Statistical Service of Cyprus (Cystat)

Labour Statistics Unit

Michael Karaoli Str., 1444 Nicosia, Cyprus

• Number of employees and self-employed persons
• Hours worked by employees
• Wages and salaries

 NACE Rev. 2

NACE Rev. 2 Sections B to D, Division E36,  Section F,  Divisions G45, G46, G47 and Division G47 excl. G473, Sections H, I and J, sum of M69, M702, M71, M73 and M74 (=M_STS) and sum of N78, N79, N80, N812 and N82 (=N_STS).

There are no discrepancies with the definition of each indicator laid down in the Commission Implementing Regulation 2020/1197 (Annex IV).

• Number of employees and self-employed persons

The data source for persons employed is the Employment and Job Vacancies Survey which is carried out on a quarterly basis. Administrative sources are also used (Social Insurance Register and files from the Treasury of the Republic). The survey collects the monthly employment levels for each cell of a matrix determined by: 1) full-time/part-time employment and 2) status of employment (working proprietors, unpaid family workers, employees). It is noted that working proprietors are included also in cases where they are self-employed and the only labour force of their enterprise.

• Hours worked by employees

The data source for hours worked is the Employment and Job Vacancies Survey which is carried out on a quarterly basis. The survey collects the monthly employment levels for each cell of a matrix determined by: 1) full-time/part-time employment and 2) status of employment (working proprietors, unpaid family workers, employees). Part-time employment is defined as those persons working less than 30 hours in the reference week. In addition, the questionnaire collects the number of hours worked by part-time workers as well as an indication of the normal hours worked by a person in full-time employment. Hours worked for employees per quarter are derived from the Labour Cost Survey 2016. Labor Force Survey and an administrative source is also used (Social Insurance Register).

• Gross wages and salaries

The following data sources are being used:

(a) Employment – National Accounts: The total number of employees by economic activity is derived from national accounts estimates.

(b) The Social Insurance Services’ Records: The gross monthly earnings by economic activity for the years 2008 onwards have been derived from the Social Insurance Services’ Records. Gross monthly earnings include the following: Direct remuneration, bonuses and allowances, payment for days not worked and guaranteed remuneration in the event of sickness. The Social Insurance Register does not provide information on wages and salaries in kind.

Employment information on three-digit NACE is estimated using the proportion of three-digit NACE to two-digit NACE in the Social Insurance Services’ Records.

(c) The Labour Cost Survey: It provides information for the estimation of the guaranteed remuneration in the event of sickness, payments to employees’ saving schemes and wages and salaries in kind (in order to derive the wages and salaries figures).

(d) The data source for wages and salaries is available from 2008. For the years before 2008 the percentage change of each series is adopted from previous transmissions.

Τhe average wages and salaries are derived based on the Statistical Service’s Register of which the statistical unit is the enterprise. The data referring to the government are allocated to the corresponding economic activities by local unit.

• Number of employees and self-employed persons and hours worked by employees

The sampling frame used for the sample selection was drawn from the Business Register, which contains all enterprises as well as their local units which carry out an economic activity, irrespective of their size.  The Business Register is updated using administrative sources and the enterprise data available concerns identification, demographic and economic variables.

• Gross wages and salaries

The target population comprises all employees in the economic activities covered by each Annex. All enterprises from all size classes are fully covered. Where a difference is found, a correction of the economic activity provided by the Social Insurance Register is made from our Business Register data. Employees who report a gross salary less than 50% of the minimum salary, as this is determined by the Department of Labour Relations, and more than a predetermined ceiling, are excluded.

Republic of Cyprus. Activities outside the reference area are not included in the data. 

• Number of persons employed and Hours worked: Data series transmitted to Eurostat are available as from the year 2000 whereas the data series at Cystat's web site are available as from 1995.
• Gross wages and salaries: Data for Annexes A and B are available as from the year 2000 and for Annexes C and D as from the year 2010.

 Base year 2015=100.

The data are trasnmitted to Eurostat in the following form:

• Wages and salaries: Indices; unadjusted and calendar adjusted.
• Employment: Indices; unadjusted.
• Hours worked: Indices; unadjusted, calendar adjusted, seasonal adjusted.

