REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on implementation of Regulation (EC) No 453/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quarterly statistics on Community job vacancies
Date: 2016-07-08
Institutions: European Commission, Eurostat
Subjects: EU Member State, EU statistics, data collection, disclosure of information, employment statistics, job vacancy

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 8.7.2016  COM(2016) 449 final   REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on implementation of Regulation (EC) No 453/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quarterly statistics on Community job vacancies  
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

on implementation of Regulation (EC) No 453/2008 of the European Parliament and of 
the Council on quarterly statistics on Community job vacancies 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Job  vacancy  statistics (JVS)  provide  information  on  the  number  of  jobs  that  are  vacant  at a 
particular  point.  They  correspond  to  the  part  of  labour  demand  that  is  not  met  by  labour 
supply  and  thus  provide  key  information  on  the  size  and  structure  of  labour  market 
mismatches. 

Regulation (EC) No 453/2008 of the European Parliament and the Council of 23 April 2008 
on  quarterly  statistics  on  Community  job  vacancies1  (‘the  JVS  Regulation’)  establishes  the 
framework for producing, supplying and evaluating quarterly job vacancy statistics. 

Article  10  of  the  JVS  Regulation  requires  the  Commission  to  report  to  the  European 
Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the  implementation  of  the  Regulation  by  24 June 2010  and 
every  three  years  thereafter.  The  report  is  required  to  assess  the  quality  of  the  statistics 
provided  by  Member  States  and  the  quality  of  the  European  aggregates,  and  to  identify 
potential areas for improvement. 

This  is  the  third  report  presented  by  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council2.  It  draws  on  experience  of  providing  data  at  quarterly  intervals  and  on 
documentation provided by Member States in their annual quality reports. 

Section 2 of the report sets out the progress made over the last three years in implementing the 
JVS  Regulation.  Section  3  assesses  the  quality  of  job  vacancy  statistics,  while  section  4 
focuses on the European aggregates. Finally, section 5 draws conclusions and suggests ways 
to meet users’ expectations even better in the future. 

2. 

IMPLEMENTATION 

2.1. 

Legal framework 

To  complement  the  general  framework  established  by  the  JVS  Regulation,  the  Commission 
adopted two implementing Regulations: 
-  Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  1062/2008,3  which  defines  the  seasonal  adjustment 
procedures to be applied from the first quarter of 2014, the structure and content of the annual 
quality reports which the Member States are to supply to the Commission, and the dates on 
which these reports are to be sent; 
-  Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  19/2009,4  which  defines  the  term  ‘job  vacancy’,  sets 
deadlines  for  sending  data  and  specifies  the  periods  to  be  covered  by  the  first  set  of  data 

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OJ L 145, 4.6.2008, p. 234. 
See previous report COM (2013) 571 of 6 August 2013. 
Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  1062/2008  of  28  October  2008  implementing  Regulation  (EC)  No 
453/2008  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  quarterly  statistics  on  Community  job 
vacancies, as regards seasonal adjustment procedures and quality reports (OJ L 285, 29.10.2008, p. 3). 
Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  19/2009  of  13  January  2009  implementing  Regulation  (EC)  No 
453/2008  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  quarterly  statistics  on  Community  job 

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supplied.  Finally,  the  countries  running  feasibility  studies,  and  the  subjects  these  cover,  are 
listed in the annex to this legal act. 

Under  the  above  legislation,  all  Member  States  are  required  to  provide  time  series  for  the 
number  of  vacancies  and  number  of  occupied  posts,  starting  from  the  first  quarter  of  2010. 
They  are  to  do  so  no  more  than  70  days  after  the  end  of  the  quarter.  In  addition,  Member 
States with a number of employees exceeding 3 % of the EU total are required to send their 
data no more than 45 days after the end of each quarter. 

Member States  are  required to  provide numbers of job  vacancies  and occupied posts  for all 
business units and each section of the NACE Revision 2 classification of economic activities5. 
However,  for  small  businesses  (defined  as  units  with  under  10  employees)  and  NACE 
sections  O  to  S6  (where  the  main  activities  are  public  administration,  health  services  and 
education)  the  JVS  Regulation  states  that  any  Member  States  which  have  difficulties  in 
providing data should carry out feasibility studies. 

Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, Malta and Austria conducted feasibility studies. Following the 
results of these studies, Spain and Austria immediately moved to cover the whole economy. 
Denmark has started compiling data for small businesses, but has not extended JVS coverage 
to NACE sections O to S (referred to below as ‘the public sector’). Malta has extended JVS 
coverage to the public sector, but not to small businesses. In France and Italy, neither small 
businesses nor the public sector are covered. 

