Evaluate the potential of small area estimation methods for the Job Statistics (JOBSTAT)

| Last update: 24.09.2019

image – experimental statistics

Summary

A project team of 15 people evaluates the potential of small area estimation methods for the Job Statistics. The aim is to produce reliable estimates of the total number of jobs and FTEs for cantons, major towns and NOGA levels that were not anticipated in the sample plan.

Description

Most economic statistics published in the WI section are based on sample surveys. The survey plan is generally established at the economic division level (NOGA2) and the major regions (NUTS 1). There is also considerable demand for results at detailed levels (cantons, communes, NOGA3, NOGA4, etc., MIGS (Eurostat’s main industrial groupings), employers’ associations and professional organisations.) In these cases, the FSO’s usual response is to suggest an increase in sample size through co-financing. This practice is costly for clients but also goes against aims to reduce the burden on enterprises. The aim of the present project is to evaluate small area estimation methods' potential to respond to these needs without increasing sample sizes. The main statistics concerned by these needs are the quarterly Job Statistics (JOBSTAT, KE section), the wage statistics (SESS; LOHN section) and the value added statistics MON section), the IID statistics (production, turnover and orders in industry and services: KE section), cantonal GDP (VGR section), etc.

Objectives

The first objective of the project is to evaluate the method’s potential. The activities focus on the Job Statistics and other enterprise data relating to employment that are already available at the FSO in this area (STATENT, OASI). The second goal is to transfer this knowledge to a project team (of 15 members of staff), so that they could apply these techniques to other statistics from the division.

 

Documentation