The annual reports on quality for the labour cost index include the following items:
(a) evidence of relevance to user needs:
- a summary including description of the users, origin and satisfaction of users' needs, and relevance of statistics for the users;
(b) evidence of accuracy (information broken down by NACE Rev. 1 sections):
- revision history: a table showing the revisions in the published year-on-year growth rates for total labour costs using the unadjusted series, for the last 12 quarters; a summary of the reasons for the revisions,
- coverage: a table showing the percentage of the employees represented in the sample(s)/register(s) based on the number of employees according to ESA 95; if labour cost items are collected from different sources, a table broken down by labour cost items according to Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 450/2003,
- frequency: a table showing the frequency of collecting/updating the different cost item information,
- estimation: a description of the methods used to estimate/model the missing information (missing groups of employees, enterprises, economic activities and cost items); an evaluation, as quantitative as possible, of the impact on the final figures of completely missing information (missing groups of employees, enterprises, economic activities and cost items),
- hours worked: a description of the methods for compiling the hours worked; or a description of the proxy measure of the hours worked and an evaluation, as quantitative as possible of the impact of the proxy measure on the final figures,
- administrative data: where administrative data are used, comments on the correspondence and differences between the administrative concepts and the theoretical statistical concepts;
(c) timeliness and punctuality:
- a table showing the delays in days in transmitting the data for the last 12 quarters covered by the report and the correspondence between planned and actual date of transmission;
(d) accessibility and clarity:
- a description of the publication media for the data and metadata in Member States;
(e) comparability:
- a description of any differences in concepts and methods in any pair of consecutive quarters from the first quarter of 1996 onwards. In addition, a description of the differences and an assessment, as quantitative as possible, of the effect of the change in the estimates. Any differences in comparability between the NACE Rev. 1 sections should also be identified;
(f) coherence:
- a graph and a table showing annual unadjusted growth rates of the total labour cost index (NACE Rev. 1 sections) and of the ESA 95 compensation of employees per hours worked (A6 breakdown) with explanations for the differences in the growth rates for the last 12 quarters;
(g) completeness:
- a progress report of the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 450/2003 together with a detailed plan and timetable for completing the implementation; a summary of the remaining deviations from EU concepts.
The first quality report due by 31 August 2004 includes also the following items for the back data:
- a description of the sources used for the back data and the methodology employed,
- a description of the correspondence between the coverage (economic activities, employees, cost items) of the back data and that of the current data,
- a description of the comparability of the back data and the current data.
ANNEX II
THE TRANSITION PERIODS RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE REGULATION
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ANNEX III
1. The feasibility study to assess how the quarterly labour cost indices can be obtained for NACE sections L, M, N and O
The feasibility study undertaken by a Member State shall cover in particular:
The Background
The contribution each of these economic activities makes to the national economy, expressed in terms of labour costs or a suitable alternative measure.
A description of the similarities and differences in labour cost structures and development for these economic activities compared with the cost structures and development within NACE sections C to K.
The Options
An evaluation of the practices in other Member States, where the data for these NACE sections are already available.
An assessment of the different options for obtaining the labour cost indices for NACE sections L, M, N and O, which would allow data transmission for the first quarter of 2007. The following possible data sources should be taken into account:
(a) the use of existing data collections;
(b) administrative sources;
(c) statistical estimation procedures;
(d) new data collections.
For each option considered, the assessment shall include details of the technical and legal issues involved; expected start-up and running costs for the national statistical office; cost estimates for any additional burden on businesses; the expected statistical quality of the results; any risks or uncertainties; and particular advantages or disadvantages.
The Recommendation
Based on the assessment of the different options, a recommendation on the most suitable approach shall be proposed.
The Implementation
Details of the proposed implementation plan, including start date and the completion dates of specific stages of the implementation of the recommendation.
Member States undertaking feasibility studies
The following Member States shall undertake feasibility studies to assess how the quarterly labour cost indices defined in Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 450/2003 can be obtained for NACE Rev. 1 sections L, M, N and O:
- Denmark
- Germany
- Greece
- Spain
- France
- Italy
- Austria
- Sweden.
2. The feasibility study to assess how the index estimating total labour costs excluding bonuses can be obtained
The feasibility study undertaken by a Member State shall cover in particular:
The Background
The contribution bonuses make to total national labour costs with a description of the characteristics of bonus payments in the national economy.
The Options
An evaluation of the practices in other Member States, where the data are already available to calculate an index of total labour costs excluding bonuses.
An assessment of the different options for obtaining the index of total labour costs excluding bonuses, which allow data transmission for the first quarter of 2007. The following possible data sources should be taken into account:
(a) the use of existing data collections;
(b) administrative sources;
(c) statistical estimation procedures;
(d) new data collections.
For each option considered, the assessment shall include details of the technical and legal issues involved; expected start-up and running costs for the national statistical office; cost estimates for any additional burden on businesses; the expected statistical quality of the results; any risks or uncertainties; and particular advantages or disadvantages.
The Recommendation
Based on the assessment of the different options, a recommendation on the most suitable approach shall be proposed.
The Implementation
Details of the proposed implementation plan, including start date and the completion dates of specific stages of the implementation of the recommendation.
Member States undertaking feasibility studies
The following Member States shall undertake feasibility studies to assess how the index estimating total labour costs excluding bonuses defined in Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 450/2003 can be obtained:
- Germany
- Greece
- France
- Italy
- Austria
- Portugal
- Finland
- Sweden.
ANNEX IV
The Laspeyres chain index formula to be used for the calculation of the labour cost index (LCI) for combinations of NACE Rev. 1 sections:
1. Define:
witj= labour costs per hour worked of employees in NACE Rev. 1 section i in quarter t in year j
ωik= labour costs per hour worked of employees in NACE Rev. 1 section i in year k
hik= hours worked by employees in NACE Rev. 1 section i in year k
Wik= ωik * hik = labour costs of employees in NACE Rev. 1 section i in year k.
2. The basic Laspeyres formula to be used to calculate the LCI for quarter t in year j, with base year k is defined as:
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where 1 <= t <= 4.
3. The weights used to calculate the index are defined as:
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where Wik, i and k are defined in paragraph 1 of this Annex.
4. The annual link for year l to year l + 1, where 0 <= l < l + 1 < j is defined by:
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5. The Laspeyres chain index formula for quarter t in year j with reference year k = 0 and m the interval required to process and apply the necessary annual weights, where 1 <= m <= 2, is defined as:
LCItj(0) = 100. (L0,1). (L1,2) ..... (Lj-m-1,j-m ). LCItj(j-m).
6. The first reference year shall be the year 2000, when the annual labour cost index equals 100.
ANNEX V
Derogations
Denmark, Germany, France and Sweden: the index series shall be delivered only (b) working-day adjusted and (c) seasonally and working-day adjusted. The working-day and seasonal adjustment methods shall be fully documented and made available for the Commission (Eurostat).
