Ministerio de Transportes, Movilidad y Agenda Urbana.

Paseo de la Castellana, 67

28071 Madrid – SPAIN

Directorate-General for Economic Planning and Budgets.

Subdirectorate-General for Economic and Statistical Studies

LUIS GONZALEZ TURNER

Ministerio de Transportes, Movilidad y Agenda Urbana

Paseo de la Castellana 67, C-408

28071 MADRID - SPAIN

RAFAEL SÁNCHEZ DE RIVERA MOSSET

Ministerio de Transportes, Movilidad y Agenda Urbana

Paseo de la Castellana 67, C-420

28071 MADRID - SPAIN

The Number of Hours Worked corresponds to variable 220 of Annex B to Council Regulation (EC) No 1165/98 of 19 May 1998 concerning short-term statistics.

"Hours worked by remunerated persons" means the total number of hours actually worked by those persons during the reference month for the survey. This concept includes hours actually worked (both normal and extraordinary working hours) during working periods (including, as appropriate, holidays, nights, etc.); time spent in the workplace preparing tools, completing time sheets, etc.; the duration of any downtime in the workplace resulting from occasional work shortages, machinery stoppages, accidents, etc., and the time corresponding to brief rest periods in the workplace (breakfast, snack breaks, etc.). It must, however, exclude any hours agreed (and paid) but not worked as a consequence of sick leave, weather conditions, strikes, holidays, public holidays, etc., meal breaks and time spent travelling between home and the workplace.

If the number of hours worked is not known it may be estimated on the basis of the theoretical number of working hours and the average percentage of absences (sickness, maternity, etc.).

The Number of Hours Worked is obtained via the Encuesta de Índices de Producción de la Industria de la Construcción (Survey of Construction Industry Production Indices, EIPIC), which is a statistical investigation conducted at regular intervals to evaluate and analyse trends in the main economic variables of companies primarily engaged in construction activity. The aim of the survey is to obtain a complete, consistent and homogeneous set of quantitative data on the behaviour of the “Construction” sector in the business cycle.

Main characteristics measured by the survey:

Construction undertakings provide information on a monthly basis on a series of economic variables related to their activity: contracting, works carried out, operating revenue, subcontracts, etc., and variables relating to employment: wages and salaries, staff numbers and hours worked.

Until December 2008, the NACE 93 REV 1.0 classification was used.

From January 2009, the NACE 93 REV 2.0 classification was used.

All undertakings listed in Section F of NACE 93 REV 2.0 (CNAE-2009 in Spain) are covered.

Hours worked by remunerated persons

"Hours worked by remunerated persons" means the total number of hours actually worked by those persons during the reference month for the survey. This concept includes hours actually worked (both normal and extraordinary working hours) during working periods (including, as appropriate, holidays, nights, etc.); time spent in the workplace preparing tools, completing time sheets, etc.; the duration of any downtime in the workplace resulting from occasional work shortages, machinery stoppages, accidents, etc., and the time corresponding to brief rest periods in the workplace (breakfast, snack breaks, etc.). It must, however, exclude any hours agreed (and paid) but not worked as a consequence of sick leave, weather conditions, strikes, holidays, public holidays, etc., meal breaks and time spent travelling between home and the workplace.

*Autonomous workers are not included

Reporting unit: The Council Regulation on short-term statistics (Regulation (EC) No 1165/98) provides that the basic statistical unit (or reporting unit) is the kind-of-activity unit. This is defined as the one carrying out a single activity, at the four-digit level in NACE 93 Rev. 2, included in Section F.

In practice, the statistical units to be investigated are “the undertakings included in the scope of the survey”.

The statistical population consists of undertakings with paid employees whose main activity is construction, both on their own behalf and for other parties. The number of undertakings studied each month is 4 000, distributed as follows: all undertakings with 100 or more employees are taken into account and a sample is taken of the rest. The population framework referred to in the study changes each year: the most recent figures available are for 2018, when there were  166.245 undertakings.

The main activity of an undertaking is considered to be the one that provides the highest gross value added at factor cost.

According to the National Classification of Economic Activities for 2009 (CNAE-2009), activities relating to construction are those listed in Section F:

41.1 Development of building projects: development of projects for the construction of residential and non-residential buildings.

