Comparability

Comparability - geographical

RAS follows the international guidelines from the International Labour Organization (ILO) for estimating the population main attachment to the labour market. The ILO guidelines are however pointed towards survey-based statistics (the Labour Force Surveys), where the person itself provides the information about the connection to the labour market. Since RAS, on the other hand, is based on registers, the ILO requirements have been operationalised for use on register-based material. It is therefore recommended that the Labour Force Surveys (LFS) are used for international comparisons, while RAS is mainly used to illustrate national structures.

Comparability over time

RAS was compiled for the first time in 1981 and covered the population’s affiliation to the labor market at the end of November 1980. The statistics are compiled once a year and have been published from 1981 onwards.

Breaks in the data serie

In 2015, RAS switched to use the Labour Market Accounts as its data source, and RAS was revised back to 2008. A minor revision of the time series back to 2008 was subsequently carried out in the 2016 publication. In particular, the data break between 2007 and 2008 is significant for comparability. Isolated, this data break led to a decrease in employment of 35,000–50,000 persons. It is not possible to perform a double count for 2007 or 2008 because the previous data source ceased to exist (transition from the Central Information Sheet Register to eIncome). The Central Information Sheet Register, like eIncome, consisted of employer reports submitted to the tax authorities. Employers had the option to indicate that an employee had been employed for the entire year. If this was not the case, the employer was required to provide the start and end dates of the employment period. It is assessed that, in some cases, employers reported that the person had been employed for the entire year even when this was not the case, resulting in an overestimation of employment levels.

There is also a data break in 2003 (November 2002). Changes in the labor market created a need for adjustments in the statistics, and at the same time, improved data sources made the changes possible. The changes in the statistics resulted, among other things, in a change in the priority order for persons in more than one status. For example, the priority was changed for persons who were simultaneously receiving early retirement benefits and employed.

Changes in Danish Industrial Classifications

In 1993 the classification changes from DSE77 to DB93. In 2003 it changes to DB03, and in 2008 to DB07. Read more about the changes and the classification here.

Changes in sector code

The sector information from 2008 onward is based on ESA 2010. For the period from 1995 (Nov. 1994) to 2012, the sector information is based on ESA, allowing for dual reporting between 2008 and 2012. In StatBank, Denmark, the sectoral tables are published for the period 1997 (Nov. 1996) to 2006 (Nov. 2007) based on ESA, and from 2008 onward based on ESA 2010.

Changes in classification of occupation

The level of skills for employees are determined by DISCO-08, which is reported to the wage statistic. From 2010 the classification is changed, which means that the level for 2008-2009 are based on DISCO-88, while it from 2010 is based on DISCO-08. The changes are due to changes in the international classification behind: ISCO. The change causes the number of employees on highest level to increase with about 200,000 persons, while the number of employees on the middle level dropped proportional. The change had impact on among other large groups of employees all pedagogic work, some nursing work and some from the financial sector.

Municipal reform

RAS is published on municipal level in the StatBank. From November 2006 the statistic is published on the new municipals after the structural reform. In the period November 1980-November 2006 the statistic is made up on the municipals before the structural reform. November 2016 is therefore published with data from both before and after the reform.

Coherence - cross domain

The number of people employed and unemployed in RAS deviates from other statistics. You can read more about the differences bellow:

Workplaces and jobs

Both statistics use the Labour Market Accounts as their data source. RAS counts the number of employed persons, whereas the statistics on workplaces and jobs count the number of jobs. This means that RAS only counts a person’s main attachment to the labor market (i.e., the primary job), whereas the statistics on workplaces and jobs include all jobs in addition to the primary job. In addition, there are several differences between the statistics:

• The statistics on workplaces and jobs also include persons who work in Denmark but live abroad, which RAS does not.
• The statistics on workplaces and jobs only include self-employed persons who are either subject to VAT, payroll tax, or are employers, whereas RAS also includes self-employed persons who have earned a certain profit in the business during the year, even if the person is neither VAT-registered nor subject to payroll tax.
• The statistics on workplaces and jobs only include jobs linked to firms with a minimum level of activity.

Labour Force Survey (LFS)

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is an interview survey which, like the RAS, uses the international employment concept defined by the ILO. However, as the ILO guidelines are aimed specifically at the LFS and not register-based material, the RAS seeks to implement the guidelines as best as possible in relation to the register-based information. This is why there are also differences between the RAS and the LFS. Looking at the distribution of employed persons by socio-economic status, there are relatively more self-employed persons and assisting spouses in the LFS than in the RAS. The reasons for this are, among other things, that persons who are shareholders or partners in the company where they work are classified as employees in RAS, while some will describe themselves as self-employed when asked in the LFS. The same applies to assisting spouses with a wage agreement, who are classified as employees in the RAS. The distribution of employees by skill level also differs considerably between the two statistics.

Public Employment Statistic

The statistics calculates the average number of jobs and the number of full-time employed persons each quarter within the public sector. The number of jobs includes all the jobs that the person has in the public sector at a given time. This means that the number of jobs is substantially higher than the number of persons employed in RAS.

Employment Statistic for Employees

The statistics calculates the full-time employment and the number of employees on a quarterly basis. The calculation of full-time employment means that the level of employment will be lower than the level of employment in RAS. On the other side the number of employees is higher than in RAS. The reason is that some of the employees are classified as self-employed in RAS. That is the case when a person has a job as employee and at the same time is self-employed and the person works the most hours as self-employed.

Register-based unemployment statistic

The average full-time unemployment in the unemployment statistic is generally higher than the unemployment in RAS. There are two reasons for this; firstly unemployment is calculated in full-time equivalents in the unemployment statistic. Secondly, a portion of the gross unemployed are calculated as employed in RAS. The reason for this is that they are activated in a measure, where they are receiving wages. In such cases, they are classified as employed according to the international guidelines for employment statistics. In addition, a portion of the gross unemployed are calculated as employed in RAS. The reason for this is that they are activated in a measure, where they are receiving wages. In such cases, they are classified as employed according to the international guidelines for employment statistics.

Labour Market Account (AMR_UN)

Since the compilation of RAS at the end of November 2008, the Labour Market Accounts (AMR_UN) have served as the data basis for RAS. RAS. RAS is compiled based on a snapshot of AMR_UN on the last working day of November.

The Working Time Account (WTA)

In the working time accounts, employment is calculated as an average over the year and employees living abroad are also included. This means that the level deviates from RAS.

Coherence - internal

RAS is based on the Labour Market Accounts (AMR_UN), which are compiled from a variety of sources. RAS is produced as a snapshot at the end of November in AMR_UN.