Administrative and support service statistics - NACE Rev. 2

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Data from June 2011, most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database

This article presents an overview of statistics for European Union (EU) administrative and support services, covering NACE Rev. 2 Section N. Administrative and support services comprise a variety of activities that support business operations; they can be distinguished from professional, scientific and technical services (Section M) in that their primary purpose is not the transfer of specialised knowledge. Administrative and support services include the following activities:

  • rental and leasing of motor vehicles, personal and household goods, machinery and equipment, and intellectual property (Division 77);
  • employment activities including recruitment and personnel selection services as well as job placement services (Division 78);
  • travel agency, tour operator, reservation services and related activities (Division 79);
  • security and investigation activities, including the transportation of valuables (Division 80);
  • services to buildings and landscape activities including combined facilities support and cleaning services (Division 81);
  • office administrative, office support and other business support activities, including call centres and the organisation of trade shows (Division 82).
Table 1: Key indicators, Key indicators, administrative and support service activities (NACE Section N), EU-27, 2008
Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_1a_se_r2)
Figure 1: Sectoral breakdown of activity, EU-27, 2008 (1)
(% share of value added and employment within administrative and support service activities (NACE Section N))
Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_1a_se_r2)
Table 2: Sectoral breakdown of expenditure, productivity and profitability, administrative and support service activities (NACE Section N), EU-27, 2008
Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_1a_se_r2)
Figure 2: Relative importance of administrative and support service activities (NACE Section N), 2008 (1)
(% share of value added and employment in the non-financial business economy total)
Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_1a_se_r2)
Figure 3: Concentration of value added and employment, administrative and support service activities (NACE Section N), 2008
(cumulative share of the five principal Member States as a % of the EU-27 total)
Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_1a_se_r2)
Table 3: Principal Member States and most specialised Member States, administrative and support service activities (NACE Section N), 2008 (1)
Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_1a_se_r2)
Table 4: Key indicators, administrative and support service activities (NACE Section N), 2008
Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_1a_se_r2)
Table 5: Key regional indicators, administrative and support service activities (NACE Section N), 2008 (1)
(top 20 NUTS 2 regions, based on % share of non-financial business economy workforce)
Source: Eurostat (sbs_r_nuts06_r2)
Figure 4: Degree of regional employment specialisation, administrative and support service activities (NACE Section N), 2008 (1)
(% share of non-financial business economy workforce by NUTS 2 region)
Source: Eurostat (sbs_r_nuts06_r2)
Table 6: Sectoral breakdown of regional employment, administrative and support service activities (NACE Section N), 2008 (1)
Source: Eurostat (sbs_r_nuts06_r2)
Table 7: Key size class indicators, administrative and support service activities (NACE Section N), EU-27, 2008
Source: Eurostat (sbs_sc_1b_se_r2)
Figure 5: Sectoral breakdown of value added by enterprise size class, administrative and support service activities (NACE Section N), EU-27, 2008 (1)
(% share of sectoral value added)
Source: Eurostat (sbs_sc_1b_se_r2)
Figure 6: Sectoral breakdown of employment by enterprise size class, administrative and support service activities (NACE Section N), EU-27, 2008 (1)
(% share of sectoral employment)
Source: Eurostat (sbs_sc_1b_se_r2)
Table 8: Number of enterprises by enterprise size class, administrative and support service activities (NACE Section N), 2008
Source: Eurostat (sbs_sc_1b_se_r2)

This sector does not include financial leasing which is considered as a financial service. Renting of real estate is excluded as is the renting of equipment with operator which is included as appropriate in construction (Section F) or transportation and storage (Section H). Employment activities do not include agents of individual artists which are considered to be part of a professional activity (Section M) as is the provision of security consultancy and landscape design (rather than landscaping itself). Security services do not include public order and safety activities (for example by the police). Cleaning services do not include car washing which is part of motor trades (Section G).

Contents

Main statistical findings

Structural profile

In 2008 there were around 1.1 million enterprises in the administrative and support services sector (Section N) in the EU-27, around 5.0 % of the non-financial business economy (Sections B to J and L to N and Division 95) enterprise population. Many of these activities are labour intensive and often personnel work part-time, for example, in cleaning activities (part of services to buildings and landscape activities), security and investigation activities, or employment activities. Total employment for the sector reached 11.9 million in 2008, an 8.7 % share of the non-financial business economy total; in value added terms this sector contributed EUR 390 000 million, some 6.3 % of the non-financial business economy total.

Although the administrative and support services sector is characterised as a labour-intensive activity the level of tangible investment is also high, EUR 70 000 million in the EU-27 in 2008. This level of tangible investment was 7.0 % of the non-financial business economy total, and equivalent to around 18 % of administrative and support services sector’ value added, giving it an investment rate just above the non-financial business economy average (16.3 %). However, this relatively high investment rate for the sector as a whole in fact reflects an extremely high rate in just one subsector, namely rental and leasing activities (Division 77).

