COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 16.10.1996 
COM(96) 475 final 
Proposal for a 
COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) 
on statistics on the level and structure of labour costs 
(presented by the Commission) 

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 
1. In order to carry out its tasks in the field of economic and social affairs, particularly with 
regard to employment and working conditions, the Commission needs to have at its disposal 
data on labour costs and employees' earnings in the Community providing a valid basis for 
comparison between countries. For this reason, a series of specific Community surveys on 
labour costs in industry1, commerce, banking and insurance2 has been carried out since 1960 
in pursuance of Council Regulations. These surveys were conducted by the Commission of 
the European Communities in cooperation with the National Statistical Services in the 
Member States. 
2. In line with the decisions taken at the Essen summit, the Member States have taken measures 
to put in place various action programmes concerning in particular labour market flexibility, 
job-creation and fighting unemployment. In order to set out more clearly the context in which 
these policies are implemented and to provide the means for a follow-up to the national 
employment programmes, the Commission departments will in the coming years have the 
need to have statistical information available on the various aspects of earnings and labour 
costs. 
3. The development of the European Community and the operation of the single market 
increase the need for comparable data on the level, trend and structure of employers' labour 
costs and employees' earnings, particularly as a means of analysing growth, competitiveness, 
employment, the progress of economic and social cohesion and for establishing reliable 
comparisons between the Member States and the regions of the European Community. The 
planned statistics will therefore provide detailed data on employers' expenditure on wages, 
salaries and related contributions, as well as on hours worked and the total staff employed. 
Regulation No. 10 (OJ No. 56, 31.8.1960 p. 1199/60) 
Regulation No. 14 (OJNo. 55,16.8.1961 p. 154/61) 
Regulation No. 28 (OJ No. 41, 28.5.1962 p.1277/62) 
Regulation No. 151 (OJNo. 133, 13.12.1962 p.2841/62) 
Regulation No. 101/66/EEC(OJNo. 134, 22.7.1966, p.2540/66) 
Regulation (EEC) No. 1899/68 (OJ No. L 289, 29.11.1968, p.4) 
Regulation (EEC) No. 2259/71 (OJNo. L 238, 23.10.1971, p.l) 
Regulation (EEC) No. 328/75 (OJ No. L 37, 12.2.1975, p.l) 
Regulation (EEC) No. 494/78 (OJ No. L 68, 10.3.1978, p.l) 
Regulation (EEC) No. 1596/81 (OJNo. L 159,17.6.1981, p.l) 
Regulation (EEC) No. 3149/83 (OJ No 
Regulation (EEC) No. 1612/88 (OJ No 
Regulation (EEC) No. 3949/92 (OXNo 
Régulation (EEC) No. 2053/69 (OJ No 
Regulation (EEC) No. 3192/73 (OJ No 
Regulation (EEC) No. 494/78 (OJ No. : 
Regulation (EEC) No. 1596/81 (OJ No, 
Regulation (EEC) No. 3149/83 (OJNo 
Regulation (EEC) No. 1612/88 (OJNo 
Regulation (EEC) No. 3949/92 (OJ No L 309, 10.11.1983, p.2) 
L145, 11.6.1988, p.l) 
L 404, 31.12.1992, p.7) 
L 263, 21.10.1969, p.8) 
L 326, 27.11.1973, p.l) 
.68, 10.3.1978, p.l) 
L 159, 17.6.1981, p.l) 
L309, 10.11.1983, p.2) 
L 145, 11.6.1988, p.l) 
L 404, 31.12.1992, p.7) 
1 
JUUUUWWUWUUWUUUUUUUUl^^ 
4. The comparative analysis of the level and composition of labour costs in the Member States 
requires that data be obtained on the basis of common definitions and harmonised statistical 
methods. These conditions are met by Community statistics on labour costs, which to date 
constitute the sole European source of statistics on wages and salaries providing a valid basis 
for comparison. This is why the results published by Eurostat are valued highly by the 
Commission departments, economic and social decision makers and researchers. In the 
drafting of the Regulation it was taken into account that the European System of National 
and Regional Accounts in the European Community (ES A-95)3 is the term of reference for 
standards, definitions and accounting practices in the Member States in order to meet the 
Community needs. 
