity classification CNAE-93 was adopted in the first quarter 1996 resulting in a wider coverage.

The directory of establishments obtained from the social security records of contribution accounts. It is brought up to date annually in order to record labour turnover in the units covered. Survey description Stratified sampling is carried out according to size of contribution centre and economic activity. Over 9 800 establishments are selected using information on the

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SPAIN

Labour - Other

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Labour disputes: time lost

SOURCE

Periodicity of the data

Source agency

Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Data are compiled by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales MTAS).

Unit of measurement Number of working days lost.

Key national publication sources

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Data are available in the MTAS publications, Yearbook of Labour Statistics, Bulletin of Labour Statistics, Statistics of Strikes and Lockouts, Estadística de Huelgas y Cierres Patronales.

Definition The series refers to working days lost in strikes and lockouts.

Data are also available on INE’s diskette SIMBAD and on the MTAS Internet server: http://www.mtss.es/.

Strike - A temporary work stoppage decided on by workers or their representatives without the agreement of the employers. This term is also used for a work stoppage where the responsible party is not necessarily identified or separately distinguished (for example in the case of a general strike).

Series title in national publication Huelgas y cierres patronales, trabajadores participantes, jornadas no trabajadas.

Lockout - A temporary work stoppage decided on by one or more employers as a result of a dispute with workers.

Methodological reference in publication 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 strike or lockout that was interrupted but later recommenced, still due to the same case of dispute, is counted as a new incident if a new notice of a strike or lockout has been issued. Work stoppages arising from the same case of dispute, occurring simultaneously in establishments of the same or different enterprises, are counted as one strike or lockout. Those resulting from the same case of dispute but occurring at different times in establishments of the same or different enterprises are counted separately, according to the number of strike or lockout notices issued.

Breakdown available The following categories are published in the national source: -

cause of dispute; outcome of dispute; method of settlement; economic activity; number of economic units involved; number of workers involved; 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 stoppage. The shorter working hours of part-time workers are not taken into account nor is overtime working.

Run of data available Information on labour disputes is available since 1979, however, the series based on the current methodology is available from 1986 only.

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Coverage

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units

Reference period

The economic unit is the workplace defined as the productive unit or establishment.

The monthly data refer to disputes beginning during the month plus those continuing from the previous month. 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 authority (i.e., the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs or the autonomous community) of the occurrence of the dispute. The authority then uses a questionnaire to collect information about the stoppage. However, some stoppages of work may not come to the notice of labour offices. The questionnaire used for collecting strike data requests the following information:

Statistical population All establishments excluding military establishments. Particular exclusions Those stoppages lasting less than one hour are not included. Workers indirectly involved are excluded as are unpaid family workers, workers laid off and workers absent on sick or annual leave or absent for any other reason.

- Identification of the establishment, geographic location, economic activity; - Motive for the strike, date the strike began and ended, numbers of workers involved, and numbers of days lost.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry uses the NACE (two digit).

DATA QUALITY

International comparability

Breaks in time series

Data are compiled in line with international recommendations.

Up until 1988 civil servants working in public administration 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 Cataluna region were excluded from 1983-1985 but have been included since 1986.

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SWEDEN

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Labour Force Survey (LFS)

(a) Total employment * (b) Industry (c) Part-time

Labour - Unemployment (d) Total (e) Rate (f) Short-term

- number of hours worked; - private/public sector; - level of education/qualification. Unemployment figures are published in the national source by:

SOURCE Source agency Data are compiled by Statistics Sweden.

Key national publication sources

-

Data are available in Statistics Sweden, Statistiska Meddelanden. Detailed results are published in the same series of publications under the title Base tables of the Labour Force Survey (AKU).

gender; age; duration; number of hours sought.

Methodological references

Data are available first on the electronic service Key Economic Indicators from Statistics Sweden. Customised tables are also produced.

Methodological information is available in Bakgrundsfakta 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 Statistics Sweden’s Internet site at http://www.scb.se/textdb.

(a) Employed, total; (b) Employed, mining and manufacturing.; (c) This is the sum of two series: Part-time 1-19 hours, Part-time 20-34 hours. (d) Unemployed; (e) Unemployment rate; (f) Unemployed by duration <1-4 weeks.

Run of data available The first labour force survey was carried out on a quarterly basis from August 1961 and became monthly in 1970.

Periodicity

Breakdown available

Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Employment figures are published in the national source by:

Unit of measurement

-

Employment, Unemployment: number of persons;

gender; age; industry; occupation; employment status; type of contract;

Unemployment rate: percentage.

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CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Coverage Reference period

Definition

The LFS covers all weeks in the year. This means that every survey month contains either four or five reference weeks.

(a) Total employment includes those persons who, during the reference week, were gainfully employed for at least one hour as paid employees, or as entrepreneurs or self-employed and persons working as unpaid helpers in a business belonging to a spouse or other family member in the same household. Persons on relief work, or in a sheltered place of work, or working as a temporary trainee, or employed with subsidised wages are classified as employed. Also included are persons who did not carry out any work (as defined above) but who had employment or work either as unpaid family workers or as entrepreneurs or self-employed and who were temporarily absent during the entire reference week because of illness, vacation, leave of absence (for child care or pursuit of studies, military service, labour conflict or other kind of absence, irrespective of whether or not the absence was paid for). (b) Industry: the data refer to all persons employed, as described under (a), in the mining, quarrying, manufacturing, electricity, gas and water industries. (c) Part-time: the data refer to all persons employed, as described under (a), working less than 35 hours per week. (d) The Unemployed are persons who, during the reference period, were not employed, but who were willing and able to work and had looked for work, or would have looked for work if they had not been temporarily prevented from doing so, or who were waiting for the outcome of some measure they had taken during the preceding four weeks to get work. Also included are persons who are waiting to begin a new job starting within four weeks. The total unemployed figure is the average of the four or five week period. Part-time students seeking full or parttime work are classified as unemployed. (e) The Unemployment rate is the total number of unemployed as a per cent of the total labour force. Total labour force is equal to the sum of the employed and the unemployed as described under (a) and (d) respectively. (f) Short-term unemployed refers to persons unemployed, as described under (d), for less than four weeks.

Geographical coverage The whole country. Classification coverage Although the title in the national source states mining and manufacturing, the series also includes the sector electricity gas and water i.e. Groups C+D+E of SE-SIC 92, from 1995. Prior to 1995, SE-SIC 68 was used. Statistical population All inhabitants in Sweden aged 16-64 years covered by the civil registration (including volunteer and career members of the armed forces). Particular exclusions Employment: excluded from the employed and considered inactive are persons engaged in their own housework, persons engaged in military or civilian service, persons in certain labour force measure programmes, for example work development, introduction to work place, and labour market training. Unemployment: full-time students seeking full or parttime work are excluded from the unemployed and considered as inactive.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry: Swedish Industry Coding 1992 (SIC 92) which is comparable to NACE Rev 1. Occupation: Nordic Occupational Classification (NYK) which is based on the 1958 ISCO. Socio-economic: Statistics Sweden’s Standard Swedish Socio-Economic Classification (SEI). Level of education/qualification: Educational Classification (SUN).

Swedish Standard

International comparability The definitions of unemployment and employment follow the international guidelines.

