Statistics Explained

Archive:Architectural, engineering, technical testing and analysis services statistics - NACE Rev. 2

Data from October 2015. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

This Statistics Explained article is outdated and has been archived - for recent articles on structural business statistics see here. This article presents an overview of statistics for the architectural, engineering, technical testing and analysis services sector in the European Union (EU), as covered by NACE Rev. 2 Division 71; hereafter referred to as architectural and technical services. It belongs to a set of statistical articles on 'Business economy by sector'.

Table 1: Key indicators, architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis (NACE Division 71), EU-28, 2012 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_1a_se_r2)
Figure 1: Sectoral analysis of architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis (NACE Division 71), EU-28, 2012 (¹)
(% share of sectoral total) - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_1a_se_r2)
Table 2a: Sectoral analysis of key indicators, architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis (NACE Division 71), EU-28, 2012 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_1a_se_r2)
Table 2b: Sectoral analysis of key indicators, architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis (NACE Division 71), EU-28, 2012 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_1a_se_r2)
Table 3: Largest and most specialised Member States in architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis (NACE Division 71), EU-28, 2012 (¹) - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_1a_se_r2)
Table 4a: Key indicators, architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis (NACE Division 71), 2012 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_1a_se_r2)
Table 4b: Key indicators, architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis (NACE Division 71), 2012 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_1a_se_r2)
Table 5: Key size class indicators, architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis (NACE Division 71), EU-28, 2012 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_sc_1b_se_r2)
Figure 2: Relative importance of enterprise size classes, architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis (NACE Division 71), EU-28, 2012 (¹)
(% share of sectoral total) - Source: Eurostat (sbs_sc_1b_se_r2)
Table 6a: Employment by enterprise size class, architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis (NACE Division 71), 2012 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_sc_1b_se_r2)
Table 6b: Value added by enterprise size class, architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis (NACE Division 71), 2012 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_sc_1b_se_r2)

Main statistical findings

Structural profile

The EU-28’s architectural and technical services sector (Division 71) comprised 969.4 thousand enterprises in 2012, employed almost 3.0 million persons and recorded value added of EUR 152.9 billion. Within the non-financial business economy (Sections B to J and L to N and Division 95) the architectural and technical services sector represented 2.2 % of the total number of persons employed and 2.5 % of value added. Based on these value added and employment measures, the architectural and technical services sector was the second largest activity among the seven NACE divisions included within professional, scientific and technical activities (Section M), smaller only than legal and accounting services (Division 69). Architectural and technical services employed 25.8 % of the professional, scientific and technical activities workforce and accounted for 25.5 % of its value added.

Apparent labour productivity within the EU-28’s architectural and technical services sector in 2012 was EUR 52.0 thousand of value added per person employed, the same amount as for the professional, scientific and technical activities and above the non-financial business economy average of EUR 46.2 thousand per person employed. At EUR 45.3 thousand per employee, average personnel costs within the EU-28’s architectural and technical services sector were much higher than the non-financial business economy average (EUR 32.4 thousand per employee) and just above the professional, scientific and technical activities average (EUR 44.3 thousand per employee).

The wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio combines the two previous indicators and shows the extent to which value added per person employed covers average personnel costs per employee. As the architectural and technical services sector’s apparent labour productivity and average personnel costs were broadly similar to those for all professional, scientific and technical activities in 2012 it is unsurprising that the wage-adjusted labour productivity ratios were also similar: 114.0 % for the EU-28’s architectural and technical services sector compared with 118.0 % for all professional, scientific and technical activities, well below the wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio for the whole of the non-financial business economy (142.7 %).

The gross operating surplus for the EU-28’s architectural and technical services sector was equivalent to 17.3 % of turnover, which was almost as high as the gross operating rate for professional, scientific and technical activities (18.3 %) and almost double the non-financial business economy average (9.4 %).

Sectoral analysis

The EU-28’s architectural and engineering activities (Group 71.1) subsector dominated the architectural and technical services sector, employing 2.5 million persons and generating value added of EUR 132.0 billion in 2012. It was 6.0 to 6.3 times as large as the technical testing and analysis (Group 71.2) subsector in 2012, depending on whether the analysis was made in terms of employment or value added.

