State Data Agency (Statistics Lithuania)

Short Term Business Statistics Division

29 Gedimino Ave, LT-01500 Vilnius, Lithuania

The purpose  of statistical survey on service enterprises – to prepare and publish statistical information on the sales income (turnover) and their indices of the enterprises engaged in the activities of transportation and storage, information and communication, business, social and cultural services. This information is necessary for the assessment of gross domestic product (GDP) in national accounts and price statistics.

National version (EVRK Rev. 2) of the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE Rev. 2).

The indicator in this sector covers economic activities listed in sections:

Sections H, I, division I55, sections J, L, M (except divisions 72 and 75) and N (except division 77) of NACE Rev. 2 (H – Transportation and Storage, I – Accommodation and Food Service Activities, J – Information and Communication, L - Real estate activities, M_STS – Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities required by STS regulation, N_STS – Administrative and Support Service Activities required by STS regulation). For national needs we also prepare statistical information on the activities listed in the sections P, Q, R and S (except division 94).

Turnover refers to income (VAT and excise excluded) recognised or received over a reporting period by an economic entity by selling goods and (or) providing services less the amount of the returned goods sale, write-down, discounts. Income that is recognized in the profit (loss) account as a result of other activity as well as income from financial and investment activities is excluded.

Turnover indices at current prices – is a comparative indicator showing changes in sales income (turnover) over a certain period of time.

Enterprise.

The survey frame is based on Business Register. The frame population covers all active enterprises without any threshold, whose principal activity is classified into transportation and storage, accommodation and food service, information and communication, professional, scientific and technical, administrative and support service activities: sections H, I, J, L, M (excluding M701, M72, M75), N  of NACE Rev. 2. Business Register for each enterprise provides  information: EVRK Rev. 2 code (4 digit level), turnover, number of persons employed, address and others. In 2022 the quarterly population covers 36 042 active enterprises, of which the sample population comprises 5 131 observation units.

Territory of Lithuania. The activities outside the Lithuania are not included.

The time series cover time since the first quarter 1998.

The base year 2015=100.

Indices are transmitted to Eurostat, nationally data on turnover is published in absolute figures (thous. EUR) and indices.

Quarter.

The European Parliament and Council adopted 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.

Data is transmitted only to Eurostat.

Law on Statistics of the Republic of Lithuania;

Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics and repealing Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1101/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality to the Statistical Office of the European Communities, Council Regulation (EC) No 322/97 on Community Statistics, and Council Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom establishing a Committee on the Statistical Programmes of the European Communities (OJ 2009 L87, p. 164).

In the process of statistical data collection, processing and analysis and dissemination of statistical information, Statistics Lithuania fully guarantees the confidentiality of the data submitted by respondents (households, enterprises, institutions, organisations and other statistical units), as defined in the Confidentiality Policy Guidelines of Statistics Lithuania.

Statistical Disclosure Control Manual, approved by Order No DĮ-107 of 26 April 2022 of the Director General of Statistics Lithuania;

The State Data Governance Information System Data Security Regulations and Rules for the Secure Management of Electronic Information in the State Data Governance Information System, approved by Order No DĮ-202 of 27 August 2021 of the Director General of Statistics Lithuania.

Where the respondent about whom or whose activity results the primary statistical data have been collected may be directly or indirectly identified on the basis of official statistical data, such official statistical data shall be confidential and protected in the manner prescribed by laws.

Statistical information is published on the Official Statistics Portal according to the Official Statistics Calendar.

Official Statistics Calendar

Statistical information is published following the Official Statistics Dissemination Policy Guidelines  and Statistical Information Dissemination and Communication Rules of Statistics Lithuania approved by Order No DĮ-176 of 2 July 2021 of the Director General of Statistics Lithuania.

 Data are transmitted quartely to Eurostat and disseminated quartely and yearly for national users.

A news releases is published on the 59^th day after the end of the reference quarter.

None.

STS data on the sales income (turnover) are disseminated in full detail in the  Database of Indicators.

(Business statistics -> Services -> Indicators of service enterprises -> Sales of service enterprises (VAT excluded)),

(Business statistics -> Services -> Indicators of service enterprises -> Indices of sales of service enterprises at constant prices (2015 m. - 100)),

(Business statistics -> Services -> Indicators of service enterprises -> Changes in sales of service enterprises at constant prices (2015 – 100)).