5. The Commission's activities in various domains require up-to-date figures on wage and salary 
costs. Eurostat, in cooperation with the competent authorities in the Member States, has 
worked out methods of updating the main results of the statistics on labour costs. However, 
since enterprises' expenditure on wages, salaries and related employers' contributions is 
subject to substantial change, such updating can only furnish valid results in the years directly 
following the production of the statistics; thereafter, new Community statistics need to be 
produced in order to bring up to date the results of the 1992 survey. 
6. In the course of the Council discussion on the Regulation relating to the 1984 survey, it was 
decided to set the interval between surveys at four years, so that the subsequent statistics 
were produced with reference to 1988 and 1992. It is necessary to maintain this periodicity 
and to produce the next statistics with reference to 1996. 
7. In keeping with the principle of subsidiarity, responsibility for the overall planning of the 
statistics on labour costs at EU level is shared between the Commission and the Member 
States, in order to achieve harmonisation of concepts and classifications in the data collected, 
and to identify the information required by the principal users, i.e. Community institutions, 
national governments, regional and local authorities, international organisations, employers' 
associations, trade unions and research bodies. The actual collection of data and the 
implementation of methods used to do this are the responsibility of the Member States. 
8. The statistics shall cover all economic activities defined in sections C (Mining and quarrying), 
D (Manufacturing), E (Electricity, gas and water supply), F (Construction), G (Wholesale 
and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods), H 
(Hotels and restaurants), group 63.3 (Activities of travel agencies and tour operators; tourist 
assistance activities not elsewhere covered) of section I (Transport, storage and 
communications), divisions 65 (Financial intermediation, except insurance and pension 
funding) and 66 (Insurance and pension funding, except compulsory social security) of 
section J (Financial intermediation) and section K (Real estate, renting and business activities) 
of the Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE Rev. 1) 
established by Regulation.(EEC) No 3037/90 (4), subject to the special provisions mentioned 
in the Annex to the Regulation. 
(3) Regulation No xxxx/96/EEC OJ No Lxxx, XX.XX. 1996, p. x 
(4)OJNoL293,24.10.1990,p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EEC) No 761/93 of24 March 1993, OJNo 
L83, 03.04.1993, p. 1. 
9. It is not intended that all businesses be covered as part of an exhaustive survey, but rather 
that a representative sample be taken. Accordingly, in countries with sufficient sources of 
statistical data, especially data gathered by public authorities, it will be acceptable for such 
data to be used (or possibly set out in a simplified form on questionnaires), provided that this 
approach is compatible with the definitions and methodology being used and meets all 
requirements concerning variables. On the same condition, Member States are allowed to 
estimate necessary data using statistical inference methods where some or all of the 
characteristics have not been observed for all the units for which the statistics are to be 
compiled. 
10. The specific situation of small and medium sized firms is taken into account in the 
Regulation. The burden on enterprises, particularly on small and medium sized entrprises, and 
representativeness requirements shall be taken into account by the Member States in their 
choice and combination of the sources and the use of estimations. 
11. The group of experts on Earnings and Labour Costs Statistics has emphasised the need to 
establish a legal instrument for these statistics as soon as possible, so that the competent 
authorities in the Member States, as well as the businesses to be included in the sample, can 
take the appropriate measures to organise and carry out successfully the exercise. 
12. To this end, the Commission submits the attached draft Regulation for the approval of the 
Council. 
