Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO)

Short Term enquiries (KE)

Swiss Federal Statistical Office
Espace de l'Europe 10
2010 Neuchâtel

Number of employees and self-employed persons (=occupied posts)

The source is the quarterly enquiry on employment (BESTA/STATEM/STATIMP/JOBSTAT). The main purpose of the survey is to provide early indicators of short-term changes on the labour demand.

NACE Rev. 2.

The survey covers Sections B to E  (Industry),  Section F (Construction),  Section G (Trade) and Sections H to N  and P to S (Services) of the NACE Rev. 2 .

No employment threshold is applied: all units with at least one job in the Swiss Business Register are included in the sampling frame.  

According to the definition of employment valid for the Swiss Business Register, a job is defined as a post occupied by one person in an enterprise for which a contribution is paid to the Swiss social security system (AHV/AVS). This also covers self-employed persons.

In the survey, the number of persons employed are recorded by sex and by 4 levels of employment (full time: 90-100%; part-time I: 50- 89%; part-time II: 15-49%; part time III: <15% of the ordinary number of weekly working hours) as well as in full time equivalent jobs.

Number of job vacancies for a given selection of NOGA economic divisions and main regions.

Difficulties encountered by enterprises in recruiting workforce by level of education (compulsory education, apprenticeship, higher professional education, university degree).

Previsions of employment for the next quarter, the entreprise indicates if they want to maintain, increase or decrease the number of jobs in the next quarter (qualitative question). 

Accounting conventions: Last month of the reference quarter (March, June, September, December).

The enterprise is the reporting unit.

The establishment (local unit) is the observation unit.

All enterprises with at least one job in Industry, Construction, Retail trade and Services (see 3.2). There are around (sampling frame 2022):

• 43,000 industrial enterprises
• 47,000 construction enterprises
• 75,000 trade enterprises
• 383,000 other services enterprises

in the reference population.

The geographical area covered is Switzerland (broken down by the seven NUTS2 regions).

Activities outside the geographical territory are not included in the data.

The present survey dates from 1992 although the statistics has existed since 1925.

Base year 2021=100

Data are transmitted to Eurostat as indices.

Data are published on national level as absolute figures (Number of employees and self-employed persons).

Quarter

Federal Law on Statistics of 9 October 1992

Bundesstatistikgesetz (BstatG) vom 9. Oktober 1992

Loi fédérale du 9 octobre 1992 sur la statistique fédérale (LSF)

Ordinance of 30 June 1993 on the Implementation of Statistical Surveys

Verordnung vom 30. Juni 1993 über die Durchführung von statistischen Erhebungen des Bundes

Ordonnance du 30 juin 1993 concernant l'exécution des relevés statistiques fédéraux

The survey is compulsory: fines can be given.

EBS Regulation:

Legislation - Short-term business statistics - Eurostat (europa.eu)

Aggregated results are publicly disseminated on the FSO website. Regional data are transmitted to regional statistical offices that co-finance regional samples.

The compilation and publication of the data are governed by the Federal Law on Statistics (10/9/92), the Ordinance on the Execution of Statistical Surveys (06/30/93) and the Federal Law on Data Protection (06/19/92). The Federal Law on Data Protection specifies that the Swiss Federal Statistical Office cannot publish, or otherwise make available to any individual or organisation, statistics that would enable the identification of data for any individual person or entity.

The Laws and Ordinance are published in German, French and Italian and copies can be obtained, for a fee, or downloaded for free from BBL, CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland,  Internet: https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/

Data are only published down to an activity level at which it is not confidential.

Aggregated Results are disseminated in four quarterly press releases within less than 60 days after the reference date. All available results are publicly published on the FSO website.

https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/en/home/news/agenda.html

The data are released simultaneously to all interested parties by issuing the press release "Employment barometer in the xth quarter yyyy".

Internal government access to the data prior to their release to the public is limited to the Ministry of Economy and the Swiss National Bank.

Data are transmitted to Eurostat at the time of national publication.

Frequency of data transmission to Eurostat: Quarterly

Frequency of national dissemination: Quarterly

Press release: "Employment Barometer in the xth quarter yyyy" is available free of charge, in French, German, Italian and English. Electronic copies are available on line: http://www.statistik.admin.ch.

The press release contains a short analysis of results for the reference quarter compared to the same quarter of the previous year as well as the previous quarter (seasonally adjusted results). Full length time series are provided online as an annex to the press release.

The following indicators are disseminated:
a) the numbers of employees broken down by economic activities (NACE 2-digit), sex, large region (=NUTS2 regions) and level of employment (full-time, part-time and full-time equivalents)
b) the numbers of jobs vacancies and the rate of job vacancies for a selection of economic activities and regions
c) results for the qualitative questions addressing the difficulties encountered by enterprises in recruiting workforce broken down by regions and a selection of economic activities.
d) previsions of employment for the next quarter broken down by regions and a selection of economic activities.

Results are presented either in absolute figures (numbers of employees, job vacancies) or in index form (job vacancies and qualitative variables). Seasonally adjusted data (analysed by economic activities and regions) are also disseminated. Growth rates are calculated with respect either to the same period of the previous year (non seasonally adjusted data) or to the previous quarter (seasonally adjusted data).

The commentary attached to the data is only provided by the FSO.