2.2. 

Developments since the last report 

Since  the  second  report  presented  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  in  2013,  the 
Commission  has  examined  the  possibility  of  reviewing  existing  legislation  with  a  view  to 
improving the coverage of job vacancy statistics. Member States have further developed  the 
collection and forwarding of JVS data, and Eurostat has started publishing a quarterly news 
release on job vacancy statistics. These aspects are dealt with in greater detail in the following 
paragraphs.  

2.2.1.  Review of legislation 

The  Commission  examined  whether,  in  the  light  of  the  feasibility  studies,  a  new  legislative 
proposal could be envisaged that would extend the coverage of job vacancy data for countries 
that  do  not  include  the  public  sector  and/or  small  businesses.  It  was  concluded  that  such  a 
review  should  take  place  in  the  broader  context  of  revising  of  EU  business  statistics 
legislation (future Framework Regulation on Integrated Business Statistics project - FRIBS).   

2.2.2. 

Seasonally adjusted data 

According to Article 1 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1062/2008, Member States were 
required to start supplying seasonally adjusted (SA) data after data covering 16 periods had 
been supplied under the JVS Regulation. As the first quarter was 2010Q1, it was mandatory to 

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vacancies,  as  regards  the  definition  of  job  vacancy,  the  reference  dates  for  data  collection,  data 
transmission specifications and feasibility studies (OJ L 9, 14.1.2009, p. 3). 
Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 
establishing the statistical classification of economic activities NACE Revision 2 and amending Council 
Regulation (EEC) No 3037/90 as well as certain EC Regulations on specific statistical domains (OJ L 
393, 30.12.2006, p. 1). 
Covering: Public administration and defence, compulsory social security (section O), education (section 
P), human health and social work activities (section Q), arts, entertainments and recreation (section R) 
and  other  service  activities  such  as  activities  of  membership  organisations,  repair  of  computers  and 
personal and household goods, and other personal service activities (section S). 

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provide SA data as of June 2014, when data for reference quarter 2014Q1 were provided. It is 
mandatory  to  supply  SA  data  for  job  vacancies  and  occupied  posts  at  least  for 
individual/aggregated NACE sections B-E, F,  G-I,  J,  K, L, M-N, O-Q,  R-S. Member States 
that  detected  no  seasonality  in  their  series  were  asked  to  send  the  same  series  twice  while 
Eurostat checked the absence of seasonality in those cases. 

All Member States except Belgium, Finland and Sweden now provide SA data for both job 
vacancies and occupied posts. Sweden provides SA figures for job vacancies only, but not for 
occupied posts. Belgium and Finland have not provided seasonally adjusted data, as  changes 
in  their  JVS  national  methodology  have  resulted  in  a  break  in  time  series.  Belgium  will  be 
able to  provide SA data from June  2016 (reference quarter 2016Q1) and Finland from June 
2017 (reference quarter 2017Q1). Sweden has undertaken to provide missing SA data in June 
2016. 

As  regards  EFTA  countries,  Iceland,  Norway  and  Switzerland  have  not  provided  SA  data, 
while Liechtenstein is exempted from the JVS Regulation. Eurostat is in touch with EFTA's 
Statistical Office. 

2.2.3.  News release 

In June 2014, Eurostat started publishing a quarterly news release on job vacancy rates. This 
new  publication  gives  greater  prominence  to  JVS  and  has  been  well  received  by  users. 
However, some of these, including the European Central Bank, said there was a need for the 
four Member States which did not yet cover the economy as a whole (Denmark, France, Italy 
and Malta)  to do so. They also requested that the number of vacancies and the job  vacancy 
rate be published for all Member States, the euro area and the European Union. 

The  situation  has  improved  as  regards  restrictions  on  publishing  vacancy  numbers.  Ireland 
allowed  these  figures  to  be  published  as  of  the  reference  quarter  2014Q4.  However,  France 
and Italy still do not release those figures, due to the partial coverage of the economy, which 
hampers the publication of European totals.  

3. 

QUALITY 

Quality  is  assessed  on  the  basis  of  the  six  main  dimensions  defined  by  Commission 
Regulation 
timeliness/punctuality, 
coherence, comparability and accessibility/clarity. 

(EC) No 1062/2008,  namely: 

relevance,  accuracy, 

3.1. 

Relevance 

Collecting JVS data is very relevant, as these are the only statistics that measure unmet labour 
demand. 

