© Federal Statistical Office, IV-A Business Register, Roland Sturm September 2011 Folie 1 Joint UNECE/OECD/Eurostat Meeting of experts on Business Register Paris, September 2011 Session 2 Reducing respondent burden – the role of statistical business registers Robin Lorenz/Roland Sturm, Business Register Federal Statistical Office of Germany The role of the Business Register in the use of Admin Data for short term statistics

© Federal Statistical Office, IV-A Business Register, Roland Sturm September 2011 Folie 2 Short term statistics in Germany – questioning the traditional approach Till beginning of last decade: Stove pipe statistics for different branches Primary surveys with some ten thousand respondents each Challenges of the 1990s: extension of STS to service sectors No political support for additional surveys Response burden prominent topic on the public agenda New political mandate for official statistics: Administrative Data Use Act in 2003 Provided monthly access to AdminData from two sources

© Federal Statistical Office, IV-A Business Register, Roland Sturm September 2011 Folie 3 Primary surveys Information demand Variables Group of respondents Survey frequency Survey/Reporting period

© Federal Statistical Office, IV-A Business Register, Roland Sturm September 2011 Folie 4 Information potential Variables Group of respondents Survey frequency Survey/Reporting period Admin Data

© Federal Statistical Office, IV-A Business Register, Roland Sturm September 2011 Folie 5 Testing Admin Data for STS in Germany Employment data Provided monthly by the Federal Employment Office Number of employees subject to social insurance contribution and number of marginal employees File with 3 different reference days at the 15th of each month (t+60, t+90 and t+180) VAT data Provided monthly by the 16 tax authorities of the German states VAT declaration at t+40, delivery to FSO at the 20th of each month (i.e. t+50) Reporting period: VAT > €: Quarter (10 % of the turnover) VAT > €: Month (90% of the turnover)

© Federal Statistical Office, IV-A Business Register, Roland Sturm September 2011 Folie 6 Use of Admin data for STS: results of testing Economic sector NACE – section Time- liness Perio- dicity Usabi- lity Additional survey Begin of use Transport, storage, communication and other business services H, J, parts of M and N t+60quarterlyyes TO > 15 Mill € or PE > Crafts----t+60quarterlyyes Solely Admin Data 2008 Building installation and completion 432, 433 (part of F) t+60quarterlyyesPE > Trade of motor vehicles, wholesale trade 45t+60monthlyyes TO > 10 Mill € or PE > Trade of motor vehicles, wholesale trade 46t+60monthlyyes TO > 20 Mill € or PE > Acommodation and food service activities It+60monthlyno---- Retail trade47t+30monthlyno----

© Federal Statistical Office, IV-A Business Register, Roland Sturm September 2011 Folie 7 Reduction of response burden per year

© Federal Statistical Office, IV-A Business Register, Roland Sturm September 2011 Folie 8 Reduction of response burden per year

© Federal Statistical Office, IV-A Business Register, Roland Sturm September 2011 Folie 9 The role of the statistical Business Register data available in the statistical office administrative data in the business register survey data of the statistical office statistical business register core of business register register unit administrative data already used by the statistical office register information about survey participation 5 4

© Federal Statistical Office, IV-A Business Register, Roland Sturm September 2011 Folie 10 Admin Data Editing process for STS Monthly STS – Turnover Extract Annual BR time slice Employment Data Base Monthly Employ- ment Data Business Register (BR) Enhanced STS – Employment Extract Business Rela- ted services (quarterly) Specific Admin Data sets for STS Monthly STS – Employment Extract Enhanced STS – Turnover Extract Turnover Data Base Monthly turnover tax files Crafts (quarterly) Building instal- lation/completion (quarterly) Wholesale Trade (monthly) Trade of motor vehicles (monthly)

© Federal Statistical Office, IV-A Business Register, Roland Sturm September 2011 Folie 11 Utilising the Business Register I Managing of the editing process Linking of units from the two Admin sources: prerequisite for mix models of survey and AdminData use Identification of units belonging to the crafts sector: Prerequisite for AdminDatra use when the target population can not be identified in the Admin Data itself

© Federal Statistical Office, IV-A Business Register, Roland Sturm September 2011 Folie 12 Utilising the Business Register II Reducing deficiencies in the Admin Data Assignment of Activity code: Business Register uses best of different available information Information about VAT groups: Business Register carries out VAT breakdown to single enterprises by a multiple regression model

© Federal Statistical Office, IV-A Business Register, Roland Sturm September 2011 Folie 13 Time lag Short term statistics and register data t time slice BR SBS surveys 2010 register data 2009 (NACE, crafts, turnover, employment) 2010 provisional Permanent updates of adresses, survey information 2011

© Federal Statistical Office, IV-A Business Register, Roland Sturm September 2011 Folie 14 Thank you for your attention Roland Sturm Federal Statistical Office of Germany