Mr 
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PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) 
on statistics on the level and structure of labour costs 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 
213 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal submitted by the Commission, 
Whereas, in order to carry out the tasks assigned to it, the European Union must be kept 
informed of the level, trend and structure of employers' labour costs and employees' earnings 
in the Member States; 
Whereas the development of the European Community and the operation of the single market 
increase the need for comparable data on the level, trend and structure of employers' labour 
costs and employees' earnings, particularly as a means of analysing growth, competitiveness, 
employment, the progress of economic and social cohesion and for establishing reliable 
comparisons between the Member States and the regions of the European Community; 
Whereas the best method of assessing the situation as regards the level, trend and structure of 
employers' labour costs and employees' earnings is to produce specific statistics on labour 
costs, as was most recently done in 1993 pursuant to Regulation No 3949/92/EEC<1) referring 
to accounting data of 1992; 
Whereas, because of the variations in the position and composition of expenditure by 
enterprises on wages and related employers' contributions, new community statistics need to 
be produced based on accounting data for 1996 in order to bring up to date the results of the 
previous survey; 
Whereas, pursuant to Regulation No xxxx/96/EC(2) the European System of National and 
Regional Accounts in the European Community (ESA-95) is the term of reference for 
standards, definitions and accounting practices in the Member States in order to meet the 
Community needs; whereas this necessitates the establishment of complete, reliable and 
comparable statistical sources at national and regional level; 
Whereas the statistical information available in each Member State does not provide a valid 
basis for comparisons, in particular because of the differences between laws, regulations and 
administrative practices of the Member States, and whereas Community statistics must 
therefore be produced and the results processed on the basis of common definitions and 
harmonised methodologies; 
Whereas, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, the creation of common statistical 
standards enabling harmonised information to be produced is action which can only be 
effectively undertaken at Community level; whereas these standards will be implemented in 
(1) OJ No L404, 31.12.1992, p. 1 
(2) OJ No Lxxx, xx.xx.1996, p. x 
each Member State on the authority of the agencies and institutions appointed to compile 
official statistics; 
Whereas, pursuant to Decision No 93/464/EEC(3), the production of Community statistics on 
labour costs is one of the priority actions of the Statistical Programme 1993 to 1997; 
Whereas it may be acceptable for the countries which have administrative sources or other 
appropriate statistical sources to use these or perhaps link them up with a simplified 
questionnaire if this method is compatible with the definitions and methods approved and 
corresponds to the whole set of variables required; 
Whereas it is necessary to simplify the administrative procedures for enterprises, particularly 
smaller enterprises, including the promotion of new technologies for data collection and 
compilation; Whereas it may still be necessary to collect directly from businesses the data 
necessary to compile labour cost statistics, using methods that are exhaustive, reliable and up 
to date, without giving rise for the parties concerned, in particular for small and medium-sized 
businesses, to a burden out of proportion to the results which the users of the said statistics 
can reasonably expect; 
Whereas it seems appropriate to make provisions for exceptions for certain Member States, in 
order to take account of particular technical difficulties encountered by such States on the 
collection of certain types of information, provided that the quality of the statistical 
information is not affected; 
Whereas the Statistical Programme Committee established by Council Decision 89/382/EEC, 
Euratom(4), consulted by the Commission in accordance with article 3 of the aforesaid 
Decision, has declared itself in favour of the present proposal, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
(3) OJ No L 219, 28.08.1993, p. 1 
(4) OJ N0LI8I, 28.06.1989, p. 47 
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Article 1 
General provisions 
The Member States and the Commission, within their respective fields of competencies, shall 
produce Community statistics on the level and structure of employers' labour costs in the area 
of economic activities defined in Article 3. 
Article 2 
Reference period 
The statistics shall be produced on the basis of statistical information for the financial year of 
1996, subject to the special provisions mentioned in the Annex to this Regulation. 
Article 3 
Scope 
The statistics shall cover all economic activities defined in sections C (Mining and quarrying), 
D (Manufacturing), E (Electricity, gas and water supply), F (Construction), G (Wholesale and 
retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods), H 
(Hotels and restaurants), group 63.3 (Activities of travel agencies and tour operators; tourist 
assistance activities not elsewhere covered) of section I (Transport, storage and 
communications), divisions 65 (Financial intermediation, except insurance and pension 
funding) and 66 (Insurance and pension funding, except compulsory social security) of section 
J (Financial intermediation) and section K (Real estate, renting and business activities) of the 
Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community, hereinafter referred to as 
"NACE Rev.l" established by Regulation (EEC) No 3037/90 (5), subject to the special 
provisions mentioned in the Annex to this Regulation. 
Article 4 
Information requirements 
The compilation of statistics on labour costs shall be based on any of the statistical units 
defined in the Regulation (EEC) No 696/93 (6) and shall provide information referring to local 
units classified by their own principal activity, by region at least at level 1 of the Nomenclature 
of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS 1), established by the Commission (Eurostat), and by 
(5)OJNoL293, 24.10.1990, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EEC) No 761/93 of 24 March 1993 
OJ No L83, 03.04.1993, p. 1. 