Quarterly  data  on  job  vacancies  are  used  by  the  Commission  (the  Directorate-General  for 
Employment,  Social  Affairs  and  Inclusion  and  the  Directorate-General  for  Economic  and 
Financial Affairs) and the European Central Bank to monitor short-term developments in the 
business cycle and the labour market. The job vacancy rate is one of the Principal European 
Economic Indicators (PEEIs)7 which are the primary source of information for analysing and 
monitoring short-term cyclical economic developments within the European Union, the euro 
area and the Member States.  

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Communication of the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on eurozone statistics 
‘Towards improved methodologies for Eurozone statistics and indicators’, COM(2002) 661. 

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JVS data are also used for indicator-based structural analyses conducted in the context of the 
Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth8. One JVS-based indicator 
has been included in the Joint Assessment Framework (JAF), the scoreboard for monitoring 
progress  with  the  employment-related  aspect  of  the  Europe  2020  strategy.  The  JVS-based 
indicator  is  also  included  in  the  Employment  Performance  Monitor,  a  selection  of  key 
challenges in the labour market that are based on JAF variables. 

The JVS would be far more relevant if the existing gaps in the coverage of NACE sections O 
to S and small businesses were filled. 

3.2. 

Accuracy 

As  an  indication  of  accuracy,  Member  States  calculate  the  coefficients  of  variation  in  the 
number of job vacancies (not seasonally adjusted), taking into account the characteristics of 
their  national  sample  design.  The  coefficient  of  variation  expresses  the  standard  error  as  a 
percentage  of  the  quantity  being  estimated.  It  provides  a  measure  of  the  variability  of  the 
estimated  number  of  job  vacancies.  According  to  the  information  provided  in  the  quality 
reports for the reference year, 2014, the coefficients of variation for the total number of job 
vacancies were below ten per cent in most Member States except Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, 
Finland, France, Latvia and Spain (at least for one of the four quarterly surveys conducted)9.  

The sample size and response rate significantly affect the accuracy of estimates. According to 
the quality reports, the sample size varied from around 1 300 companies in Malta and 3 000 in 
Cyprus  to  around  75 000  in  Germany  (in  the  survey  conducted  in  the  fourth  quarter)  and 
100 000 in Poland. The response rate varied from 17% in Germany (for the survey conducted 
in the fourth quarter) and 42% in Croatia – the only two countries with a rate below 50% (at 
least for one quarter) – to 99% in Romania.  

Revised estimates are of particular concern to users, and are a significant aspect of accuracy. 
The situation is different for the two releases of the job vacancy rate.  

The flash estimates for the aggregated job vacancy rates of the euro area and EU-28, which 
are  published  at  T+50  days,  may  be  revised  at  T+78  days,  when  the  final  estimates  are 
released. Although the flash data did not cover all the countries, revisions did not go beyond 
0.1 p.p. for the euro area and EU-28 aggregates. Moreover, the estimates published at T+78 
days  for  the  euro  area  and  EU-28  could  require  revision  by  the  time  of  the  next  release.  In 
practice, it proved unnecessary to revise estimates by more than 0.1 p.p., except in one news 
release,10 in which Germany revised its data by a significant amount. Germany's job vacancy 
rates were revised because of a new extrapolation method used. 

3.3. 

Timeliness and punctuality 

The  time  within  which  JVS  data  was  supplied  was  broadly  satisfactory:  27  Member  States 
generally provided their data on time, whilst Greece supplied its data with slight delays (2-3 
days).  However,  in  some  cases,  quality  issues  were  detected  when  the  first  data  set  was 
supplied.  This  held  Eurostat  back  from  making  further  progress  towards  timely  final 
publication of JVS data. 

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Communication  from  the  Commission  —  ‘EUROPE  2020  —  a  strategy  for  smart,  sustainable  and 
inclusive growth’, COM(2010) 2020. 
See the JVS metadata: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/metadata/en/jvs_esms.htm 
See Eurostat's news release 54/2016  of 18 March 2016. 

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3.4. 

Coherence and comparability 

The  coherence  of  job  vacancies  cannot  be  checked  directly  as  there  is  no  other  harmonised 
source collected at European level that measures unmet demand on the labour market. While 
in  many  countries  vacancies  reported  to  the  public  employment  services  are  counted,  using 
these  figures  to  check  the  coherence  of  the  JVS  is  problematic,  as  they  suffer  from  heavy 
undercoverage and are based on national definitions. 

The number of occupied posts, a variable which is part of the denominator for the job vacancy 
rate,  can  be  compared  with  information  from  other  sources,  in  particular  the  number  of 
employed persons reported in the Labour Force Survey (LFS). Comparisons and subsequent 
assessments  of  differences  must  take  account  of  conceptual  and  survey-related  differences 
between sources. 

