EUROPEAN COMMISSION EUROSTAT

Directorate F: Social statistics Unit F-3: Labour market

Doc.: Eurostat/F3/LAMAS/29/14

WORKING GROUP

LABOUR MARKET STATISTICS

Document for item 3.2.1 of the agenda

LCS 2012

Data Transmissions and checks

14-15 October 2014

BECH Building Luxembourg

Summary: the main objective of this document is to provide the LAbour MArket Statistics (LAMAS) Working Group (WG) with a follow-up on the latest vintage of the Labour Cost Survey. This document puts focus on timeliness with respect to compliance to the EU Regulations as well as validation checks, further analysis and publications done within Eurostat with regard to LCS 2012 and finally, the Quality Reports, due by end of this year.

1. Compliance with EU requirements

Council Regulation (EC) No 530/1999 of 9 March 1999 concerning structural statistics on earnings and on labour costs (resp. Commission Regulation (EC) No 1737/2005 of 21 October 2005 amending as regards the definition and transmission of information on labour costs1) includes a number of requirements in terms of timeliness, variables to be transmitted and coverage of the economy. This part assesses how Member States met these requirements for each of these dimensions. Timeliness According to Article 9 of the Council Regulation, LCS data ‘shall be forwarded to Eurostat within a period of 18 months from the end of the reference year.’ Hence the deadline for countries to transmit their LCS 2012 data was 30 June 2014. The table below shows the country timeliness in providing the first transmission of LCS2012 compared with the official deadline. Table 1: overview of first LCS 2012 data transmission to Eurostat

The majority of EU Member States sent their first dataset duly on time.

1 Commission Regulation (EC) No 1737/2005 of 21 October 2005 amending (EC) No 1726/1999

as regards the definition and transmission of information on labour costs

In the case of Spain and Romania, LCS tables were already transmitted in September 2013 and April 2014, respectively. Turkey was also well in advance, sending their first LCS tables in February 2014, followed by Denmark and Poland who sent their first data transmission in May 2014.

20 countries sent their first LCS 2012 data within one month before the stipulated deadline (June) and France sent their data in July. 2 countries (Cyprus and the United Kingdom) were 2 months late (August) whereas we still miss data for Belgium, Portugal, Norway and Switzerland (expected to send before end of September), Italy (expected for the first week of October) and Greece, which is expected to be delivered by the end of November 2014. Re-transmissions

Data transmitted by the countries go through a number of validation checks run by Eurostat as documented in the LCS2012 implementing guidelines2. In some cases, countries were asked to re-transmit an error-free dataset or else confirm if such errors were to be ignored, justifying the reason for acceptance.

Frequently corrections and revisions by the countries may lead to poorer timeliness in publishing our statistics on the web. Countries are reminded to ensure having the rules provided in the implementing arrangements document integrated into their national validation tools before actually sending their data to Eurostat.

Table 2 shows the extra-delay needed until data were finalized while distinguishing between countries having transmitted before (1st column) or after (2nd column) the legal deadline. Countries whose LCS2012 data could not be published before the end of August, either due to a late 1st transmission and/or extra-delays required for validation, are highlighted in red.

Table 2: Extra-delays between 1st and final transmission of LCS data

It must be noted that all Member States (highlighted in table 2) whose LCS data have not been finalized by the end of August should receive, by the end of this year, a letter of non-compliance signed by the Director General of Eurostat. The situation in terms of timeliness has improved compared to the previous collection (LCS 2008). This is also the case with regard to the number of times a country had to re-send a corrected table/s until the final version (error-free) was cleared for publication. This is summarised in table 3 on the next page.

2 Eurostat’s arrangements for implementing Regulations 530/1999, 1726/1999 and

1737/2005 on CIRCABA library

Table 3: Comparison between LCS 2008 and LCS2012 timeliness and revisions

Completeness

Whereas the majority of EU countries complied with the EU regulation in terms of variables to be transmitted, data for some of the mandatory variables was still missing for a few countries. In the annex attached to this document, we provide further detail on these “missing” variables which were provided as 'NA' (i.e. ‘not available’ meaning that the country acknowledges the case exists and data should be transmitted but it was not able to provide even an estimate to Eurostat).

Annex 1 provides information on the data transmitted / missing for apprentices. 4 countries (BG, LV, SI and RS) reported ‘NA’ for the apprentices’ variables. 5 other countries (EE, ES, HR, SE and CH) claimed there were no apprentices in their country according to the LCS definition and transmitted ‘0’ (zero) values for the corresponding variables. These countries are invited to confirm that there is no scheme for apprenticeship in their country. If there are such schemes, countries are invited to re-submit the data with the appropriate label (i.e. ‘NA’ instead of ‘0’).