41.2 Construction of buildings: residential and non-residential.

42.1 Construction of roads and railways, bridges and tunnels: roads and motorways, railways and underground railways, bridges and tunnels.

42.2 Construction of utility projects: utility projects for fluids, electricity and telecommunications.

42.9 Construction of other civil engineering projects: specialised construction activities.

43.1 Demolition and site preparation: demolition, site preparation, test drilling and boring.

43.2 Electrical, plumbing and other construction installation activities: electrical installation, plumbing, heating and air-conditioning installation and other construction installation.

43.3 Building completion and finishing: plastering, joinery installation, floor and wall covering, painting and glazing.

43.9 Other specialised construction activities: roofing activities and other specialised construction activities.

It covers all legal units registered in Section F of NACE 93 Rev. 2 Central Directory of Companies of the National Statistics Institute of Spain.

The Statistical Operation of the Central Business Directory contains aggregated information of the local companies and units operating in the territory of Spain. It is updated once a year, generating a new information system on January 1 of each period.

Data for the study> Comprehensive framework> all companies with more than 99 employees. Sampled frame> companies with fewer than 100 employees.

Seasonal Survey of the Construction Industry (Encuesta Coyuntural de la Industría de la Construcción - ECIC). Quarterly series 1988-2005.

Construction Industry Production Indices (Índices de Producción de la Industria de la construcción - EIPIC - CNAE 1993). Monthly series 2005-2008.

Construction Industry Production Indices (Índices de Producción de la Industria de la construcción - EIPIC - CNAE 2009). Monthly series from January 2009 onwards.

Not applicable

Number of hours

Reference period for the publication of the results of the Survey: Monthly.

Reference period for gathering information: Monthly.

The gathering, processing and dissemination of data from statistical operations for State purposes is governed by the provisions of Law 12/1989 of 9 May 1989, on the Public Statistical Function (LFEP) and the Fourth Additional Provision of Law 4/1990 of 29 June 1990. Under the LFEP, the National Statistical Plan is the primary instrument for organising the Government's statistical activity and contains the statistics to be produced over the four-year period by the Government departments or any other bodies responsible to the Government and those to be prepared with the total or partial participation of the Autonomous Communities and Local Corporations under cooperation agreements with the State statistical services or, as appropriate, in compliance with the provisions of the legislation. All statistics included in the National Statistical Plan are for State purposes and are mandatory. The National Statistical Plan for 2017-2020, adopted by Royal Decree 410/2016 of 31 October 2016, is the plan currently in force.

The Survey of Construction Industry Production Indices is subject to Council Regulation (EC) No 1165/98 of 19 May 1998 on short-term statistics, amended by Regulation (EC) No 1158/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2005 establishing a common framework for the production of short-term European statistics on the business cycle.

The Spanish version of these European Union instruments is available at

http://www.ine.es/normativa/leyes/UE/minine.htm#30050

The Survey of Construction Industry Production Indices (EIPIC) obtains all of its information via the specific survey carried out by the Subdirectorate-General for Economic and Statistical Studies of the Ministry of Public Works for these statistics; no other institution is involved.

The Ministry of Public Works makes all non-confidential data available on its dissemination website: https://www.fomento.gob.es/el-ministerio/observatorios-y-estadisticas

The only international body to which EIPIC data are sent is Eurostat.

Law 12/1989 on the Public Statistical Function prohibits the dissemination or making available in any other manner of individual or aggregated data that could lead to the identification of previously unknown information concerning a person or body. Moreover, European Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics provides for the need to establish common principles and guidelines to guarantee the confidentiality of the data used to produce European statistics and the access to these confidential data, taking account of technological progress and the needs of users in a democratic society.

The Ministry of Public Works takes all the logical, physical and administrative measures necessary to ensure effective protection of confidential data from collection to publication.

Survey questionnaires include a legal clause informing users of the protection of the data collected.

When tables of results are published, the information is analysed in detail to prevent any deduction of confidential data about the statistical units. When micro-data files are transmitted, the data are always anonymised.

Release of the data corresponding to the reference month t is staggered so that the data appear on the Ministry of Public Works website at t + 55-60 days, in accordance with a predetermined release calendar.

