Accuracy and reliability

Overall accuracy

As the LMA constitutes a census of the population the statistical accuracy of the statistics is considered to be relatively high. There is, however, still some degree of uncertainty linked to the statistics.

There is uncertainty attached to the information on self-employed persons. This is due to the circumstance that the hourly information for the self-employed is imputed. The information is considered to be correct at a general level in relation to the variables on which the information is imputed upon, but the information – especially at detailed level – must be interpreted with caution.

The information on paid hours of work is obtained from the statistics on employees in employment, where paid hours of work are, in some cases, imputed and consequently the information is uncertain.

Employees are legally obliged to report information on the workplace at which the individual job is performed. However, there are a number of employees, especially within the public sector whose reports are insufficient in this respect. By means of, e.g. Statistics Denmark´s central business register, the data reported for these workplaces are subjected to editing, and the job is attached to a workplace, which is Statistics Denmark´s statistical unit for job attachment.

On the basis of the LMA, it is possible to compile the population´s labour market status at arbitrary points-in-time during the course of the year. However, Statistics Denmark has only tested the compilation of labour market status by the end of November during the different years. This implies that there may be some degree of uncertainty linked to the compilation of labour market status at other points-in-time during the course of the year, and uncertainty can especially be linked to the statistical compilations in December.

Sampling error

Not relevant for the statistics.

Non-sampling error

There is uncertainty attached to the information on self-employed persons. This is due to the circumstance that the hourly information for the self-employed is imputed. The information is considered to be correct at a general level in relation to the variables on which the information is imputed upon, but the information – especially at detailed level – must be interpreted with caution.

The information on paid hours of work is obtained from the statistics on employees in employment, where paid hours of work are, in some cases, imputed and consequently the information is uncertain.

All employees are legally obliged to report information on the workplace at which the individual job is performed. However, there are a number of employees, especially within the public sector whose reports are insufficient in this respect. By means of, e.g. Statistics Denmark´s central business register, the data reported for these workplaces are subjected to editing, and the job is attached to a workplace, which is Statistics Denmark´s statistical unit for job attachment. Data editing has only been conducted at the same level as that of the statistics on employees in employment. This implies that the information at a more detailed level can be subject to uncertainty.

On the basis of the LMA, it is possible to compile the population´s labour market status at arbitrary points-in-time during the course of the year. However, Statistics Denmark has only tested the compilation of labour market status by the end of November during the different years. This implies that there may be some degree of uncertainty linked to the compilation of labour market status at other points-in-time during the course of the year, and uncertainty can especially be linked to the statistical compilations in December.

Quality management

Statistics Denmark follows the recommendations on organisation and management of quality given in the Code of Practice for European Statistics (CoP) and the implementation guidelines given in the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (QAF). A Working Group on Quality and a central quality assurance function have been established to continuously carry through control of products and processes.

Quality assurance

Statistics Denmark follows the principles in the Code of Practice for European Statistics (CoP) and uses the Quality Assurance Framework of the European Statistical System (QAF) for the implementation of the principles. This involves continuous decentralized and central control of products and processes based on documentation following international standards. The central quality assurance function reports to the Working Group on Quality. Reports include suggestions for improvement that are assessed, decided and subsequently implemented.

Quality assessment

In the LMA, a wide range of data sources are subjected to data editing and harmonisation in one statistical system. This implies that the LMA can conduct far better analyses of the labour market than the analyses that can be conducted by each individual statistic. At the same time, the LMA constitutes a census of the population and consequently, the statistical uncertainty is reduced compared to statistics compiled on the basis of sample surveys. Against this background, the quality of the statistics is considered to be relatively high. Despite this, there is still some uncertainties linked to the statistics:

There is uncertainty attached to the information on self-employed persons. This is due to the circumstance that the hourly information for the self-employed is imputed. The information is considered to be correct at a general level in relation to the variables on which the information is imputed upon, but the information – especially at detailed level – must be interpreted with caution.

The information on paid hours of work is obtained from the statistics on employees in employment, where paid hours of work are, in some cases, imputed and consequently the information is uncertain.

There is used a constant full-time standard for all employees, namely 37 hours per week (160.33 hours per month). This is equivalent to full-time norm for most tenured functionaries. However, there may be groups who have another full-time norm e.g. hourly paid employees or newly hired salaried employees who have a full-time norm of less than 160.33 hours per month, as these groups typically will not receive wage when on temporary absence such as holiday.

This has implications for the levels and the interpretation of the number of full-time employees. However, it is not possible based on e-income register to divide the population according to various groups of employees with different full-time standards. One advantage of having the same full-time norm for all employees is that it is simple to convert the number of full-time employees to hours paid for, providing an indicator of trends in employment volume for employees. This enables users to easily develop alternative splits (with varying full-time standards) based on their needs and the groups they want to compare.

Employers are legally obliged to report information on the workplace at which the individual job is performed. However, there are a number of employees, especially within the public sector whose reports are insufficient in this respect. By means of, e.g. Statistics Denmark´s central business register, the data reported for these workplaces are subjected to editing, and the job is attached to a workplace, which is Statistics Denmark´s statistical unit for job attachment. Data editing has only been conducted at the same level as that of the statistics on employees in employment. This implies that the information at a more detailed level can be subject to uncertainty.

On the basis of the LMA, it is possible to compile the population´s labour market status at arbitrary points-in-time during the course of the year. However, Statistics Denmark has only tested the compilation of labour market status by the end of November during the different years. This implies that there may be some degree of uncertainty linked to the compilation of labour market status at other points-in-time during the course of the year, and uncertainty can especially be linked to the statistical compilations in December.

Data revision - policy

Statistics Denmark revises published figures in accordance with the Revision Policy for Statistics Denmark. The common procedures and principles of the Revision Policy are for some statistics supplemented by a specific revision practice.

Data revision practice

When the figures for 2015 were published, the years 2008-2014 were revised. No revisions have been made in subsequent publications.