However, in terms of labour productivity and average personnel costs these two subsectors were very similar. The EU-28’s architectural and engineering activities subsector recorded apparent labour productivity of EUR 52.0 thousand per person employed in 2012 which was just EUR 3.0 thousand per person more than for the smaller technical testing and analysis subsector. Average personnel costs of EUR 46.2 thousand per employee for architectural and engineering activities were also slightly higher (by EUR 4.8 thousand per employee) than the corresponding ratio for technical testing and analysis. This closeness resulted in nearly identical wage-adjusted labour productivity ratios: 112.0 % for architectural and engineering activities and 119.0 % for technical testing and analysis.

One indicator where the two subsectors did show more of a difference was the gross operating rate. The EU-28’s architectural and engineering activities subsector produced more than 90 % of the sector’s gross operating surplus and this high share translated into a higher gross operating rate (17.8 %) than for technical testing and analysis (13.9 %). For technical testing and analysis, the gross operating rate was below the professional, scientific and technical activities average (18.3 %) but still above the non-financial business economy average (9.4 %).

Country analysis

Germany contributed more than one fifth (22.3 %) of EU-28 value added in the architectural and technical services sector in 2012, just ahead of the share recorded for the United Kingdom (21.9 %); France was the only other EU Member State to record a double-digit share (16.7 %).

The United Kingdom and Sweden were the most specialised EU-Member States for the architectural and technical services, as 3.2 % of their non-financial business economy value added was generated by this sector. Finland, France and Denmark were also relatively highly specialised; the contribution of the architectural and technical services sector to non-financial business economy value added was at least 2.8 % in all of these Member States. Non-member countries had also a high degree of specialisation within the architectural and technical services sector, as its share of non-financial business economy value added stood at 2.9 % for Switzerland and at 3.2 % for Norway. This was the sixth highest degree of specialisation (relative to the EU-28) among any of the NACE divisions within the Norwegian non-financial business economy.

The United Kingdom’s leading position was also reflected at a more detailed level as it recorded the highest share of EU-28 value added for the architectural and engineering activities subsector, and was also the most specialised EU Member State for this activity. Germany had the highest level of value added for technical testing and analysis, while Croatia was the most specialised Member State.

Six EU Member States recorded wage-adjusted labour productivity ratios below 100 % in the architectural and technical services sector in 2012, namely Greece, Spain, Belgium, Ireland, Italy and Portugal, indicating that average personnel costs were higher than apparent labour productivity. By contrast, the wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio in Bulgaria was, at 169.6 %, the highest among the Member States, closely followed by the United Kingdom (169.3 %). All Member States recorded lower wage-adjusted labour productivity ratios for architectural and technical services than ratios for their non-financial business economies in 2012.

The highest gross operating rate for architectural and technical services sector in 2012 was recorded in Greece (37.0 %). Due to high rates for several large EU Member States, notably Italy (33.8 %), the United Kingdom (23.8 %) and Germany (21.5 %), the whole EU-28’s architectural and technical services sector observed relatively high operational profitability (using this measure). Poland, Slovakia and Bulgaria also recorded rates of at least 20.0 %. Gross operating rates for architectural and technical services were higher than the average rates for the whole of the non-financial business economy in nearly all Member States, the main exception being Ireland, where the gross operating rate for architectural and technical services was 15 percentage points lower than the non-financial business economy average, while the difference in Sweden and Denmark was around 1 percentage point.

Size class analysis

Irrespective of whatever measure of size was used to analyse the data, micro enterprises (employing fewer than 10 persons) made the largest contribution to the EU-28’s architectural and technical services sector. There were 934 thousand micro enterprises active within the architectural and technical services sector in 2012: they employed 1.4 million persons and generated value added of EUR 53.3 billion. In relative terms, they provided work to almost half (46.6 %) of the EU-28’s workforce within the architectural and technical services sector, while generating slightly more than one third (34.8 %) of sectoral value added. The apparent labour productivity of micro enterprises within the EU-28’s architectural and technical services sector reflected these different shares of employment and value added and stood at EUR 38.5 thousand per person employed (compared with a sectoral average for all enterprises of EUR 51.5 thousand per person employed).