The release calendar is published on the Ministry of Public Works website.

http://www.fomento.gob.es/MFOM/LANG_CASTELLANO/ATENCION_CIUDADANO/INFORMACION_ESTADISTICA/Calendario.htm

Data are released simultaneously to all interested parties in accordance with the release calendar. At the same time, the data are published on the Ministry of Public Works website https://www.fomento.gob.es/el-ministerio/observatorios-y-estadisticas

The data is transmitted to EUROSTAT according to the schedule established for the STS statistics.

Tailor-made orders are also sent to registered users. Some users can receive embargoed information as specified in the:

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-catalogues/-/KS-02-18-142

The data are disseminated on a monthly basis.

No applicable

All information relating to the EIPIC is published on the Ministry of Public Works website. The following publications can be found there:

- Methodological notes

- Monthly series (CNAE 2009)

- Yearly publications (2006-2008)

- Availability timetable

All of these publications can be consulted at the following address:

https://www.fomento.es/informacion-para-el-ciudadano/informacion-estadistica/construccion/indices-de-produccion-de-la-industria-de-la-construccion-eipic

Historical data and other studies is the system used by the Ministry of Public Works to store all of its statistical information and disseminate it online. It contains all of the information produced by the Ministry of Public Works in electronic format. It is basically organised using a thematic classification. The basic unit is the statistical operation, defined as the set of activities leading to the obtaining of statistical results for a given sector or theme from individually-collected data, and can be consulted at the following address:

http://www.fomento.es/MFOM/LANG_CASTELLANO/ATENCION_CIUDADANO/INFORMACION_ESTADISTICA/DatosHistoricos/

Users can order specially tailored micro-data files for scientific research purposes. Once the viability of the orders has been examined, users may be granted access to the information under strict conditions of confidentiality.

Micro-data are not accessible to the public.

There is the possibility of ordering tailored information via the functional mailbox. When such orders are processed, restrictions relating to confidentiality or precision are taken into account.

EIPIC data are transmitted to Eurostat within the regulatory timeframes.

Documentation on methodology can be consulted at:

http://www.fomento.gob.es/NR/rdonlyres/59F706DF-8DA6-434E-8A27-A3A656682BDE/112443/NMEIPIC.pdf

Until May 2012, based on Council Regulation (EC) No 1165/98 on short-term statistics, amended by Regulation (EC) No 1158/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2005, the European Commission (Eurostat) assessed the quality of the data transmitted and reported on the quality of European statistics to the European Parliament and the Council every three years. To that end, each country provided the information requested by the Commission. Eurostat would provide information on the main quantitative indicators, calculated on the basis of the data provided by the Member States.

From 2013, similar processes will continue to be applied for quality assessment.

A quality evaluation and an overview of the statistical situation are produced each month.

The quality assurance framework for the statistics produced by the Subdirectorate-General for Economic Studies and Statistics of the Ministry of Public Works is based on ESCoP, the https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-catalogues/-/KS-02-18-142. ESCoP sets out 15 principles, grouped into three areas: Institutional Environment, Processes and Products. Each principle is associated with a series of indicators enabling it to be measured. For quality assessment, various tools provided by EUROSTAT are used: the indicators referred to above, self-assessment (DESAP), peer review, quality audits and user satisfaction surveys.

The EIPIC production process is designed to guarantee the quality of the information used and of the results obtained from it.

To this end, different quality controls have been devised for all the stages of the process:

Data provided are compared and contrasted with historical information from the same reporting unit, comparative analyses are carried out and rapporteurs are asked to explain any fluctuations in production.

- Detection of invalid values.

- Estimates in the absence of responses.

- Supervision and inspection of fieldwork.

- Other permanent monitoring of information flows.

The framework Regulation (EC) No 1165/1998 stipulates that the quality of the data produced by each Member State and sent to Eurostat must be constantly assessed.

The data delivered to EUROSTAT in t + 45 days of the variable B220 are very reliable in comparison with the definitive data provided later (the last definitive data is sent in t + 150,). The EIPIC indicators are of high statistical quality that meet all the criteria of consistency, comparability, precision, and puntuaity. The methodology follows the recommendations of the United Nations (UN), EUROSTAT and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 

The survey responds to the information needs of the main users of which the following are of particular note:

• EUROSTAT, OCDE, NU, IMF.
• ministries and other public bodies
• Autonomous Communities
• businesses
• researchers and universities
• press and specialist media
• private individuals.

