title: COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) …/... describing the variables and the length, quality requirements and level of detail of the time series for the transmission of monthly unemployment data pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council

text:
                             EUROPEAN
                             COMMISSION
                                                      Brussels, 16.12.2019
                                                      C(2019) 8835 final
                COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) …/...
                                         of 16.12.2019
    describing the variables and the length, quality requirements and level of detail of the
   time series for the transmission of monthly unemployment data pursuant to Regulation
                (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council
                                   (Text with EEA relevance)
EN                                                                                EN
 ---pagebreak---                   COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) …/...
                                               of 16.12.2019
      describing the variables and the length, quality requirements and level of detail of the
     time series for the transmission of monthly unemployment data pursuant to Regulation
                  (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council
                                        (Text with EEA relevance)
   THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
   Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council
   of 10 October 2019 establishing a common framework for European statistics relating to
   persons and households, based on data at individual level collected from samples, amending
   Regulations (EC) No 808/2004, (EC) No 452/2008 and (EC) No 1338/2008 of the European
   Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1177/2003 of the European
   Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EC) No 577/98 1, and in particular
   Article 7(3) thereof,
   Whereas:
   (1)     The provision of monthly unemployment data by Member States plays an essential
           role in informing the Commission (Eurostat) and thus supporting the Union key
           priorities for growth and job creation by ensuring the use of timely and comparable
           data for the formulation and monitoring of the Union's policies targeted to those
           priorities.
   (2)     Monthly unemployment data are used to compile the Monthly Unemployment Rate
           (MUR), which is one of Principal European Economic Indicators2.
   (3)     The monthly unemployment statistics should be based on internationally agreed
           concepts as defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
   (4)     In case Member States do not compile the monthly unemployment statistics in
           accordance with the ILO definition, they should compile monthly unemployment
           estimates or transmit monthly unemployment inputs to the Commission (Eurostat) that
           would compile such monthly estimates on their behalf.
   (5)     Monthly unemployment data should measure unemployment at the reference month,
           after adjusting for possible seasonal effects without excessive smoothing. They should
           be consistent with the quarterly data collected in the labour force domain under
           Regulation (EU) 2019/1700.
   (6)     Member States should transmit monthly unemployment data according to a precise
           timetable so that the Commission (Eurostat) can meet the timeliness requirements of
           the users.
   1
           OJ L 261I, 14.10.2019, p. 1.
   2
           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 final.
EN                                                   1                                                       EN
 ---pagebreak---    (7)      The quality of monthly unemployment data should be monitored through a set of
            commonly agreed and uniformly applied indicators.
   (8)      The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the
            European System Statistical Committee.
   HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
                                                       Article 1
                                                   Subject matter
   This Regulation establishes the variables, the length, level of detail and quality requirements
   of monthly unemployment data to be transmitted to the Commission (Eurostat) under
   Regulation (EU) 2019/1700.
                                                       Article 2
                                                      Definitions
   For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:
   (1) 'monthly unemployment statistics' means the record of the number of employed and
   unemployed persons, and the derived 'monthly unemployment rate', in accordance with the
   ILO definition3 as implemented in the labour force domain under Regulation (EU) 2019/1700;
   (2) 'monthly unemployment rate' means the number of unemployed persons divided by the
   number of employed and unemployed persons for the reference month;
   (3) 'monthly unemployment inputs' means the record of the number of unemployed persons
   registered in the Public Employment Services of the Member States;
   (4) 'monthly unemployment estimates' means the combination of quarterly data based on the
   ILO definition, as implemented in the labour force domain under Regulation (EU) 2019/1700,
   and monthly registered unemployment;
   (5) 'monthly unemployment data' means the data to be transmitted in accordance with this
   Regulation, namely monthly unemployment statistics, monthly unemployment inputs or
   monthly unemployment estimates;
   (6) 'reference month' means the set of weeks assembled in the following way:
   - Each week belonging to a reference quarter, as established for the quarterly data collected in
   the labour force domain under Regulation (EU) 2019/1700, is allocated to only one of the
   three reference months belonging to that quarter;
   - Weeks that belong in full to a calendar month are allocated to the corresponding reference
   month;
   - Weeks that cross over two calendar months are allocated to one of the two corresponding
   reference months.