Data for employment and hours worked are published on national level on absolute values. https://www.cystat.gov.cy/en/SubthemeStatistics?s=45

Quarter.

Article 3 of the national Official Statistics Law, No. 25(I) of 2021 defines the functions of the Statistical Service of Cyprus regarding the production and dissemination of official statistics. Moreover, Article 13, explicitly stipulates the mandate for data collection and introduces a mandatory response to statistical enquiries by stipulating the obligation of respondents to reply to surveys and provide the data required. This relates not only to national but also to European statistics which, by virtue of Article 8 of the said Law, are incorporated in the annual and multiannual programmes of work without any further procedure. Link to the Statistics Law No. 25(I) of 2021: https://www.cystat.gov.cy/en/StaticPage?id=1074  

The legal basis for the short-term statistics is the European Business Statistics (EBS) Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 on 27 November 2019, followed by the Commission Implementing Regulation 2020/1197 laying down technical specifications and arrangements pursuant to the mentioned EBS Regulation (General Implementing Act). The former legal basis for the STS indicators is the Council Regulation No 1165/98 of 19 May 1998 concerning short-term statistics and subsequent amending regulations.

Apart from Eurostat, the data are not transmitted to any other international organisation.

Official statistics are released in accordance to all confidentiality provisions of the following:

• National Official Statistics Law No. 25(I) of 2021 (especially Article 16 on statistical confidentiality).
• Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics and its later amendments (especially Chapter 5 on statistical confidentiality).
• European Statistics Code of Practice (especially Principle 5 on statistical confidentiality).
• CYSTAT's Code of Practice for the Collection, Publication and Storage of Statistical Data.

Links to all of the above documents:

• Statistics Law No. 25(I) of 2021: https://www.cystat.gov.cy/en/StaticPage?id=1074  
• Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (consolidated text):  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:02009R0223-20150608&qid=1504858409240&from=EN
• European Statistics Code of Practice: https://www.cystat.gov.cy/en/StaticPage?id=1082
• Code of Practice for the Collection, Publication and Storage of Statistical Data: https://www.cystat.gov.cy/en/StaticPage?id=1066

No data is considered confidential at the level published. The treatment of confidential data is regulated by CYSTAT's Code of Practice for the Collection, Publication and Storage of Statistical Data.  

The link is as follows: https://www.cystat.gov.cy/en/StaticPage?id=1066

In the framework of its mission, CYSTAT provides high-quality statistical information, through the web portal and social media, with the use of statistical products such as announcements, interactive tables, predefined tables, metadata, infographics and publications. The principles and the legal framework governing the dissemination of official statistical data are defined and explained in the document “Dissemination Policy”. The means of dissemination, the main statistical products and the services provided to the users, are also presented. Additionally, the document describes the procedures for data revision and error treatment. The link is as follows:Dissemination Policy of the Statistical Service of Cyprus (cystat.gov.cy)

An annual release calendar is prepared and forwarded to Eurostat. At national level, a release calendar with preliminary dates for the next four months is published at the new Cystat web portal. Announcements are confirmed on the Friday preceding their release. Notifications about the dissemination of statistics are published in the release calendar, which is available on CYSTAT’s web portal. The annual release calendar, announced during the 4th quarter of the year, includes provisional dates of publication for the following year, which are finalised the week before publication.

The release calendar published at national level can be found at: https://www.cystat.gov.cy/en/AnnouncementList

As provided in article 16 (2) of the Official Statistics Law (Law No. 25(I)/2021), statistics are disseminated in such a way that all users have equal and simultaneous access to the data. Data for wages and salaries are compiled solely for the purposes of the STS Regulation and are not disseminated nationally. Also, according to the Dissemination and Pricing Policy of the Statistical Service of Cyprus (section 2.3) CYSTAT΄s main channel for dissemination of statistics is the new web portal, which offers the same conditions to everyone and is updated at the same time every working day (12:00 noon). Privileged pre-released access (of no more than 1 day in advance) has been granted to a few selected users for specific statistics. These are specified in the Dissemination Policy (section 2.3).

