Statistical Office of Montenegro

Labour Market Department

Statistical Office of Montenegro

IV Proleterske 2

81000 Podgorica

Montenegro 

Data on labour costs are collected every four years with the Labour Cost Survey on the basis of Council Regulation (EC) No. 530/1999, Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1726/1999, Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1737/2005, Law on Official Statistics and System of Official Statistics is published in “Official Gazette of Montenegro, 18/12,30 March 2012”and the Annual Programme of Statistical Surveys.

With the Labour Cost Survey results we wish to provide insight into the level and structure of labour costs and to provide to employers and economic policy makers the data on the situation and changes of labour costs on the Montenegrian labour market. The purpose of the survey is to show the influence of individual legal changes on the level and structure of labour costs borne by employers in order to employ workers, and to enable the comparison between labour costs on the Montenerian labour market and labour costs on international labour markets, especially the labour markets in the European Union.

With the Labour Cost Survey results we wish to provide insight into the level and structure of labour costs and to provide to employers and economic policy makers the data on the situation and changes of labour costs on the Montenegrian labour market. The purpose of the survey is to show the influence of individual legal changes on the level and structure of labour costs borne by employers in order to employ workers, and to enable the comparison between labour costs on the Montenerian labour market and labour costs on international labour markets, especially the labour markets in the European Union.

• •The Standard Classification of Activities, based on the European Classification of Economic Activities (NACE Rev. 2),
• •The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS, level 1),

Data are collected for all activities A-S.

Key variables:

• •Average monthly labour costs per person in paid employment,
• •Average labour costs per hours worked,
• •Structure of labour costs

Bussines entities - (companies).

Observation units are business entities for performing activities on the territory of the Montenegro. They were selected with a sample.

The Labour Cost Survey covers all persons in paid employment in business entities from the described sample.

Employees are all persons who have a direct employment contract with the enterprise (whether the agreement is formal or informal) and receive remuneration, irrespective of the type of work performed, the number of hours worked (full or part-time) and the duration of the contract (fixed or indefinite).  Apprentices whose salary is paid by government should also be included as part of employment.

 The following list gives illustrative examples of categories of employees that are included:

-          sales representatives, providing they are on the payroll and, in addition to any commission, receive other forms of income;

-          paid working owners;

-          apprentices;

-          students and trainees (student nurses, research or teaching assistants, hospital interns, etc) who have a formal commitment whereby they contribute to the enterprise’s production process in return for remuneration;

-          interim or temporary workers (e.g. secretarial staff) recruited, employed and remunerated by employment agencies to work elsewhere, often for temporary periods;

-          seasonal and occasional workers, if they have a formal or informal agreement with the enterprise and pre-defined working hours;

-          employees for whom labour costs were incurred in the reference year 2012 but who were temporarily not at work because of illness or injury, holiday or vacation, strike, educational or training leave, maternity or parental leave, reduced economic activity, suspension of work due to bad weather, mechanical breakdowns, lack of materials, fuels or power, or other temporary absence with or without leave;

-          those working abroad if they continue to receive remuneration from the enterprise in Montenegro;

The following categories are excluded:

-          sales representatives and other persons who are wholly remunerated by way of fees or commission;

-          persons not on the payroll;

-          self-employed persons;

-          owners, directors or managers whose remuneration wholly takes the form of a share in profits;

-          family workers who are not employees (as defined above) of the enterprise;

-          Unpaid voluntary workers (e.g. those who typically work for non-profit institutions like charities, etc).

The whole country is covered on NUTS-1 level.

In Montenegro LCS data are available from 2012. For the LCS 2016 the reference period are data for the year 2016.

No based period. The LCS statistical survey is conducted every 4 years, data were collected for the reference year 2016.

The units are selected based on a stratified sample. The sample frame is represented by business entities registered for the purpose of performing their activities in the territory of Montenegro , who have paid wages by the employer within at least one month of the reference year.

The main criteria for determining units in the sample are the 2-digit code according to the Standard Classification of Activities NACE Rev. 2 and the size class of the business entity, defined by the number of persons in paid employment. Units from the stratum, containing business entities or their units with at least 250 persons employed are selected with certainty in the sample, and the units from other stratums are selected with coordinated probability sampling. Final sample size was around 1516 units

The units are selected based on a stratified sample. The sample frame is represented by business entities (ie legal units of the public/private sector, or their units and registered natural persons) registered for the purpose of performing their activities in the territory of Montenegro , who have paid wages by the employer within at least one month of the reference year.

The main criteria for determining units in the sample are the 2-digit code according to the Standard Classification of Activities NACE Rev. 2 and the size class of the business entity, defined by the number of persons in paid employment. Units from the stratum, containing business entities or their units with at least 250 persons employed are selected with certainty in the sample, and the units from other stratums are selected with coordinated probability sampling. Final sample size was around 1516 units

Data are collected every four years

Data are collected with questionnaire by Monstat.

