Methodological explanation for the news release:
Business tendencies in retail trade
Purpose of the Survey
The main purpose of the Business Tendency Survey in retail trade is to get quick information on the present situation and expectations about further movements of the main economic indicators in business entities, divisions of the National Classification of Activities and retail trade as a whole.
This data can be used for the short-term business decisions in the business entities as well as for the creating of the short-term economic policy of the country.
The statistical series derived from the business survey are very suitable for business cycle monitoring and forecasting.
The State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia has been carrying out the quarterly Business Tendency Survey in retail trade since 2002. Methodology and questionnaire for this survey are prepared in accordance with the recommendations given in the Handbook of European Commission - Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs for harmonization of these surveys, but the direct comparability of the data is not gained yet.
Type of Survey
The Business Tendency Survey in retail trade is a qualitative survey that uses opinion-testing techniques. It collects qualitative, not quantitative (numerical) data from business managers on their assessment of the present situation of the main economic indicators in their business entities and their expectations for the directions of movements of those indicators in immediate future.
The sample
The sample for the Business Tendency Survey in retail trade includes business entities classified in the retail trade, purposively selected.
The purposive selection of the business entities was done by the criteria to include those ones with largest turnover in the appropriate division of the NACE.
Weighting
Each individual answer is weighted, which means that each individual answer receives appropriate significance according to the size of each business entities. The number of employees in the business entities and the value of the turnover are used as weighting variables.
The data are generally presented in form of a balance percentage. The balance is obtained by taking the difference between weighted positive and negative answers expressed in percents. The balance shows the movement of the observed economic indicators, not their real size.
Last updated:
08.02.2011
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News releases
Methodological explanations for:
Bussines Tendencies
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