February 4, 2012, 03:44 CET
Business statistics
The Bundesbank publishes economic indicators from the following areas: national accounts (eg GDP; also, gross wages and salaries); labour market (eg unemployment, registered); pay rates and actual earnings; output in the production sector; productivity and wage costs in the industrial sector; orders received and turnover in the industrial sector; building permits granted for structural engineering work; orders received, employment, wage and salary costs and turnover in the construction sector; retail turnover; producer and consumer prices. Seasonally and working-day adjusted or just working-day adjusted time series – depending on the indicator – are provided in addition to the original values. The data are adjusted based on Version 0.2.8 of the Census X-12-ARIMA program.
- Table "Seasonally adjusted business statistics in brief" (German only)
Unemployment, registered
The registered unemployed as defined in the statistics collected by the Federal Labour Office and based on the register of persons out of work are all those persons who have reached the age of 15 but not yet the age of 65 who have no job or only a part-time job (at present, less than 15 hours a week) and are looking for a job subject to compulsory insurance with a working time of no less than 15 hours a week. They must have registered at the appropriate job centre in person, must be available for placement by the job centre and must not be certified as unfit for work.
Retail turnover
The indicator, which is collected every month by the Federal Statistical Office, measures the development of the turnover of enterprises that are mainly involved in retail trade and have an minimum annual turnover of €250,000. It is estimated on the basis of a sample of around 25,000 enterprises from a total of around 420,000 retail enterprises domiciled in Germany. Both the figures for the retail trade sector as a whole and for its individual branches are documented. The figure shows the retail trade excluding the trade with motor vehicles and the retail turnover of gas stations.
Consumer prices
The consumer price index, which is calculated every month by the Federal Statistical Office, measures the average change in the price of all goods and services that are bought or used by households for consumption purposes for the respective reporting period compared with the base year. The year-on-year rate of change is generally used as an indicator for inflation. In addition, the Federal Statistical Office publishes the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) for Germany, which is calculated according to EU-wide harmonised criteria and enters into the calculation of the European HICP. The European HICP is published by the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat) and is used by the Eurosystem mainly as an indicator of inflation in the euro area.
Orders received by the construction sector
The orders received include the value (excluding turnover tax) of all orders confirmed by firms in the construction sector in the respective month under review. The indicator is calculated by the Federal Statistical Office on the basis of the total value of the orders.
Producer prices of industrial goods
The producer price index, which is calculated every month by the Federal Statistical Office, measures the average change in the price of industrial goods in domestic sales (excluding turnover tax) for the respective reporting period compared with the base year.
Building permits granted for structural engineering work
The indicator of building permits granted for structural engineering work includes the estimated construction costs of all construction work requiring a permit in Germany within a reporting period. It is calculated every month by the Federal Statistical Office from administrative documents of construction supervisory bodies and building owners.
Output in the production sector
The production index measures the monthly performance of the production sector (including construction) in Germany. The quarterly figures are calculated by the Federal Statistical Office on the basis of the output of local units of enterprises in the production sector with 20 or more employees. The monthly breakdown from January 2007 onwards is based on data provided by local units with at least 50 employees but with a smaller reporting population before that date.
Orders received by industry
Up until 2006, the index of orders received, which is calculated every month by the Federal Statistical Office, included the value of all orders for the delivery of self-made products confirmed by local units of industrial enterprises with 20 or more employees in the respective reporting period. From January 2007, it refers to local units with 50 or more employees.
Turnover in industry
The industrial turnover index, which is calculated every month by the Federal Statistical Office, measures in the period before the end of 2006 the development of turnover of local units of all industrial enterprises with 20 or more employees on own products and industrial services delivered to third parties in the month under review. From January 2007 onwards it is based on data provided by local units with at least 50 employees.
Real gross domestic product (GDP)
GDP, which is calculated on a quarterly basis by the Federal Statistical Office, measures the domestic production of goods and services after deducting the intermediate goods, and gives a condensed overview of the economic output of an economy in a certain period. In both its calculation and presentation, there is a differentiation between the output, expenditure and income side. Since the revision of the national accounts in 2005, the real figures have been calculated at previous-year prices based on a Laspeyres chain index and reported with the reference year 2005 = 100.
For a summary of the main changes of the most recent revision, see Monthly Report, May 2005, pp 36-37.
Gross wages and salaries
The indicator of gross wages and salaries includes the sum of all wages and salaries (prior to deduction of the employees' social contributions and the wage tax) received by wage and salary earners, civil servants, trainees and similar employee groups from their employment. The indicator is calculated by the Federal Statistical Office as part of the national accounts.