                                                       Article 3
                                                 Data requirements
   3
            As adopted on 11 October 2013 by the 19 th International Conference of Labour Statisticians in its first
            resolution concerning statistics of work, employment and labour utilization.
EN                                                         2                                                         EN
 ---pagebreak---    1. Member States shall transmit to the Commission (Eurostat) either monthly
      unemployment statistics [option 1]; monthly unemployment inputs [option 2] or
      monthly unemployment estimates [option 3].
   2. Data sets containing monthly unemployment statistics shall include monthly statistics
      that are representative of the entire reference month.
   3. Data sets containing monthly unemployment inputs shall include data corresponding
      to the number of persons that were registered as unemployed at a given period of the
      calendar month.
   4. Registered unemployment figures used in the compilation of monthly unemployment
      estimates shall correspond to the number of persons that were registered as
      unemployed at a given period of the calendar month.
   5. The names and definitions of the variables to be transmitted shall be those listed in
      Annex I for monthly unemployment statistics [option 1], in Annex II for monthly
      unemployment inputs [option 2] and in Annex III for monthly unemployment
      estimates [option 3].
                                           Article 4
                                    Transmission deadlines
   1. Monthly unemployment data shall be transmitted each month within the deadlines set
      in Annex V of Regulation (EU) 2019/1700, as follows:
      (a)    for Member States having chosen option 1, the monthly unemployment
             statistics shall be transmitted within 27 days after the calendar month;
      (b)    for Member States having chosen option 2, the monthly unemployment inputs
             shall be transmitted within 25 days after the calendar month.
      (c)    for Member States having chosen option 3, the monthly unemployment
             estimates shall be transmitted within 25 days after the calendar month.
   2. In months where the deadline falls on Saturday or Sunday, the effective deadline
      shall be the following Monday. Monthly unemployment data for the reference month
      of November shall be transmitted by 31 December.
      Data transmission shall start at the latest for the reference month of May 2021.
                                           Article 5
                                          Back series
   1. For Member States having chosen to submit monthly unemployment statistics
      [option 1] or monthly unemployment estimates [option 3]:
      (a)    the first transmission for the reference month of May 2021 shall also include
             monthly unemployment statistics or, respectively, monthly unemployment
             estimates for the reference months of January to April 2021;
      (b)    the transmission for the reference month of April 2022 shall include break-free
             time series for monthly unemployment statistics or, respectively, monthly
             unemployment estimates for all reference months back to January 2009
             included;
EN                                             3                                             EN
 ---pagebreak---             (c)   from the reference month of May 2022 onwards, the transmissions shall
                  include revised series back to January 2009.
   2.       For Member States having chosen to submit monthly unemployment inputs [option
            2], the first transmission for the reference month of May 2021 shall also include
            monthly unemployment inputs back to January 2009.
                                                Article 6
                                        Sources and methods
   1.       By [Publications Office: please insert the date 6 months of the entry into force of this
            Regulation] at the latest, Member States having chosen to submit monthly
            unemployment estimates [option 3], or respectively to submit monthly
            unemployment inputs [option 2], shall transmit to the Commission (Eurostat) a
            description of the sources and methods used for the compilation of the monthly
            unemployment estimates or, respectively, the monthly unemployment inputs.
   2.       Member States having chosen to submit monthly unemployment statistics [option 1]
            shall only transmit a description of the methods used for the derivation of the
            monthly statistics from the quarterly data collected in the labour force domain under
            Regulation (EU) 2019/1700.
   3.       Member States shall inform the Commission (Eurostat) two months before any
            changes to the description provided in accordance with paragraph 1 or 2 are
            implemented, and transmit the updated documentation no later than 6 months after
            the implementation of the changes.
