Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
Structural business statistics (SBS) describes the structure, conduct and performance of economic activities, down to the most detailed activity level (several hundred economic sectors).
SBS covers all activities of the non-financial business economy with the exception of agricultural activities and personal services. Limited information is available on banking, insurance and pension funds.
Main characteristics (variables) of the SBS data category:
Business demographic variables (e.g. Number of enterprises)
"Output related" variables (e.g. Turnover, Value added)
"Input related" variables: labour input (e.g. Employment, Hours worked); goods and services input (e.g. Total of purchases); capital input (e.g. Material investments)
3.2. Classification system
Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE): NACE Rev.1 was used until 2001, NACE Rev. 1.1 since 2002, and NACE Rev 2 is used from 2008 onwards. Key data were double reported in NACE Rev.1.1 and NACE Rev.2 for 2008. From 2009 onwards, only NACE Rev.2 data are available.
The regional breakdown of the EU Member States is based on the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS). Detailed information about the consecutive NUTS Regulations can be found at Eurostat's website
The SBS coverage was limited to Sections C to K of NACE Rev.1.1 until 2007. Starting from the reference year 2008 data is available for Sections B to N and Division S95 of NACE Rev.2. With 2013 as the first reference year information is published on NACE codes K6411, K6419 and K65 and its breakdown.
Statistical and reporting unit is an economically active enterprise or market-oriented other legal unit (business entity) that have submitted the annual financial statement for the previous year.
The principal statistical unit is the enterprise. Given that the enterprise may perform one or more activities, in one or more sites, the local unit is also considered as statistical unit.
3.6. Statistical population
The SBS survey covers active enterprises engaged in the production and sale of goods and services, as well as the part of other legal entities that produce and render market-oriented services, which is established by a practical criterion saying that their income from selling goods and services should exceed 50% of their total operating income. The target population consists of economically active statistical enterprises that are, according to their principal activity, classified in sections B – J and L – N as well as in division 95 of section S. Entrepreneurs (unincorporated enterprises) are not included in the survey.
3.7. Reference area
Results are calculated by activities of CA, for the Republic of Serbia and statistical territorial units Srbija– sever and Srbija – jug (NSTJ1) and regions (NSTJ2).
(Remark: Starting from 1999 the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia has not at disposal and may not provide available certain data relative to AP Kosovo and Metohia and therefore these data are not included in the coverage for the Republic of Serbia (total).
3.8. Coverage - Time
From the reference year 2007 to 2020.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
Number of enterprises and number of local units are expressed in units.
Monetary data are expressed in millions of €.
Employment variables are expressed in units.
Per head values are expressed in thousands of € per head.
Ratios are expressed in percentages.
2020
SBS data refer to the calendar year that corresponds to the fiscal year.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
Confidentiality treatment of SBS data is done using software programmes and procedures made by SORS. The development of those tools is based on the logical checks defined and recommended by Eurostat as well as on the rules applied in Tau Argus. Primary and secondary confidentiality treatment was applied. For primary confidentiality it was applied small counts rule – the cell is confidential if 3 or less than 3 units contribute to the total of the cell. Condition was applied for number of enterprises and if this data is confidential, all other variables on the same level of aggregation were considered as confidential.
8.1. Release calendar
Calendar of releases is available at SORS website on the 1st day of December every year for the forthcoming year (https://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/calendar).
Any divergence from the defined time schedule are announced in advance and explained in the Calendar.
8.2. Release calendar access
Calendar of releases is available at SORS website:
The results of official statistics are available at the same time to all users on impartial basis; any privileged access by external users before their release is not allowed.
Annual
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
Not available.
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications
Data are published in Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Serbia on SORS web site
The documentation is available on serbian and english language.
11.1. Quality assurance
The SORS quality management system is relied on the Serbian official statistics mission and vision, as well as on the European Statistics Code of Practice – CoP and the Total Quality Management – TQM principles, which together make the common quality framework of the European Statistical System (ESS).
Results from the Annual Structural Business Survey are produced in line with methodological requirements and standards, combining data from statistical survey SBS-01 and administrative data sources (annual financial reports).
Data are compared with data from the previous period as well as with data from the other statistical domains. The level of reliability and accuracy is high. Before data publishing detailed quality control of data is done.
Release of data is in line with Calendar of releases and data are available to all the users.
Combining multiple sources and data collection methods is in line with international recommendations, standards and practice. Data are internationally consistent because they follow EU practice as well as relevant international concepts, definitions and classifications.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
Beside data released in regular publications in SORS, special data processing is done at the request of the user.
Users on statistical data on structural business statistics are found in all areas of economic and social life. These are natural persons, business entities, state administration bodies and units of local self-government, academic and scientific-research institutions, Eurostat and other domestic and international users.