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month to take account of migration, deaths and changes in marital status.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units

The number of independent units is around 68 000 annually with an annual sample size of around 204 000 persons. The quarterly sample size is 51 000 and the monthly is 17 000 persons. Each person in the sample is interviewed once a quarter on a total of eight occasions over a two-year period before being replaced. Each month one-eighth of the sample is renewed and the monthly sample is completely renewed after two years.

The reporting unit is the person identified from the Central Register of the Total Population maintained by Statistics Sweden.

Reporting method The Labour Force Survey is conducted on a continuing basis. Data are collected mainly by telephone. In a small number of cases (about 0.5 per cent of the sample) where respondents cannot be reached by telephone, personal interviews are made. Normally the interview is performed with the sampled person but if that person is not available because of illness or holiday etc., then an interview by proxy is carried out, subject to strict conditions. This occurs for about 3 per cent of the sample.

Non-response rate In 1993 a new estimation procedure was introduced which uses auxiliary information from the National Market Board’s register on those seeking work, and from Statistics Sweden’s Register of Regional Employment, in order to reduce non-response error. The nonresponse error is now less than 3 per cent for the number of unemployed and one per cent for the employed.

Survey details Description of questionnaire

DATA MANIPULATION

Interviewers use computerised questionnaires and assisted telephone technology and techniques with a standardised format. Information is collected on employment status, industry, occupation, union membership, hours worked, absences from work, overtime, underemployment, additional jobs. Regarding unemployment, information is collected on methods of job search, work hours desired, duration of unemployment. etc.

Aggregations / Grossing up Grossing up method The estimation of population totals from the sample values is made on the basis of the sampled person’s probability of selection, and current demographic data from Statistics Sweden’s register of the total population. The estimation uses two different poststratification methods with different types of auxiliary information; one for those employed and one for those unemployed. To estimate unemployment, the sample and the population are divided into 16 poststrata using variables sex, age groups, and unemployed\not unemployed according to the National Labour Market Board’s register. A similar procedure using 147 poststrata occurs for employment with variables sex, age groups, occupation groups taken from the Register of Regional Employment (compiled by Statistics Sweden).

The general structure of the questionnaire is: -

general classification; first job; second job; no work; questions relating to the respondents’ activities during the reference week; - questions concerning study; - questions concerning the family. The first interview is thorough whilst subsequent interviews use this basic information and concentrate on assessing the respondent's changes in their labour market status.

Seasonal and other adjustments The seasonally adjusted series published in MEI are adjusted by the OECD. Statistics Sweden seasonally adjusts series for employed and unemployed using a variant of the X11-ARIMA of the US Bureau of the Census Method II, however the results are not made available to OECD.

Survey description The sample is stratified by county, sex, citizenship (Swedish, foreign) and employed/not employed (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

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rather than two weeks each month; the definitions of unemployed was adjusted to more closely follow ILO guidelines and new estimation procedures adopted.

DATA QUALITY Sampling errors and their corrections Estimates of sampling errors are made in the form of standard deviations, which are included in the Statistical Report: Base Tables.

In 1995, the new industrial classification standard SESIC 92 was introduced. In 1996, the weights of the months in the quarterly and annual estimates were changed.

Breaks in time series

All main indicators from 1987 through 1995, have been recalculated to adjust to the changes in 1993, 1995 and 1996.

Since its introduction in 1970 the sample size has varied but concepts and definitions remained fairly consistent up to the mid 1980s. From 1961 through 1963, persons aged 14 and over were included in the survey.

Timeliness Data are available within two weeks after the end of the reference period.

From 1964 to June 1974, the sample covered those aged 14-74.

Release dates

From July 1974 to 1985, the sample covered those aged 16-74.

Release dates for the year are included in the publication plan for Official Statistics of Sweden which is distributed at the beginning of each year. Dates are also announced in the electronic service, Key Economic Indicators from Statistics Sweden and on Statistics Sweden’s Web site.

Starting 1986, the regular sample consisted of persons aged 16-64. In 1987, a comprehensive revision was undertaken, affecting contents, definitions and collection method. In 1993 other changes occurred mostly concerning the methodology.

Revision policy

In 1987, a new variable was introduced, degree of attachment to the labour market; the reference period for job search activities was reduced to four weeks instead of 60 days; family workers working between 1 and 14 hours, persons on lay-off, and students receiving wages were classified as employed.

The LFS data presented in the press release as well as in the statistical report are final. Each issue of the statistical publication describes earlier changes in methodology and classification systems and how to deal with them. Before a change in methodology is implemented contacts 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

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SWEDEN

Labour - Unemployment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

(a) Insured unemployed

Labour - Other (b) Unfilled vacancies

at the end of each month. To qualify for compensation, members must have been insured for at least 12 months before becoming unemployed, and have been gainfully employed for certain periods of time. Members claiming compensation must be registered at the Employment Service as jobseekers, must be employable and willing and able to take suitable employment of at least 17 hours a week. Persons seeking temporary work are included only when the unemployment insurance decides to give benefits. Also included in the figures are: persons seeking part-time work (except students seeking work during vacations); employable disabled persons (receiving invalidity benefits or not); retired persons (except those with partial pensions seeking part-time work); persons laid off and those responsible for the loss of their last job; and those marginally employed seeking other work. (b) Vacancies notified to the public employment service and remaining unfilled at the end of each month.

SOURCE Source agencies Data are collected by the National Labour Market Board of the Ministry of Labour. Statistics Sweden provides the data to OECD.

Key national publication sources Data are available in the monthly publication of Statistics Sweden, Arbetsmarknadsstatistik.

Series title in national publication (a) Registered unemployed: members in labour market insurance. (b) Unfilled vacancies.

Breakdown available The data are published in the national source by: - gender; - duration.

Coverage 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 funds for which the minimum age is 16 and the maximum 64 years old.

Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

Unit of measurement

Vacancies cover all industry and services in the public and private sectors.

Unemployed: number of persons. 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

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SWEDEN

Labour - Other

Indicators from the Survey of Wages and Salaries in the Private Sector

(a) Monthly hours of work

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 the Survey of Wages and Employment in Mining and Manufacturing which was introduced in 1947.

Data are compiled by Statistics Sweden.

Key national publication sources

Periodicity

Data are available in Statistics Sweden, Statistiska Meddelanden.

Hours and Earnings data are compiled on monthly basis;

Series title in national publication

Hourly labour cost figures are quarterly (February, May, August, November).

(a) Actual hours worked by wage earners in mining, quarrying and manufacturing. (b) Average hourly earnings of wage earners in mining, quarrying and manufacturing. (c) Index of labour costs, including taxes on the labour force for wage earners in mining, quarrying and manufacturing.

Unit of measurement Index (1990=100).

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Breakdown available

Definition

Hours and Earnings data are published in the national source by:

(a) Monthly hours of work refer to actual hours worked by wage earners. They include normal hours of work; overtime; time spent at the place of work on preparation of workplace, repairs, maintenance, etc.; time spent at the place of work waiting or standing by due to breakdown, lack of supplies or bad weather; time spent at work during which no work is done but for which payment is made under a guaranteed employment contract; and time corresponding to short rest periods at the workplace, including tea and coffee breaks. (b) Hourly earnings refer to gross earnings of wage earners. They include pay for normal time worked, premium pay for overtime and shift work, additional pay for inconvenient hours (e.g., night work) and 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

- industry; - size of establishment (seven bands). Hourly labour cost data are published in the national source by industry.