(6) OJ No L76, 30.03.1993, p. 1 
size class in terms of employment of the enterprise on which the local units are dependent. 
Information is required only for enterprises with at least 10 persons occupied. 
Article 5 
Characteristics of the required information 
Data shall be collected on: 
1. total labour costs, including: direct remuneration; bonuses and allowances; payments for 
days not worked; severance pay; benefits in kind; all incidental expenditure, including 
employers' statutory and customary contributions to social security and direct social 
benefits; vocational training costs; other expenditure and any taxes and subsidies directly 
related to labour costs; 
2. the total staff employed and 
3. working time, 
subject to the special provisions mentioned in the Annex to this Regulation. 
Article 6 
Data collection 
1. A survey shall be carried out through the appropriate statistical services of the Member 
States which shall draw up the appropriate methods for collecting the information. 
2. Employers and other persons required to supply information shall reply to the questions 
truthfiilly, completely and within the time limits set. The Member States shall take 
appropriate measures to avoid any infringement of the obligation to supply the information 
referred to in Article 5. 
3. The survey need not be carried out if the Member States have information from other 
appropriate sources or Member States are able to produce estimates of necessary data 
using statistical inference methods where some or all of the characteristics have not been 
observed for all the units for which the statistics are to be compiled. The information from 
other appropriate sources or the estimates of necessary data can only be used if they are at 
least equivalent to survey requirements as regards accuracy, quality and timeliness. 
4. The burden on enterprises, particularly on small and medium-sized enterprises, and 
representativeness requirements according to Article 7 shall be taken into account by the 
Member States in their choice and combination of the sources and the use of estimations 
mentioned in paragraph 3. 
?f 
5. The Member States shall transmit to the Commission (Eurostat) at its request all 
information, particularly concerning methodologies, needed for the application of this 
Regulation. 
Article 7 
Representativeness 
The reliability and comparability on a high quality level shall be attained by the use of sample 
sizes allowing that the relative standard error for the variable "hourly labour costs" by division 
of NACE Rev. 1 does not exceed 3 %. 
Article 8 
Processing of results 
The statistical services of the Member States shall process the replies to the questions referred 
to in Article 6(2) or the information from other sources, as referred to in Article 6(3), so as to 
obtain comparable results. 
Article 9 
Transmission of results 
The results shall be transmitted within a period of 18 months from the end of the calendar year 
corresponding to the reference period, including data declared confidential by the Member 
States pursuant to domestic legislation or practice concerning statistical confidentiality, in 
accordance with the provisions of Regulation (Euratom, EEC) No 1588/90 (7) on the 
transmission of data subject to statistical confidentiality to the Statistical Office of the 
European Communities. 
Article 10 
Arrangements for implementation 
The arrangements for implementing the present regulation, in particular: 
definitions to be used, 
the levels of breakdown to be applied to the variables, 
guidelines on accuracy and the aspects of quality, 
the appropriate forms of the transmitted variables and 
the results to be transmitted 
shall be laid down in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 11. 
(7) OJ No L151, 15.06.1990, p. 1 
9 
Article 11 
Procedure 
The Commission shall be assisted by the Statistical Programme Committee set up by Council 
Decision No 89/382/EEC, Euratom (8), hereinafter referred to as "the Committee". 
The representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee a draft of the measures to 
be taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the 
Chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered 
by the majority laid down in Article 148(2) of the Treaty in the case of decisions which the 
Council is required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the 
representatives of the Member States within the Committee shall be weighted in the manner 
set out in that Article. The Chairman shall not vote. 
The Commission shall adopt measures which shall apply immediately. However, if these 
measures are not in accordance with the opinion of the Committee, they shall be 
communicated by the Commission to the Council forthwith. In that event, the Commission 
shall defer application of the measures which it has decided for a period of three months from 
the date of communication. 
The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take a different decision within the time limit 
referred to in the previous paragraph. 