Each of these users has different needs according to the destination and use of the information required. For this reason, tailored information is frequently provided.

The parties responsible for the survey are in constant contact with the main users when they express a specific need for information.

There is no specific user satisfaction survey for the EIPIC.

The survey meets all information requirements laid down in both national and international standards.

The EIPIC is governed by Regulation (EC) No 1165/1998 of 19 May 1998 on short-term statistics and successive Regulations amending and complementing that Regulation. This survey satisfies the requirements laid down in all of the above.

Definitively speaking, the survey provides all of the information required under the regulations: the "level of mandatory results available" is therefore 100%.

The statistics used in the production of the EIPIC are designed in such a way as to guarantee the reliability and accuracy of the indices and data calculated.

Validity checks and analyses of the information take place at all stages of the process of obtaining the indices and data. Errors and missing responses are addressed, resulting in high levels of statistical reliability with low error rates and bias.

The accuracy of the statistics is determined by the accuracy of the information sources from the Structural Survey of the Construction Industry and the Central Directory of Undertakings of the Instituto Nacional de Estadística that are used in compiling them.
The sample design attempts to minimise sampling errors and the different survey processes aim to eliminate or reduce errors in it as far as possible, during the collection phase (response rate and debugging check) and subsequent stages.

For further information, visit the EIPIC website:
http://www.fomento.gob.es/NR/rdonlyres/59F706DF-8DA6-434E-8A27-A3A656682BDE/112443/NMEIPIC.pdf

Stratified random sampling with optimum allocation: a sample of the smaller specimens – namely undertakings with fewer than 100 workers – is taken in the strata without automatic representation, while large specimens, namely undertakings with 100 or more workers, are all included.

The specimens with fewer than 100 workers included in the survey sample represent, on average, 80-83 % of the 4 000 units studied on a monthly basis. Undertakings with 100 workers or more account for, on average, 17-20 % of the survey sample. The percentages are proportional to the population.

Checks on non-sampling errors are carried out throughout the statistical process. EIPIC is a specific and unique survey to obtain production data for construction. Tthe sample used is based on the Central Register of Undertakings and Section F of NACE 93 Rev.2.0.

Specific information on non-response rates is also available. At the time of publication the non-response rate was below 5%.

The EIPIC is published 55-60 days following the reference month. Advance data are made available to Eurostat within the regulatory timeframes.

The results of the survey are published in accordance with the Ministry of Public Works release calendar for statistics, which can be consulted at the following address:

http://www.fomento.gob.es/MFOM/LANG_CASTELLANO/ATENCION_CIUDADANO/INFORMACION_ESTADISTICA/Calendario.htm

Each publication was issued on the date announced in the release calendar.

The survey is designed to be homogeneous across the geographical area taken into account in terms of methodology, design, method of collection of information, analysis and verification and screening of data.

In addition, at European level the comparability between countries is guaranteed by the Regulation (CE) 1165/98 on short-term statistics, which confers homogeneity in statistics across all European Union countries that disseminate the same information for their respective geographical spheres and industrial sectors.

The EIPIC was published for the first time in 1988, when it was known as the ECIC (Encuesta Coyuntural de la Industria de la Construcción, Seasonal Survey of the Construction Industry). The changes made since then (changes in periodicity, changes to the sampling framework, change to CNAE, changes to the basis, etc.) have gradually modified certain methodological aspects of the survey, resulting in a degree of interruption to the series, which has been addressed to ensure linked series whenever possible.

• Seasonal Survey of the Construction Industry (Encuesta Coyuntural de la Industría de la Construcción - ECIC). Quarterly series 1988-2005.
• Construction Industry Production Indices (Índices de Producción de la Industria de la construcción - EIPIC - NACE 93 Rev. 1). Monthly series 2005-2008.
• Construction Industry Production Indices (Índices de Producción de la Industria de la construcción - EIPIC - NACE 93 Rev. 2). Monthly series from January 2009 onwards.

An examination of trends in annual data reveals that there is coherence between the structural surveys of the sector (Structural Survey of the Construction Industry) and the annual results of the EIPIC.

Data are contrasted with other studies directly related to the sector:

• Evolution of registered unemployment in the construction sector
• Survey of Active Population construction sector

The data used in the calulation of the EIPIC are obtained using a survey specific to these statistics and undergo the same processes of analysis, validation and attribution, rendering them completely coherent.