Microdata are available and provided for scientific purposes according to the provisions set in the Description of Procedures for the Provision of Confidential Statistical Data for Scientific Purposes. More information is available on the Official Statistics Portal, at Open data.

Eurostat‘s database

The process of the preparation of statistical information is presented on the Business statistics section in the Official Statistics Portal (only in Lithuanian): Services.

Quality documentation (Metadata) is updated each quarter and disseminated on the Business statistics section in the Official Statistics Portal: Services.

The quality of statistical information and its production process is ensured by the provisions of the European Statistics Code of Practice and ESS Quality Assurance Framework.

In 2007, a quality management system, conforming to the requirements of the international quality management system standard ISO 9001, was introduced at Statistics Lithuania. The main trends in activity of Statistics Lithuania aimed at quality management and continuous development in the institution are established in the Quality Policy. Monitoring of the quality indicators of statistical processes and their results and self-evaluation of statistical survey managers is regularly carried out in order to identify the areas which need improvement and to promptly eliminate the shortcomings.

The system for measurement and monitoring of performance quality implemented at Statistics Lithuania allows making expeditious decisions, based on impartial information, which are important for the improvement of performance, detection and elimination of drawbacks.

Statistics Lithuania uses the following tools for quality monitoring and assurance:

- Monitoring of performance indicators (comprising ESS quality indicators, the response burden and indicators related to time used for different statistical processes),

- Self-assessment of survey managers (based on DESAP (European checklists for survey managers)),

- Statistical audits,

- Testing of previously approved statistical questionnaires.

Collecting information is submitted to the quality requirements, consistent with the standard quality components of European Statistical System, namely: relevance, accuracy, timeliness and punctuality, accessibility, clarity, comparability, coherence.

The main users of statistical information are State and municipal authorities and agencies, Eurostat, international organisations, the media, research and business community, students, whose needs are satisfied without a breach of the confidentiality principle. The index of number of persons employed is used for analytical, planning, forecasting, market research purposes.

Since 2005, user opinion surveys have been conducted on a regular basis. Official Statistics Portal traffic is monitored, website visitor opinion polls, general opinion poll on the products and services of Statistics Lithuania, target user group opinion polls and other surveys are conducted.

In 2007, the compilation of a user satisfaction index was launched. The said surveys are aimed at the assessment of the overall demand for and necessity of statistical information in general and specific statistical indicators in particular.

More information on user opinion surveys and results thereof are published in the User Surveys section on the Statistics Lithuania website.

All STS indicators are compiled and published to the extent defined in the legislation governing their compilation and publication. More detailed statistics are compiled according to individual user requests.

The survey is carried out by sampling method. The sampling plan is compiled on the basis of the information of the Statistical Register of Economic Entities on the type of economic activity of the enterprise, the number of employed persons and the annual turnover. Enterprises are stratified by type of activity and number of persons employed. Non-response rate is low. Data are revised by collecting data for all periods of the reporting year (new information is received - data from administrative sources, respondents revise the reports submitted). Data processing errors are avoided by analyzing primary information when communicating with respondents. The coefficient of variation is used to evaluate the accuracy of the results.

Population is divided into 4 strata: Enterprises with Value Added Tax payers, Enterprises with no Value Added Tax payers, Enterprises with high turnover of the reference year, Estimation domain which have less than 3 enterprises. For the first two strata probability sample is used. Two another strata – completely enumerated. The coefficient of variation is calculated on value of turnover each quarter:

Non-sampling errors do not significantly affect the results. Some cases of little scope appear due to data changes or appearance of the  new enterprises in the Statistical Register of Economic Entities (when the enterprise is significant and has 50 and more employees data is recalculated at the end of the year). There are not many cases of non-receipt of data from respondents, therefore the non-response rate is low.

Estimates of errors not related to the sample are negligible. Under-coverage, over-coverage impact is insignificant, we cannot evaluate exactly. In the case of a large enterprise, it is included in the sample with a weight 1.

Statistical information is published on the 59^th day after the end of the reference quarter.

Statistical information is published in accordance with Official Statistics Calendar, also is sent to Eurostat according with the approved Release Calendar.

The rate of data publications at SL and transmissions to Eurostat on time is equal to 100 per cent.

Statistical information is comparable between EU countries.

