Archive:Industry and services statistics introduced

This Statistics Explained article has been archived.
For a more recent article covering its topic see Structural business statistics introduced.

Latest update of text: April 2017.

Business statistics cover industry, construction, trade and services, including tourism. Several other statistical domains also provide information on businesses or business activities, for example some science, technology and digital society statistics as well as many social statistics, especially those related to the labour market.

Structural business statistics (SBS) are presented according to the NACE activity classification; they are published annually at a very detailed sectoral level (several hundred economic activities) and as such are more detailed than national accounts. A subset of the SBS information is also available for European regions, as well as according to the size of enterprises. The main indicators within structural business statistics are generally collected and presented as monetary values (mainly income and expenditure items related to the calculation of value added or concerning investment), or as counts (for example, numbers of enterprises or persons employed). See the article on structural business statistics for more information.

By contrast, short-term business statistics (STS) are presented as indices (generally in relation to a base year of 2010 = 100) with data available on a monthly or quarterly basis, from which annual indices may be compiled and published. A smaller range of indicators are presented than for structural business statistics and these data are presented at a somewhat less detailed level of activity classifications. As well as presenting information related to economic activity (such as turnover indices or volume indices of production) and labour input (such as the employment index), short-term statistics are also available for producer prices.

European Union (EU) statistics on tourism concern tourism supply and demand, covering capacity and occupancy of tourist accommodation establishments and trips made by EU residents. See the article on tourism statistics for more information.

Enterprise policy

The European Commission’s enterprise policies aim to create a favourable environment for business to thrive within the EU, thus creating higher productivity, economic growth, jobs and wealth. Policies are aimed at reducing administrative burden, stimulating innovation, encouraging sustainable production, and ensuring the smooth functioning of the EU’s internal market. Policy reform in this area, and in particular the implementation of industrial and sectoral policies that form part of the Europe 2020 initiative, is designed to help turn the EU into a ‘smart, sustainable and inclusive economy’.

The single market

European industry contributes to output, jobs, innovation and exports and is interrelated with service activities. Indeed, many service activities such as transport, information and communication services depend on industry to produce the equipment and hardware which they use. The internal market for goods is one of the EU’s most important and continuing priorities which aims to create a user-friendly environment for businesses and consumers. Creating a single market for the service sector — one of the main drivers of the EU’s economy — relies largely on the opportunities available for businesses to provide services throughout the EU, and for other businesses and individuals to access such services.

In April 2011, leading up to the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the single market, the European Commission released a Communication titled ‘Single Market Act — twelve levers to boost growth and strengthen confidence’ (COM(2011) 206 final), aimed at improving the single market for businesses, workers and consumers. The initiatives within the Communication cover areas as diverse as improving access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), worker mobility, the regulatory environment, strengthening standardisation, or providing consumers with easier, quicker and cheaper procedures for dispute settlement. In October 2012, this was supported by a further Communication from the European Commission titled ‘Single Market Act II — Together for new growth’ (COM(2012) 573 final). The purpose of this second Communication was to build upon the first Single Market Act and it identified four drivers around which to focus key actions:

developing fully integrated networks (such as transport and energy) in the single market;
fostering the mobility of citizens and businesses across borders;
supporting the digital economy across Europe to boost productivity and creativity;
strengthening social entrepreneurship, cohesion and consumer confidence.

In October 2015, the European Commission presented a new single market strategy: its aim is to benefit both consumers and businesses by promoting a deeper and fairer single market, as detailed in a Communication titled ‘Upgrading the single market: more opportunities for people and business’ (COM(2015 550 final). The strategy is composed of targeted actions that are grouped together in three key areas:

creating opportunities for consumers, professionals and businesses;
encouraging and enabling the modernisation and innovation that Europe needs;
ensuring practical delivery that benefits consumers and businesses in their daily lives.

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for the Internal market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG Growth) continues to work towards the completion of the single market by tackling gaps that remain in certain sectors, completing legislation and removing administrative obstacles, while monitoring the application of EU law and the functioning of the single market.