Internal users are:
Statistical Business Register (updated with feedback information from SBS);
Inward FATS - generated from SBS results;
STS - Industry statistics (value added and production value for weighting and structure defining, as well as for updating the survey frame);
STS - Construction statistics – turnover and value added for updating the survey frame.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
On biennial basis (once in two years), by the means of web interview, the User Satisfaction Survey is implemented. The survey results are available at SORS website:
The SBS-01 survey includes all economically active enterprises engaged in the production and sale of products and services, as well as other legal units that produce and provide services for the market. Entrepreneurs are not included in the survey. The survey covers majority of the variables required by Eurostat regulations and guidelines.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
Given that the response rate for the Structural Business Statistics survey for 2019 was about 88% as well as the usage of administrative data sources in the case of non-response, the overall accuracy is very high.
Possible errors from inputs for SBS survey are:
Statistical Business Register data source errors (coverage, activities, turnover, number of employees quality);
Annual financial reports errors (quality of accounting data);
Annual report on gross investments in fixed assets and investments in environmental protection and expenditures on goods and services in environment data source (quality of statistical source).
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable.
13.3. Non-sampling error
Not applicable.
14.1. Timeliness
The data are published on the SORS website 15 months after the reference period. Preliminary data are transmitted to Eurostat in the required technical format 10 months after the reference period, and complete final data 18 months after the reference period.
14.2. Punctuality
All data is published in accordance with the announced Calendar of Release (https://www.stat.gov.rs/en-US/calendar).
The data are transmitted to Eurostat in the required deadlines and technical format.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
The same concept of calculation of results is applied in the territory of the whole Republic of Serbia. SORS applies a methodology that is in line with international standards in the area of structural business statistics, which ensures good comparability with other countries.
15.2. Comparability - over time
Data have been available since the year 2007 onwards. The data are comparable and available for all years, taking into account that value data is given at current prices.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
Data from the annual structural business statistics is compared with data from the other statistical domains, such as:
Quarterly structural business statistics on operating income and costs (Turnover, Production value);
Business Register data (Number of enterprises, Turnover and Number of persons employed);
Turnover in Annex VIII is completely consistent with Turnover in Annex I,
SBS and corresponding National accounts data (SBS data are used as input for annual national accounts and for creating an input-output tables);
Comparison of SBS data with the results from the Annual Survey on Industrial Production.
It is planned to achieve a coherence between structural business statistics and business demography data for the reference year 2021, in line with EBS regulation.
15.4. Coherence - internal
Data for different aggregates inside SBS are completely consistent.
Considering that for majority of units in the SBS frame the input data are taken from existing administrative and statistical sources, costs of SBS data production as well as the additional burden on the reporting units are minimized as much as possible.
Methodology and preliminary data compilation process is identical to the one for final data production. That means, the same methodology and sources are used in both cases. Due to the longer available period, for final data more control and checks of data are carried out, including the checking with units, which improves the final data quality.
Published data are considered final, unless otherwise stated. Significant methodological changes are announced and users can be informed about them on the SORS website.
18.1. Source data
Reporting method of data collection based on the SBS-01 questionnaire is applied in the survey. In addition, data from administrative sources (annual financial statements) are also used. The survey is exhaustive. Data sources for structural business statistics are:
SBS-01 statistical survey for large and medium-sized enterprises (with 50 or more persons employed), as well as for business entities with less than 50 employees which according to the financial statements for the previous year, are large or medium, or of greater importance for the certain activity;
administrative data sources, mainly annual financial statements, as well as Tax office data, in addition to the survey on the field; data is used for the other business units defined by the coverage of units and for imputations in the case of unit or item non-response;
Central Register of Compulsory Social Insurance, for data related to employment;
individual Tax return on calculated taxes and contributions on wages and salaries, for data related to wages and salaries;
Statistical Business Register;
results from regular annual statistical survey on gross investments in fixed assets and investments in environmental protection and expenditures on goods and services (sample survey);
results from regular survey on employment, for employment related variables.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Annual data collection
18.3. Data collection
The survey is carried out as mandatory, prescribed by the Annual Plan of Statistical Surveys adopted by the Government of the Republic of Serbia. Reporting units transmit the data by entering them through a web questionnaire (no paper). Also tailored questionnaires for a few the most important complex enterprises was made in order to apply a new definition of enterprise. Data entry and checking is done in the regional statistical units of the SORS, responsible for collecting data for its territory, and the Administration of the City of Belgrade, Department of Statistics.
Apart from submitting data via a web questionnaire, reporting units can send completed questionnaires by e-mail. It is usual practice to contact the reporting unit by telephone or e-mail, for the purpose of providing expert assistance and consultations when filling in the questionnaire, due to its scope and complexity. Sometimes the data is collected by telephone.
18.4. Data validation
Data quality control is carried out within data entry through a web application, in which the criteria of logical and calculation control are implemented. This way wrong data or warnings are marked in the application, suggesting that the reporting unit should check and correct such data.