The various subsectors of the construction sector - i.e. building and civil engineering - are obtained directly from the data provided by the reporting units.

The workload for the industrial establishments from which we request information has been diminishing in recent years since the implementation of a system offering respondents the possibility of replying online: this, combined with the possibility of using other methods such as email, fax or telephone, has considerably reduced the time and effort invested by respondents in replying to the questions on the questionnaire.

According to the most recent data available, the time spent on the survey by the responding undertakings comes to 0.32 person hours per month. Given that the number of reporting units is 4,000, the monthly burden works out at 1,280 hours.

Again according to the most recent data, the cost in hours of conducting the EIPIC survey to obtain production indices is the equivalent of 42.592 working hours per year, or 3.549 hours per month.

Data are provisional when first published.

They remain provisional for three months, since a percentage (< 0.25) of undertakings respond after the deadline or because there is a possibility of undetected errors. Consequently, the provisional data vary very slightly, if at all, in relation to the definitive data.

Data become definitive three months after the reference period.

Directory: The framework for the survey is the Central Register of Undertakings (Directorio Central de Empresas, DIRCE) which includes information on undertakings with their identifying details, location and territorial distribution, and their classification by size and economic activity.

Size and design of the sample: The selection of the sampling units (undertakings) was made by strata defined by the size of the undertakings and the activities in which they are engaged in in accordance with the National Classification of Economic Activities for 2009: at national level, an exhaustive selection was made of all undertakings with 100 or more workers and a random sample was taken of those with fewer than 100 workers, with optimum allocation within each stratum. The size of the sample is approximately 4 000 units.

Rotation system: Approximately 20% of the units sampled change each year.

Data are collected on a monthly basis.

Data collection: In order to gather the information to be provided by construction undertakings for the preparation of these statistics, a questionnaire designed to meet the requirements of Council Regulation (EC) No 1165/98 of 19 May 1998 on short-term statistics is used.

Similarly, every effort has been made to ensure that the economic data requested are adapted to the General Chart of Accounts covering construction companies and, in order to facilitate responses, a reference to the account, accounts or groups of accounts corresponding to the information has been included with the variable requested.

Questionnaires for the following three months are sent to the reporting units with the relevant instructions for completing them. Responding undertakings can reply by post, fax, email or on the website.

The most recent data indicate that response methods are as follows:

During the completion stage, a system to detect inconsistencies is used to alert respondents and ask them to confirm or amend the information provided.

When the information is entered, a checking system alerts users to any inconsistencies that may emerge. During this process, if any data contain discrepancies the staff member responsible for gathering the information contacts the respondent to ask them to confirm or amend the information provided.

Once the information has been compiled, the coverage of the information is checked to guarantee that the data entered are complete and to detect duplications and gaps in coverage, missing responses, etc.

Specific software is used for all of these processes.

Once the information has been received, the process of screening the data can begin. This process consists of two phases: during the first, micro-screening or screening of micro-data takes place, while the second consists of an analysis for various aggregation levels or macro-screening.

Micro-screening involves checking the validity of the data from each undertaking, taking account of the historical series provided by it. The analysis establishes month-on-month and year-on-year comparisons.

The second part of the screening takes place once the combined data have been processed. The aggregated information goes through a centralised screening process, where errors detected in the main variables are corrected manually and other variables are screened automatically. Where information is available from other sources, the consistency between these and the results of the survey is checked.

Estimators: Estimators or extrapolation coefficients are the factors which, from the data obtained in the sample, enable results for the population as a whole to be obtained. The transition from sample to population data is made using a matrix of extrapolation factors for each activity group and occupational stratum. The variable used to obtain the extrapolation factors was the number of undertakings in the DIRCE (population group).

The coefficients applied are an attempt to resolve the problem presented by the Directory in relation to incidents on site: stoppages, periods of inactivity, and activities other than building work, etc., since the basic premise is that undertakings that do not respond have the same structure when it comes to incidents.

Construction Production Indices are adjusted for working days. The different types of public holiday are taken into account in accordance with the location and collective agreement at Autonomous Community level, weighted by their respective turnover in the construction industry to obtain an average adjustment coefficient weighted at national level.

No observations.