   4.       Member States shall include, within each monthly transmission, information on
            possible breaks in the series as well as other special events that may impact
            comparability over time.
                                                Article 7
                                        Quality requirements
   1.       The Commission (Eurostat) shall monitor the quality of the overall monthly
            unemployment rate, according to the ILO concept, which is published by Member
            States (options 1 and 3) or by Eurostat (option 2) as headline indicator.
   2.       The quality of the overall monthly unemployment rate is monitored, every three
            years, through the set of indicators and thresholds included in Annex IV.
                                                Article 8
                                           Entry into force
   This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in
   the Official Journal of the European Union.
EN                                                  4                                                EN
 ---pagebreak---    This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
   Done at Brussels, 16.12.2019
                                                                 For the Commission
                                                                 The President
                                                         Ursula VON DER LEYEN
EN                                                 5                                              EN
 ---documentbreak---                              EUROPEAN
                             COMMISSION
                                                      Brussels, 16.12.2019
                                                      C(2019) 8835 final
                                                      ANNEXES 1 to 4
                                          ANNEXES
                                             to the
                   Commission implementing Regulation (EU) .../.... of XXX
    describing the variables and the length, quality requirements and level of detail of the
   time series for the transmission of monthly unemployment data pursuant to Regulation
                (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council
EN                                                                                EN
 ---pagebreak---                                         ANNEX I
     Monthly unemployment statistics submitted in accordance with Article 3(1) [option 1]
   Name             Description                              Statistical adjustments
                    Number of female persons aged 15 to 24,  - Not seasonally adjusted
   NAT_LFS_PRI.Y
                    being unemployed in accordance with      - Seasonally adjusted
   .F.MON.UNEMP
                    the ILO concept during the reference     - Trend
                    month.
                    Number of female persons aged 15 to 24,  - Not seasonally adjusted
   NAT_LFS_PRI.Y
                    being employed in accordance with the    - Seasonally adjusted
   .F.MON.EMPL
                    ILO concept during the reference month.  - Trend
   NAT_LFS_PRI.Y Number of male persons aged 15 to 24,       - Not seasonally adjusted
   .M.MON.UNEMP being unemployed in accordance with          - Seasonally adjusted
                    the ILO concept during the reference     - Trend
                    month.
   NAT_LFS_PRI.Y Number of male persons aged 15 to 24,       - Not seasonally adjusted
                    being employed in accordance with the    - Seasonally adjusted
   .M.MON.EMPL
                    ILO concept during the reference month.  - Trend
                    Number of female persons aged 25 to 74,  - Not seasonally adjusted
   NAT_LFS_PRI.O
                    being unemployed in accordance with      - Seasonally adjusted
   .F.MON.UNEMP
                    the ILO concept during the reference     - Trend
                    month.
                    Number of female persons aged 25 to 74,  - Not seasonally adjusted
   NAT_LFS_PRI.O
                    being employed in accordance with the    - Seasonally adjusted
   .F.MON.EMPL
                    ILO concept during the reference month.  - Trend
   NAT_LFS_PRI.O Number of male persons aged 25 to 74,       - Not seasonally adjusted
   .M.MON.UNEMP being unemployed in accordance with          - Seasonally adjusted
                    the ILO concept during the reference     - Trend
                    month.
                    Number of male persons aged 25 to 74,    - Not seasonally adjusted
   NAT_LFS_PRI.O
                    being employed in accordance with the    - Seasonally adjusted
   .M.MON.EMPL
                    ILO concept during the reference month.  - Trend
EN                                           1                                            EN
 ---pagebreak---                                        ANNEX II
     Monthly unemployment inputs submitted in accordance with Article 3(1) [option 2]
   Name                      Description                   Statistical adjustments
   PREA.Y.F.MON.UNEMP        Number of female persons Not seasonally adjusted
                             aged 15 to 24, being
                             unemployed according to the
                             national register at a given
                             period of the calendar month.