Article 12 
Entry in force 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day after its publication in the Official 
Journal of the European Communities. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 
Done at Brussels, 
For the Council 
The President 
(8) OJ No L181, 28.06.1989, p. 47 
10 
ANNEX 
SPECIAL PROVISIONS 
I. Exceptions to the reference period (Article 2) 
For Sweden: the financial year 1997 on the condition of providing estimates for the 
reference year 1996. 
n. Exceptions to the scope of the survey (Article 3) 
1. For all the Member States: class 65.11. 
2. For Germany, section K, group 63.3 of section I. 
3. For Greece: section K. 
4. For France: division 73 of section K. 
5. For Ireland: section H. 
6. For Austria: sections F, G, H, class 63.3 of section I. 
7. For Portugal: section K. 
IH. More detailed information (Article 5) 
Member States may provide for the supply of more detailed information, notably by 
making a distinction between manual and non-manual workers or by covering units with 
fewer than 10 employees. 
In order to take account of the particular circumstances regarding the aggregation of the 
results at national level, provided that the quality of the statistical information is not 
affected, Germany may compile distinct statistics for the Federal Republic of Germany, 
including West Berlin, as constituted prior to 3 October 1990, and for the new Lander, 
including East Berlin. The provisions of Article 7 on representativeness shall be applied 
separately on each aggregate. 
ii 
FINANCIAL STATEMENT NO 1 
1. TITLE OF THE ACTION 
Draft Council Regulation on statistics on the level and structure of labour costs 
2. BUDGET LINES INVOLVED 
Line B5-6000 
3. LEGAL BASIS 
Article 213 of the Treaty 
4. DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION 
4.1 General purpose of the action 
The purpose of the present Council Regulation is to make Community 
statistics on the level and structure of labour costs in the European Union 
available to all users. These data are essential for defining, monitoring and 
assessing economic, social and labour market policies at the regional, 
national and Community levels. A series of specific Community surveys 
on labour costs in industry, commerce, banking and insurance has been 
carried out since 1959 in pursuance of Council Regulations. 
Conducting this survey at European Union level is one of the priority 
projects of the 1993-1997 framework statistical programme of the 
Community (OJL 219, 28.8.1993). 
4.2 Period covered by the action and procedures for renewing or extending it 
Once only action in accordance with the draft Council Regulation 
(Euratom, EEC) on statistics concerning the level and structure of labour 
costs (collection and processing of data and forwarding of the results to 
Eurostat) covering the period 1997-1999. 
13L 
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5. CLASSIFICATION OF EXPENDITURE/INCOME 
5.1. Non-compulsory expenditure 
5.2. Differentiated appropriations 
5.3. Type of income envisaged 
Sales of statistical products (database data and publications) cover some of 
the production costs. 
6. TYPE OF EXPENDITURE/INCOME 
The Commission's contribution to Member States' expenditure represents only 
part of the real cost of collecting data - of the order of 26% - since the 
Commission's statistical work is devolved to a large extent, the operating and 
administrative costs being borne almost exclusively by the national governments. 
Nevertheless, the expenditure envisaged is essential to promote standardization of 
the data collected, and for these data to be processed and sent to Eurostat. 
Cofinancing by the public sector (out of the budgets of the national statistical 
offices) and the private sector (income from sales of statistical products). 
7. FINANCIAL EFFECT ON INTERVENTION APPROPRIATIONS 
(PART B OF THE BUDGET) 
7.1 Method of calculating the total cost of the action (definition of unit costs) 
The amount to be taken from the Community budget for the project to 
extend the existing systems for collecting data or setting up new surveys 
on labour costs is calculated as follows: 
26% of the- operating costs for the two/three years of the project: 
conducting the survey (1997) and sending the data to Eurostat 
(1998/1999). 
Type of expenditure to be borne by the Member States: production of 
questionnaires, contribution to the costs of collecting, processing, and 
disseminating the data and other operating costs. 
The total action represents an average expenditure of approximately ECU 
7,2 million for all the Member States. 