In addition to the annual release calendar, users are informed of the various statistical releases through the “Alert” service provided by CYSTAT.

Link to the Dissemination and Pricing Policy of the Statistical Service of Cyprus can be found at: https://www.cystat.gov.cy/en/StaticPage?id=1064.

Quarterly

No news release accompanies the data when uploaded on the web portal of the Statistical Service.

Labour input indicators (with the exception of gross wages and salaries) are published in the annual publication "Statistical Abstract".

CYSTAT-DB is the online database of the Statistical Service of Cyprus. It gives users the ability to produce the desired table, to format the presentation, to edit and make calculations and to save it in any form available. Additionally, requests can be saved and used at a later stage to get the updated table with the latest available statistics. It is an interactive tool, providing the possibility to create customized tables for several statistics. CYSTAT-DB can be accessed from the home page or alternatively from the pages of statistical sub-themes.

 Link to the data on "Employment in Persons and Hours Worked by Economic Activity, Quarterly" can be found at: PxWeb - Select table (cystat.gov.cy)

There is no microdata access to outside users. 

Under the provisions of the Statistics Law, CYSTAT may release microdata for the sole use of scientific research. Applicants have to submit the request form "APPLICATION FOR DATA FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES" giving thorough information on the project for which micro-data are needed.The application is evaluated by CYSTAT’s Confidentiality Committee and if the application is approved, a charge is fixed according to the volume and time consumed for preparation of the data. Micro-data may then be released after an anonymisation process which ensures no direct identification of the statistical units but, at the same time, ensures usability of the data.

The link for the application is: https://www.cystat.gov.cy/en/DataRequestContactForm?fid=7

Data are sent to Eurostat, either to be used in European aggregates or to be released as national data.

Not available.

Not available.

The quality of statistics in CYSTAT is managed in the framework of the European Statistics Code of Practice which sets the standards for developing, producing and disseminating European Statistics as well as the ESS Quality Assurance Framework (QAF). CYSTAT endorses the Quality Declaration of the European Statistical System. In addition, CYSTAT is guided by the requirements provided for in Article 11 of the Statistics Law No. 25(I) of 2021 as well as Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics, which sets out the quality criteria to be applied in the development, production and dissemination of European statistics.

Links to all of the above documents:

• European Statistics Code of Practice: https://www.cystat.gov.cy/en/StaticPage?id=1082
• ESS Quality Assurance Framework (QAF): http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/64157/4392716/ESS-QAF-V1-2final.pdf/bbf5970c-1adf-46c8-afc3-58ce177a0646
• Quality Declaration of the European Statistical System: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/4031688/8188985/KS0217428ENN_corr.pdf/116f7c85-cd3e-4bff-b695-4a8e71385fd4
• Statistics Law No. 25(I) of 2021: https://www.cystat.gov.cy/en/StaticPage?id=1074
• Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (consolidated text):  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:02009R0223-20150608&qid=1504858409240&from=EN

The quality of the labour input indicators is assessed according to five quality criteria: relevance, accuracy, timeliness and punctuality, accessibility and clarity, coherence and comparability. The quality indicators are assessed taking into account Eurostat defined methodology and recommendations. On the basis of the above criteria, the indicator is assessed as being of good quality.

• Number of  employees and self-employed persons and Hours worked by employees

The main users are Eurostat, governmental bodies, the Central Bank, businessmen (especially human resource managers), international bodies, academia, media and the general public.

• Gross wages and salaries

This indicator is not disseminated nationally. Interested users may access the information through Eurostat's statistical database. No information is available regarding the identity of users, their number, or the degree to which their needs are met.

A user satisfaction survey is carried out on an annual basis since 2008 (with the exception of 2010, 2013 and 2020) but is not specific to short-term indicators. It does not allow for adequate conclusions to be made on this specific indicator. The results of the surveys are available on CYSTAT’s web portal at the link attached below. Overall, there is a high level of satisfaction of the users of statistical data published by CYSTAT.

The results of Cystat's user satisfaction survey can be found at:https://www.cystat.gov.cy/en/StaticPage?id=1144

The data are transmitted to Eurostat at the level of detail required by the Regulation. The number of persons employed and hours worked are also published nationally at NACE Sections level only.