Methodological references Every issue of Statistical Report series AM 38 contains a detailed description of the methodology and data sources. Major changes in methodology are announced in advance. Extensive methodological information is also available on Statistics Sweden’s Internet site: http://www.scb.se/textdb.

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(e.g., for holidays, sick leave, etc.) the value of earnings in kind and irregularly paid bonuses and premiums. (c) The Hourly labour cost index takes account of ‘wages for hours worked’ described above plus remuneration for time not worked (e.g., for holidays, sick leave, etc.) other cash payments, the value of earnings in kind, employers’ contributions to insurance and pension schemes, and a special payroll tax (determined by size and/or composition of the employed labour force). ‘Wages for hours worked’ data are collected in the Survey of Wages and Salaries in the Private Sector. Estimates of wages for time not worked are calculated by modelling techniques using data from several sources: labour force survey, annual survey on wages and salaries in the private sector, and other business statistics. The calculation of employers’ contributions are based on total salary i.e. wages for hours not worked plus wages for hours worked. The Hourly labour cost index is calculated as the sum of salaries paid before taxes divided by the sum of hours worked. The index published in MEI includes the special payroll tax. An index excluding taxes is also calculated and published by Statistics Sweden.

STANDARDS

Coverage

Survey details

Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry: Swedish Standard Industrial Classification 1992 (SE-SIC92) which is comparable to NACE Rev.1.

International comparability (a) The concept of hours worked is in line with international guidelines. (b) The concept of earnings used is limited to direct wages for time worked, including regular bonuses and gratuities. It excludes remuneration for time not worked and the value of payments in kind.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units The reporting unit is the enterprise which may consist of one or more establishments, all of which are contacted separately.

Reporting method Postal sample survey of enterprises. Non-respondents and inconsistent data are followed up by telephone.

Master list

Reference period

Central Register of Enterprises and Establishments which covers all enterprises of all sizes. The register is continuously updated from administrative sources and by a special postal enquiry held every year.

Hours and Earnings: the month or at least a two-week period grossed up to the full month. Hourly labour cost: middle month of every quarter (February, May, August, November).

Survey description Geographical coverage

The survey is based on a sample of approximately 2 400 enterprises with around 5 200 establishments. The sample is stratified by industry and employment size giving 20 strata altogether. All large enterprises and individual establishments with 500 or more employees are included with certainty, with a sample drawn from the other strata. The overall sampling fraction is around 22 per cent. Rotation sampling is used whereby onefifth of the strata rotates each year.

The whole country. Classification coverage Groups C and D of the Standard Classification SESIC92. Statistical population Establishments in mining, quarrying and manufacturing are selected among enterprises employing five or more in the private sector. Only wage earners in the age range 18-64 are covered.

Non-response rate 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.

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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 for some industrial groups.

The sample results are grossed up to the level of the universe by using the inverse of the sampling fraction after adjustment for non-responses.

Preliminary estimates. Definitive figures are published seven months after the preliminary results.

Seasonal and other adjustments Monthly hours of work figures are seasonally adjusted by the OECD.

Timeliness Hours and Earnings data are available nine weeks after the end of the reference month.

DATA QUALITY 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.

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SWITZERLAND

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Employment Sample Survey of Establishments

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Total Total employment * Manufacturing Part-time

Total employment (subject table): the index is available from Q3 1966.

SOURCE Source agency Data are compiled by the Federal Statistical Office (Office Fédéral de la Statistique - OFS).

Periodicity

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 database of the OFS.

Total employment (subject table): index.

Series title in national publication

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

(a) This is the sum of three employment series: Plein temps, Temps partiel 1 and Temps partiel 2; (b) Indice de l’emploi: Total (secondaire et tertiaire), plein temps et temps partiel (50-89%); (c) Emploi: arts et métiers, industrie; (d) This is the sum of the series: Temps partiel 1 and Temps partiel 2.

Definition

Data are compiled on a quarterly basis.

Employment data cover all persons working for at least six hours a week in the establishment surveyed. Included are proprietors, administrators, directors, managers, salaried employees, wage earners, apprentices, external agents and volunteers, as well as auxiliary workers, temporary workers and family workers. Also included are persons absent on the reference date because of military service, sickness, injury, leave or any other reason. Employed persons working outside the establishment are taken into account at the head office of the establishment.

Breakdown available Data are published in the national source by: -

economic activity; region; full-time/part-time); gender.

Production workers are workers assigned predominantly to production in the strict sense, i.e. in industrial, craft and manual operations. Employment figures are classified by duration of work, i.e. those working full-time, those working between 50% and 89% of full-time hours and those working less than 50% of full-time hours.

Methodological references Complete methodology can be found in the publication OFS, Statistiques de l’emploi et de la population active occupée.

(a) Total refers to all persons working full-time and all persons working part-time; (b) Total employment (subject table) refers to all persons working full-time plus persons working 50% to 89% of full-time hours.

Run of data available Total, Manufacturing, Part-time: the survey was introduced in Q3 1992, however, data are available in line with the new survey from Q3 1991.

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Data are collected on employment, shortage/surplus of labour, and job vacancies.

(c) Manufacturing refers to all persons employed in the manufacturing sector. (d) Part-time refers to persons working less than 90% of full-time hours.

Master list Register of enterprises and establishments. The register excludes those units operating less than 20 hours per week. The register is updated on a regular basis using other sources of information (e.g. register from post offices, etc.)

Coverage Reference period Data refer to the final pay day of the quarter.

Survey description

Geographical coverage

The survey is conducted on a random sample of establishments designed to supply optimum results and equal quality for each economic class (the variable which is optimised is total full-time employment).

The whole country. Statistical population Data refer to all types and sizes of establishments in the public and private sectors provided that they operate for at least 20 hours per week (those working less that 20 hours are not classed as establishments and hence are out of scope).

The sample is stratified according to branch of economic activity and size class (based on full-time workers). The sample size is about 45 000 establishments representing about 13 per cent of all the eligible establishments on the register.

Particular exclusions

Establishments tend to stay in the sample from one quarter to the next, although to avoid problems with ageing, the intention is to rotate a panel on a regular basis in the future. Some enterprises, especially the larger ones with many establishments are not all in a position to supply figures each quarter for all local units or a sample of them. As a result, alternative sample designs have been developed.

Establishments of the primary sector (agriculture, horticulture, forestry and fishing) are excluded as well as international organisations. Home workers are also excluded.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures

Non-response rate Industry uses the 1985 Nomenclature Generale des Activites Economiques which is compatible with ISIC 1990.

For the first survey (third quarter 1992) the response rate 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 the sample results by stratum, i.e., by multiplying the total employment in a stratum for the quarter surveyed by the universe sampling fraction.

Questionnaires are sent to the establishments by mail or via electronic data transfer.

Survey details

These estimates are then corrected taking into account total employment (at the level of each branch of economic activity) as measured in the previous establishment survey or in the first survey which was conducted on the same sample.