Total contribution to the Member States (26% of total) (ECU 1,872 million) 
L2> 
7.2. Breakdown of cost of action (MIO ECUs) 
Member State 
Total 1997 
1.872 
1.872 1998 1999 Total 
1.872 
1.872 
7.3. Operational costs of studies, experts, etc. included in part B of the budget 
(MIO ECUs) 
Meetings of 
experts 
Information and 
publication 
Total 1997 
.05 
.05 1998 
.05 
.05 
.1 1999 
.05 
.05 
.1 Total 
.15 
.1 
.25 
7.4. Indicative timetable for commitment and payment appropriations 
The survey will be conducted in 1997 and the results sent to Eurostat in 
1998/1999. It is proposed that payment be made in three phases: the first 
two tranches as a contribution to the cost of collecting and processing the 
data (1997) and a third tranche once the results have been received. The 
last tranche will be payable in either 1998 or 1999 depending on whether 
the data are sent to Eurostat in 1998 or 1999. 
C.A. 
P.A 1997 
ECU 1,872 million 
ECU 0,561 million 
30% 1998 
ECU 0,750 million 
40% 1999 
ECU 0,561 million 
30% Total 
ECU 1,872 million 
ECU 1,872 million 
8. ANTI-FRAUD PROVISIONS (AND RESULTS OF IMPLEMENTING 
THEM) 
Payment for the contracts and agreements concluded by the Commission is 
made only on the basis of detailed reports on the completion of the operations 
concerned or the results obtained. 
H 
COST/EFFTCDENCY ANALYSIS ITEMS 
9.1. Specific and quantifiable objectives, target population 
The purpose of this Council Regulation is to establish comparable 
statistics on the level and structure of employers' labour costs in the 
European Union. Following the guidelines in the White Paper on 
Growth, Competitiveness and Employment, and the conclusions of the 
Essen Summit, these statistics are indispensable for establishing, 
monitoring and assessing regional, national and Community policies, 
particularly as a means of analysing growth, competitiveness, 
employment, the progress of economic and social cohesion and for 
establishing reliable comparisons between the Member States and the 
regions of the European Community. 
9.2. Grounds for the action 
The responsibility for financing this action rests mainly on the Member 
States (cf. 6 above), which have a well-established structure for 
collecting and processing data. Nevertheless, funds from the Community 
budget appear to be necessary, both for countries which are going to 
carry out this type of survey for the first time, and for those which must 
adjust existing surveys to Community -needs. The purpose of this 
financial contribution is to co-finance part of the costs of collecting and 
processing data. 
The purpose of this action is to achieve four results, viz.: 
- to provide the Community Institutions with the quantitative data for 
drawing up, monitoring and evaluating any programme of action 
pursuant to Article 3 (2) of the Financial Regulation: "it therefore 
contributes to more effective and relevant use of the Community 
budget"; 
- to provide the national governments with comparable statistics on all 
the Member States for evaluating and monitoring the progress of 
Community policies; 
- to provide political, economic and social decision-makers in the 
Community with the data necessary to take and assess decisions in 
their respective fields of action: it is therefore a key component of the 
European information market; 
- to provide the scientific community with the information necessary to 
further study and obtain more information on economic and social life 
in the Community. 
\S 
The results of the action will contribute to improving the statistical 
information used in the work linked to social policy, economic cohesion 
and convergence in the internal market. 
Statistical information is collected using a system largely based on the 
principle of subsidiarity, in which the national systems have a 
responsibility as regards each Member State. The Community Statistical 
Programme will become an integral part of the national statistical 
programmes, thus contributing to creating a European statistical area. 
The potential of multiplier effects is fairly small. Nevertheless, the data 
concerned by the draft regulation will be of increased interest in that 
users will have access to a set of data which will enable them to make 
international comparisons of labour costs. 
The specific results of the action could be affected if some of the 
Member States - or the Commission - did not succeed in releasing the 
resources needed for the action to succeed. 
9.3. Monitoring and assessing the action 
The action forms part of the Community Statistical Programme, which is 
monitored continuously by means of a general table which determines 
the objectives and resources required for each project as a function of 
the objective/performance ratio. At the beginning of each year, Eurostat 
produces a progress report on the programme as at the end of the 
previous year. It comprises three parts as follows: 
the first summarizes the main achievements of the year in respect of each 
policy; 
the second describes the objective of each project and the results 
achieved; 
the third gives statistics on the use of human, budgetary, computer and 
administrative resources in the course of the previous year. 