Large enterprises (employing 250 or more persons) accounted for more than one quarter (27.0 %) of the EU-28’s value added within the architectural and technical services sector in 2012. This was considerably higher than the share (18.9 %) of large enterprises in the sectoral workforce. As a result, the apparent labour productivity of large enterprises within the EU-28’s architectural and technical services sector was EUR 73.7 thousand per person employed, almost double that recorded for micro enterprises.

This general pattern of micro enterprises accounting for the largest share (of value added and employment) in the architectural and technical services sector was repeated in the majority of EU Member States. Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom were the only EU Member States (for which data are available) where the largest share of the architectural and technical services workforce was employed in large enterprises (47.5 %, 32.6 % and 29.6 % of sectoral employment, respectively). A similar pattern was reported in Norway, where large enterprises accounted for 34.6 % of the sectoral workforce, slightly higher than the share recorded among micro enterprises (26.1 %). Malta was the only country where small enterprises provided employment for the largest share (48.1 %) of the architectural and technical services workforce.

Denmark, the United Kingdom and Sweden were joined by Spain, the Netherlands and France as the only six EU Member States where large enterprises accounted for the highest share of value added within the architectural and technical services sector; the same was also true in Norway, where large enterprises generated 34.6 % of sectoral value added. The majority of the remaining EU Member States recorded their highest share of sectoral value added among micro enterprises, although the two Baltic Member States of Latvia and Lithuania were further exceptions to this rule, as they recorded their highest shares of value added among small enterprises (employing 10 to 49 persons).

Data sources and availability

The analysis presented in this article is based on the main dataset for structural business statistics (SBS) and size class data, all of which are published annually.

The main series provides information for each EU Member State as well as a number of non-member countries at a detailed level according to the activity classification NACE. Data are available for a wide range of variables.

In structural business statistics, size classes are generally defined by the number of persons employed. A limited set of the standard structural business statistics variables (for example, the number of enterprises, turnover, persons employed and value added) are analysed by size class, mostly down to the three-digit (group) level of NACE. The main size classes used in this article for presenting the results are:

  • small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): with 1 to 249 persons employed, further divided into;
    • micro enterprises: with less than 10 persons employed;
    • small enterprises: with 10 to 49 persons employed;
    • medium-sized enterprises: with 50 to 249 persons employed;
  • large enterprises: with 250 or more persons employed.

Context

This article presents an overview of statistics for the architectural and technical services sector in the EU, as covered by NACE Rev. 2 Division 71. This division includes the provision of architectural services such as consulting, design and drafting services, town planning and engineering services such as engineering design and implementation, geophysical, geological and seismic surveying, and mapping services. The architectural and technical services sector also includes the performance of physical, chemical, and other analytical testing services of materials and products, including, for example, testing activities in the field of food hygiene, reliability testing, testing and measuring of environmental indicators, the operation of police laboratories, and the certification of products such as transport equipment.

This NACE division is composed of two groups:

  • architectural and engineering activities (Group 71.1);
  • technical testing and analysis (Group 71.2).

The information that is presented in this article does not cover test drilling in connection with mining operations (classified as part of mining support service activities, Division 09), research and development activities related to engineering (included as part of scientific research and development, Division 72), or industrial design, aerial photography and interior decorating (which form part of other professional, scientific and technical activities, Division 74).

See also

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Main tables

Database

SBS – services (serv)
Annual detailed enterprise statistics - services (sbs_na_serv)
Annual detailed enterprise statistics for services (NACE Rev. 2 H-N and S95) (sbs_na_1a_se_r2)
SMEs - Annual enterprise statistics by size classes - services (sbs_sc_sc)
Services by employment size classes (NACE Rev. 2 H-N and S95) (sbs_sc_1b_se_r2)
SBS - regional data - all activities (sbs_r)
SBS data by NUTS 2 regions and NACE Rev. 2 (from 2008 onwards) (sbs_r_nuts06_r2)

Dedicated section

Source data for tables and figures (MS Excel)

Other information

External links

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