Description of questionnaire The questionnaire consists of one page including explanations. The questionnaires are provided with a bar 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.

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‘enterprise demography’ aspect and to achieve greater representativeness.

DATA QUALITY Breaks in time series

Revision policy

The survey has been held in one form or another since 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 of incompatibility with enterprise surveys, to shorten the interval between exhaustive surveys, to include the

Timeliness Data are published six weeks after the end of the reference quarter.

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SWITZERLAND

Labour - Unemployment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

(a) Registered unemployed (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 publishes an annual bulletin, Arbeitslosigkeit in der Schweiz, which includes an updated article on the conceptual basis of the Unemployment statistics.

Data are collected by the employment offices and are then transmitted to the Federal Office of Industry and Labour (Office Fédéral de l’Industrie, des Arts et Métiers 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 OFIAMT, La Situation sur le Marché du Travail and in Département Fédéral de l’Economie Publique, La Vie Economique.

Vacancies: data are available from 1982.

Series title in national publication

Unit of measurement

(a) Chômeurs inscrits. (b) Taux de chômage. (c) Places vacantes annoncées aux offices du travail.

(a) Unemployment: number of persons;

Periodicity Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

(b) Unemployment rate: percentage; (c) Unfilled vacancies: number of jobs.

Breakdown available

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

(a) Unemployment figures are published in the national source by: -

Definition (a) Data refer to unemployed jobseekers registered with an official employment office for the purpose of finding work, whether they are seeking temporary or permanent work. They must be entitled to work, be able and willing to do so, thus being suitable for placement. Jobseekers are divided into persons seeking full-time work and those seeking part-time activity. Only those without any gainful activity on the day of the count are included in the figures. Registration at the employment office is compulsory only when the jobseeker wishes to apply for unemployment benefits. Those registered must maintain their registration through regular attendance at their local employment office. Failure to meet these re-

age; region (canton); full-time/part-time; duration of registration; qualifications of last job.

(b) The Rate is published in the national source by: - age; - region (canton). (c) Vacancy data are published in the national source by: - Canton and at national level; - full-time/part-time.

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The cantonal offices are responsible for centralising the data and forwarding them to OFIAMT in order to compile statistics at national level. The information is now collected and transmitted electronically using the employment service’s computer systems.

quirements means that the person will be removed from the register. (b) The Unemployment rate is calculated as the number of registered unemployed as a per cent of the total labour force. Prior to 1990, total labour force was compiled from the results of the 1980 Federal Population Census, from 1990, total labour force is derived from the 1990 Federal Population Census.

DATA MANIPULATION Seasonal adjustment

(c) Vacancies notified to the public employment office in each canton and remaining unfilled at the end of each month. Data cover both full-time (90% and over) and part-time jobs.

Registered unemployment series is seasonally adjusted by the OECD. Unemployment rate, Unfilled vacancies are seasonally adjusted by the OFIAMT.

Coverage Reference period

DATA QUALITY

Unemployment: usually the 25th of each month, although where this day falls on a non-working day, the count takes place on the last working day before the 25th. The count involving an analysis by age group takes place quarterly in January, April, July and October;

Breaks in time series Registered unemployment: in January 1984, legislation on compensation in the event of insolvency and compulsory employment insurance came into force. This had some effect on the statistics of jobseekers in that a distinction was made between persons seeking full-time work and those seeking part-time work, as well as between unemployed persons wholly or partially without work (those partially without work are excluded from the series presented in MEI).

Vacancies: end of month. Geographical coverage The whole country. Statistical population

Revision policy

Registered unemployed: all jobseekers aged 15 and over who meet the criteria are covered. Vacancies: all employing organisations.

Data are final and not revised.

Timeliness Data are available 6 to 10 days after the end of the reference month.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting method Monthly count of administrative information from the communal, cantonal and regional employment offices.

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TURKEY

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Quarterly Manufacturing Industry Production Survey

(a) Manufacturing

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 (SIS).

Total hours worked: number of hours; Hourly earnings: Turkish lira (thousands).

Key national publication sources CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Data are available in SIS, Quarterly Manufacturing Industry Production Survey.

Definition (a) Employees in manufacturing include production workers, administrative and other workers engaged in establishments in the manufacturing industry. Production workers include all employees who are directly engaged in the production or related activities of the establishment, including any clerical or working supervisory personnel involved in the production process such as fabricating, processing, assembling, record-keeping etc.

Series title in national publication (a) The MEI indicator is the sum of two series: Average number of production workers in manufacturing, Administrative and other workers in manufacturing; (b) Total number of man-hours worked in manufacturing; (c) Not published in the national source.

Breakdown available

Administrative and other workers include administrative, technical and clerical personnel, salaried managers and directors, research assistants, bookkeepers, etc. (b) Data refer to the Total number of hours actually worked by operatives. They include overtime and waiting time, and exclude time spent on vacation, casual and sick leave. (c) The Hourly earnings figures are computed by dividing total earnings by the total number of hours worked. Total earnings comprise the following elements:

Employment and Hours worked are published in the national source by industry (four digit level of ISIC Rev. 2).

Run of data available The survey was introduced in 1974. Data on production workers and hours worked are available from 1977. Data on administrative and other workers, and hours worked are available from 1983. Hourly earnings for production workers, administrative and other workers are available from 1988.

- direct wages and salaries for normal time worked or work done and remuneration for time not worked; - premium pay for overtime;

Periodicity Data are compiled on a quarterly basis.

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status and generally engaged in one type of economic activity and which has the registers and accounting resources necessary to fill in the questionnaires.

- bonuses and gratuities, namely year-end and seasonal bonuses, premiums and profit-sharing bonuses (included at the per diem amount ); - social security payments, payments in kind for meals, transport, clothing, etc., and employers’ contributions to social security for their employees.

Reporting method Quarterly establishment survey of manufacturing industry.

Coverage Survey details Reference period Description of questionnaire

The whole of the quarter.

Information is requested on details of the establishment (type of company, share of public capital in enterprise, activity etc.), employment, hours worked, and payments made. In addition, production and sales of commodities, new orders and stocks, income and outlay, and fixed capital investment are reported.

Geographical coverage The whole country. Classification coverage Manufacturing industry according to ISIC Rev. 2.

Survey description

Statistical population

There is a full-scope survey of establishments with more than 10 persons engaged and a sample survey of those with between one and nine persons.

All manufacturing establishments in the public sector and manufacturing establishments with 10 or more persons employed in the private sector are covered, representing approximately 80% of the value added in the manufacturing industry.

Non-response rate 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 establishments with ten or more persons engaged in the private sector were covered. Between 1983 and 1992, the survey collected detailed data from all manufacturing establishments in the public sector and manufacturing establishments with 25 or more persons engaged in the private sector. In addition, manufacturing establishments in the private sector employing between 10 and 24 persons were covered by a less detailed questionnaire. All manufacturing establishments in the public sector and those in the private sector with 10 or more persons engaged have been covered by the detailed questionnaire since 1993.

Departures from international standards Hours worked correspond to the concept of hours paid for; Earnings: the definition of compensation of employees conforms to the UN International Recommendations on Industrial Statistics and System of National Accounts.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units The reporting unit is the establishment, defined as a work place under a single ownership or controlling

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TURKEY

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Labour Force Survey (LFS)

(a) Part-time (economic reasons)

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.