The  difference  between  the  number  of  employees  reported  in  the  LFS  and  the  number  of 
occupied posts reported in JVS generally fluctuates between approximately -20% and 20%. A 
very  high  negative  gap  (below  -40%)  measured  for  Luxembourg  can  be  explained  by  the 
significant  impact  of  cross-border  work,  which  creates  large  discrepancies  between  the 
domestic  concept  of  the  labour  market  used  in  the  LFS  and  the  national  one  (i.e.  including 
posts filled by non-residents) applied in JVS. A positive gap of above 30% was recorded for 
Hungary  and  Romania.  According  to  the  2014  quality  report  provided by  Hungary,  the  gap 
could be explained by the fact that JVS do not cover firms employing fewer than 5 people, 
while the LFS overestimates the small sectors (e.g. NACE section B) and the public sector in 
general.  Romania  explained  that  the  LFS  covers  the  armed  forces  and  the  informal  sector, 
whereas  JVS  do  not  include  people  whose  employment  contract  is  temporarily  suspended 
(e.g.  those  on  maternity  leave,  childcare  leave,  sickness  leave  or  unpaid  leave,  or  who  are 
absent for other reasons). 

As  regards  comparability,  an  important  feature  is  the  reference  date  on  which  JVS  data  are 
collected in a given quarter. Following Article 2 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 19/2009, 
preference is given to collecting information continuously or on a number of dates during the 
quarter. This is not yet the case in most Member States. They are, therefore, recommended to 
move to collecting information on several dates, to ensure the estimate is fully representative 
of the quarter as a whole. 

Finally,  the  main  challenge  as  regards  comparability  is  for  all  Member  States  to  cover  the 
entire  economy  in  their  job  vacancy  surveys,  i.e.  to  include  small  businesses  and  NACE 
sections O to S. As set out in sections 2.2 and 2.3 above, four countries still fall short of this 
objective. 

3.5. 

Accessibility and clarity 

Job vacancy statistics are disseminated through Eurostat’s usual channels, namely the online 
database  and  the  dedicated  'Statistics  Explained'  pages  on  Eurostat's  website11.  The  website 
provides  timely  information  on  the  job  vacancy  rate  for  both  the  European  aggregates  and 
individual countries, including charts on developments over time. 

The  annual  quality  reports  provided  by  Member  States  have  enabled  Eurostat  to  update  the 
metadata provided to users. 

Job vacancy rate data thus meet good standards of accessibility and clarity. 

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See 
explained/index.php/Job_vacancy_statistics 
explained/index.php/Job_vacancy_and_unemployment_rates_-_Beveridge_curve 

website: 
and 

Eurostat 

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-

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4. 

EUROPEAN AGGREGATES 

The aggregate job vacancy rate is published, but the aggregate number of vacancies is not, as 
small businesses and the public sector are only partially covered. This is also why France and 
Italy have not allowed the number of vacancies to be published so far. 

Quality studies performed in some countries that cover the entire economy, such as those that 
compare the job vacancy rate for small businesses with that for larger businesses, have shown 
that  larger  businesses  generally  have  a  lower  job  vacancy  rate  than  small  ones.  This  could 
imply  that  the  job  vacancy  rates  of  the  EU  and  the  euro  area  are  currently  slightly 
underestimated.  Aside  from  this  caveat,  the  European  aggregates  can  be  considered 
satisfactory.  

Seasonal adjustments should provide a clearer view of real changes in EU data. Eurostat will 
publish seasonally adjusted data for the European aggregates in the second half of 2016. 

In  general,  the  European  aggregates  were  subject  to  minor  revisions,  as  mentioned  in 
paragraph 3.2 on accuracy. 

5. 

CONCLUSIONS 

Much  progress  has  been  made  in  the  past  three  years  on  implementing  JVS  legislation  and 
collecting sound statistics on job vacancies. In particular, most Member States have started to 
provide seasonally adjusted data, which are published regularly by Eurostat. Eurostat intends 
to publish seasonally adjusted data for European aggregates in the second half of 2016. 

JVS data have been supplied in good time and European aggregates have been published as 
scheduled,  although  there  is  scope  for  further  progress  in  timeliness  in  years  to  come.  In 
general, the European aggregates published, for both the flash and final estimates, have been 
subject to minor revisions. 

Eurostat  has  started  to  publish  a  quarterly  news  release  on  job  vacancy  rates  which  gives 
greater prominence to JVS and has been well received by the users of JVS. 

Nevertheless, incomplete coverage is still the main reason why JVS data are not  used  more 
widely. It is vital for all Member States to fully cover the public sector and small businesses 
in  their  quarterly  estimates.  Improved  coverage  would  also  enable  the  number  of  vacancies 
for the European aggregates to be published. 

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