Labour Statistics: Time Series of Basic Indicators

The data originate from surveys among businesses or from administrative sources. Depending on the number of employees, the survey among businesses is either a full survey or a sample survey. In case of the latter, grossing up to the universe covers all active units included in the Business Register (unless otherwise stated).

This publication shows trends in the most significant indicators broken down by CZ-NACE activity.

Workers comprise registered employees, private entrepreneurs and contributing family workers (main job holders only). The registered number of employees includes persons under employment contracts (both main and second jobs) and members of cooperatives having employment contracts; it excludes females on maternity leave, persons on parental leave, temporary members of the armed forces (incl. those on compulsory community service), apprentices, persons engaged by companies under contracts for work outside employment, persons in public office (deputies, senators, full-time councillors at all levels), judges, etc. The numbers of workers and employees refer to actual persons and include, in compliance with the methodology in force, foreigners legally working in the Czech Republic.

Starting with 1998, the numbers of workers are taken from the results of CZSO annual statistical reports. Data for earlier years of the 1990’s are taken from the results of quarterly statistical reports adjusted by annual surveys data (plus, for some years, by expert estimates for businesses not included in the sample). The data are complemented by numbers of judges (from administrative sources).

The average gross monthly wage is the ratio of wages excluding other personnel expenses per employee per month. Included in the wages are basic wages and salaries, payments additional to wage or salary, direct remuneration and bonuses, remuneration for being on call to work, and other wage or salary components charged to be paid to employees in a given period. This applies to gross wages, i.e. before reduction by comprehensive health insurance and social insurance premiums, advance income tax of natural persons, and other statutory or with the employee agreed deductions.

Data on the number of employees and their average gross monthly wages cover all employees registered by businesses classified to:

a) the business sphere
– with 100 employees and over from 1990,
– with 25 employees and over from 1992 (in industry, trade, hotels and restaurants in 1995 and 1996: with 100 employees and over),
– with 20 employees and over since 1997, incl. employees of unincorporated entrepreneurs,
– irrespective of the number of employees in financial intermediation;

b) the non-business sphere, i.e. employees of all organisations fully or partially funded from the state or local budget, and of non-profit institutions (e.g. companies of benefit to the public, health insurance companies, etc.).
Data in Table 15 and 15.1 result from sample surveys on wages of employees. Data on wages have been calculated by different methodology and this is why these results cannot be compared to those of a regular statistical survey on wages. The data cover a sample of employees with 1 700 paid hours or more in 1996-2000 and 1 592 hours or more in 2001, which roughly corresponds to full-time employees who worked with the reporting unit for a large part of the year and were not on the sick list for a long time. (The different number of paid hours since 2001 results from an amendment to the Code of Labour concerning the counting of lunch break into hours worked; therefore, the comparability of the time series has not been violated.) Until 2001, no grossing up to the universe had been made. For the year 2002, the grossing up procedure was employed for the first time and the monthly wages were calculated according to a new methodology as yearly wages divided by the volume of time paid expressed as a number of month. For that reason, the old time series were finished in 2001 (table 15) and a new one was launched starting 2002 in table 15.1. Median, i.e. wage of employee in the middle of the group, is newly used for comparisons instead of average wage. More detailed information from the sample surveys on wages of employees, incl. the methodology and sample size, can be found in the CZSO publications “Structure of Earnings Survey for [the given year]”. Our classification of wages by occupation was governed by CZ-ISCO-88.

Data in Table 16 (Structure of Labour Costs) cover the employer’s costs of recruiting and training employees, paying wages, and ensuring social needs of employees. The survey is carried out in businesses of all industries irrespective of the number of employees – employees of unincorporated entrepreneurs are not included.

Data in Tables 17 and 18 are based on sources of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic.

Started this year issue the tables have been separated into two segments. Data in segment A are comparable with those published in the preceding publication, i.e. the number of workers, employees and their wages in the civil sector of the national economy. Segment B includes data on the number of workers, employees and their wages in the national economy. Tables in segment B include previously missing information on the part of the Ministry of Defence of the CR and the Ministry of the Interior of the CR which includes information on the organisations under the ministries without own legal personality – i.e. data on civilian employees and regular members of the armed forces and the police of the CR. The time series have been converted to the comparable methodology, beginning with the year 1993. The numbering of tables in segment B corresponds with the numbering of tables in segment A, e.g. ´Table B1 Average number of workers in the national economy by sectors´ corresponds with ´Table A1 Average number of workers in the civil sector of the national economy by sectors´.

Prague, December 2003

Ivo M a k a l o u š
Employment and Wages Statistics Department