Job vacancy statistics (jvs)

National Reference Metadata in ESS Standard for Quality Reports Structure (ESQRS)

Compiling agency: Statistics Finland


Eurostat metadata
Reference metadata
1. Contact
2. Statistical presentation
3. Statistical processing
4. Quality management
5. Relevance
6. Accuracy and reliability
7. Timeliness and punctuality
8. Coherence and comparability
9. Accessibility and clarity
10. Cost and Burden
11. Confidentiality
12. Comment
Related Metadata
Annexes (including footnotes)
 



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1. Contact Top
1.1. Contact organisation

Statistics Finland
1.2. Contact organisation unit

Statistics Finland

Information and Statistical Services

Social Statistics

Working life and wages and salaries
1.5. Contact mail address

Information and Statistical Services / Working life and wages and salaries

FI-00022 Statistics Finland


2. Statistical presentation Top
2.1. Data description

Job vacancy statistics (JVS) provide information on the level and structure of labour demand. The country transmits to Eurostat the quarterly data on the number of job vacancies and the number of occupied posts as well as provides the quality report under the JVS framework regulation and the two implementing regulations: the implementing regulation on the definition of a job vacancy, the reference dates for data collection, data transmission specifications and feasibility studies, as well as the implementing regulation on seasonal adjustment procedures and quality reports.
2.2. Classification system

The quarterly data are broken down by economic activity (at section level) in accordance with NACE Rev. 2 - Statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community.
2.3. Coverage - sector

The data cover all the economic activities defined by NACE Rev. 2, except the activities of households as employers and the activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies and defence activities.
2.4. Statistical concepts and definitions

A 'job vacancy' is defined as a paid post that is newly created, unoccupied, or about to become vacant:

(a) for which the employer is taking active steps and is prepared to take further steps to find a suitable candidate from outside the enterprise concerned; and

(b) which the employer intends to fill either immediately or within a specific period of time.

 

‘Active steps to find a suitable candidate’ include:

- notifying the job vacancy to the public employment services,

- contacting a private employment agency/head hunters,

- advertising the vacancy in the media (for example internet, newspapers, magazines),

- advertising the vacancy on a public notice board,

- approaching, interviewing or selecting possible candidates/potential recruits directly,

- approaching employees and/or personal contacts,

- using internships.

 

'Specific period of time’ refers to the maximum time the vacancy is open and intended to be filled. That period shall be unlimited; all vacancies for which active steps are continuing on the reference date shall be reported.

 

An 'occupied post’ means a paid post within the organisation to which an employee has been assigned.
2.5. Statistical unit

Local unit (see 3.1)
2.6. Statistical population

Establishments with one and more employees
2.7. Reference area

The whole territory of the country
2.8. Coverage - Time

From 2009Q1 (NACE aggregate B-S from 2002Q1)
2.9. Base period

Not applicable


3. Statistical processing Top
3.1. Source data
Identification of the source of the data Job vacancy questionnaire
Coverage
- Geographical The whole territory of Finland
- NACE Activities from A to S are covered (excluding Defence activities)
- Enterprise size 1+, 10+
Definition of the statistical unit Establishment (local kind-of-activity unit) with at least one employee. An establishment is a production unit owned by one enterprise or quasicorporate unit, located on one site, and producing goods or services of mainly one particular type.
Remarks The survey does not cover job vacancies of defence forces.
Sampling design
Base used for the sample The sampling frame is the Register of Enterprises and Establishments maintained by Statistics Finland. The register covers the private and public sectors. The sampling frame contains some 150,000 active establishments in which the number of employees measured in person-years is at least one.
Sampling design The sampling method is stratified systematic random sampling. Stratification variables are the size category and the industry group of the establishment.
Retention/renewal of sampling units Approximately one-half of the establishments in the quarterly sample are replaced by new ones every year. An individual establishment is included in the survey independent of the size category at most in two consecutive years and always in the same quarter.
Sample size The sample size is about 10,000 establishments per year, divided equally between the different quarters so that each quarterly sample consists of about 2,500 establishments.
Stratification The size category of the establishment based on its number of personnel (1 to 4, 5 to 9, 10 to 49, at least 50) and the industry group of the establishment (A, B-E, F, G-I, J, K-L, M-N, O-Q, R-S) are used as strata. Establishments are selected for the annual sample from the sampling frame so that they are divided into size categories with fixed proportions (2,000, 3,000, 3,000, 2,000) and they represent the division of the industry strata of the sampling frame within their size category. The sampling frame has been grouped based on the location of the establishment so the annual sample is regionally self-weighting. Altogether 36 stratums: size of establishment (4) and industry group of establishment (9). Table (attached) includes the number and share of units in the sample broken down by strata.
Other sources
Maintenance agency No additional information is used
Updating frequency Not applicable
Rules for clearance (of outdated information) Not applicable
Voluntary/compulsory reporting and sanctions Not applicable
Remarks Not applicable


