Statistical processing

Source data

The databases of Eurostat and BLS.

Frequency of data collection

Quarterly.

Data collection

The figures being used are collected from the homepage of Eurostat and the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS).

Data validation

As data validation is performed differently in all the countries included in the international labour cost indices, it is only possible to describe the way it is performed on the Danish index.

In case of the Danish index, the received data is validated on several levels through the steps in the production process. Already by the receipt of the data, a rough search for errors is performed, for example of whether the period of the payroll is as expected and whether the general format is adhered to. If this is not the case, the person or company responsible for the transmission is contacted either by mail or phone and asked to correct the error and retransmit. During the actual production of statistics, the data is validated more thoroughly. This is done both on the individual level, where for example it is checked whether there are missing values on hours worked and wage, and on firm level where for example average pay per hour and number of employees are compared to data transmitted for previous quarters.

Data compilation

As data compilation is performed differently in all the countries included in the international labour cost indices, it is only possible to describe the way it is performed on the Danish index.

In case of the Danish index, the quarterly rate of increase in wages is calculated as the mean wage per hour worked in one quarter compared to the mean wage per hour worked in the previous quarter. This is done for every group of industry. Since the data is based on a stratified sample, the first step that is done is to calculate the correct average wage per hour for each industry in both quarters. The average wage per hour for a group of industry is calculated as the weighted average of the hourly wages for the different size of employment classes 10-19, 20-49, 50-99 and 100+. In the calculations, only enterprises that have transmitted data for the two consecutive quarters are included. After having calculated the average wage per hour for each size class in an industry, the average wage per hour is calculated for the industry as a whole by weighting the different size classes after the number of workers in each of them in a certain quarter. The difference between the average wages per hour in the two consecutive quarters is then added to the sub-index of the industry. The sub-indices are then aggregated from the 36-class of industry to the 21- or 10-class of industry. The final index for the whole private sector is then calculated by weighting the sub-indices with the number of workers in each of them for enterprises and organizations with 10 employees or more.

Adjustment

Not relevant for the data on international labour costs.