Public Transport and Communications
Introductory note | Contents |
Dear Users,
This publication “Public transport and communications in the Czech Republic”, you are holding in your hand contains information on the development of employment, key financial indicators, indicators on goods and passengers transported for a given quarter and the period from the start of year. The branch of transport and communications marks activities that are included in the following Divisions of CZ-NACE:
- 60 - Land transport; transport via pipelines
61 - Water transport
62 - Air transport
63 - Supporting and auxiliary transport activities; activities of travel agencies
64 - Post and telecommunications.
Part A: Results of quarterly surveys
Data of the publication result from the processing of the Quarterly questionnaire P 3-04. For the selection of businesses included in the survey we used administrative sources that are included in the Business Register. Medium-size businesses (usually with 20 – 99 employees) fill the questionnaire P 3(b)-04 and large businesses (usually with 100 and more employees) the questionnaire P 3(c)-04. Individual “mutations“ of the questionnaire P 3-04 differ as for the number of indicators required. Basic indicators have the same methodological determination and are measured by both the questionnaires. In total, the quarterly questionnaire in the transport and communications branch was sent to approximately a thousand units; response rate (percentage of filled-in questionnaires that came back) was 82,9 %. Data for the set of units that do not receive the quarterly questionnaire (small businesses, usually with less than 20 employees or without employees) are estimated using information from monthly surveys S P 1 – 12 and then specified according to the last results of annual surveys available (now we have preliminary processed annual questionnaires for the year 2001).
For statistical surveys in 2003 the CZSO started to use information on economic activity of enterprises from available administrative sources. This methodological change was reflected in the creation of populations and samples as well as in the processing of the results of surveys. The results of the survey for 2002 were calculated retrospectively by the same method. For the above-mentioned reasons, data for the previous year differ from the data published in 2002; data in this publication for both years are comparable as for methodology.
The publication contains basic indicators by individual Divisions (2-digit codes) of CZ-NACE and an overview of financial indicators for large businesses (with 100 and more employees). The graphical part contains data on average wages, employment and total sales.
Financial indicators (where not mentioned otherwise) are in current prices in millions CZK.
A source for processing quarterly information in terms of volume indicators are data from departmental questionnaires of the Ministry of Transport CR. The selected volume indicators for transport are listed in tables 3-4.
Part B: Results of monthly surveys
Data in the second part of the publication are the results obtained from the processing of Monthly questionnaire SP 1-12 only for the following Divisions of CZ-NACE:
- 60 - 63 Transport, total
64 Post and telecommunications
Until 2002 results of this survey were published monthly in the joint publication Results of Monthly Survey on Services (code of publication in the Catalogue of Publications 2002: 9-9002-02), this year only data for trade, hotels and restaurants are published with monthly periodicity. Information on the development of services in the Czech Republic including transport and communications are also regularly released in News Releases presented by the CZSO on its web sites always on the 33rd working day after the reference quarter.
The monthly statistical questionnaire SP 1-12 monitors development of the branch measured by the sales index. Reporting units with 100 or more employees are covered all, and smaller enterprises by way of samples, whose size depends on the share of the total number of units in a given size group to those in the 3-digit Group of CZ-NACE. Groups of enterprises with low numbers of employees that, according to the Business Register, are not numerous, are covered all by the survey. In groups where random sampling is applied, so-called rotation takes place, i.e. partial substitution of the sample, aimed at updating the set of reporting units on the one hand, and keeping comparability with data produced previously on the other. As a result, randomly chosen enterprises principally remain in the sample for four consecutive years and then they are substituted. In total, the monthly questionnaire in the transport and communications branch was sent to about 2,5 thousand units, response rate (percentage of filled-in questionnaires) differs in individual months – the number of received questionnaires for the currently processed month is lower. The average response rate for the fourth quarter of 2003 was about 61%.
The questionnaire SP 1-12 measures sales, both including VAT and not including VAT; sales excluding VAT are used to calculate the sales index. It is supposed for monthly survey that the number of units is constant throughout the year: therefore, the results of the monthly survey may differ from the results produced by quarterly or annual surveys whose purpose is to estimate not only the index, but the absolute volume of sales, and that is why they take into account also the changing number of enterprises in individual periods. Different samples in some of the Divisions of CZ-NACE with large variance in sales are another cause of possible discrepancies.
In compliance with the re-basing of price indices (2000 average becoming the base) used by the CZSO as from January 2001, the calculation of the sales index was changed accordingly. Aggregate indices now use the weights of 2000. Sales measured by the monthly survey at the level of 3 digits of CZ-NACE in individual months of 2000 serve as the weights. Y-o-y sales indices at current prices are derived from the monthly survey for each deepest CZ-NACE level. There has been no change in this point of the calculation. For the same CZ-NACE levels, the price statistics produces also y-o-y price deflators for individual months and price deflators of individual months related to the 2000 average.
Using the chaining of deflators, monthly sales at current prices for the deepest CZ-NACE levels are converted to the 2000 price level. The sum of sales at constant prices gives aggregate sales (for 2-digit CZ-NACE) at constant prices, which provide a basis for the calculation of y-o-y indices at constant prices. Aggregate deflator is a ratio of aggregate sales at current and constant prices. The sum of 2000 monthly sales at current prices amounts to the sum of sales at constant prices.
The time series of indices re-based to 2000, covering 1997-2000, were made available in the publication “Results of Monthly Survey on Services for June 2001” (code of publication 9002-01, released on 31 August 2001). Data for current year are retroactively updated on a regular basis, using questionnaires received after deadline. Final data for 2003 will be published in half 2004, data for 2002 are already final.
This publication contains y-o-y and basic indices (average of year 2000 = 100) of sales in current and constant prices seasonally non-adjusted, graphical part shows development of sales since 2000, namely in the form of basic indices seasonally non-adjusted, y-o-y indices and trend (after seasonal adjustment).
Methodological note
The constant price sales index no longer includes any impact of 1 January 2003changes in the organization of České dráhy (Czech Railways), which ensures year-on-year comparability at constant prices. However, the current price sales still include these changes. The above-described methodology was applied retroactively to all the months of 2003. The questionnaires received after deadline were included into the new processing, too, and the resulting indices for transport and communication were thus made more accurate.