The data are then transmitted to IST, a software application created in the SORS, which is used to control, process and tabulate data. In addition to the data from the current year (at the reporting unit level), the IST also contains relevant data from the previous year, as well as data from administrative sources. Based on this data set, data control is performed as well as imputation of data in case of non-response. IT programs function on the basis of a rule for error detection, distinguishing "warning" and "very significant" errors, which indicate that data correction is necessary. In order to correct errors, consultation with reporting units is often necessary.
Aggregated data is also controlled in the Eurostat InputHall service. Validated data are transmitted to Eurostat.
18.5. Data compilation
The collected data from the survey are stored in IST software application which is used to control, process and tabulate data. Also data from annual financial statement are stored in the same base. After data editing in IST and imputations in the case of non-response, the calculation of variables in the same application follows.
Variables related to investments and environmental protection are calculated or estimated from regular annual statistical survey on gross investments in fixed assets and investments in environmental protection and expenditures on goods and services.
18.6. Adjustment
Not applicable.
No further comments
Structural business statistics (SBS) describes the structure, conduct and performance of economic activities, down to the most detailed activity level (several hundred economic sectors).
SBS covers all activities of the non-financial business economy with the exception of agricultural activities and personal services. Limited information is available on banking, insurance and pension funds.
Main characteristics (variables) of the SBS data category:
Business demographic variables (e.g. Number of enterprises)
"Output related" variables (e.g. Turnover, Value added)
"Input related" variables: labour input (e.g. Employment, Hours worked); goods and services input (e.g. Total of purchases); capital input (e.g. Material investments)
Statistical and reporting unit is an economically active enterprise or market-oriented other legal unit (business entity) that have submitted the annual financial statement for the previous year.
The principal statistical unit is the enterprise. Given that the enterprise may perform one or more activities, in one or more sites, the local unit is also considered as statistical unit.
The SBS survey covers active enterprises engaged in the production and sale of goods and services, as well as the part of other legal entities that produce and render market-oriented services, which is established by a practical criterion saying that their income from selling goods and services should exceed 50% of their total operating income. The target population consists of economically active statistical enterprises that are, according to their principal activity, classified in sections B – J and L – N as well as in division 95 of section S. Entrepreneurs (unincorporated enterprises) are not included in the survey.
Results are calculated by activities of CA, for the Republic of Serbia and statistical territorial units Srbija– sever and Srbija – jug (NSTJ1) and regions (NSTJ2).
(Remark: Starting from 1999 the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia has not at disposal and may not provide available certain data relative to AP Kosovo and Metohia and therefore these data are not included in the coverage for the Republic of Serbia (total).
2020
SBS data refer to the calendar year that corresponds to the fiscal year.
Given that the response rate for the Structural Business Statistics survey for 2019 was about 88% as well as the usage of administrative data sources in the case of non-response, the overall accuracy is very high.
Possible errors from inputs for SBS survey are:
Statistical Business Register data source errors (coverage, activities, turnover, number of employees quality);
Annual financial reports errors (quality of accounting data);
Annual report on gross investments in fixed assets and investments in environmental protection and expenditures on goods and services in environment data source (quality of statistical source).
Number of enterprises and number of local units are expressed in units.
Monetary data are expressed in millions of €.
Employment variables are expressed in units.
Per head values are expressed in thousands of € per head.
Ratios are expressed in percentages.
The collected data from the survey are stored in IST software application which is used to control, process and tabulate data. Also data from annual financial statement are stored in the same base. After data editing in IST and imputations in the case of non-response, the calculation of variables in the same application follows.
Variables related to investments and environmental protection are calculated or estimated from regular annual statistical survey on gross investments in fixed assets and investments in environmental protection and expenditures on goods and services.
Reporting method of data collection based on the SBS-01 questionnaire is applied in the survey. In addition, data from administrative sources (annual financial statements) are also used. The survey is exhaustive. Data sources for structural business statistics are:
SBS-01 statistical survey for large and medium-sized enterprises (with 50 or more persons employed), as well as for business entities with less than 50 employees which according to the financial statements for the previous year, are large or medium, or of greater importance for the certain activity;
administrative data sources, mainly annual financial statements, as well as Tax office data, in addition to the survey on the field; data is used for the other business units defined by the coverage of units and for imputations in the case of unit or item non-response;
Central Register of Compulsory Social Insurance, for data related to employment;
individual Tax return on calculated taxes and contributions on wages and salaries, for data related to wages and salaries;
Statistical Business Register;
results from regular annual statistical survey on gross investments in fixed assets and investments in environmental protection and expenditures on goods and services (sample survey);
results from regular survey on employment, for employment related variables.
Annual
The data are published on the SORS website 15 months after the reference period. Preliminary data are transmitted to Eurostat in the required technical format 10 months after the reference period, and complete final data 18 months after the reference period.
The same concept of calculation of results is applied in the territory of the whole Republic of Serbia. SORS applies a methodology that is in line with international standards in the area of structural business statistics, which ensures good comparability with other countries.
Data have been available since the year 2007 onwards. The data are comparable and available for all years, taking into account that value data is given at current prices.