Key national publication sources

Short-term unemployment: original data expressed in number of persons are converted to an index by OECD.

Data are available in the SIS publications: Monthly Bulletin of Statistics, Statistical Yearbook, Annual Labour Statistics and Household Labour Force Survey Results.

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition (a) Part-time (economic reasons) refers to persons underemployed and includes those who work less than 40 hours because of economic reasons and who are able to work more at their present job or are capable of doing a second job, plus persons seeking to change jobs or seek a second job because of insufficient salary or because of not working in their usual occupation. (b) Unemployment rate refers to the number of unemployed persons as a per cent of the total labour force. Here the unemployed are all persons aged 12 years and over and who, during the reference week, were without work, currently available for work (within 15 days) and actively seeking work. Total labour force equals the unemployed plus the employed. The employed are all persons aged 12 years and over and who during the reference week, were either at work, even only for one hour, or with a job but temporarily absent from work (on vacation, maternity leave etc.) but with a formal job attachment. Included are: full and part-time students working full or part-time, persons who performed some work for pay or profit during the reference week while subject to compulsory schooling or retired receiving a pension or registered as a jobseeker or receiving unemployment benefits. Also included are paid and unpaid apprentices, participants in employment promotion schemes, paid and unpaid family workers,

Series title in national publication (a) Persons underemployed; (b) Unemployment rate; (c) Persons unemployed from one to two months.

Breakdown available Unemployment figures are published in the national source by: -

duration; urban/rural; age; gender; educational status.

Methodological references Full documentation is available in Household Labour Force Survey Results , Publication No: 1709, SIS.

Run of data available Data are available from October 1988.

Periodicity Data are available for April and October each year.

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private domestic servants, and members of cooperatives. (c) Persons unemployed from one to two months.

Survey details Description of questionnaire The questionnaire in its latest form appeared in October 1990 and contained revisions which included a reduced number of questions from 51 to 40 by taking out questions relating to migration, income, days worked and occupational training.

Coverage Reference period The third week of the survey month (April and October).

Master list

Geographical coverage

The 1985 Population Census list of dwellings prior to October 1994, and the 1990 Population Census thereafter.

The whole country. Statistical population All persons aged 12 years and over in private households within Turkey, whose head is a Turkish national.

Survey description A multi-staged stratified cluster sample is used. Two sample sets, each comprising four sub-samples are constructed with the main aim of carrying out regional estimates. Field work is subject to regular checks. Reinterviews are carried out by supervisors (about onetenth of questionnaires of each enumerator). The current questionnaire is so structured as to provide comparable information to that from EU Labour Force Surveys.

Particular exclusions Members of the armed forces (volunteers, career military and conscripts) not living in private households, as well as persons doing civilian service equivalent to military service are not covered by the labour force survey. Also excluded from employment and therefore out of the labour force are persons engaged in own housework and persons doing unpaid community work.

Non-response rate

STANDARDS

Industry uses ISIC Rev.2.

Non-response rates are calculated and vary according to 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 1994, substitute households were used in the event of non-response.

International comparability

DATA MANIPULATION

Definitions broadly comply with international guidelines.

Aggregations / Grossing up

Standard classifications / nomenclatures Occupations uses ISCO 1968;

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 the aid of regional offices. Collection lasts about 15 days for each survey round. Persons involved in the collection operate from 22 regional offices throughout the country.

Sampling errors are calculated for the household survey results using the Clusters technique developed by the International Statistical Institute.

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

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substitute households reflecting similar characteristics to the non-responding households were introduced.

the introduction of a revised method of weighting the sample results to gross up to population. The new method made use of national population projections by region, sex, and specific age groups. The results of the surveys prior to October 1994 were revised using the new method. Also the treatment of non-responding households was changed so that from the 1994 survey

Preliminary estimates LFS results in the press releases are preliminary and subject to revision. They are available within 5 months after the reference period of the survey.

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TURKEY

Labour - Employment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Insured wage earners

SOURCE

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

Source agencies

Definition

Data are compiled by the Social Insurance Institution and provided to the OECD by the SIS.

Number of operative workers covered by the Social Insurance Law.

Key national publication sources

Coverage

Data are available in SIS, Monthly bulletin of Statistics.

Reference period The whole month.

Series title in national publication

Geographical coverage

Number of insured operative workers.

The whole country.

Run of data available

Statistical population

Data are available from 1960.

Persons covered under the Social Insurance Law. According to the Social Insurance Law, persons are automatically insured when they enter into service. However, there are a few exceptions defined by the law.

Periodicity Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

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 Insurance Institution.

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TURKEY

Labour - Unemployment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

(a) Registered unemployed

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 which are then transmitted to SIS.

Job vacancies: data are available from 1955.

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 Bulletin.

Unit of measurement 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 Office.

Definition (a) Registered unemployed: data refer to the number of applicants to the LPO who are in the active population and are able and willing to work but are not gainfully employed at a minimum wage rate at the time of their application and who have not been placed in employment by the LPO. Registration is voluntary and applicants must apply in person at the LPO. (b) Vacancies notified by employers to the LPO during the month.

Breakdown available Registered unemployed: data are published in the national source by: -

age groups; gender; occupation; public/private sector; agricultural/non-agricultural sector.

Coverage

Job vacancies are published in the national source by: -

Reference period

private/public sectors; gender; occupation; region/provinces; economic activity; agriculture/non-agriculture; filled/cancelled job.

(a) Registered unemployed: end of month. (b) Vacancies: whole month. Geographical coverage The whole country . Statistical population (a) Registered unemployed: all persons aged 14 and over with no upper age limit;

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training or job creation measures does not result in deletion from the register.

(b) Vacancies notified to the LPO by employers. Particular exclusions (a) Registered unemployed: those applicants who will not accept job possibilities at other establishments and those who have a job but wish to move to a different one are excluded from the count as are retired persons seeking a new job. Persons receiving invalidity benefits, retirement or other pensions; those on temporary or indefinite lay-off without pay; those on strike; and those responsible for losing their last job are excluded from the count. Unemployed persons may reject up to two job offers after which they are deleted from the register. Temporary inability 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

DATA COLLECTION Reporting method Monthly count of administrative information at the LPO.

DATA MANIPULATION Seasonal and other adjustments Data are seasonally adjusted by the OECD.

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UNITED KINGDOM

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Short-term Employment Enquiries and other sources

(a) Employees - manufacturing (b) Employees - services (c) Total employment *

SOURCE

Periodicity

Source agency

The quarterly short-term employment enquiry covers the whole economy and the monthly enquiry covers the production industries.

Data are compiled by the Office for National Statistics (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). Recently released data are also available through ONS STATFAX by telefax.

Unit of measurement Number of jobs.

Series title in national publication

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

(a) Employees in employment in Great Britain: manufacturing industries; (b) Employees in employment in Great Britain: service industries; (c) Workforce in employment: United Kingdom.