In annex 2 are listed the 6 countries (DE, EE, IE, HU, PL and SI) that only transmitted ‘blanks’ or ‘NA’ for some of the mandatory variables. Whereas Hungary and Poland provided ‘NA’ for variable D4 (Taxes) in all records, the latter also sent ‘NA’ for variable D5 (subsidies received by the employer) while informing Eurostat that the issue was currently discussed with the perspective of transmitting D4/D5 variables as from the next LCS collection. DE did not provide any data only for variables E1 and E2 for NACE P, while informing Eurostat that information about the number of units is not available for this economic sector. On the other hand, Estonia transmitted a ‘0’ (zero) value for variables D4 (Taxes), E1 (local units, Universe) and E2 (local units, sample).

In the case of Slovenia, data for D2, D3, D4 and D5 was sent as ‘NA’ for the NACE sections where the Coefficient of Variation (CV) was greater than 30% as mentioned in section 2.4.2 of the implementing arrangements.

Annex 3 provides for each country, the size class × NACE industry combinations for which variable D1 was not transmitted. D1 being one of the main LCS indicators, missing data for this variable generally indicates that the full range of LCS data is missing for the combination (size

class × NACE industry) concerned as well as for the corresponding NACE aggregate. There again, countries are invited to follow-up with Eurostat and provide additional evidence confirming that the size class × NACE industry concerned is not represented in the country.

Should data be not available because the combination (e.g. size class × NACE industry) does not exist, countries are reminded they should send an estimate (be it '0') instead of 'NA'. Indeed, Eurostat is particularly concerned that one 'NA' from a single country for a given NACE Section is just enough to prevent us from publishing the corresponding total for the country. A typical example is provided in Annex 4 of this document, which table is downloaded from the published data on Eurobase. In this case, national data on total hours worked, split by size classes is not published for a good number of countries due the ‘NAs’ in the respective categories. In 4 cases (highlighted in red) data on hours worked by size class is flagged as ‘:d’ (definition differs) just because one single NACE Section (NACE B for France and Sweden and NACE L for Spain and Austria) for a given size class (500 to 999 to Spain and Sweden and 1000+ for France and Austria) was transmitted with ‘NAs’. This scenario could also have an impact when publishing the corresponding EU aggregate. Optional variables As regards optional variables, a fair number were transmitted by several countries as shown in table 4 below. It can be noted that 5 countries (Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) sent a complete dataset, including data for all the optional variables. Table 4: optional variables covered in LCS 2012

(D11141)

Co

mp

an

y p

rod

ucts

(D11142)

Sta

ff H

ou

sin

g

(D11143)

Co

mp

an

y c

ars

(D11144)

Sto

ck o

pti

on

s a

nd

sh

are

pu

rch

ase s

ch

em

es

(D11145)

Oth

er

(D1221)

Gu

ara

nte

ed

rem

un

era

tio

n

in t

he e

ven

t o

f sic

kn

ess

(D

1222)

Em

plo

yers

’ im

pu

ted

so

cia

l co

ntr

ibu

tio

n f

or

p

en

sio

ns a

nd

he

alt

h c

are

(D1223)

Paym

en

ts t

o

em

plo

yees l

eavin

g

the

en

terp

rise

(D1224 )

Oth

er

imp

ute

d

so

cia

l co

ntr

ibu

tio

ns

of

the

em

plo

yer

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE

EE

IE

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

RO

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

MK

TR

IS

NO

CH

RS

Coverage of the economy

The Regulation specifies that LCS data should cover the whole economy except small enterprises (with less than 10 employees) and section O of NACE Rev. 2 (public administration and defence; compulsory social security) that are optional. Table 5 below shows countries that reported data for the optional parts of the economy.

Table 5: coverage of small enterprises and public administration by country

Ente

rprises w

ith

less t

ha

n 1

0 e

mp

loy

ees

BE BG CZ DK DE EE IE EL ES FR HR IT CY LV LT LU HU

MT NL AT PL PT RO SI SK FI SE UK MK TR IS NO CH RS

NA

CE

Rev.2

S

ecti

on

O

BE BG CZ DK DE EE IE EL ES FR HR IT CY LV LT LU HU

MT NL AT PL PT RO SI SK FI SE UK MK TR IS NO CH RS

2. Consistency and plausibility checks

The most frequent errors detected in the 2012 vintage of LCS, for which countries were asked to correct and re-send a corrected dataset were the following:

The sample of local units was larger than the universe (E2 > E1);

Inconsistencies between totals and their respective breakdowns for variables: A1 (total number of employees) , B1 (hours worked), C1 (hours paid) and D (labour costs);

Inconsistencies between national data (Table A) for enterprises with 10 employees or more and the summation of data by their distinctive size classes (Table B);

Inconsistencies between data at NACE section / aggregate level and the totals given for their respective NACE divisions / sections;

Too many “;;;;;;;” in the data file causing readability problems by GSAST;

3. Data dissemination

A first set of LCS 2012 tables, containing 15 countries (BG, CZ, DK, DE, EE, ES, LV, LT, LU, PL, RO, SK, SE, TR and RS) was published shortly after the deadline on the first week of July. These tables contained data for all countries who transmitted their first dataset on time and which were cleared for publishing after passing Eurostat’s validation criteria.

