Setting up a statistical information system on the country’s structure and activities by
Establishing economic and social, global and sectoral accounts and balance sheets, national accounts and balance of payments;
Studying economic trends and structural changes in the economy;
Working out short- and long-term economic, global and sectoral forecasts; and
Conducting studies and analyses of demographic, economic and social trends and publishing the results;
Distributing statistical data and the results of its studies.
The consumer price index is the instrument for measuring inflation. Every month, STATEC sends a team of price collectors to supermarkets, specialised retail outlets and all other types of stores (traditional shops, big trading centres, petrol stations, etc.) to gather information on the retail prices of a representative sample of items. The survey also extends to hotel and catering, electricity and telephone services, services provided by local authorities and others, insurance and childcare services, retirement homes, etc. In these areas, some of the data is gathered by telephone, e-mail or letter.
The survey of prices for all household goods and services is done during the first half of each month and covers a total of nearly 700 shops and other organisations. Approximately 7,500 prices are entered into the index calculation each month and, with increasing supply, the sample is also constantly growing.
To obtain the general index, each group index is multiplied by a specific weighting coefficient, which represents the relative importance of spending on this type of goods or service compared to overall household spending. The products of these multiplications are added and the sum obtained is divided by the sum of weighting coefficients. The result is the general consumer price index.
Once calculated, the index is submitted to a committee made up of trade union, employer representatives and expert for approval. Once calculated, the index is submitted to a committee made up of experts, trade union and employer representatives for approval. Once approved by the committee, the monthly index is published immediately.
The economic modelling unit uses data available from other STATEC units for two purposes :
Firstly, it monitors the economic situation by analysing short-term economic indicators, in order to draw up a qualitative analysis of recent economic trends. The results are published quarterly or monthly in the Note de Conjoncture and Conjoncture Flash.
Secondly, it uses econometric techniques to analyse how the various economic variables behave in a macro-economic context. Modelling also has two purposes. Firstly, it is used to improve understanding of how the Luxembourg economy works, in other words, detailing the interactions between the various economic variables (GDP, employment, unemployment, prices, wages, etc.). It is also used to forecast trends in these variables. One of the most important aspects of forecasting, particularly in the eyes of the general public, is the forecasting of trends in gross domestic product (GDP), i.e. economic growth. This forecasting is an important reference tool for political decision-making (such as drawing up the state budget) and for corporate projects (such as capital investment and recruitment).
When drafting its annual recommendation to the Council of Finance Ministers, the European Commission examines whether budgetary discipline was observed by Member States based on two reference values applied to data drawn up and submitted by Member States, namely annual public deficit and public debt, which should not exceed 3% and 60% of gross domestic product (GDP) respectively. The details of the reporting procedure were set out in Council Regulation (EC) No. 3605/93 amended under the Luxembourg Presidency of the EU Council in 2005, specifically to take account of changes needed to enhance the control of the quality of data reported by Member States. The amended Council Regulation (EC) No 2103/2005 was published in December 2005.
The Member States supply their data to the Commission in accordance with the European system of accounts (ESA), and with the provisions of Council Regulation No. 2103/2005, in order to ensure a level of comparability between statistics published by Member States. Data is reported twice yearly (before April, 1st and before October, 1st) and relates to the current year (provisional data) and the four previous years (effective data). EUROSTAT checks and assesses the quality of the deficit and debt data reported, certifies or amends the supplied figures and publishes the effective statistical data necessary to apply the excessive deficit procedure.
STATEC's main role is converting budgetary data from public services (at national level) while ensuring that public service accounts comply with the rules and concepts of the European system of accounts (ESA) and with the provisions of Council Regulation No. 2103/2005.
Source data is gathered from :
After filling in the required tables, STATEC supplies the entire series of tables to the General Inspection of Finance (IGF), which in turn checks the figures and forwards the tables to the European Commission.
The same tables, which provide no forecasting for the current year, are sent to EUROSTAT, the State Treasury and the Luxembourg Central Bank (BCL). The BCL then forwards these tables to the European Central Bank (ECB).
Collaboration between public institutions is the best means of reducing the administrative burden on survey respondents and minimising recourse to difficult and costly surveys. STATEC therefore shares statistics with the tax authorities (Registration, Contributions and Customs) and the Ministry of Finance (General Inspection of Finance and State Treasury) who draw up statistics on public finances and, as mentioned in the above paragraph, report public deficits to the European Commission. The General Social Security Inspectorate (IGSS) is another important partner. The data provided by IGSS allows STATEC to determine domestic employment (wage-earners), data on job types (full-time, part-time, etc.), gross pay, employers' and employees' social security contributions, number of paid hours, etc. used in the calculation of earnings or the quarterly labour cost index for example.
The Community-wide EU-SILC database is one of the many micro databases available to STATEC. It contains information on the income and living conditions of individuals and households in the Grand Duchy. This information is compiled in such a way as to enable direct comparison between the EU Member States. Many indicators required at European level are drawn from this database, particularly those relating to poverty and exclusion. These indicators are used by decision-makers when determining social policy. The database is compiled by Ceps/Instead (International Network for Studies in Technology, Environment, Alternatives, Development), and controlled by STATEC.
STATEC and CEPS/Instead carry out parallel research on poverty, social exclusion and housing using this database and the former ECHP database. The results of this research are published regularly in summaries and analyses for a scientific or wider general readership.
STATEC also has other privileged research partners as CREA (Applied Economics Research Unit) of the University of Luxembourg and the Henri Tudor public research centre.
Statistics on the tourism behaviour of Luxembourg’s residents are drawn up with the assistance of the European Tourism Institute at the University of Trier.