Annexes:
Units in the sample broken down by strata
3.2. Frequency of data collection
Reference dates
The first calendar day of the last month of the quarter.
3.3. Data collection
Brief description of the data collection method(s) Remarks
Mixed mode: Web and CATI. Statistics Finland's telephone interviewers collect the data. In addition, from the first quarter of 2006 the reporting units have been able to respond to the interview by web questionnaire. In 2022, around 67 per cent of all respondents answered with web questionnaires. This sampling method is good for measuring year on year changes and quarter on quarter changes would be estimated more accurate if the quarter on quarter samples were not independent. On the other hand, there exists quite a strong seasonal component in the Finnish labour demand, which causes also some problems to measurement of quarter on quarter changes. Survey does not cover the defence forces or private households.
3.4. Data validation

Optional
3.5. Data compilation
Brief description of the weighting method Weighting dimensions
The weights are calculated using Horvitz-Thompson type of method:

The size of the population in an individual stratum is divided by the number of respondents in an individual stratum respectively.

Detected outlier observations are defined as a stratum of their own so that their weights are decreased to 1.

 No other weighting dimensions
3.6. Adjustment

Optional


4. Quality management Top
4.1. Quality assurance

Optional
4.2. Quality management - assessment

Optional


5. Relevance Top
5.1. Relevance - User Needs
Description of the national users and their main needs Remarks
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, Policy makers, Social actors, Media.

Main needs: number of job vacancies broken down by industry and region. Qualitative characteristics of job vacancies, such as whether they are unoccupied, part-time, fixed-term or hard-to-fill.

  
5.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
Extent to which the needs of national users are satisfied (voluntary) Remarks
Not available  
5.3. Completeness
Description of missing variables and missing breakdowns of the variables Report progress on the implementation measures regarding quarterly job vacancies statistics of Regulation (EC) No 453/2008, including :

- a detailed plan and timetable for completing implementation

- a summary of the remaining deviations from EU concepts
All variables and breakdowns are available. Regulation No 453/2008 was implemented in 2009

No deviations from the EU concepts.

Seasonally adjusted series have been available since 2017, when time series with 16 observed periods without breaks were available.
5.3.1. Data completeness - rate

100%


6. Accuracy and reliability Top
6.1. Accuracy - overall

Optional
6.2. Sampling error

The coefficient of variation related to the total number of job vacancies has been under 10 per cent at the quarterly level in 2022. However, the standard errors related to industries are quite high (CV > 25% for many NACE sections). This has to be taken into account when the results are interpreted, because these estimates are not necessarily reliable enough. This is why the number of job vacancies is not public on every NACE section level, but are mostly aggregates in the national JVS release.

For coefficients of variation, see annex. Please note that coverage 1+ refers to establishments with at least 1 employee, and coverage 10+ refers to establishments with at least 10 employees.