Definition Estimates of employees refer to the number of jobs held by employees whose employer runs a ‘Pay as You Earn’ (PAYE) scheme (whether the employees pay PAYE or not). People holding two jobs with different employers will be counted twice. Employees include wage and salary earners, permanent, temporary and casual employees, apprentices, trainees, person temporarily absent from work because of sickness, vacation, strike etc. Participants in government training schemes are included if they have an employment contract.

Breakdown available (a) Employment data are published in the national source by: -

industry; size of firm; gender; full-time/part-time; geographical region.

(a) The figures refer to employees in employment in the manufacturing sector; (b) The figures refer to employees in employment in service industries;

Methodological references

(c) Total employment. The figures refer to the workforce in employment in the economy. They cover employees in paid jobs, the self-employed, HM forces and participants on work-related Government training programmes.

Methodological descriptions are published periodically in Labour Market Trends.

Run of data available The short-term statistics of employees in employment started in 1971. Figures on total employment are available from 1960.

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points, one for salaried staff and one for weekly paid people, then there would be four reporting units).

Coverage Reference period

Reporting method

A specific day each month (for production industries) and each quarter (for agriculture, construction and services).

Short-term (monthly and quarterly) Employment Enquiries of a panel of employers. (The ONS proposes in the future to merge the data collection from the shortterm employment specific enquires with existing turnover and sales enquiries). Questionnaires are posted to the sample units up to two weeks prior to the reference date.

Geographical coverage The monthly survey of production industries covers Great Britain only. The quarterly survey covers the United Kingdom. For the series published in MEI the coverage is as follows:

About 69 per cent of the employee estimates in the workforce are currently derived from this panel of employers, the remaining 31 per cent are from administrative data for major sectors such as banks and government.

- Employees: Great Britain; - Total employment: United Kingdom. Classification coverage

Estimates of the self-employed are taken from the household Labour Force Survey.

Employees in manufacturing: Group D of SIC 1992; Employees in services: Groups G through Q of SIC 1992.

Survey details Description of questionnaire

Statistical population

The questionnaire includes instructions on definitions, inclusions and exclusions for each question. Different questions relate to different industries but broadly cover the following:

All sectors of industry, public and private. Particular exclusions The Workforce in Employment (WiE) surveys exclude manual homeworkers on piece work rates and trainees on government programmes who do not have a contract of employment. These groups are not included in the overall employment figures.

- number of employees by sex, full-time and parttime, and reasons for significant changes since the last return; - number of administrative, technical or clerical staff by sex; - reasons why the business has stopped; - contact name for further enquiries.

Employee figures exclude domestic servants in private households; they are regarded as self-employed in the WiE surveys.

Master list

STANDARDS

The Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR), based on PAYE and businesses known through their Value Added Tax (VAT) returns, replaces the previous PAYE only register. IDBR is updated with information drawn from the results of the Annual Employment Survey (AES). Whilst the PAYE records are updated constantly, there may still be a time lag between the start-up of a new business and notification to the authorities.

Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry uses the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC 1992) which is convertible to ISIC.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units

Survey description

The reporting unit is the ‘data unit’ i.e., a specific PAYE income tax paypoint at a single site which belongs to a single industry (e.g. companies having a headquarters office and two branches would have three reporting units; in addition, if one of the branches has two pay-

The AES was carried out for the first time in 1995 and replaces the biennial Census of Employment, conducted in 1987, 1989, 1991 and 1993 (all carried out in September). The sample size is 130 000 businesses covering some one million workplaces. All businesses with

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PAYE details, IDBR information and results of the latest Census of Employment.

25 or more employees that have more than one work place are fully covered each year in the AES. Other multi-workplace businesses with fewer than 25 employees are surveyed once every four years. For businesses with only one site there is a full survey each year of those with 50 or more employees. Those businesses with 25 to 49 employees are surveyed once every four years, and the survey interval is considerably longer for those with 25 or fewer employees.

Weights for aggregation The employment estimates are weighted on the basis of the latest Census of Employment figures using a set formula. The full census provides a benchmark for other sources of employment and related information, including annual estimates of employment. From 1995 a new Annual Employment Survey replaces the full Censuses of Employment.

The ‘Short-term Employment Enquiries’ update this employment information, monthly for the production sector (i.e., primary except agriculture and manufacturing) and quarterly for the whole economy. Data are obtained in returns from a panel of employers selected from the larger surveys. The panel was updated in 1996 to reflect the industrial structure shown in the 1993 Census of Employment and is updated every quarter to reflect births and deaths of businesses. The panel is stratified 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 sample with a monthly sub-sample of 6 000 units in the manufacturing and production sectors. The sample consists of over 6 000 strata and the sampling fraction varies with each stratum. Large companies (generally those with 1 000 or more employees) are included with certainty. Results of the AES are used to benchmark the monthly and quarterly employment surveys.

Seasonal and other adjustments Short-term data are seasonally adjusted using the X-11 variant of the US Bureau of the Census Method II programme, with additive factors produced for employment. There is an annual review of seasonal factors to produce a consistent series.

DATA QUALITY Breaks in time series For the short-term series a new panel of employers was selected in March 1992 and at the same time estimation techniques and allowance for non-response were also modified.

Revision policy

Non-response rate

When results from the Annual Employment Survey (AES) become available, data are subject to revision back to the previous AES.

Estimates for non-response in the AES are made by means of linear regression equations on PAYE data held on the IDBR.

Timeliness DATA MANIPULATION

First release of data (via Press Release) is approximately 12 weeks after the end of the survey reference period.

Aggregations / Grossing up Grossing up method

Release dates

Estimates for total employment are made for businesses not surveyed in the AES using either regression techniques or mean estimators using information from

Advance release announcements are published in National Statistics Updates.

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UNITED KINGDOM

Wages

Indicators from the Wages and Salaries Survey

(a) Weekly earnings - employees (b) Unit labour cost

fore tax, national insurance or other deductions. They include basic wages, payments for hours of overtime worked, shift premia, grading increments, bonuses and other productivity or incentive payments, holiday pay, etc. Excluded are payments which were made during the pay period but which related to another period (e.g., arrears of pay); reimbursement of payments for travelling, subsistence and similar expenses incurred in carrying out the employer’s business; tips or gratuities received by the employee but not shown in the employer’s pay records. Also excluded is the value of benefits in kind provided by the employer except for agricultural, catering and other workers whose employers provide accommodation, meals, etc., for which reckonable values for pay purposes are laid down in the Wages Orders. The amounts are included in total gross earnings but not identified separately. (b) The Unit labour cost index is derived from a combination of the earnings data from the Average Earnings Index (compiled using the results of Wages and Salaries Survey), employment and output indicators.

SOURCE Source agency Data are compiled by the ONS.

Key national publication sources Data are available in ONS, Labour Market Trends. Information is available on-line through NOMIS. Recently released data are also available through ONS STATFAX by telefax.

Series title in national publication (a) Average earnings index: all employees; (b) Wages and salaries per unit of output, seasonally adjusted, manufacturing.

Breakdown available Earnings data are available by industry.

Methodological references Methodological descriptions are published periodically in Labour Market Trends.

Coverage Reference period

Run of data available

Weekly earnings: the last pay week of the month for weekly paid employees and the whole month for monthly paid or four-weekly paid employees.

Data are available from 1963.

Periodicity

Geographical coverage

Data are complied on a monthly basis.

