Overview

Remuneration statistics for administrative purposes are a set of indicators used to monitor the evolution of national and EU average civil servant remuneration, the evolution of consumer price levels relative to Brussels for Intra-EU and Extra-EU capital cities (and selected other duty stations), the evolution of consumer prices in Brussels and Luxembourg, and related information.

Uses

These include:

  • Analysis of national civil service central public administration expenditure;
  • Adjustment of remuneration of expatriate international civil servants;
  • Budget preparation;
  • Adjustment of indemnities for participants in expatriate exchange programmes (teachers, students, researchers);
  • Adjustment of mission expenses for international civil servants (daily subsistence allowances, hotel ceilings);
  • Adjustment of joint sickness insurance scheme healthcare cost equivalence coefficients;
  • Calcultion of pension scheme contribution rates and liabilities.

Available data

Indicators include 9 Eurobase tables of price-related data and 5 Eurobase tables of salary-related data, with internal breakdowns:

  • Evolution of gross remuneration (individual EU Member States; weighted averages for EU total, legislated core sample and remaining countries), annual time series to 1 July (and 1 January where appropriate);
  • Evolution of net remuneration (individual EU Member States; weighted averages for EU total, legislated core sample and remaining countries), annual time series to 1 July (and 1 January where appropriate);
  • Number of employees in national civil service central public administration (individual EU Member States);
  • Average remuneration of national civil service central public servants (individual EU Member States);
  • Joint Belgium and Luxembourg Index of consumer price inflation, annual time series to 1 July (and 1 January where appropriate);
  • Bilateral correction coefficients with Brussels for Intra-EU capital cities and selected other duty stations (30+ locations), annual time series at 1 July (and 1 January where appropriate);
  • Bilateral correction coefficients with Brussels for Extra-EU capital cities and selected other duty stations (140+ locations), annual time series at 1 July (and 1 January where appropriate), and monthly time series where appropriate;
  • Bilateral correction coefficients with Belgium for EU Member States + United Kingdom, annual time series at 1 July (and 1 January where appropriate);
  • Bilateral purchasing power parities with Brussels for Intra-EU capital cities and selected other duty stations (30+ locations), annual time series at 1 July (and 1 January where appropriate);
  • Bilateral purchasing power parities with Brussels for Extra-EU capital cities and selected other duty stations (140+ locations), annual time series at 1 July (and 1 January where appropriate), and monthly time series where appropriate;
  • Bilateral purchasing power parities with Belgium for EU Member States + United Kingdom, annual time series at 1 July (and 1 January where appropriate);
  • Average rent per month in selected duty stations by type of dwelling, annual time series at 1 July;
  • Typical dwelling size in selected duty stations by type of dwelling., annual time series at 1 July.

Links to other input data used in calculations and for comparison purposes are also provided, including:

  • Gross Domestic Product, % shares of EU total, snapshots as used for specific indicator calculation, annual time series at 1 July (and 1 January where appropriate);
  • Gross Domestic Product, % growth in real terms;
  • Gross Domestic Product, compensation of employees expenditure, in central public administration;
  • Labour Cost Index, quarterly time series;
  • InforEuro exchange rates, monthly time series;
  • Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices monthly index values;
  • Commission quarterly economic forecasts of consumer price inflation and GDP growth in real terms.

For more details, see METHODOLOGY section and LEGISLATION section.

 

General methodology

The production of remuneration statistics for administrative purposes is a complicated annual exercise involving the national statistical institutes and other recognised authorities of EU member states, which is conducted in collaboration with the United Nations International Civil Service Commission, the International Service for Remunerations and Pensions of the 6 Coordinated Organisations (NATO, OECD, ESA, CoE, ECMWF, EUMETSAT), and selected other international organisations.

Data is compiled in accordance with the EU Staff Regulations, the European Statistics Code of Practice, specific procedures agreed at meetings of the Working Group on Articles 64  & 65, and rules applicable to underlying data sources such as the 2007 PPP Regulation, the 1995 HICP Regulation, the ESA 2010 Regulation. 

Wherever possible, use is made of statistics already compiled for parallel purposes.

  • For the calculation of correction coefficients, this includes the price data collected under the European Comparison Programme to establish multilateral purchasing power parities for national accounts purposes, and the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices. Specific annual surveys are done to establish rent price levels. Periodic surveys of schools and universities are done to establish tuition fees and costs. Periodic family budget surveys amongst expatriate international officials are done to identify consumption expenditure patterns. Periodic housing surveys are done amongst expatriate international officials to identify dwelling type preferences and mobility patterns, for use in calculation of rent parities.
  • To identify national civil servant employee numbers and national civil servant remuneration levels, specific annual surveys are coordinated by Eurostat. These are converted from nominal to real terms using HICP statistics, and are aggregated to produce EU averages using GDP statistics. To calculate control indicators for comparison purposes, data about compensation of employees and labour cost indices are extracted. To compare economic forecasts, data about GDP growth in real terms is extracted.

The EU Staff Regulations is the official document describing the rules, principles and working conditions of the European civil service. These rules are essential to guarantee the European civil service maintains the highest standards. The current legislation  dates from 1968, and there have been multiple subsequent amendments. The latest reform which affects the methodology of calculation of remuneration indicators came into force on 1 January 2014. Previous reforms to this methodology were implemented in 1972, 1976, 1981, 1991 and 2004.

The European Statistics Code of Practice sets the standard for developing, producing and disseminating European statistics. It builds upon a common ESS definition of quality in statistics and targets all relevant areas from the institutional environment, the statistical production processes to our output: European official statistics.