Press release: "Employment barometre in the xth quarter yyyy" is available free of charge, in French, German,  Italian and English.

https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/en/home/statistics/industry-services/businesses-employment/jobs-statistics.html

No microdata access in conformity with the Federal Law on Data Protection (06/19/92).

Aggregated data are transmitted to Eurostat.

Methods are described in reports which are available free of charge on the Internet:

Publications | Office fédéral de la statistique (admin.ch)

 Documentation is produced according to internal rules, as well as Eurostat regulations, and is available on request.

https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/kataloge-datenbanken/publikationen.assetdetail.343078.html

https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/en/home/fso/quality-commitment.html

Fullfilled according to international regulations.

The data are used by the Swiss National Bank, Eurostat, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs and many other users.

No satisfaction survey

Data corresponds to Eurostat's STS requirements.

Precision of estimates in terms of coefficient of variation (CV) of the sampling error drive the sampling process with the following goals:
Total number of number of employees and self-employed persons : CV <0.5%
Total number of number of employees and self-employed persons per NACE2 and NUTS2 regions: CV <2%
Total number of number of employees and self-employed persons per NUTS2 regions and economic sector: CV <3%

Sampling error is calculated and published (see news releases).

Stichprobenrahmen BESTA 2.Q.2023: Methodologischer Anhang | Publikation | Bundesamt für Statistik (admin.ch)

Email, postal and phone reminders are sent to speed up or increase the rate of response.

The response rate at the time that the survey closes excedes 90% and 85% for employment and other variables, respectively.

Press release: within 60 days after the end of the reference period.

The questionnaires are sent out during the first week of the last month of the reference quarter. The deadline for replies is within 7 days after the last day of the reference month. A reminder is sent during the 2nd week after the reference month with a deadline for the following week. The survey is closed during the 5th week after the end of the reference quarter.

National publication dates and delivery dates to Eurostat are respected.

The geographical area covered is Switzerland (broken down by the seven "NUTS2 regions"). 

Number of employees and self-employed persons per NACE2 divisions are available from 3^rd quarter 1991

Time series for Large Regions are available from 3^rd quarter 1995.

Data can be cross-checked with the results of the Statistics of the Structure of the Entreprises (STATENT)  (yearly, from 2011).

Data are internally coherent, which means that all totals and subtotals sum up consistently across NACE2 and NUTS2 aggregates.

Efforts are constantly made to keep costs and burden as low as possible, especially by using administrative data when available and sharing data with other surveys. Costs and burden on respondents are estimated once a year. 

For 2023 cost for the FSO were estimated to 10 full-time equivalents.

Burden estimates for respondents is on average 15 minutes per form.

Time series are revised every time the sampling frame is adapted.

Major methodological changes and periodic revisions are announced in advance through a press-release.
In order to ensure the long term consistency of the time series, a procedure of double estimates for both the old and the new sampling frames are conducted every time the sampling frame is renewed.
Changes are documented in methodological reports.

The sampling frame is drawn from the Swiss Business register of enterprises and establishments (REE). The survey is based on a sample of enterprises stratified by activities (NACE 2-digit), regions and enterprise size (total number of employees).

Industry:
Threshold values and percentages: There are around 43,000 enterprises in the reference population. Approximately 3800 units, in other words 9%, are sampled each quarter.  The thresholds of the size classes are determined individually in order to minimise the variance of estimates of the total number of employees. Therefore, the number of size classes and their sample sizes may vary among Divisions. The largest size classes are exhaustively sampled. In addition, most large enterprises report exhaustive data for all their establishments.

Construction :
Threshold values and percentages: There are around 47,000 enterprises in the reference population. Approximately 1,900 units, in other words 4%, are sampled each quarter. The thresholds of the size classes are determined in order to minimise the variance of estimates of the total number of employees. The largest size classes are exhaustively sampled. In addition, most large enterprises report exhaustive data for all their establishments.

Trade:
There are around 74,000 enterprises in the reference population. Approximately 1900 units, in other words 2,5%, are sampled each quarter. The thresholds of the size classes are determined individually in order to minimise the variance of estimates of the total number of employees. The largest size classes are exhaustively sampled. In addition, most large enterprises report exhaustive data for all their establishments.

Services:
There are around 383,000 enterprises in the reference population. Approximately 11,000 units, in other words 2,9%, are sampled each quarter.  The thresholds of the size classes are determined individually in order to minimise the variance of estimates of the total number of employees. Therefore, the number of size classes and their sample sizes may vary among Divisions. The largest size classes are exhaustively sampled. In addition, most large enterprises report exhaustive data for all their establishments.

Frequency of updating the sample for all activities: Once a year.

Quarterly

A single questionnaire is used for all respondents regardless of size and activity.

Four channels of data collection are used: files, internet, paper questionaires and phone calls (reminders and late delivery cases).

 Individual data are checked among quarters and against the sampling frame

Estimates for non-response: Non response is accounted for by adjusting the weighting factors. Missing data for influent cases are filled by imputations.

Estimates for grossing-up to population levels is done using weighting factors.

Results are published as absolute figures.

Method of weighting:  On the basis of a stratified sample, the number of employees is estimated using a weighting model with a unique individual weight computed for each observation. Using a bottom-up approach, the data are then aggregated over the strata (economic activities at 2-digit level of NACE, regions and size classes).

Seasonal adjustment is conducted using X13-ARIMA. Data are adjusted at the level of divisions (NACE 2-digit). The direct method is used for other aggregates.

None