Item 8: Background of previous STESWP seasonal adjustment work
STESWP Agenda Items Seasonal adjustment has been on the agenda since the inception of the STESWP group in 2002. A seasonal adjustment task force was created, 2002-2004, to provide input for inclusion in the Data and Metadata Presentation Handbook on harmonisation in presenting seasonally adjusted data (and metadata).
Initiatives Eurostat Hungarian Handbook Member countries Quarterly national accounts guidelines Current steering group (Euro-Indicators guidelines) Hungarian Handbook Revised draft version released April 2007 Member countries Countries constantly revising compilation methods for seasonal adjustment e.g. Finland, Canada.
Country Comments Two types of comments: General comments around the concept of having guidelines; and, detail seasonal adjustment issues on the guidelines. The detailed seasonal adjustment comments will be forwarded to the Steering Group directly. Some general comments: General guidelines are best (due to country differences) Need to ensure that the quality of the raw data is not forgotten Address future seasonal issues (e.g. climate change) A need to include non-EU countries Some discussion of resource issues and constraints