Small businesses and entrepreneurship

The 23.3 million SMEs in the EU-28 in 2014 represented 99.8 % of enterprises in the non-financial business economy, and are regarded as a key driver for economic growth, innovation, employment and social integration. The European Commission aims to promote successful entrepreneurship and improve the business environment for SMEs, to allow them to achieve their full potential in the global economy.

In June 2008, the ‘Small business act for Europe (SBA)’ (COM(2008) 394 final) was adopted by the European Commission and endorsed by the Council in December 2008. This aims to improve the overall approach to entrepreneurship, permanently anchor the ‘think small first’ principle in policymaking and to promote SMEs’ growth. The SBA is a set of 10 principles which should guide the design and implementation of national and EU policies. Between 2008 and 2010, the European Commission and the EU Member States took measures to ease the administrative burden on small businesses, to facilitate SMEs’ access to funding, and to support their access to global markets. The results of a review of the SBA were published in February 2011, providing an overview of the progress achieved through implementing the Act and setting out new actions to respond to challenges resulting from the recent financial and economic crisis. The review launched a process which aims to integrate the SBA with the Europe 2020 strategy; six of the seven Europe 2020 flagship initiatives include proposals to help SMEs achieve sustainable growth. During 2014, the European Commission launched a public consultation on the SBA with the aim of gathering feedback and ideas on how to revise the SBA in order to provide the strongest support possible for SMEs and entrepreneurs.

COSME is an EU programme for the competitiveness of enterprises and SMEs; it will run from 2014 to 2020 with a planned budget of EUR 2.3 billion. It aims to supports SMEs in the following areas: improving access to finance; access to markets; supporting entrepreneurs; and improving conditions for competitiveness.

The Entrepreneurship 2020 action plan: reigniting the entrepreneurial spirit in Europe (COM(2012) 795 final) was presented as a Communication by the European Commission in January 2013. It proposes action to increase Europe’s entrepreneurial potential, to remove existing obstacles and to transform the culture of entrepreneurship in Europe. The plan has four main parts: educating young people about entrepreneurship; highlighting entrepreneurial opportunities for women and other groups; creating an environment based on easy administrative requirements; and making it easier for entrepreneurs to attract investors.

Europe 2020 strategy: industrial policy

At a European Council meeting of 26 March 2010, EU leaders set out the Europe 2020 strategy for ‘smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’, designed to enhance the competitiveness of the EU and to create more growth and jobs. The latest revision of the integrated economic and employment guidelines (revised as part of the Europe 2020 strategy) includes a guideline to improve the business and consumer environment and modernise Europe’s industrial base.

In October 2010, the European Commission presented a Communication on ‘An industrial policy for the globalisation era’ (COM(2010) 614 final), which provides a blueprint to put industrial competitiveness and sustainability centre stage. This industrial policy establishes a strategic agenda and proposes some broad cross-sectoral measures, as well as tailor-made actions for specific industries, mainly targeting the so-called ‘green innovation’ performance of various sectors.

In October 2012, the European Commission presented a Communication on ‘A Stronger European Industry for Growth and Economic Recovery’ (COM(2012) 582 final) as a new partnership between the EU, Member States and industry. It focused on four pillars: investment in innovation; better market conditions; access to finance and capital, human capital, and skills; and six task forces that were put in place to boost investment in innovation.

In January 2014, the European Commission adopted a Communication titled ’For a European Industrial Renaissance’ (COM(2014) 14 final). This Communication stresses the importance of full and effective implementation of industrial policy in the EU and aims to facilitate this. Examples of the initiatives put forward include investing in innovation, resource efficiency, new technologies and skills, simplifying legislation, updating the SBA, and reinforcing the Entrepreneurship action plan. Please refer to the website of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs for further information on the work being done in relation to specific actions for industrial renaissance.

In April 2016, the industrial renaissance policy was complemented by a Communication titled, ‘Digitising European industry — reaping the full benefits of a digital single market’ (COM(2016) 180 final), which addresses the growing footprint of digital technologies and their potential impact on industrial activities and individual businesses, while examining the possibilities for digital transformations (for example, of public services) and addressing challenges in areas such as funding, ICT standardisation, big data or skills.

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