A second batch of countries was published on the second (NL, SI, FI, HU and IS) and the third week (AT, IE, FR, HR, MT and MK) of July. UK were disseminated on the last week of August and CY on the first week of September.

LCS 2012 data is accessible on Eurostat’s website under the domain “lcs” as shown below

4. LCS 2012 publications

NSIs are kindly asked to inform Eurostat of any national publications or press releases highlighting the LCS 2012 results that have been issued already or planned for the months to come.

Eurostat intends publishing an article, in the Statistics Explained collection, on the subject by the end of this year. The main focus of the article could be a cross-country comparison of developments in wage / non-wage costs and hours worked throughout the crisis, i.e. based on a comparison of LCS2012 with LCS2008 data.

A list of tables to be published is provided in an Excel file (Doc 29 – Item 3.2.1 – LCS2012 Data transmission – annex SE page on changes.xls and Doc 29 – Item 3.2.1 – LCS2012 Data transmission – annex SE page on levels.xls) to this document in order to provide Member States with an opportunity to check their figures before release.

5. Quality Reports

Countries are reminded that according to the Commission Regulation (EC) No 698/2006 of 5 May 2006 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 530/1999 as regards quality evaluation of structural statistics on labour costs and earnings (Article 2), “The quality report shall be transmitted to Eurostat at the latest 24 months after the end of the reference period.”

Hence the deadline for transmission of the LCS 2012 Quality Report (QR) to Eurostat is end of this year. Eurostat urges countries to respect this deadline and transmit their QRs in due time.

Meanwhile, a synthesis of the LCS 2012 Quality Reports is foreseen for publishing in the first quarter of 2015. This will also be published on the CIRCABC library and annexed to the national QRs available in the Labour Cost Surveys methodological note on Eurostat’s website.

The members of the LAMAS Working Group are invited to:

- Comment on the delays in transmitting LCS 2012 data; (In particular for BE, EL, IT, CY, PT, UK, NO and CH whose delay was > 1 month)

- For the countries concerned, explain before 30 October 2014, why some mandatory variables were filled with ‘NA’ or ‘blanks’ instead of values (be it ‘0’) and re-submit data where need be.

- When data on apprentices have been filled with ‘0’ (zero), countries should confirm they have no scheme for apprenticeship or re-submit using the appropriate label (‘NA’);

- Take note that the LCS 2012 Quality Reports shall be transmitted to Eurostat no later than December 2014;

- Inform Eurostat of any national publications / press releases related to the LCS 2012.

Annex 1: Transmitted data for apprentices (A13, A131, B13, C13, D112 and D123)

BE Data not available yet

BG NA

CZ

DK

DE

EE No Apprentices

IE

EL -

ES No Apprentices

FR

HR No Apprentices

IT Data not available yet

CY

LV NA

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT Data not available yet

RO

SI NA

SK

FI

SE No Apprentices

UK

MK

TR

IS

NO Data not available yet

CH Data not available yet

RS NA

Data is available

No Apprentices Apprentices do not exist in the country

NA Not available (apprentices exist in the country and data is greater than zero)

Annex 2: Missing (blanks or NAs) mandatory variables in national data file (Table A)

BE

BG

CZ

DK

DE E1, E2 = NA for NACE Section P

EE D4, E1, E2 = 0 for all NACE Sections B to S

IE D1112 for all NACE Sections B to S

EL

ES

FR

HR

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU D4 = NA for all NACE Sections B to S

MT

NL

AT

PL D4, D5 = NA for all NACE Sections B to S

PT

RO

SI D2, D3, D4, D5 = NA for some NACE Sections

SK

FI

SE

UK

MK

TR

IS

NO

CH

RS

Annex 3: Missing (blanks or NAs) data for variable D1 by size classes and sector (Table B)

COUNTRY and SIZE CLASS (number of employees)

NACE Rev.2 Section

10 to 49 50 to 249 250 to 499 500 to 999 1000 or more

BULGARIA

L X X

R X

S X X

IRELAND

E X X

F X

L X

S X

SPAIN

L X

FRANCE

B X

CYPRUS

B X X X X

D X X X X

E X X X

F X X

I X

L X X X

M X

N X

Q X X

R X X X

S X X X

FINLAND

B X X

HUNGARY

B X X

L X

S X

LITHUANIA

B X X

F X

L X X

R X

S X X X

LUXEMBOURG

B X X X

D X X

E X X

F X

I X

L X X X

P X X

R X X X

S X X X

LATVIA

B X X

E X

F X X

I X

L X

M X

R X

S X X

MALTA

B X X X

D X X X X

E X

F X

G X X

I X

J X

K X

L X X X X

M X X

N X

R X X

S X X

AUSTRIA

L X

SWEDEN

B X

SLOVENIA

B X

D X X

E X

F X X

I X

J X

L X X X

P X

S X X X X

SLOVAKIA

B X

I X

L X X

Annex 4: Total hours worked (at national level) data by size classes as published on Eurobase