Statistical processing

Source data

The statistics is compiled from data collected via questionnaires. The sample is based on information in the Central Business Register.

The survey is carried out with a panel based stratified sample consisting initially of 500 enterprises covering about 1000 local units out of in total about 4700 units with above 20 employees. The 500 enterprises represents about 60 pct. of the total number of full-time employees in selected trades within the included strata. Enterprises with more than 200 employees are all selected. Enterprises with employees ranging from 20 - 199 are selected randomly, but the more employees the higher probability being selected.

Because of drop-out the sample is updated two-tree times a year.

The sample is stratified into lines of industries. The industry strata are:

• B Mining and quarrying
• C Manufacturing
• CA Manufacture of food products, beverages and tobacco
• CB Textiles and leather products
• CC Wood and paper products and printing
• CD Oil refinery etc.
• CE Manufacture of chemicals
• CF Pharmaceuticals
• CG Manufacture of plastic, glass and concrete
• CH Basic metals and fabricated metal products
• CI Manufacture of electronic components
• CJ Electrical equipment
• CK Manufacture of machinery
• CL Transport equipment
• CM Manufacture of furniture and other manufacturing
• BC Mining and quarrying and manufacturing. Of this: Capital goods, Intermediate goods, Durable consumer goods, Non-durable consumer goods

Frequency of data collection

Data is collected each month during the first 2-3 weeks of survey month

Data collection

Data is collected either by paper questionnaire send to the respondent including postage pre-paid envelope, or by online reporting. In the latter case, respondents receive an e-mail request to log in to the reporting system VIRK, and fill the online questionnaire. Respondents are urged to report online, and if so the respondent the subsequent months only receives an email request about reporting.

Notification letter is send about the 13th in the survey month, with new deadline about the 20th in same month.

Response rate is about 81 pct. on average. Deadline for reporting to the current month's questionnaire is about the 6'th of the month. Here, about two third of the answers have arrived. The rest, one third, arrives within two weeks and are included in the statistics.

Information to the respondents about the statistics is found here (in Danish).

Data validation

To fill the questionnaire one has to tick one of three options for each question. This does not call for data validation. The paper questionnaires are scanned automatically, and questionnaires refused in this process is handled manually. Non-response errors are corrected for in the enumeration process. By online reporting the system warns the respondent if a question is not ticked. However in both cases, online reporting or reporting by mail, it is accepted that some questions are left un-ticked.

In the processing, basic data is checked if bigger deviations as compared to last month occurs. Usually the reason is either unidirectional change in assessments by several big companies or missing reporting from some few big companies.

Data compilation

The enterprises' responses are weighted according to their average number of full-time employees. Within each stratum answers are distributed into percentages answering increase, unchanged and decrease adding up to 100 pct. The group of non-responding enterprises within the stratum is assigned same percentage distribution as the group of responding enterprises (which is considered a imputing method).

Hereafter, the responses are enumerated to the number of full-time employees of the total population, within each industry-grouping.

Confidence indicator for a variable is calculated and denominated balance. Is is the difference between percentages of enterprises (weighted by number of employees) that have answered increase and decrease (or too small and too large). The balance figures do not measure the size of the increase or decrease, but only indicates that an overweight of enterprises expect either increase or decrease.

The Composite confidence indicator is the arithmetic average of balance figures for expected production development, current stock of orders and current stock of finished products(calculated with inverted sign). Production development is assessed for the coming 3 month including the survey month. Stock of order books is assessed as by utimo last month. The same for stock of finished products, which parts the average with inverted sign, since e.g. stocks too large resulting in a positive percentage value, is considered as negative for the business cycle.

Especially regarding the questions on Production limiting factors, e.g. lack of workforce, the indicators reflects the share of companies that have ticked of the specific questions. The share of companies is weighted according to the average number of full-time employees within the specific companies. Hereafter the result is enumerated to cover the full population within each industry grouping.

Adjustment

Data is seasonally adjusted, if seasonal pattern is detected, and only for the indicators that constitutes composite confidence indicators.