The responding units were notified with a circular letter about being included in the sample, which was sent to them by mail or by post where mail was unknown. The circular letter contained the general information about the survey and obligation by Law of Statistics to fill the questionnaire. The questionnaire was open for filling it in on 1 June 2017. The deadline for filling in the questionnaire was set to 30 June 2017. After the deadline non -responded business entities were notified by mail. In July and August just non-responded key-responders were contacted to send the data. The data collection  ended in December 2017. From end of October 2017 to February 2018 data were analysed and some double checking with responding units were done. In March 2018 the data were processed by data statistical data editing. In begginig of April 2019 data were weighted and basic tables were made. Through period to September  2019 other tables were produced with help of expert from Slovenia and checked and sent to Eurostat.

Data collected with the questionnaire were validated trough set of logic controls. First logic control was built in entry of data application where mistakes were hard or soft . Data could not be transferred with hard mistakes while for soft mistakes their values must be double-checked. Special attention regarding wages, social contribution payed by employer and hours worked.

Data from the questionnaire  are compiled into the  SQL  database using PIN number of business entities

 No adjustment.

Key quality indicators are calculated regularly.

Standard quality report is prepared for  LCS survey.

The main users of Labour Costs Survey 2012 results the national Ministries.

Major foreign users of survey data are Eurostat. Data are sent to Eurostat in accordance with the EU Regulation.

In general users are satisfied with data offered but two main weaknesses were mentioned; information on structure of labour costs should be available more often than every four years

In the LCS surveys the articles of the EU Regulation regarding LCS are fully implemented

Data completeness rate is 100%.

Accuracy is described in 6.2. to 6.6.

See 6.2.1.

In the four attached documents cofficients of variations are shown in percentage for Annual labour costs and Hourly labour costs, broken down by NACE sections and size classes. Data are available for business entities with 10 and more employees

 see anex

see 6.3.1. - 6.3.5.

See 6.3.1.1.

see file ME.6.3.3.1

Not applicable.

Every question in the questionnaire contains the definition of what must be included in and excluded from the data. Every questionnaire was tested by logic control. In logic control is set of logical limits which the values of variables should not exceed. There were two types of errors;  heavy error; must be corrected, easy error; number is out of range but could be right. In case of an easy error reporting units are called or mailed to explain the illogical values and in case of an error values are corrected. Therefore no item non-response is detected. In case of unit non-response reminders were sent via e-mail to reporting units to send the data. Reminders were sent  via e-mail. By the end of collection period just key-responders were contacted.

see 6.3.3.1

LCS 2016 the overall unit response rate for was non-weighted 69.8 % and weighted 97.1%. 

For mandatory variables, including 'Gross earnings and Employer's social contributions', data were obligatory . After logic test other missing data were checked at the business entities and corrected if necessary. No imputation was performed in case of item non-response.

See 6.3.4.1.

Non weighted imputation rate for the main variable 'Gross Earnings' are not calculated.Non weighted rate of the statistical data editing for the main variable 'Gross Earnings' is not calculated.

No models were used.

Not applicable.

See link.

http://monstat.org/eng/page.php?id=1411&pageid=1411

Data for lcs are not published

Data for lcs are not published

Data to Eurostat are sent in april 2019 but corrections are made in the september 2019.

in Montenegro first results are not published

in Montenegro final results are not published

Data are not published

Not applicable

LCS 2016 data were collected and published in accordance with EU regulations with exceptios listed below:

•Apprentices were excluded due to negligible phenomena and because units would face a problem filling the data

Not applicable

In LCS 2016 there were no changes in the definitions and methods in comparison with LCS 2012.

In Montenegro LCS is carried out from 2012.

1. Coherence with Labour Force Survey (LFS)

The main reason for the difference in number of hours worked per person in paid employment from LCS and LFS is in type of survey: LCS is business survey and LFS household survey. Other reasons are shown in the table 8.3.

      2.Coherence with Labour Cost Index (LCI)

Monstat doesnt produce LCI.

Not applicable.

National account still don`t compute  data on Compensation of employees, per employee - D1

All variables containing data on earnings were checked with results from existing national wage statistical surveys.

Data are not published

Data are not published

Data are not published

In case of special data inquiry special tables can be made.

Individual data are not available

On explicit request special tables can be made and additional explanation could be prepared.

Metadata are not published

http://monstat.org/eng/page.php?id=1421

All metadata elements are in the methodological explanations in questionnaire

No information on the event.

There were  no additional costs for Monstat.

There is always burden on units selected in the sample, because data are collected with the questionnaire.

Monstat treats all data of all our reporting units (households, persons and enterprises) confidential according to our National Statistics Act, other laws and internal acts. The dissemination of the data must not allow any identification of a reporting unit or disclosure of sensitive data, therefore the data are protected in accordance with the rules of statistical disclosure control. The access to the data is enabled only for the employees, who need the access due to the nature of their work.

Monstat checks the data for the dissemination in terms of the risk of identification and sensitivity. Rules used for the determination of the primary sensitive data are threshold, dominance rule, p%-rule.

Microdata: . All direct identifiers are removed from microdata sets and all outputs are checked.

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