(4, 
* ^«*WOWWCS««7*>' 
10. ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENDITURE (PART A OF THE SECTION HI 
OF THE GENERAL BUDGET) 
10.1. Effect on number of staff? 
Type of 
staff 
Permanent 
staff or 
temporary 
agents A 
B 
C 
Other 
resources 
Total Staff to be allocated 
Permanent 
.5 
.5 
0 
1 Temporary 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 of which 
By using 
resources 
present in 
the DG or 
service 
concerned 
.5 
.5 
0 
0 
1 By using 
additional 
sources 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 duration 
1997-98 
10.2. Overall financial impact of additional human resources 
(ECU) 
Amount Method of calculation 
Permanent staff 
Temporary agents 
Other resources 
Total 
10.3. Impact on other operational costs 
(ECU) 
Budget-line 
Total Amount Method of calculation 
O 
IMPACT ASSESSMENT FORM 
THE IMPACT OF THE PROPOSAL ON BUSINESS, WITH SPECIAL 
REFERENCE TO SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES 
TITLE OF THE PROPOSAL: DRAFT COUNCIL REGULATION ON STATISTICS ON THE LEVEL AND 
STRUCTURE OF LABOUR COSTS IN INDUSTRY AND THE SERVICES 
SECTOR 
THE PROPOSAL: 
Taking account of the principle of subsidiarity, why is Community legislation 
necessary in this area and what are its main aims? 
In order to carry out its tasks in the field of economic and social affairs, particularly with 
regard to employment and working conditions, the Commission needs to have at its disposal 
comparable information on the level and structure of labour costs in the Member States of 
the EU. This need has become more pressing because of the new policies set out in the 
White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment. 
Labour cost data are indispensable for defining and assessing the effect of social policies and 
measures on the labour market at both national and community level. 
The statistical information available in the Member States is an inadequate basis for valid 
comparisons, for reasons which include, in particular, the differences in the nature of the 
surveys and the existing data sources, legal systems and administrative practices. In keeping 
with the principle of subsidiarity, responsibility for the overall planning of the statistics on 
labour costs at EU level is shared between the Commission and the Member States. The aim 
is to achieve comparability of the data, through a common definition of concepts and 
classifications, and to identify the information required by the principal users, i.e. 
Community institutions, national governments, regional and local authorities, international 
organisations, employers' associations, trade unions and research bodies. This has to be 
done without attempting to harmonise the Member States' arrangements for the collection 
of data. The actual collection of data and the methods used to do this are the responsibility 
of the Member States. 
(% 
THE IMPACT ON BUSINESS: 
2 Who will be affected by the proposal? 
- which sectors of business 
The statistics will cover businesses in sections C (Mining and quarrying), D 
(Manufacturing), E (Electricity, gas and water supply), F (Construction), G (Wholesale and 
retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods), H 
(Hotels and restaurants), group 63.3 (Activities of travel agencies and tour operators; 
tourist assistance activities not elsewhere covered) of section I (Transport, storage and 
communications), divisions 65 (Financial intermediation, except insurance and pension 
funding) and 66 (Insurance and pension funding, except compulsory social security) of 
section J (Financial intermediation) and section K (Real estate, renting and business 
activities) of the Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE 
Rev. 1), subject to the special provisions mentioned in the Annex to this Regulation. 
- which sizes of business (what is the concentration of small and medium-sized firms) 
The survey will not include enterprises with less than 10 employees. Information is required 
only for enterprises with at least 10 persons occupied. 
It is intended that results be obtained for various sizes of business. 
To reduce the burdens on businesses and National Statistical Institutes , the statistics will be 
carried out by sampling. The sampling plans will be drawn up by the NSIs, which generally 
use different sampling ratios depending on the size of the statistical units to be used. A large 
proportion of the information requested on the questionnaires is available in businesses' 
administrative files, which means that the inconvenience will not be great. Likewise, the 
registers of businesses/local units also contain some of the information required. 
In Member States using to different extents existing data sources, the burden on businesses 
will be considerably less because some variables will be derived from these sources. The 
regulation states that the survey need not be carried out if the Member States have 
information from other appropriate sources which is at least equivalent as regards accuracy, 
quality and timeliness. On the same condition, Member States are allowed to estimate 
necessary data using statistical inference methods where some or all of the characteristics 
have not been observed for all the units for which the statistics are to be compiled. 
