Press release, 22.05.2024.
HCSO publishes new experimental statistics
A new topic has been added to the subpage of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (HCSO) presenting experimental statistics. From now on, the distribution of changes in earnings will also be available on a quarterly basis.
HCSO is committed to continuous innovation, development and methodological renewal, an important element of which is the widest possible use of administrative data sources. One of the results of this effort is the recently launched subpage presenting experimental statistics. This platform is now being expanded with a new experimental statistics theme entitled Distribution of Earnings Change, 2023, which uses data from administrative sources and is updated quarterly, in the 3rd month following the relevant period.
The aim of the statistics on the Distribution of Earnings Change, 2023 is to extend the information content of the average earnings change published as official statistics by providing information on the main trends and distribution of the changes in earnings per person behind the average change. In this way, earnings conditions can be examined on the basis of more detailed data. The source of the data is the monthly earnings and headcount statistics data file of the institutional labour statistics production system of HCSO, which is based on the records of the National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary and the Hungarian State Treasury. HCSO strives to be able to estimate relevant and timely indicators for users in a short period of time from the large coverage administrative databases at its disposal.
The Office is introducing the statistics on the distribution of earnings on an experimental basis for the time being, as there is currently no wide-spread international recommendation/practice on the method of accounting, and the reference units are different, too: in these experimental statistics, earnings data are summarised at the level of the private individual, while the basic unit of official earnings statistics is the job. Beyond this, the population covered in the experimental statistics is not exhaustive (nor is it identical to the earnings data published in the official statistics), as only those who held a full-time job in the given year and the preceding year are included in the observation, because their earnings changes can be meaningfully examined.
On the continuously updated subpage that publishes experimental statistics, HCSO presents data that can be considered experimental, which are produced by involving new, alternative data sources and innovative methods and techniques to respond more efficiently and quickly to user expectations. They allow to meet newly emerging data needs, cover currently perceived knowledge gaps, and provide effective support to policy makers, actors in economic and scientific life, as well as society.
Hungarian Central Statistical Office
H-1024 Budapest, Keleti Károly u. 5-7. Tel./Phone: (+36-1) 345-6000
Postacím/Postal address: P.O.Box 51 Budapest H-1525
http://www.ksh.hu