Annexes:
Coefficients of variation
6.2.1. Sampling error - indicators
Restricted from publication
6.3. Non-sampling error

Information on variables with non-negligible measurement and processing errors

Information on main sources of (non-negligible) measurement and processing errors and, if available, on methods applied for correction

Estimation bias: An assessment of the non-sampling errors, in terms of the absolute number of vacant posts, for the total number of job vacancies and, where possible, for aggregation level of NACE Rev. 2 specified in Annex 1 to this Regulation and size classes (1-9, 10 + employees).

Remarks

See second column.

There have been some problems in the data collection related to the correct defining of an establishment. Problems have been met especially when the target has been an establishment of the public sector, where establishments can be quite large entities. They may not be able to provide information covering the whole establishment because their recruitment is decentralised to the department level. Furthermore, different persons are responsible for hiring different occupational groups of employees within these departments. In these cases the contact persons are advised to collect and put together information from all departments if possible. On the other hand, some establishments may mistakenly give figures concerning the whole enterprise/organisation, although the answer is supposed to concern the local kind-of-activity unit only. Incorrect defining of an establishment could have an effect on the estimation of job vacancies and occupied posts unless no correction methods were applied. The logic and compatibility of the answers are checked and the number of occupied posts is compared to register data on the size of the establishment. The outlier observations are detected and their effect on the estimation is limited by decreasing their weights to 1.

Not applicable

 
6.3.1. Coverage error

Description of any difference between the reference population and the study population

Description of classification errors

Description of any difference between the reference dates and the reference quarter

Any other relevant information

The sampling frame is the Business Register maintained by Statistics Finland. It is mainly based on information obtained from the Tax Administration and direct inquiries to enterprises. Inquiries  requesting information for the Register are sent yearly to most multi-establishment enterprises and single-establishment enterprises with over 20 employees. Other enterprises receive inquiries less often on rotation basis. New enterprises are inquired fairly soon after they start operation.

Because of deficient promptness of the register information and the differences in the definitions of personnel, the sample contains some establishments which are not existing ones or do not satisfy the conditions of this survey. Undercoverage is also expected in particular with regard to new establishments.

Because of the deficient promptness of the Register, information on industry may not be in all cases up-to-date.

The reference time of the collected data on job vacancies is the first calendar day of the last month of each quarter. Thus, information about job openings is obtained four times a year and the reference dates are 1 March, 1 June, 1 September and 1 December.

From the beginning of 2011 we have checked and updated the contact information of new reporting units in the sample every quarter before the actual interviews start. As a result the number of overcoverage cases increased whereas the non-response cases declined compared to the year before. The number of overcoverage cases totalled 422 in 2010.

The number of new reporting units in the sample increased in 2013 due to reforms in the sampling method. Partly as a result of this, the number of overcoverage cases increased compared to the year before.
6.3.1.1. Over-coverage - rate

Overcoverage cases in the sample totalled 866 in 2022. This equals an overcoverage rate of about 8.2 per cent.

Q1/2022 overcoverage rate 8.5%

Q2/2022 overcoverage rate 7.4%

Q3/2022 overcoverage rate 8.1%

Q4/2022 overcoverage rate 8.8%
6.3.1.2. Common units - proportion

Optional
6.3.2. Measurement error

[see 6.3. non-sampling error]
6.3.3. Non response error

See 6.3.3.1
6.3.3.1. Unit non-response - rate

Unit response rate

Response rates as ratios of the number of in-scope respondents to total number of sampling units:

Q1/2022 response rate 74.3%

Q2/2022 response rate 75.8%

Q3/2022 response rate 75.3%

Q4/2022 response rate 75.1%
6.3.3.2. Item non-response - rate

Optional
6.3.4. Processing error

[see 6.3. non-sampling error]
6.3.4.1. Imputation - rate

Item imputation rate and methods and, where possible, the effect of imputation on the estimates for the variables transmitted
No imputation procedures concerning the number of job vacancies were applied.
6.3.5. Model assumption error

If modelling is used, include a description of the models used. Particular emphasis should be given to models for imputation or grossing-up to correct for unit non-response.

