Article 1 Subject matter
This Regulation establishes a common legal framework for the development, production and dissemination of labour market statistics on businesses in the Union.
Article 2 Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply: (1) ‘statistical unit’ means an entity on which data are collected and statistics are compiled; (2) ‘enterprise’ means the smallest combination of legal units as defined in Council Regulation (EEC) No 696/93 ( 16 ) ; this includes non-market producers and other institutional units that belong to the general government sector; (3) ‘social enterprise’ means a private law entity, which can be established in a variety of legal forms, that provides goods and services for the market in an entrepreneurial way and in accordance with the principles and features of the social economy, having social or environmental objectives as the reason for its commercial activity; (4) ‘local unit’ means an enterprise, or a part thereof, that is situated in a geographically identified place as defined in Regulation (EEC) No 696/93; (5) ‘resident enterprise’ means an enterprise, that carries out economic activities contributing to the gross domestic product (GDP) as laid down in Chapter 1 of Annex A to Regulation (EU) No 549/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 17 ) ; (6) ‘resident local unit’ means a local unit that carries out economic activities contributing to the GDP as laid down in Chapter 1 of Annex A to Regulation (EU) No 549/2013; (7) ‘employee’ means any person irrespective of nationality, residency or time worked in a Member State who has a direct employment relationship with an employer, established by a formal contract or an informal agreement, and who receives remuneration, irrespective of the type of work performed, the number of hours worked (full-time or part-time) or the duration of the contract or agreement (fixed or indefinite, including seasonal); the remuneration of an employee can take the form of wages or a salary, and includes bonuses, pay for piecework and shift work, allowances, fees, commission and remuneration in kind; (8) ‘employer’ means an enterprise or a local unit that has a direct employment relationship with an employee, established by a formal contract or an informal agreement; (9) ‘domain’ means one or several data sets that cover particular topics; (10) ‘topic’ means the content of the information to be compiled, with each topic covering one or more detailed topics; (11) ‘detailed topic’ means the detailed content of the information to be compiled related to a topic, where each detailed topic covers one or more variables; (12) ‘variable’ means a characteristic of a unit or of a set of units that can assume more than one of a set of values; (13) ‘breakdown’ means a predefined discrete, exhaustive and mutually exclusive set of values which can be assigned to a variable characterising statistical units; (14) ‘microdata’ means individual observations or measurements of characteristics of statistical units without a direct identifier; (15) ‘aggregated data’ means data concerning a set of several statistical units; (16) ‘statistical population’ means the set of statistical units about which information is required; (17) ‘sampling frame’ means a list, map or other specification of the units which determine a statistical population that is to be completely enumerated or sampled; (18) ‘sample’ means a subset of a sampling frame whose elements are selected based on a process with a known probability of selection, designed so as to allow for deriving valid estimations for the statistical population; (19) ‘respondent’ means the unit that supplies data; (20) ‘statistical survey’ means collecting data from a sample of respondents, which can be extrapolated to the statistical population by using appropriate statistical methods; (21) ‘administrative data’ mean data generated by a non-statistical source, usually a register held by a public body, the main aim of which is not the provision of statistics; (22) ‘other sources’ mean data that derive from sources other than the ones listed in Article 3(1), points (a), (b) and (c), such as websites and databases, the main aim of which is not the provision of official statistics; (23) ‘statistical classification’ means an ordered list, with one or more levels of detail, of related though mutually exclusive categories used to structure information in a given statistical domain according to its similarities; (24) ‘reference period’ means the time interval to which statistics refer; (25) ‘metadata’ means information that is needed to use and interpret statistics and that describes the data in a structured way; (26) ‘pre-checked data’ means data verified by Member States based on agreed common validation rules; (27) ‘quality report’ means a report conveying information about the quality of a statistical product or process; (28) ‘gender pay gap’ means the difference in average gross hourly earnings of male and female employees expressed as a percentage of the average gross hourly earnings of the male employees.
Article 3 Sources and methods
1. Member States shall use one or a combination of the following data sources, provided they allow for producing statistics that meet the quality requirements laid down in Article 7: (a) statistical surveys or other statistical data collections; (b) administrative data; (c) data made available by private data holders; (d) other sources. 2. Member States and the Commission (Eurostat) shall endeavour to use innovative methods and data sources to improve statistics compiled pursuant to this Regulation and to reduce the response burden, provided that those methods and sources allow for the production of statistics that meet the quality requirements laid down in Article 7. 3. In the event that a request submitted by a national statistical institute or the Commission (Eurostat) to a private data holder in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 concerns personal data, that request shall be limited to the personal data categories covered by the domains and topics specified in Article 4 of this Regulation. 4. Surveys used for the purpose of labour market statistics on businesses shall be based on samples which are representative of the statistical population. Samples of enterprises or local units shall be drawn from the national statistical business registers as described in Article 8(4) of Regulation (EU) 2019/2152 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 18 ) . 5. Member States shall transmit to the Commission (Eurostat) the quality reports referred to in Article 7(4), containing detailed information on the sources and methods used.