The accuracy of the labour input indicators is assessed as satisfactory.

No estimate of the sampling error is calculated.

No sources of bias have been identified.

• Number of persons employed for Other Services - 2 months after the reference quarter
• Number of persons employed for Industry, Construction and Retail Trade -  2 months and 15 days after the reference quarter
• Hours Worked for Industry and Construction - 3 months and 15 days after the reference quarter
• Hours Worked for Retail Trade and Repair - 3 months after the reference quarter
• Hours Worked for Other Services - 3 months after the reference quarter
• Gross Wages and Salaries for Industry and Construction - 3 months and 15 days after the reference quarter
• Gross Wages and Salaries for Retail Trade and Repair - 3 months after the reference quarter
• Gross Wages and Salaries for Other Services - 3 months after the reference quarter

Both Eurostat and national deadlines are respected. All releases are delivered on time, based on the scheduled release dates.

The EBS Regulation and the EBS methodological guidelines are applied, therefore it is possible to compare the national index with that of other European countries.

Data are comparable over time. When significant changes are introduced (e.g. change of classification or methodology), historical time series are recalculated as far back as it is reasonably possible. 

There is a cross domain consistency between the gross wages and salaries and the Labour Cost Index (calculations are based on the same sources) and the National Accounts (for which LCI is used as an indicator in the movement of wages and salaries).

The data are internally consistent. The sub-activities add-up in NACE.

No cost and burden exercise has been recently performed.

The production and dissemination of revised figures is an integral part of the STS compilation process. Routine revisions are primarily the result of updated information received from the responding units. Major revisions occur in order to take account of the availability of a new structural source that is only collected at long intervals (e.g. census of population), methodological changes such as changes in concepts, definitions and/or classifications used to produce the data and new legal acts entering into force. Unexpected revisions may also occur due to unforeseeable events, such as errors either from the data provider or during compilation. 

There is a formal revision policy at Cystat. Cystat publishes its Revision Policy on its web portal Revision Policy (cystat.gov.cy) describing the general rules and principles governing the procedure of revising data published by Cystat. The policy is based on the guidelines of the European Statistical System (ESS) regarding revision policies for Principal European Economic Indicators, also taking into account the Quality Assurance Framework of the ESS and the European Statistics Code of Practice. 

CYSTAT also publishes a list of scheduled revisions (regular or major revisions), also published on its web portal at: https://www.cystat.gov.cy/en/AnnouncementList.

The same practice is applied both to data released nationally and to data transmitted to Eurostat. When revised data are transmitted to Eurostat, these are flagged accordingly and accompanied by the necessary explanations.

Furthermore, CYSTAT has set its strategic goal to provide high-quality statistical information in an objective, transparent, reliable and timely manner. CYSTAT consider quality to be its main advantage in a world experiencing a growing trend of instant information which often lacks the necessary proof of quality. In order to realise strategic goals it is imperative to establish policies which ensure that an organisation is moving towards the right direction. For this reason, CYSTAT establishes the "Quality Policy" which forms the basis of all statistical activities and leads towards continuous improvement of its statistical output.

• Number of persons employed and Hours worked: The data are revised in order to incorporate update information from annual economic surveys, final data of the Social Insurance Register and changes in the Business Register. 
• Gross wages and salaries: Information on wages and salaries are based on data provided by the Social Insurance Services’ Records. The data are finalised nine months after the end of the reference year. In order to meet the deadline for data transmission to Eurostat, the calculations for the latest reference quarter are based on the first month of the quarter (this is the latest information available at the time of data transmission). In the next data transmission, data are revised for that quarter, with calculations based on all three months of the quarter, which are then available.

