Sources of Official Economic Statistics

Numerous sources of official economic statistics exist, many of which can be supplemented with data contained in one-off reports. Some of the key sources are decribed here and include the:

Agricultural Census
Annual Business Inquiry
Inter-Departmental Business Register
Annual Population Survey
New Earnings Survey
Scottish Production Database/Scottish Service Database.

More information on a wider range of official statistics can be found at National Statistics Online – the home of official UK statistics.

More information on statistics provided by the Scottish Government can be found at the Statistics section of their website.

A range of economic and demographic statistics can also be obtained directly and free of charge from NOMIS. (You will have to register to use the NOMIS service). See also Data Release Dates for economic data published by NOMIS.

Agricultural Census

An annual agriculture census is held by Scottish Government Rural Affairs Department (SERAD) in June and this is supplemented with a sample survey in December. These provide information on an area’s agricultural employment .

Due to the limited level of agricultural activity in Clackmannanshire, data from the Census relating to the area may be suppressed to protect confidentiality.

Further information can be obtained from the SERAD Agriculture homepage.

Annual Business Inquiry

The ABI is now the main source of statistics relating to employees in employment. It was first published in April 2001 (1999 results) and replaces the Annual Employment Survey (AES)/Census of Employment series which date from 1991.

Unfortunately, because the ABI is a sample survey, sampling errors can affect the results, particularly in small areas such as Clackmannanshire, and its reliability is therefore questionable. However, the methodology adopted will give greater accuracy than the AES.

Please note that the ABI and AES series are not consistent and direct comparisons cannot be made between the findings of the ABI and the original output of the AES. However, revised estimates from the AES have been produced to enable historical trends to be examined.

For further information on the ABI, visit the ABI section of the National Statistics website.

Inter Departmental Business Register (IDBR)

The IDBR is offers the most extensive source of information on UK enterprises, covering the two million organisations registered for VAT or PAYE. The Register contains information on items such as the number of enterprises, local units, employment, turnover and industrial classification.

Further information on the IDBR can be found in the IDBR section of the National Statistics website.

Annual Population Survey (APS)

The Annual Population Survey (formally the Labour Force Survey) is a household survey held throughout the UK which collects a wide range of socio-economic information on household composition including age, gender, employment/unemployment, skills and qualifications and pay.

Because the APS is conducted using standardised definitions across the EU international comparisons are possible. However, at the local level, the value of the APS can be limited as statistics relating to some variables will be suppressed to protect confidentiality and others will be subject to large sampling errors. Unfortunately, because of its size, Clackmannanshire is particularly prone to non-reporting of results from the APS.

More information on the survey can be obtained from the APS section of the Office of National Statistics.

New Earnings Survey (NES)

The NES is the main source of wage and earnings data in the UK and provides breakdowns by occupation, industry, location and gender. It is based upon an annual sample of PAYE records

Most data can be obtained down to LEC level but the small sample size taken (1%) means that data may not be published for each local authority for reasons of confidentiality and/or sampling error. As a consequence, earnings data for Clackmannanshire is not normally available.

Scottish Production Database (SPD) / Scottish Services Database (SSD)

These databases are drawn from returns from the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI). They include information on are range of variables including employment, turnover, sales and expenditure. Some sectoral and geographical breakdowns are also available.

More information on the Production and Services Databases can be found on the Scottish Government website.