Article 4 Data requirements
1. Labour market statistics on businesses shall cover the following domains and topics: (a) earnings: (i) structure of earnings; (ii) gender pay gap; (b) labour costs: (i) structure of labour costs; (ii) labour cost index; (c) labour demand: (i) job vacancies. The topics labour cost index, as referred to in the first subparagraph, point (b)(ii), and job vacancies, as referred to in the first subparagraph, point (c)(i), shall include their respective early estimates as referred to in Article 5. 2. For each topic listed in paragraph 1, the detailed topics, their corresponding periodicity, reference periods, including the first reference period, and data transmission deadlines shall be as set out in the Annex. 3. In accordance with Article 12, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts to amend the list of detailed topics set out in the Annex. Where a delegated act introduces a new detailed topic, that delegated act may also include the periodicity, the reference period and the transmission deadline. The delegated acts shall be adopted at least 18 months before the beginning of the relevant reference period. 4. When exercising the power to adopt delegated acts pursuant to paragraph 3, the Commission shall ensure that: (a) the delegated acts do not, in any case, impose a significant additional cost or burden on the Member States or on the respondents; (b) feasibility or pilot studies as set out in Article 8 are carried out and that their results are duly assessed and taken into account before the adoption of any delegated act. The studies referred to in paragraph 4, point (b), shall be financed in accordance with Article 9. 5. The data shall be transmitted to the Commission (Eurostat) in the form of aggregated data, except for the topic structure of earnings, referred to in paragraph 1, point (a)(i), for which microdata shall be transmitted for individual employees and local units. 6. Member States shall provide pre-checked data and related metadata using a technical format specified by the Commission (Eurostat) for each data set. The single entry point services shall be used to provide the data to the Commission (Eurostat). 7. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts setting out the following elements for each topic: (a) a list and description of variables and their technical specifications; (b) statistical classifications and breakdowns; geographical breakdowns cannot go below NUTS1 level; (c) precision targets; (d) the metadata to be transmitted with the same periodicity, reference period and deadlines as the data they refer to. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 13(2) at least 18 months before the beginning of the relevant reference period, except for the first reference period as mentioned in the Annex, for which 12 months shall apply. The implementing act for the topic structure of earnings shall be adopted before 1 September 2025 for the first reference period beginning in 2026. The Commission shall ensure that the implementing acts adopted pursuant to this paragraph comply with the principle of proportionality and do not impose a significant additional cost or burden on the Member States or on businesses. 8. Feasibility or pilot studies as set out in Article 8 shall be carried out and their results shall be duly assessed and taken into account before any modification of the data breakdowns referred to in paragraph 7, first subparagraph, point (b), of this Article. 9. In accordance with Article 12, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts supplementing this Regulation by setting out the information to be provided by Member States for a maximum period of 3 reference years where, within the scope of this Regulation, the production of additional data is deemed necessary for the purpose of addressing additional statistical data needs that cannot be otherwise fulfilled. In particular the delegated acts referred to in this paragraph shall not result in an obligation to conduct a new statistical survey on businesses. Those delegated acts shall set out: (a) the detailed topics to be covered pursuant to this paragraph, related to the domains and topics specified in Article 4 and the reasons for such additional statistical data needs; (b) the periodicity, reference periods and transmission deadlines. The delegated acts referred to in this paragraph shall not apply to reference periods before 2029 and shall have a minimum of 2 years between each additional data production starting from the deadline for transmitting the data of the latest additional data production. Feasibility or pilot studies as set out in Article 8 shall be carried out and their results shall be duly assessed and taken into account before the adoption of any delegated act. The studies referred to in the fifth subparagraph of this paragraph, shall be financed in accordance with Article 9. 10. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts setting out the additional information referred to in paragraph 9 and metadata. Those implementing acts shall set out the following technical elements, where appropriate: (a) a list and description of variables and their technical specifications; (b) statistical classifications and breakdowns; geographical breakdowns cannot go below NUTS1 level; (c) detailed specifications of the statistical units covered; (d) precision targets; (e) the metadata to be transmitted. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 13(2) not later than 18 months before the beginning of the relevant reference period. Feasibility or pilot studies as set out in Article 8 shall be carried out and their results shall be duly assessed and taken into account before the adoption of any implementing act.