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 earnings of all adult employees aged 18 and over in the manufacturing industry. Earnings are gross pay be-

Firms with 25 or more employees in all branches of industry although in those sectors where the majority of firms is small, representation means that certain sectors

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month in question; the amount included in that total in respect of arrears in pay; and the total number of employees whose wages and salaries are included in that total. There is also space for the employer to indicate any significant changes reflected in the month’s figures, such as new pay rates, bonus payments and disputes.

are excluded. The main excluded sectors are: sea transport; commission agents; house and estate agents; legal services; accountants; education other than school, further or higher; medical, dental or veterinary practices; hairdressing and other personal services; and charities, religious and community services. It should be noted that the indicators published in MEI cover only the manufacturing industries.

Master list Register established at the last Census of Employment held by the ONS.

Particular exclusions Firms with fewer than 25 employees are not included in the survey. Also not covered are working proprietors and working directors who do not receive a salary, young workers below the age of 16 and unpaid family workers.

Survey description The survey is a probability sample survey which covers each month approximately 8 000 companies and organisations. The probability of sample selection is directly proportional to the size of the firm. Firms with more than 1 000 employees are included with certainty in the sample, although in some sectors where all firms are large, a one-in-four sample is taken. Firms with between 500 and 1 000 employees are sampled on a onein-two basis, while those with between 100 and 499 employees have a one-in-four chance of being selected. Small firms with fewer than 100 employees (but more than 24) are sampled on a one-in-twenty basis. The sample covers about 40 per cent of employees in employment and the index represents around 90 per cent of all employees when the sample is grossed up.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry uses SIC 1992 (convertible to ISIC).

Departures from international standards The definition of gross wages and salaries conforms to the international recommendations on gross earnings in cash. The value of earnings in kind is excluded from the concept used.

Non-response rate

DATA COLLECTION

Employers are required to respond by law and so the response rate is high around 95 per cent. No adjustment is made for those that fail to respond.

Reporting units The sampling unit is the firm.

Reporting method

DATA MANIPULATION

Data are collected by postal questionnaire and employers are required by law to respond.

Aggregations / Grossing up Aggregation method

Survey details

Within each industry group an average level of wages and salaries is calculated from the sampled firms, taking account of the different sampling fractions for size of firm. Averages for industry groups are then weighted together according to the total numbers in employment in each group to produce weighted average wages and salaries data for industry classes and ultimately the whole economy. It is a base weighted index and employment weights are not changed when later data become available.

Description of questionnaire The questionnaire is designed to minimise the amount of information requested from employers. The following seven items of information are requested: the total amount of wages and salaries paid to weekly paid employees; the amount included for weekly paid employees in that pay week in respect of holiday pay in advance; the amount included for weekly paid employees in the same week in respect of arrears of pay; the total number of weekly paid employees who are paid in that same week; the total amount of wages and salaries paid to monthly paid or four-weekly paid employees in the

Weights for aggregation Weights used to calculate the index of earnings are derived from the Census of Employment.

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Seasonal and other adjustments

Revision policy

Seasonally adjusted earnings indices are calculated using the X-11 variant of the US Bureau of the Census Method II.

When results from the Annual Employment Survey (AES) become available, data are subject to revision back to the previous AES. The seasonally adjusted series are revised annually to accommodate changes in seasonal factors.

Other errors and their correction Adjustments for temporary influences on the Average Earnings Index are made through the construction of underlying rates of growth.

Timeliness 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 National Statistics Updates.

In November 1989 a revision of the index was introduced but the overall effect on the index was small.

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UNITED KINGDOM

Labour - Employment

Indicators from the Labour Force Survey (LFS)

Employment training

Geographical coverage

SOURCE

Great Britain. (A similar Labour Force Survey is carried out in Northern Ireland).

Source agency Data are compiled by the ONS.

Statistical population

Key national publication sources

Persons aged 16 and over resident in private households and in National Health Service (NHS) accommodation.

Data are available in ONS, Labour Market Trends and 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 to be employed or self-employed and therefore appear in other categories in the LFS results.

Series title in national publication 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 from Spring 1983 to Spring 1991.

Households and NHS accommodation based on postcode addresses.

Periodicity

Reporting method

Data are compiled on a quarterly basis.

Household interviews are by telephone or face-to-face methods.

Unit of measurement Survey details

Number of persons.

Description of questionnaire

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE

The questionnaire covers a wide range of demographic and employment-related information. Questions about economic activity (paid work, job search, etc.) are asked of all people aged 16 and over and relate to the specified reference period (normally one week or four weeks depending on the topic).

Definition Persons on government-supported training programmes. The three current programmes are: Training for Work, Youth Training (including Youth Credits) and Modern Apprenticeships. These are counted as in employment in the Labour Force Survey.

Survey description The sampling frame is the Postcode Address File prepared by the Post Office for mailing purposes. In England and Wales a small users file is selected where addresses receive fewer than 25 items of post per day, thus 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

Coverage Reference period The week ending on the Sunday before the interview.

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an estimate of the private household population of the country using Census of Population and mid-year estimates. A first stage grossing up factor is then calculated by dividing the population estimates for private households in specified areas by the number of responding persons in the sample survey in the same areas. The second stage is calculated by dividing the grossed up sample by the population estimates formed from other characteristics such as marital status, sex and region. The final stage is multiplying the first and second stage factors together and weighting the survey data to population totals accordingly.

is divided into major strata according to districts based on population size and local authorities. Around 60 000 households form the sample with around half in the larger population urban areas. The remaining sample is clustered on the basis of the more sparsely populated areas. Each household remains in the sample for five successive surveys with a fifth of the sample replaced each quarter. The first interview is carried out face-toface and subsequent ones by telephone. Non-response rate For questions asked every quarter, the response is carried 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 reference quarter.

The survey results are grossed up by applying weights to each respondent related to their age, sex, and region of residence. The procedure involves three stages based on

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UNITED KINGDOM

Labour - Unemployment

Indicators from administrative and other sources

(a) Registered unemployed (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 is Unemployment Measured? More detailed explanations are given in special feature articles which appear periodically in Labour Market Trends.

The data are compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) using data supplied by the Department for Social Security.

Key national publication sources

Run of data available

Data are available in ONS, Labour Market Trend and ONS, Labour Market Statistics Monthly First Release.

The administrative unemployment series began in the late nineteenth century but has undergone many changes in that period. Data on the MEI database are available from 1955.

Information is also available on-line through NOMIS. Recently released data is also available through ONS STATFAX by telefax.

Vacancy figures are available from July 1961.

Series title in national publication

Periodicity

(a) Claimant unemployment; (b) Claimant unemployment, percentage of workforce; (c) Unemployed by duration: up to 4 weeks;

Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

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 by:

Short-term: original data expressed in number of persons are converted to index OECD;

-

Vacancies: number of jobs.

geographical area (region, county, etc.); outflow /inflow; duration; age group; occupation (sought and usual occupations).

CONCEPTS AND COVERAGE Definition (a) Registered unemployment: data refer to the claimant unemployed who are persons claiming benefits(up to October 1996 these were unemployment benefit, unemployment-related income support or national insurance 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

Vacancy data are published in the national source by: - industry (for Great Britain only); - occupation (for Great Britain only); - location (area).

