Statistics Explained

Glossary:Short-term business statistics (STS)

Short-term business statistics, or simply short-term statistics , abbreviated as STS, are a set of indicators, usually with a monthly or quarterly frequency, used for closely tracking the business cycle of an economy (a single country, the European Union or the euro area). In order to be relevant, they have to reflect current developments with the shortest possible delays.

STS indicators are important tools for formulating and monitoring economic and monetary policies. They are in great demand by policy makers (national and regional governments), the European Commission, central banks (particularly the European Central Bank), private enterprises, professional organizations and financial markets.

The indicators covered by STS are for example production, turnover, hours worked, number of people employed, gross wages and producer prices. They are collected for the all major sectors of the market economy (industry, construction, trade and services).

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