The average personnel costs of the EU-27's administrative and support services sector in 2008 was EUR 23.5 thousand per employee, about a quarter below the non-financial business economy average (EUR 30.9 thousand per employee). This was the second lowest average personnel costs among the non-financial business economy NACE sections, higher only than the accommodation and food sector (Section I). Like that sector, the administrative and support services sector traditionally employs many part-time employees, which has a downward influence on the average personnel costs. The wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio is based on the relation between the value added and the personnel costs and is expressed as a percentage and not a per head value, and so is not directly influenced by the incidence of part-time employment. For the administrative and support services sector this ratio was 140.0 % in the EU-27 in 2008, slightly below the non-financial business economy average of 146.3 %, and higher for example than the professional, scientific and technical services sector.

The gross operating rate (the relation between the gross operating surplus and turnover) stood at 16.0 % for the EU-27’s administrative and support services sector in 2008, well above the non-financial business economy average (10.2 %), but lower than the professional, scientific and technical services sector.

Sectoral analysis

Figure 1 shows the very different contributions of the subsectors to the administrative and support services sectoral total, depending upon whether value added or employment is chosen. Services to buildings and landscape activities (Division 81) as well as employment services (Division 78) accounted for the largest shares of employment, but the value added share of the former was considerably lower. In contrast, the capital intensive rental and leasing subsector had a much higher value added share (19.9 %) than its employment share (5.6 %), indicating a very high apparent labour productivity ratio. The travel agency, tour operator reservation service and related activities subsector (Division 79) was the smallest subsector (at the NACE division level) in terms of value added and employment.

Both the apparent labour productivity and average personnel costs were particularly low in the EU-27’s services to buildings and landscape activities subsector and the security and investigation activities subsector (Division 80) in 2008. In most of the other subsectors the apparent labour productivity and average personnel costs remained below the non-financial business economy averages for these indicators. Nevertheless there was one exception, namely the rental and leasing subsector where the average value added generated per person employed reached EUR 118 thousand which was more than two and a half times the non-financial business economy average, while average personnel costs were EUR 32.9 thousand per employee which was just above the non-financial business economy average. The high level of apparent labour productivity for rental and leasing reflects the nature of the activity which often involves purchasing capital assets and generating operating income from these assets: this activity typically has very low operating expenditure while the levels of depreciation, financial charges or extraordinary expenditure may be high – none of the latter are taken into account in the calculation of value added. The elevated apparent labour productivity and relatively subdued average personnel costs translated into a very high wage adjusted labour productivity ratio for the rental and leasing subsector, namely 357.5 %: at the NACE division level this was the second highest wage adjusted labour productivity ratio in the whole of the non-financial business economy lower only than the extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas (Division 06). All of the other subsectors recorded wage adjusted labour productivity ratios below the non-financial business economy average (146.3 %).

As well as its high productivity, rental and leasing also had a very high investment rate, as tangible investment was equivalent to 70.8 % of value added, a ratio that was more than four times as high as the non-financial business economy average. The investment rates in the other subsectors (at the NACE division level) were low, reaching 5.5 % in the travel agency, tour operator reservation service and related activities subsector, and around 8 % in the office administrative, office support and other business support activities subsector (Division 82).

Country analysis

As was the situation for professional, scientific and technical activities (Section M), the Netherlands and the United Kingdom were both relatively specialised in the administrative and support service activities sector, as was France. In the Netherlands the contribution of this sector to the non-financial business economy workforce reached 17.0 %, almost double the EU-27 average. In value added terms the United Kingdom was the most specialised Member State, as 8.6 % of non-financial business economy value added was generated in this sector.

As a result of its high specialisation in value added terms the United Kingdom had the largest administrative and support services sector among the Member States, accounting for 23.0 % of the EU-27 total. Germany had the largest workforce in this sector, 2.5 million persons, equivalent to one fifth (20.7 %) of the EU-27 total.

Two Member States reported wage adjusted labour productivity ratios below 100 % indicating that average personnel costs were higher than apparent labour productivity, namely Denmark and Sweden. Slovenia (108.2 %) also recorded a low wage adjusted labour productivity ratio in this sector. Only Germany (166.9 %) and Austria (163.7 %) recorded wage adjusted labour productivity ratios in this sector above their non-financial business economy averages.

Among the six subsectors the United Kingdom generated the largest amount of value added in four of them, with Germany largest in rental and leasing activities and services to buildings and landscape activities. In value added terms both France and the United Kingdom generated an above average share of non-financial business economy value added in nearly all of the administrative and support services subsectors: in France only the travel agency, tour operator reservation service and related activities subsector had a below EU-27 average share of non-financial business economy value added, while in the United Kingdom this situation occurred only in services to buildings and landscape activities. France was most strongly specialised in the employment activities subsector, while the United Kingdom’s highest specialisation was in the office administrative, office support and other business support activities subsector. Several Member States were particularly strongly specialised in just one or two of the subsectors, the most notable examples being: Luxembourg in rental and leasing activities; Cyprus in travel agency, tour operator reservation service and related activities; Estonia, Latvia and Bulgaria in security and investigation activities; and Belgium and the Netherlands in the employment activities subsector. Looking at specialisation in terms of the share of the non-financial business economy workforce in each subsector the specialisation of the Netherlands in the employment activities subsector stands out, as this subsector accounted for 11.2 % of its entire non-financial business economy workforce: it should be noted that the Netherlands has a higher proportion of part-time workers in its labour force than any other Member State.