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seeking work. From October 1996, unemployment benefits were replaced by the Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), and unemployment-related income support were replaced by income-based JSA. Persons seeking temporary or part-time work are included provided the type of work sought offers reasonable prospects of finding a job. First time jobseekers claiming and eligible for benefit are included as are some categories of disabled persons. Those jobseekers who quit their job voluntarily or were responsible for losing their last job would be included even though they may not be eligible to receive benefits for a specified period. (b) The Unemployment rate refers to the total claimant unemployed as a percentage of the latest mid-year estimate of total workforce in employment. The latter is defined as employees in employment (an employer-based job count), the self-employed (Labour Force Survey headcount), HM Forces (figures from the Ministry of Defence), participants on Government-supported training programmes (figures from the Department of Employment and Earnings) and the claimant unemployed. (c) Short-term unemployment refers to the claimant unemployed registered for up to four weeks. (d) Unfilled vacancies are job opportunities notified by an employer to a Jobcentre or Careers Office (including self-employed opportunities created by employers) which have not been filled or cancelled on the day of the count (i.e., the first Friday of each calendar month). The statistics cover vacancies for a limited period only, full and part-time vacancies.

dents seeking temporary employment during vacation and intending to return to full-time education are excluded from the series. Temporarily stopped workers expecting to return to their jobs are also excluded. Vacancies notified to Jobcentres do not represent the total number of vacancies in the economy at any one time. Jobcentres account for about one third of all unfilled vacancies nationally. Vacancies on governmentsponsored programmes are excluded except for some community-based programmes in Northern Ireland.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Occupation: Standard Classification of Occupations (SOC), broadly comparable to ISCO, which was adopted in 1993 replacing the earlier Classification of Occupational Titles System (CODOTS). Industry: Standard Industrial Classification (SIC 92 from spring 1995) which is broadly comparable to ISIC.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting unit Monthly count of administrative data.

Reporting method The count is based mainly on a computerised register of all claimant records held at all unemployment benefit offices. The count also includes some 11 000 clerical records. Each day information on new claims, cancellations, etc. is entered on the system which provides an up-to-date picture of claimants.

Coverage Reference period 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 US Bureau of Census X-11 method.

United Kingdom. Statistical population

DATA QUALITY

Unemployment: all persons aged 16 and over claiming benefits at a local unemployment benefit office.

Breaks in time series Unemployment: a significant change to the basis of the count took place in October 1982 when the series became a count of those claiming benefit rather than just those registering for employment at the employment offices. Since then there have been numerous adjustments (more than 30), particularly to the benefits sys-

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The count is a by-product of the administration system used to pay benefits and can, therefore, reflect changes in that system. Whenever a genuine discontinuity has affected the coverage of the count and led to a loss of comparability over time, ONS statisticians have recast the seasonally adjusted national and regional series backwards, in order to keep their historical coverage consistent with current criteria for claiming benefits.

tem, which have affected the series in some way. All changes have been documented in Labour Market Trends. The latest change was in April 1996 with the introduction of new rules associated with the Jobseekers’ Allowance (JSA), which was implemented in October 1996. Under the new rules, Job Seekers Allowance is paid for six months, rather than twelve months, as previously Unemployment Benefit This change, as with all other significant discontinuities, involved a recasting of the seasonally adjusted series.

Corroborating data Labour Market Trends includes occasional articles comparing the monthly claimant count and the quarterly ILO measure of unemployment derived from the Labour Force Survey.

Vacancies: a switch to a computerised system during the period 1980 to 1984 improved the accuracy of recorded statistics. In 1985, coverage was changed to include “self-employed” vacancies. Both these changes resulted in a higher count of job vacancies.

Timeliness Revision policy

Unemployment data are available five weeks, and vacancy data some six or seven weeks, after the count date.

Registered unemployed. The raw series are never revised. The seasonally adjusted figures for the latest month are identified as provisional in the ‘First Release’, and revised in the subsequent month. Every spring, the seasonally adjusted series are also revised over a longer time-span.

Release dates Release dates are published by the ONS in National Statistics Updates.

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UNITED KINGDOM

Labour - Other

Indicators from administrative and other sources

Labour disputes - time lost

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 workers and other workers connected with the terms and conditions of employment. They can be initiated by workers or their representatives (strikes) or by employers (lockouts); both are included in the series. Working days lost are defined as the number of working days not worked by people involved in a dispute at the establishment at which the dispute is taking place. Account is taken only of time lost in the basic working week. Overtime work is excluded. Where strikes last less than a working day, the hours lost are converted to full-time equivalents. Workers who are both directly and indirectly involved in the dispute are counted in the statistics. Workers indirectly involved at other establishments are excluded.

Key national publication sources Data are available in ONS, Labour Market Trends. Data are also available through ONS STATFAX by telefax.

Series title in national publication Labour Disputes: working days lost in all stoppages in progress in the period, all industries and services.

Breakdown available Data on labour disputes are published in the national source for the following categories: -

cause of dispute; industry; number of workers involved; duration of stoppage; time not worked; size of economic unit involved; region.

Coverage Reference period The monthly data refer to disputes beginning during the month plus those continuing from the previous month. Geographical coverage United Kingdom.

Run of data available Statistical population

Data are available from 1957.

All industries in the public and private sectors. Included are the following types of action: constitutional or official strikes; unofficial strikes; sympathetic strikes; general strikes; lockouts; rotating or revolving strikes; and sit-ins.

Periodicity Data are compiled on a monthly basis.

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

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Sunday, and these are treated as working days. Allowance 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 is not possible, then the total amount of time not worked is calculated as the product of the number of workers involved and the duration of the stoppage. Time not worked by part-time workers involved in a stoppage is converted to full-time equivalent working days using the ratio of their normal hours to those of full-time workers.

100. Those strikes which do not come to the notice of the Employment Services will be excluded.

STANDARDS Standard classifications / nomenclatures Industry uses SIC 1992 (compatible with ISIC) from 1994, SIC 1980 prior to this date.

International comparability

Reporting method

The definitions used broadly comply with the international guidelines.

For Great Britain the data are collected through the local Employment Services (ES) and other sources, including centralised returns from certain large employers, press reports, trade unions and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service. The staff at the ES use standard forms to collect information at the start of the stoppage and then at the end of each month or at the conclusion of the stoppage. Information for stoppages in Northern Ireland is collected through the Department of Economic Development. There is no legal obligation to report the occurrence of a strike or lockout.

DATA COLLECTION Reporting units The basic unit of measurement used to record a strike or lockout is the case of dispute. Work stoppages arising from the same case of dispute, occurring at different times in the same establishment, or simultaneously or at different times in establishments of the same or different 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. It is measured in working days and is based on the total amount of time not worked on each day of the stoppage. If a strike or lockout lasts for less than the basic working day, the hours not worked are converted to full day equivalents. Account is taken only of the time not worked in the basic working week; overtime work is not included, nor is weekend working or work on public or annual holidays where this is not a regular practice. 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

Revision policy Each month figures for the current calendar year may be revised. Approximately four months after the end of the year, the previous year’s data are frozen.

Timeliness Data are available in the main publication approximately three months following the reference month.

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