• Number of employees and self-employed persons and Hours worked

The data source for persons employed is the Employment and Job Vacancies Survey which is carried out on a quarterly basis. Administrative sources are also used (Social Insurance Register and files from the Treasury of the Republic). The sampling unit is the enterprise. The sampling design used was stratification with probability proportional to size within strata. Strata were constructed by dividing the sampling frame by the main economic activity (NACE Rev. 2 division level) and size class given by the number of employees. All sections were included (except Sections A – Agriculture, forestry and fishing, T - activities of households as employers and U - activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies). The strata were defined by the cross-classification of NACE Divisions with 2 size classes (0,5 – 49,5 employees and more than 49,5 employees). All enterprises employing more than 49,4 employees were selected for the employment survey whereas for the case of size 0,5 - 49,5 employees, a sample was selected according to probability proportional to size.

• Gross wages and salaries

The sources are the Social Insurance Services’ Records, Employment – National Accounts and the Labour Cost Survey

The Social Insurance Services’ Records data file is received monthly (the collected data are monthly). The employment figures are received quarterly and the data refer to the quarter. The Labour Cost Survey is carried out every four years.

For the Employment and Job Vacancies Survey, an electronic questionnaire is used and is completed by telephone interviews. The enterprises are also given the option to submit the data requested via web-questionnaire.

For the Labour Cost Survey, an electronic questionnaire is used and is completed by personal or telephone interviews.

Data validations and checks are performed before the transmission of the data, which include:

- checking the logical flow between the questionnaire chapters;

- data comparability with the data of previous quarter;

- certain limits to which the indicators should belong compared to their evolution over time and between them;

- identification of outliers or non-logical values;

- tests for data integrity check.

In the case of non response, data from the Social Insurance Register are used.

Hours Worked Index

• Indicate the software used and version

JDemetra+, version 2.2.3

• Indicate the model/filter selection (manual vs. automatic)

Generally, automatic selection is used but, quite often, manual selection is necessary in cases when the automatic selection does not produce well fitted models.

• How often are the models and the respective parameters re-estimated

Systematically, models are re-estimated when the final gross data of the previous year are available. Also, models are re-estimated in case of multiannual gross data revisions. Parameters can be re-estimated more frequently in cases the model does not provide a good fit.

• Indicate the horizon of revisions (how often are the seasonally adjusted time series revised and how far backwards)

Seasonally adjusted time series are revised with each new period back to the first reference date.

• Indicate seasonal adjustment decomposition (additive vs. multiplicative)

Automatic decomposition is used. For the components of the Index with positive values, the decomposition is always multiplicative. For series with zero values, it is a case-by-case treatment.

• Indicate the model used

Models may change at least once a year and vary among the different components of each Index. Some of the ARIMA models used for the various series of this Index are: [(0,1,1)(0,1,1)], [(1,1,1)(0,1,1)], [(1,0,0)(0,1,1)], [(0,1,1)(0,0,0)], etc.

• Indicate the critical value for outlier detection

3.5

• Indicate the filter length (automatically chosen vs. user-defined)

TRAMO-SEATS method (therefore there is no filter, question not applicable) is used.

• Indicate the date of seasonal breaks in the series

There are no seasonal breaks.

• Indicate if indirect adjustment via components is used

No, we use direct adjustment, adjusting the aggregate and the components independently.

• Indicate whether residual seasonality is checked and from which level of detail the aggregation is started

Residual seasonally is checked for all levels. The direct adjustment method is used.

• Indicate the consistency amongst the different levels of breakdown

In the direct adjustment method, the different levels of breakdown do not need to be consistent. In the choice between no residual seasonality and level consistency, our choice is to provide good quality seasonally adjusted series without residual seasonality.

Gross Wages and Salaries Index

• Indicate the software used and version

The software used is JDemetra+ v2.2.2. The method used is TRAMO/SEATS.

• Indicate the model/filter selection (manual vs. automatic)

The model selection is automatic (ARIMA). The calendar used is a national calendar (for the series it is found statistically significant).

• How often are the models and the respective parameters re-estimated

Models are re-estimated annually. The parameters are re-estimated each time a new observation is added.

• Indicate the horizon of revisions (how often are the seasonally adjusted time series revised and how far backwards)

The whole seasonally adjusted time series is revised in case of a revision.

• Indicate seasonal adjustment decomposition (additive vs. multiplicative)

A multiplicative seasonal adjustment decomposition is used.

No additional comments.