No econometric modelling used in imputation or grossing-up.
6.4. Seasonal adjustment
Brief description of seasonal adjustment procedures, in particular with regard to the European Statistical System guidelines on seasonal adjustment which have been endorsed and supported by the SPC.
Seasonally adjusted series have been delivered since the first quarter of 2017. Comparable time series start from the 1st quarter of 2013, because the sampling design of the survey was renewed starting from the beginning of statistical year 2013.

Seasonal adjustment is performed using JDemetra+ software and TRAMO/SEATS method. Seasonal adjustment models are revised once per year, but the parameters in them are re-estimated every quarter, impacting the full seasonally adjusted time series.

If significant seasonality is not found in a time series, a non-seasonal model is applied. Presence of seasonality is then reviewed annually in connection with the update of seasonal adjustment models.


Annexes:
Quality report for JVS seasonal adjustment
6.5. Data revision - policy

Optional
6.6. Data revision - practice
Provide a revision history, including the revisions in the published number of job vacancies and a summary of the reasons for the revisions.
No revisions in 2022.
6.6.1. Data revision - average size

Optional


7. Timeliness and punctuality Top
7.1. Timeliness

See 7.1.1
7.1.1. Time lag - first result
Information on the time span between the release of data at national level and the reference period of the data.
Data are released approximately 45 days after the end of the quarter. Release dates are predefined for the ongoing year.
7.1.2. Time lag - final result

Optional
7.2. Punctuality

See 7.2.1
7.2.1. Punctuality - delivery and publication
Deadlines for the respondents to reply, also covering recalls and follow-ups Period of the fieldwork Period of data processing Dates of publication of first results Remarks

Data collection is launched in the third month of the reference quarter and continues for approximately two months. Data providers are initially asked to reply within two weeks using the web questionnaire, and first reminder is sent to nonrespondents after one week. Those who do not reply within the first two weeks receive a second reminder giving them another two weeks to reply. Telephone reminders and interviews are also started approximately at this time. After the first month of data collection the nonrespondents receive a third reminder in which a final deadline for web responses is given. Telephone interviews are continued for one or two working days after the web questionnaire is closed.

Q1/2022 scheduled response deadline 03/05/2022

Q2/2022 scheduled response deadline 02/08/2022

Q3/2022 scheduled response deadline 02/11/2022

Q4/2022 scheduled response deadline 02/02/2023

 Q1/2022 fieldwork 02/03/2022 - 03/05/2022

Q2/2022 fieldwork 01/06/2022 - 02/08/2022

Q3/2022 fieldwork 05/09/2022 - 02/11/2022

Q4/2022 fieldwork 07/12/2022 - 02/02/2023

 Q1/2022 processing period 04/05/2022 - 18/05/2022

Q2/2022 processing period 03/08/2022 - 16/08/2022

Q3/2022 processing period 03/11/2022 - 15/11/2022

Q4/2022 processing period 03/02/2023 - 16/02/2023

 Q1/2022 release date 19/05/2022

Q2/2022 release date 17/08/2022

Q3/2022 release date 16/11/2022

Q4/2022 release date 17/02/2023

 All results were published on time.


8. Coherence and comparability Top
8.1. Comparability - geographical
Information on differences between national and European concepts, and — to the extent possible — their effects on the estimation.
Only the estimates of job vacancies are included in the national release, not the estimates of occupied posts. Qualitative characteristics of job vacancies, such as whether they are unoccupied, part-time, fixed-term or hard-to-fill are also included in the national release. Figures on national release are rounded to 100, whereas Eurostat figures are rounded to 1. Differences on the levels of data released:

 - Size of establishment:

  • National levels - 1 to 4, 5 to 9, 10 to 49 and 50 or more employees (measured as annual full-time equivalent, register-based)
  • Eurostat levels - at least 1 employee, at least 10 employees (measured as head count, based on respondent's answer)

- Branch of industry:

  • National level - A, B-E, F, G-I, J, K-L, M-N, O-Q, R-S
  • Eurostat level - A-S, B-S, B-N, B-F, B-E, G-N, G-I, M-N, O-Q, R-S, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, Q87, Q88

Above-mentioned differences in national release have no effect on the estimation of Eurostat figures.