Article 5 Early estimates
1. Early estimates for the labour cost index referred to in Article 4(1), point (b)(ii), and the job vacancies referred to in Article 4(1), point (c)(i), shall be transmitted: (a) by Member States whose annual number of employees represents more than 3 % of the Union total, for each of the 3 last years; and (b) by Member States of the euro area whose annual number of employees represents more than 3 % of the euro area total, for each of the 3 last years; 2. The shares of employees in the Union total and euro area total mentioned in paragraph 1 shall be assessed by the Commission (Eurostat) based on the available European Union labour force survey annual data. 3. Where there is any change in the list of Member States whose annual number of employees is higher than the thresholds referred to in paragraph 1, points (a) and (b), the Commission (Eurostat) shall notify the Member States concerned within 6 months after the end of the period used to assess the 3 % threshold. If the updated shares of employees fall below the respective thresholds referred to in paragraph 1, points (a) and (b), the Member States concerned may cease transmitting early estimates as from the reference quarter of the first calendar year following the date of the notification. If the updated shares fall above those thresholds, the Member States concerned shall transmit the early estimates from the first reference quarter of the third calendar year following the date of the notification.
Article 6 Statistical units and statistical population
1. Statistics under this Regulation shall be compiled on one or more of the following statistical units: (a) enterprises; (b) local units; (c) employees. 2. For the topics labour cost index, as referred to in Article 4(1), point (b)(ii), and job vacancies, as referred to in Article 4(1), point (c)(i), the statistical population shall consist of all resident enterprises or all resident local units of the Member State, which fulfil the following conditions: (a) their main economic activity is included in any section of the NACE classification established by Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 19 ) , with the exception of ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’, ‘Activities of households as employers and undifferentiated goods – and services – producing activities of households for own use’ and ‘Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies’; and (b) they have one or more employees. 3. For the topics structure of earnings, as referred to in Article 4(1), point (a)(i), and gender pay gap, as referred to in Article 4(1), point (a)(ii), as regards data on the employer, the statistical population shall consist of all resident local units of the Member State, which fulfil the following conditions: (a) their economic activity is included in any section of the NACE classification, with the exception of ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’, ‘Activities of households as employers and undifferentiated goods – and services – producing activities of households for own use’, ‘Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies’ and of any data within ‘Public administration and defence, compulsory social security’ related to defence and national security that are deemed confidential in a Member State in accordance with its national law; and (b) they have one or more employees. For the topics structure of earnings and the gender pay gap, as regards data on the employee, the statistical population shall consist of all employees whose local unit belongs to the statistical population as referred to in the first subparagraph. 4. For the topic structure of labour costs, as referred to in Article 4(1), point (b)(i), the statistical population shall consist of all resident local units of the Member State, which fulfil the following conditions: (a) their economic activity is included in any section of the NACE classification, with the exception of ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’, ‘Activities of households as employers and undifferentiated goods – and services – producing activities of households for own use’ and ‘Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies’; and (b) they are part of enterprises with 10 or more employees.
Article 7 Quality requirements and quality reporting
1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure the quality of the data and metadata transmitted. 2. Member States shall ensure that the data produced under this Regulation provide a full coverage of and give accurate estimates of the statistical units and population defined in Article 6. 3. For the purpose of this Regulation, the quality criteria set out in Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 shall apply. 4. Member States shall transmit quality reports on the sources and methods for each of the topics listed in Article 4. 5. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts setting out the practical arrangements for the quality reports and their content. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 13(2) and shall not impose a significant additional cost or burden on the Member States. 6. Member States shall inform the Commission (Eurostat) about any relevant information or change with regard to the implementation of this Regulation that would influence the quality of the data transmitted. That information shall be provided as soon as possible and no later than 3 months after any such change occurs. 7. Upon a duly reasoned request from the Commission (Eurostat), Member States shall provide the additional information necessary to evaluate the quality of the statistical information. 8. The Commission (Eurostat) shall assess the quality of the data transmitted, the sources and methods used and the sampling frames. The Commission (Eurostat) shall prepare and publish reports on the quality of the data transmitted and the sources and methods used. In those reports, the Commission (Eurostat) shall provide guidance on how to further improve the quality of the statistics compiled under this Regulation.
Article 8 Feasibility and pilot studies
1. In order to improve the labour market statistics on businesses or to limit the administrative and financial burden on enterprises, in particular SMEs and micro-enterprises, the Commission (Eurostat) may initiate feasibility and pilot studies. The purpose of such studies shall include at least one of the following elements: (a) improving the quality and comparability of data; (b) exploring new possibilities and implementing new features to respond to user needs, including in particular to provide data on social enterprises; (c) improving integration between surveys and other data sources; (d) reducing the burden on respondents; (e) improving the cost-effectiveness of data collection; (f) ensuring feasibility of the matters covered by the delegated and implementing acts. The studies referred to in the first subparagraph shall take into account technological and digital developments. 2. Member States may participate in those studies on a voluntary basis. In cooperation with the Commission (Eurostat), they shall ensure the studies are representative at Union level. 3. The results of those studies shall be evaluated by the Commission (Eurostat) in cooperation with Member States and the main stakeholders, including social partners. The Commission (Eurostat) shall prepare reports on the findings of the studies, including the possible future use of the results, in cooperation with the Member States. Those reports shall be made publicly available.
