Statistical processing

Source data

The statistics are compiled from data collected via questionnaires. The sample is based on information in the Central Business Register.

The survey is a panel based stratified sample consisting initially of 1400 enterprises representing about 48 pct. of the total number of full-time employees in selected trades. Because of drop-out the sample is updated once or twice year. Typically the sample is added 350-400 new enterprises at update.

The sample is stratified into trade groupings and size groups in terms of full time employees.

The trade strata are defined by:

• Sales of motor vehicles incl. wholesale (45,1)
• Repair and maintenance of motor vehicles etc. (45,2-45,4)
• Retail trade of Food, Beverage and Tobacco (47,1; 47,2; 47,8)
• Retail sale of automotive fuel (47,3)
• Retail sale of other goods (47,4-47,7; 47,9)

The three size strata are defined by:

• above 25 employees
• 10-24 employees
• 5-9 employees

The monthly responses from individual enterprises are stored with the following information:

• Journr (identification)
• ID of the business establishment
• Sector (NACE2 / Danish Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities 2007)
• Address
• Telephone number
• Employment
• Year
• Month
• Trends, actual: Sales, employment, sales prices, orders placed by supplier
• Trends, expected: Sales, employment, sales prices, orders placed by supplier
• Stock ultimo previous month

Frequency of data collection

Data is collected each month during the first 2-3 weeks.

Data collection

Data is collected either by paper questionnaire send to the respondent including postage pre-paid envelope, or by online reporting. In the latter case, respondents receive an e-mail notification telling it is time to log in to the reporting system VIRK, and fill the online questionnaire. Respondents are urged to respond online.

Response rate is about 76 pct. on average. Deadline for responding to the current month's questionnaire is about the 6'th of the month. Here, about two third of the responses have arrived. The rest, one third, arrives within two weeks and are included in the statistics.

Reminder is send about the 13th giving new deadline about the 20th of the survey month.

Information to the respondents about the statistics is found here (in Danish).

Data validation

To fill the questionnaire one has to tick one of three options for each question. This does not call for data validation. The paper questionnaires are scanned automatically, and questionnaires refused in this process are handled manually.

Non-response errors are corrected for in the enumeration process.

By online reporting the system warns the respondent if a question is not ticked. However, in both cases, online reporting or reporting by post, it is accepted that some questions are left un-ticked. In the data enumeration process, basic data is checked if bigger deviations as compared to last month - usually the reason is either unidirectional change in assessments by several big companies or missing reporting from some few big companies.

Data compilation

The enterprises' responses are weighted according to their average number of full-time employees. Within each stratum answers are distributed into percentages answering decline, unchanged and Increase adding up to 100 pct. The group of non-responding enterprises within the stratum is assigned same percentage distribution as the group of responding enterprises (which is considered a imputing method).

Hereafter, the responses are enumerated to the number of full-time employees of the total population, within each industry-grouping.

Confidence indicator for a variable is calculated and denominated balance. It is the difference between percentages of enterprises (weighted by number of employees) that have answered increase and decrease. The balance figures does not measure the size of the increase or decrease, but only indicates that an overweight of enterprises expect either increase or decrease.

The Composite confidence indicator is the arithmetic average of balance figures for recent sales (past 3 months) and expected (coming 3 months) development of sales and current stock. The latter calculated with inverted sign since stock too large is considered affecting the confidence indicator negatively and vice versa.

Adjustment

No adjustments are carried out, besides seasonal adjustment.