In the national release, vacancies in temporary agencies are recorded under the NACE activity of the final employer, whereas for data transmitted to Eurostat these vacancies are reclassified to the NACE activity of temporary agencies (section N). Different recording has the largest effect on NACE section N, where the number of vacancies in the EU data is in 2022, on average, more than double compared to the national figures recorded by final employer. Correspondingly, the number of vacancies is considerably smaller in the EU data for some NACE sections, e.g. A, C, G, H and I, where removing temporary agency vacancies to section N decreased the number of vacancies by more than one-fifth.


Annexes:
Job vacancies by NACE in national release and in EU data, % of total number of vacancies
8.1.1. Asymmetry for mirror flow statistics - coefficient

Optional
8.2. Comparability - over time
Information on changes in definitions, coverage and methods in any two consecutive quarters, and their effects on the estimation. Remarks

For data referring to periods from 2018 onwards, job vacancies that are filled with temporary agency workers are recorded under temporary agencies in NACE section N in the EU database. Before 2018, the job vacancies have been recorded under the final employer, so the data on job vacancies by economic activity and sizeclass may not be comparable. The implemented reform had no effect on the number of job vacancies for the whole economy or on the occupied posts.

The sample design of the Job Vacancy Survey was changed starting from the statistical reference year 2013 so that the target samples and strata better correspond with the information needs of data users. The implemented reforms have a considerable effect on the results, for which reason the data cannot be compared with the data released prior to the first quarter of 2013. Data based on the new design in the Job Vacancy Survey have been published from the first quarter of 2013 onwards. The population of the survey remains the same regardless of the changes but the turnover of the sample objects has been sped up and, in addition to the size category and location of the establishment, also its industry, which is the key data required by data users is taken into account in the sampling.

  

 

Additional information to be provided for the FIRST Quality Report
Description of the sources used for the back data and the methodology employed The history of JVS has not been derived from any other source. The survey has been executed since 2002. 
Description of any differences between the coverage (economic activities, employees, variables) of the back data and that of the current data Not applicable
Description of the comparability of the back data and the current data Not applicable
Remarks Not applicable
8.2.1. Length of comparable time series

Optional
8.3. Coherence - cross domain
Comparisons of data on the number of vacant jobs from other relevant sources when available, in total and broken down by NACE at section level when relevant, and reasons if the values differ considerably.
Comparisons of Job Vacancy Statistics (JVS) and Labour Force Survey (LFS) are available in the annex. The Beveridge curve shows a good relationship between job vacancy rate and unemployment rate even if there has been a break in the JVR in 2013.

Comparison of employees (LFS) and occupied posts (JVS) shows that overall levels are well aligned. Differences in some sections are assumed to be partly due to considerable numbers of cross-border workers (e.g. section F) and different classification of temporary agency workers (section N). It is also worth noting that even a one-hour employment any time during the survey week is enough for a person to be classified as employee in the LFS, whereas occupied posts are recorded for response day in the JVS.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (MEAE) publishes monthly statistics on job vacancies in Finland. Due to methodological, definition and production differences, the Job Vacancy Survey results are not comparable with the MEAE figures. The main difference between the statistics is that the Employment Service Statistics of the MEAE only include those job vacancies that employers have reported to employment offices. The Job Vacancy Survey figures are based on a sample survey and cover to some extent both job vacancies that have been reported to employment offices and vacancies that have not been reported. However, the Job Vacancy Survey does not include all job vacancies that have been open due to the structure of the Register of Enterprises and Establishments used as the basis of the sampling frame and owing to the data collection method. The Job Vacancy Survey does not take into consideration job vacancies of household employers nor of extraterritorial organisations or bodies. In addition, the criterion of one staff-year set for the number of wage and salary earners and leaving out short-term replacements from job vacancies at an establishment will lead to that part of the open jobs may be reported to employment offices, even though they are excluded from the Job Vacancy Survey. The aim of the Job Vacancy Survey is not to replace but to supplement the MEAE statistics and these two different data sources should be viewed as mutually complementary indicators for labour demand.