Even if all the information needed has to be obtained from the enterprises, the workload is 
kept within reasonable bounds by limiting the list of variables to a selection of easily-
calculated annual aggregates. 
- are there particular geographical areas of the Community where these businesses are 
found? 
In principle, businesses are located in all Regions and Member States. However, small and 
medium-sized enterprises predominate in certain areas of the EU. In order to draw up more 
detailled tables on labour costs at regional level, some data are requested at NUTS 1 level. 
What will business have to do to comply with the proposal? 
The units which are to be included in the surveys will be called on to give accurate and 
complete information on the questionnaires which will have been sent to them by their 
national statistical offices (and to return the questionnaires within the given deadline). 
However, in the Member States which will use to different extents existing data sources the 
extra effort required of businesses will be considerably reduced. 
What economic effects is the proposal likely to have? 
The proposal obviously implies some expenditure in the data collection, for the national 
statistical offices and the enterprises sampled. However these costs are far outweighed by 
the positive effects : 
- on employment 
- on investment and the creation of new businesses 
- on the competitive position of businesses 
Timely, accurate and comparable data on the level and structure of labour costs are 
necessary for implementing and assessing economic, social and business policies. In this 
respect, the proposed statistics will allow a better understanding of the situation of 
employment and the fight against unemployment and will have beneficial effects on 
investment and competitiveness. The access to reliable, up-to-date data provided to those 
responsible for economic and social-policy decisions will enable them to better appreciate 
the socio-economic conditions in which they have to work, and will allow employers to 
define general business policies more clearly. 
The importance of the Community measures which would benefit in terms of both 
implementation and follow-up from the availability of up-to-date statistics on labour costs 
would indicate that the resulting benefits will more than justify the costs involved. 
Does the proposal contain measures to take account of the specific situation of small 
and medium-sized firms? 
Yes. In order to reduce the number of units to be covered by the survey, enterprises with 
fewer than 10 employees will not fall within its scope. Furthermore, the percentage of small 
and medium-sized enterprises included in the survey is generally much lower than that of 
large enterprises because of the sampling methods used at national level. Finally, the 
considerata and article 6.4 of the draft Regulation take account explicitly of the specific 
situation of small and medium-sized firms. The burden on enterprises, particularly on small 
and medium-sized enterprises, and representativeness requirements shall be taken into 
account by the Member States in their choice and combination of the sources and the use of 
estimations foreseen on the Regulation. 
lo 
Consultation 
The Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE) took part from 
the outset in meetings organised by the "Earnings Statistics" working party throughout the 
phase during which the proposal was being formulated. Given the importance (which was 
mentioned several times) to employers' associations of information on the level and 
structure of labour costs, the representatives of this organisation made an active 
contribution to defining the nature of the survey. 
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) also supports this project. 
The main users in the Commission (DG II and DG V) were consulted on a number of 
occasions while the draft was being prepared. Accordingly, their requirements were made 
known at the meetings of the working party, thereby enabling the representatives of the 
statistical services to take better account of their suggestions. 
The overall planning of the proposed draft has greatly benefited from the experience of 
previous surveys. In this respect, the aim of the working party has been to prevent the 
reoccurrence of the major problems which arose in the past. 
21 
ADDITIONAL STATEMENT CONCERNING THE EFTA MEMBERS OF THE 
EEA 
TITLE OF THE PROPOSED LEGISLATION 
Proposal for a Regulation on statistics on the level and structure of labour costs 
IMPACT ON THE EFTA MEMBERS OF THE EEA 
The EFTA members of the EEA have an interest in the proposed Regulation, and have been 
associated in its discussion. 
All the EFTA members of the EEA took part in the meetings of the Working Party relating 
to this matter. 
FINANCIAL STATEMENT 
The financial statement annexed to this document concerns the Member States of the 
European Union. 
22. 
ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(96) 475 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 17 
Catalogue number : CB-C0-96-484-EN-C 
ISBN 92-78-09672-5 
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 
L-2985 Luxembourg 
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