Article 9 Financing
1. As regards the implementation of this Regulation, a financial contribution shall be made available from the Single Market Programme established by Regulation (EU) 2021/690 of the European Parliament and the Council ( 20 ) and in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 21 ) to the national statistical institutes and other national authorities, referred to in Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009, in order to: (a) improve sources, methods, including sampling frames, for the labour market statistics on businesses; (b) support the participation of the Member States in the pilot and feasibility studies referred to in Article 8 of this Regulation. A financial contribution may also be made available from the general budget of the Union. 2. The amount of the Union financial contribution under paragraph 1, first subparagraph, shall be established in accordance with the rules of the Single Market Programme as part of the annual budgetary procedure, subject to the availability of funding. The budgetary authority shall determine the appropriations available each year. 3. The Union financial contribution shall not exceed 90 % of the eligible costs.
Article 10 Protection of the financial interests of the Union
1. The Commission shall take appropriate measures to ensure that, when actions financed under this Regulation are implemented, the financial interests of the Union are protected by the application of preventive measures against fraud, corruption and any other illegal activities, by effective checks and, if irregularities are detected, by the recovery of the amounts wrongly paid and, where appropriate, by effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative and financial penalties. 2. The Commission or its representatives and the Court of Auditors shall have the power of audit, on the basis of documents and on-the-spot checks, over all grant beneficiaries, contractors and subcontractors who have received Union funds under this Regulation. 3. The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, in accordance with the provisions and procedures laid down in Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 22 ) and Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No 2185/96 ( 23 ) with a view to establishing whether there has been fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union in connection with a grant agreement or grant decision or contract funded under this Regulation. 4. Without prejudice to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, cooperation agreements with third countries and with international organisations, contracts, grant agreements and grant decisions resulting from the implementation of this Regulation shall contain provisions expressly empowering the Commission, the Court of Auditors, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and OLAF to conduct such audits and investigations, in accordance with their respective competences.
Article 11 Derogations
1. Where the application of this Regulation, or the delegated or implementing acts adopted pursuant thereto, requires major changes to be made to a Member State’s national statistical system, the Commission may grant, by means of implementing acts, duly justified derogations to the Member State, for a maximum duration of 1 year for data with a quarterly periodicity, of 2 years for data with an annual periodicity, and of 4 years for data with a multiannual periodicity. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 13(2). The relevant Member State shall submit a duly justified request to the Commission within 3 months of the date of entry into force of this Regulation or the delegated or implementing acts adopted pursuant thereto. When granting the derogations, the Commission shall take into account the comparability of Member States’ statistics and the timely calculation of the required representative and reliable European aggregates. The Commission shall also ensure that the requirements related to statistics, metadata and quality covered under this Regulation that were previously covered under the repealed regulations continue to be met without interruption. 2. Where a derogation remains justified at the end of the period for which it was granted, the Commission may adopt an implementing act granting a further derogation for a maximum period of 1 year. The relevant Member State shall submit a request setting out the reasons and detailed grounds in support of such an extension to the Commission not later than 6 months before the end of the period of validity of the derogation granted pursuant to paragraph 1.
Article 12 Exercise of the delegation
1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article. 2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Articles 4(3) and 4(9) shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of 5 years from 9 June 2025. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than 9 months before the end of the 5-year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than 3 months before the end of each period. 3. The delegation of power referred to in Articles 4(3) and 4(9) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect on the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force. 4. Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making. 5. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council. 6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Articles 4(3) and 4(9) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of 3 months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by 3 months at the initiative of the European Parliament or the Council.
Article 13 Committee procedure
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the European Statistical System Committee established by Regulation (EC) No 223/2009. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011. 2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.
Article 14 Repeal
1. Regulation (EC) No 530/1999 is repealed with effect from 1 January 2026 and Regulations (EC) No 450/2003 and (EC) No 453/2008 are repealed with effect from 1 January 2027, without prejudice to the obligations set out in those regulations concerning the transmission of data and metadata, including quality reports, with regard to reference periods that fall, in whole or in part, before that date. 2. References to the repealed Regulations shall be construed as references to this Regulation.
Article 15 Entry into force and application
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union . It shall apply from 1 January 2026.