Q1/2022 JVS total ca 91,600 at 1st of Mar vs. MEAE register ca 140,100 end of Feb

Q2/2022 JVS total ca 72,300 at 1st of Jun vs. MEAE register ca 99,500 end of May

Q3/2022 JVS total ca 59,000 at 1st of Sep vs. MEAE register ca 87,000 end of Aug

Q4/2022 JVS total ca 50,300 at 1st of Dec vs. MEAE register ca 58,300 end of Nov

 



Annexes:
FI Comparison of JVS with LFS data 2022
FI Beveridge curve 2022
8.4. Coherence - sub annual and annual statistics

In general, annual figures are averages of quarterly figures. However, historical annual data up to 2015 also contain estimates on the number of occupied posts by occupation. These data have not been collected in the Job Vacancy Survey, for which reason the Labour Force Survey data on employees was used instead.
8.5. Coherence - National Accounts

Optional
8.6. Coherence - internal

Optional


9. Accessibility and clarity Top
9.1. Dissemination format - News release

See 9.2
9.2. Dissemination format - Publications
Dissemination scheme, including to whom the results are sent Periodicity of national publication References for publications of core results, including those with commentary in the form of text, graphs, maps, etc. Information on what results, if any, are sent to reporting units included in the sample
The results are available for everyone on the Internet pages of Statistics Finland. Quarterly. The results of the JVS are published in the Labour Market series of the Official Statistics of Finland.

The results and the publications can be found on the home page of the JVS: https://stat.fi/en/statistics/atp.

Tables are available on the Internet for public and are free to use. Some tables and graphs are included in the publications, but users can also define and generate tables for their own use on the StatFin database: https://pxweb2.stat.fi/PXWeb/pxweb/en/StatFin/StatFin__atp/?tablelist=true.

The data are available according to the size of establishment, employer sector, region and industry. Job vacancies are classified into unoccupied, part-time, fixed-term and hard-to-fill vacancies.

 No results sent to reporting units. From the beginning of 2016, the respondents have been informed on the home page of the data collection of where to find published results.
9.3. Dissemination format - online database

See 9.2
9.3.1. Data tables - consultations

Optional
9.4. Dissemination format - microdata access

Data collected for statistical purposes must be kept confidential. Microdata may be released only for scientific purposes on the basis of a separate application, and in that case all data enabling direct identification of the units in the sample must be removed. (For further information, see also chapter Confidentiality - data treatment in https://stat.fi/en/statistics/documentation/atp.)
9.5. Dissemination format - other

Optional
9.6. Documentation on methodology

Optional
9.7. Quality management - documentation
Description of and references for metadata provided References for core methodological documents relating to the statistics provided Description of main actions carried out by the national statistical services to inform users about the data Remarks
The links on the home page lead to metadata including, among other things, a description of the statistics as well as concepts and definitions. From spring 2022 onwards, separate quality descriptions have been replaced by the documentation page, which is available in Finnish, Swedish and English: https://stat.fi/en/statistics/documentation/atp. Predefined release dates for the ongoing year are stated on the home page of JVS and in the release calendar of Statistics Finland.  
9.7.1. Metadata completeness - rate

Optional
9.7.2. Metadata - consultations

Optional


10. Cost and Burden Top

Optional


11. Confidentiality Top
11.1. Confidentiality - policy

Optional
11.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
Disclosure rules: Brief description of when data have to be deleted for reasons of confidentiality
Data files formed of the supplied data will be archived until further notice. Data collected for statistical purposes must be kept confidential by virtue of Section 24 of the Act on the Openness of Government Activities (621/1999). The response data are only used for statistical purposes. The research data are protected in accordance with the data protection regulations of Statistics Finland and responses given by individual establishments cannot be distinguished from the statistical tables.


12. Comment Top
Special remarks
None.


Related metadata Top


Annexes Top