   PREA.Y.M.MON.UNEMP        Number of male persons aged Not seasonally adjusted
                             15 to 24, being unemployed
                             according to the national
                             register at a given period of
                             the calendar month.
   PREA.O.F.MON.UNEMP        Number of female persons Not seasonally adjusted
                             aged 25 to 74, being
                             unemployed according to the
                             national register at a given
                             period of the calendar month.
   PREA.O.M.MON.UNEMP        Number of male persons aged Not seasonally adjusted
                             25 to 74, being unemployed
                             according to the national
                             register at a given period of
                             the calendar month.
EN                                          2                                         EN
 ---pagebreak---                                       ANNEX III
    Monthly unemployment estimates submitted in accordance with Article 3(1) [option 3]
   Name                    Description                     Statistical adjustments
                           Number of female persons        - Not seasonally adjusted
   NAT_LFS_PRI.Y.F.MON.
                           aged 15 to 24, being            - Seasonally adjusted
   UNEMP
                           unemployed       during     the - Trend
                           reference month.
                           Number of female persons        - Not seasonally adjusted
   NAT_LFS_PRI.Y.F.MON.
                           aged 15 to 24, being employed   - Seasonally adjusted
   EMPL
                           during the reference month.     - Trend
   NAT_LFS_PRI.Y.M.MON Number of male persons aged - Not seasonally adjusted
                           15 to 24, being unemployed - Seasonally adjusted
   .UNEMP
                           during the reference month.     - Trend
   NAT_LFS_PRI.Y.M.MON Number of male persons aged - Not seasonally adjusted
                           15 to 24, being employed - Seasonally adjusted
   .EMPL
                           during the reference month.     - Trend
                           Number of female persons        - Not seasonally adjusted
   NAT_LFS_PRI.O.F.MON.
                           aged 25 to 74, being            - Seasonally adjusted
   UNEMP
                           unemployed       during     the - Trend
                           reference month.
                           Number of female persons        - Not seasonally adjusted
   NAT_LFS_PRI.O.F.MON.
                           aged 25 to 74, being employed   - Seasonally adjusted
   EMPL
                           during the reference month.     - Trend
   NAT_LFS_PRI.O.M.MON Number of male persons aged - Not seasonally adjusted
                           25 to 74, being unemployed - Seasonally adjusted
   .UNEMP
                           during the reference month.     - Trend
   NAT_LFS_PRI.O.M.MON Number of male persons aged - Not seasonally adjusted
                           25 to 74, being employed - Seasonally adjusted
   .EMPL
                           during the reference month.     - Trend
EN                                          3                                           EN
 ---pagebreak---                                              ANNEX IV
                                               Quality
   The quality of the overall monthly unemployment rate shall be monitored through a set of
   indicators measuring volatility and revisions, as detailed below.
   The indicators shall be calculated over the last 36 monthly observations available starting in
   May 2022.
   Those indicators shall be updated by the Commission (Eurostat) every three years.
   Volatility
   - The correlation of month-on-month changes, calculated before rounding, as the Pearson's
   correlation coefficient between the series of the month-on-month changes and the same series
   lagged by one month (i.e. first order autocorrelation coefficient). That indicator should remain
   within the [-0.30; 0.75] interval.
   - The frequency of double large reversals calculated as the proportion of observations
   preceded by two consecutive large reversals in opposite directions. A large reversal is
   recorded when the monthly unemployment rate varies by 0.2 percentage point or more. That
   indicator should remain below 5 %.
   Revisions
   - The frequency of very large revisions in levels calculated as the proportion of monthly
   observations in levels that are revised by more than 0.3 percentage point between the first
   estimate and the revised data that are released six months later. The ‘level’ corresponds to the
   value of the MUR at a given reference month. This indicator should remain below 10%.
   - The frequency of large revisions in month-on-month changes calculated as the proportion of
   observations with month-on-month changes that are revised by 0.2 percentage point or more
   between the first estimate and the revised data that are released six months later. This
   indicator should remain below 10%.
EN                                                 4                                                EN