Statistical information is fully comparable since the first quarter of 1998.

Preparing statistical information on sales income (turnover) problems of data comparability occur due to the differences in the methodologies: the list of active enterprises in the Statistical Register of Economis Entities is fixed on January 1, while the structural business survey includes all enterprises, which were active at least in some period of the reference year. The definition of the turnover indicator is consistent with the same indicator of the structural business survey, but the methods of performing those surveys – differ.

The values of the indicators are internally coherent. The aggregated values of the indicators are derived from lower-level values in accordance with an established procedure. The full coherence of quartely and annual indicators of service enterprises is ensured.

The cost is determined for statistical survey in total and it is not possible to calculate for separate indicators.

In 2022 total cost (NSI) 8 202 hours per year for all variables of STS on services - turnover, persons employed, hours worked, wages and salaries.

Total burden (respondents) 8 464 hours per year.

Revisions of statistical indicators are performed in accordance with the General Principles behind the Performance, Analysis and Announcement of Revisions of Statistical Indicators. Users are informed about scheduled revisions in advance through a Calendar of Scheduled Revisions of Statistical Indicators.

The same revision policy is applied for the data released nationally and transmitted to Eurostat.

Long-term planned (major) revisions are conducted after amendments in legal acts, due to changes in the base year, methodology and classifications entail revisions. The time series from first quarter of 1998 are back-casted.

When publishing data for the first quarter of the reporting year, the sales income (turnover) for all periods of the two previous years is revised. Previous-year income declarations from natural persons engaged in individual economic activities or working with business certificates are obtained from the State Tax Inspectorate (STI). Data are sorted according to NACE Rev. 2. Activities, and are included in the final statistical information of that year, and become the basis for the forecast of income of natural persons of the previous and current year.

^*As compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year

^**As compared to the previous quarter

Data source of statistical information on the sales income (turnover) is quartely survey of service enterprises.

Statistical report on business services PS-20 is used to collect data. Statistical indicators of accommodation activity (Division I55) are evaluated using statistical data of the survey of accommodation services.

Quarterly.

Statistical data are collected through an electronic statistical data preparation and transfer system e-Statistics, email.

To ensure the quality of statistical data, statistical data analysis, data verification and validation, editing and recording of missing values at the level of statistical data arrays are performed. Statistics are checked as they are entered and processed. Arithmetic, logical and compatibility statistics control, comparison of data with the data of the previous period and the corresponding period of the previous year is provided. Statistics are corrected taking into account the type of error: mandatory and ignored (warnings to respondents about possible errors). Reminders are sent to respondents who have not provided statistics, reasons for non-reporting are clarified.

Sampling plan is a simple random stratified sample. In compiling population strata, the smallest assessment areas (hereinafter referred to as the "SAA"), i.e. the smallest non-overlapping subsets of the population where it is intended to calculate estimates of the parameters being evaluated, are taken into account. The parameters evaluated are the sums of the survey variables in the SAA and in the population as a whole. Here are the formulas for evaluating the survey parameter - sales revenue (turnover) in one SAA. It is clear that the estimate of a parameter in the whole population is the sum of its estimates in all SAA. For simplicity, suppose the SAA consists of only one layer of the sample plan. The parameters are evaluated using additional information - sales according to VAT returns. In one case, the sum of the regression estimate and the direct estimate (Horvitz and Thompson, or H-T) is used, in the other case only the Horvitz and Thompson estimate is used.

Compilation of statistical indicators is described in more detail in the Methodology of the statistical survey on the activities of service enterprises (only in Lithuanian).

The time series of turnover index are calendar day adjusted, using the TRAMO/SEATS method in JDemetra + (version 2.2.2). A direct method is used for this adjustment.

The model is chosen using a detailed analysis module. The logarythm of transformation is tested. Calendar factors are estimateds, 2 regressors (working days) and national holiday's calendar are used, leap year is adjusted. Reg/ARIMA is used for calendar adjustment.

The significance levels, the number of outliers and statistics on residuals (residual normality, residual assimetry, etc.) are controlled in the data series.

Calendar adjustment models and parameters are fixed for one year and revised once a year when the data of all reporting quarters is available. The horizon revision covers 4 years: the currenr year and 3 years backwards.

Alignment is performed using the manual ESS Guidelines on seasonal adjustment (2015).

None.