DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.11095755
title: Synthetic business population containing simulated business variables

description: This dataset contain simulated data for a fully synthetic business population.  The dataset contains 900,000 records, each of which represents a simulated business.  It resembles the real-world population of employing businesses in Australia in terms of the distribution of businesses across size categories, industry classes and geographic regions (state).  The data for the population has been generated using a combination of published survey outputs available from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) website, and employee tax data and survey data sourced from the Business Longitudinal Analysis Data Environment (BLADE) in the ABS DataLab.
description: General Disclaimer

The attached dataset has been produced by the creators for the purpose of undertaking research.  It does not contain any real data collected from businesses and does not constitute output published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.  Where used, the dataset should be attributed clearly to the dataset creators.

 

ABS DataLab Disclaimer

The parameters used to create the synthetic population are based, in part, on data supplied to the ABS under the Taxation Administration Act 1953, A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999, Australian Border Force Act 2015, Social Security (Administration) Act 1999, A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999, Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 and/or the Student Assistance Act 1973. Such data may only used for the purpose of administering the Census and Statistics Act 1905 or performance of functions of the ABS as set out in section 6 of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Act 1975. No individual information collected under the Census and Statistics Act 1905 is provided back to custodians for administrative or regulatory purposes. Any discussion of data limitations or weaknesses is in the context of using the data for statistical purposes and is not related to the ability of the data to support the Australian Taxation Office, Australian Business Register, Department of Social Services and/or Department of Home Affairs’ core operational requirements.

Legislative requirements to ensure privacy and secrecy of these data have been followed. For access to PLIDA and/or BLADE data under Section 16A of the ABS Act 1975 or enabled by section 15 of the Census and Statistics (Information Release and Access) Determination 2018, source data are de-identified and so data about specific individuals has not been viewed in conducting this analysis. In accordance with the Census and Statistics Act 1905, results have been treated where necessary to ensure that they are not likely to enable identification of a particular person or organisation.
description: Variables contained in the dataset include:




Variable Name
Numeric/Categorical
Range
Description


indgrp
Categorical
2 to 18
Industry Class


state
Categorical
1 to 8
State (geographic region)


empgrp
Categorical


"Emp04" = 0 - 4 employees,

"Emp519" = 5 - 19 employees,

"Emp2049" = 20 - 49 employees,

"Emp5099" = 50 - 99 employees,

"Emp100149" = 100 - 149 employees,

"Emp150199" = 150 - 199 employees,

"Emp200249" = 200 - 249 employees,

"Emp250299" = 250 - 299 employees,

"Emp300349" = 300 - 349 employees,

"Emp350399" = 350 - 399 employees,

"Emp400449" = 400 - 449 employees,

"Emp450499", = 450 - 499 employees,

"Emp500999" = 500 - 999 employees,

"Emp1000" = 1000+ employees

Employment Size Group


frame.emp
Numeric
Numbers 0 or greater
Frame number of employees


rep.emp
Numeric
Numbers 0 or greater
Reported number of employees


earnings
Numeric
Numbers 0 or greater
Total weekly wages/salaries paid to employees


ovt
Numeric
Numbers 0 or greater
Overtime paid to employees


earnings.me
Numeric
Numbers 0 or greater
Measurement error version of "earnings" variable


rep.emp.me
Numeric
Numbers 0 or greater
Measurement error version of "rep.emp" variable


ovt.me
Numeric
Numbers 0 or greater
Measurement error version of "ovt" variable


id
 
 
Identifier for the business
description: Details regarding how the dataset was created can be found in the link below as part of Related Works.