Regional analysis

Regions specialised in administrative and support services may provide enterprises in this sector with a critical mass of business clients and are therefore often concentrated around capital cities or other business regions. One notable exception to the general tendency of administrative and support services to business to be located need to their customers is the location of call centres, which by their nature do not need to be located in proximity to their clients. Furthermore households typically make up a large part of the market for the subsector of travel agency, tour operator reservation service and related activities and these may be located not just in areas from which tourists and travellers originate but also in popular destinations.

As a whole, the share of administrative and support services in non-financial business economy employment is concentrated within a slightly broader range than for professional, scientific and technical services, but with fewer outliers with a very high degree of specialisation in these activities. Dutch and British regions dominate the list of the regions most specialised in administrative and support service activities, with this sector’s share in the non-financial business economy workforce exceeding 12 % in many British regions and exceeding 15 % in many Dutch regions. The highest share was recorded in Groningen in the Netherlands at 18.8 %. Regions from other countries that were particularly specialised (in employment terms) in this sector were the capital city regions of Portugal and Spain.

Size class analysis

In contrast to professional, scientific and technical services the enterprise size structure of the EU-27’s administrative and support services sector would appear to be dominated by large enterprises (with 250 or more persons employed), as these employed 52.3 % of the sector’s workforce in 2008. The average share for large enterprises for the non-financial business economy as a whole was 33.3 %. In value added terms, large enterprises generated more than three fifths of value added in the security and investigation activities subsector (62.8 %) and the employment activities subsector (62.5 %). Large enterprises also contributed a larger share of value added than any other size class in the services to buildings and landscape activities subsector (45.1 %); data are incomplete for the travel agency, tour operator reservation service and related activities subsector but within the travel agency and tour operator activities (Group 79.1) large enterprises also contributed the largest share (35.8 %) of value added. In contrast micro enterprises (with less than 10 persons employed) had the greatest contribution to value added in the office administrative, office support and other business support activities subsector (32.7 %) and the rental and leasing subsector (29.5 %).

There was only one Member State in 2008 where large enterprises generated the majority of value added in the administrative and support services sector, namely Belgium where its share reached 55.5 %. Nevertheless, in nearly all other Member States large enterprises generated more value added than any other size class. The exceptions were Slovakia and Cyprus where large enterprises contributed the smallest share of sectoral value added among the four size classes analysed. In Slovakia small enterprises (with 10 to 49 persons employed) had the largest share of value added (34.8 %), while in Cyprus micro enterprises were dominant with a 48.1 % share of sectoral value added.

Data sources and availability

The analysis presented in this article is based on the main datasets for structural business statistics (SBS) which are disseminated annually. The three data sets used are:

  • the national series which have the most detailed analysis by activity according to the activity classification NACE and the widest range of variables;
  • the regional series which provide an analysis at 2-digit level of the regional classification NUTS;
  • the size class series which provide an analysis based on six size classes reflecting the number of persons employed.

Context

The freedom to provide services and the freedom of establishment are central principles to the internal market for services. They guarantee EU enterprises the freedom to establish themselves in other Member States, and the freedom to provide services on the territory of another EU Member State. The Directive on services in the internal market (COM(2006) 123) aims to achieve a genuine internal market in services, removing legal and administrative barriers to the development of services activities between Member States. As well as covering most administrative and support service activities (with the notable exception of services of temporary work agencies), the Directive applies to a wide variety of services including many industrial and construction activities, as well as distributive trades, accommodation and food services, real estate, and professional, scientific and technical services.

Rental and leasing services are provided to households and to business clients. The use of renting or operating leasing can increase financial flexibility, reducing the need to commit own capital, whether for machinery, equipment or appliances. Personnel services may be supplied to persons looking for work or to an enterprise trying to hire. Security and investigation activities as well as services to buildings and landscape activities are mainly business services, although there is also a market for these services among households.

Travel agencies are enterprises that are engaged in arranging transport, accommodation and catering on behalf of travellers. Travel agents act as retailers selling travel services or packaged trips to the customer. Traditionally, tour operators acted as wholesalers to travel agents but have moved towards selling directly to customers. Tourist guides and tourist information services play a supporting role, offering information and services usually at the tourism destination. According to Eurostat’s information society statistics, more than one third (37 %) of all individuals (aged 16 to 74), made use of on-line services for travel and/or accommodation in 2010. This may include research or bookings, and may be directly with travel and accommodation providers, or with intermediaries.

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Main tables

Database

SBS – services (sbs_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)
Preliminary results on services, main indicators (NACE Rev.2) (sbs_sc_r2preli)
SMEs - Annual enterprise statistics broken down by size classes - services (sbs_sc_sc)
Services broken down by employment size classes (NACE Rev.2 H-N and S95) (sbs_sc_1b_se_r2)
SBS - regional data - all activities (sbs_r)
Regional data (NACE Rev.2) (sbs_r_nuts06_r2)

Dedicated section

Other information

Source data for tables and figures (MS Excel)

External links

See also

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