Information and communication 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) information and communication services, covering NACE Rev. 2 Section J. Information and communication services concern the production and distribution of information and cultural products, the provision of the means to transmit or distribute these products as well as data or communications, information technology activities, and the processing of data and other information service activities.

The sector includes:

  • publishing activities (Division 58);
  • motion picture and sound recording activities (Division 59);
  • radio and TV broadcasting and programming activities (Division 60);
  • wired, wireless and satellite telecommunications activities (Division 61);
  • information technology services including computer programming, consultancy, facilities management and software installation (Division 62);
  • information service activities such as data processing, hosting, web portals, news agencies, information search (Division 63).

Note that this article does not cover printing or the mass reproduction of recorded media, both of which are considered as manufacturing (Section C). The activities of call centres are included within administrative and support services (Section M).

Publishing includes the acquisition of copyrights to content (information products) and making this content available to the general public by engaging in or arranging for the reproduction and distribution of this content in various forms. All the feasible types of media are included. Different types of content are considered, with the publishing activity as presented in this article including content such as books, newspapers, magazines and software, while the production of audio and visual content is included within motion picture and sound recording activities.

Activities related to production and distribution of TV programming involves different stages: production of individual items (such as films or television series); creation of a complete television channel programme (including live news programming) and broadcasting; distribution of the complete television programme by third parties without any alteration of the content, for example through broadcasting, satellite or cable systems.

Table 1: Key indicators, information and communication (NACE Section J), 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 information and communication (NACE Section J))
Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_1a_se_r2)
Table 2: Sectoral breakdown of expenditure, productivity and profitability, information and communication (NACE Section J), EU-27, 2008
Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_1a_se_r2)
Figure 2: Relative importance of information and communication (NACE Section J), 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, information and communication (NACE Section J), 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, information and communication (NACE Section J), 2008 (1)
Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_1a_se_r2)
Table 4: Key indicators, information and communication (NACE Section J), 2008
Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_1a_se_r2)
Table 5: Key regional indicators, information and communication (NACE Section J), 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, information and communication (NACE Section J), 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, information and communication (NACE Section J), 2008 (1)
Source: Eurostat (sbs_r_nuts06_r2)
Figure 5: Relative importance of enterprise size classes, information and communication (NACE Section J), EU-27, 2008 (size of bubble is proportional to the % share of size class in sectoral value added)
Source: Eurostat (sbs_sc_1b_se_r2)
Table 7: Key size class indicators, information and communication (NACE Section J), EU-27, 2008
Source: Eurostat (sbs_sc_1b_se_r2)
Figure 6: Sectoral breakdown of value added by enterprise size class, information and communication (NACE Section J), EU-27, 2008 (1)
(% share of sectoral value added)
Source: Eurostat (sbs_sc_1b_se_r2)
Figure 7: Sectoral breakdown of employment by enterprise size class, information and communication (NACE Section J), EU-27, 2008 (1)
(% share of sectoral employment)
Source: Eurostat (sbs_sc_1b_se_r2)
Table 8: Number of enterprises by enterprise size class, information and communication (NACE Section J), 2008
Source: Eurostat (sbs_sc_1b_se_r2)

Contents

Main statistical findings

Structural profile

The EU-27’s information and communication services sector (Section J) numbered around 800 thousand enterprises in 2008, employing 5.8 million persons and contributing EUR 502 500 million value added. This sector’s contribution to the non-financial business economy (Sections B to J and L to N and Division 95) was 3.8 % of the enterprise population, 4.3 % of the workforce, and 8.2 % of value added. The level of tangible investment was EUR 57 300 million in 2008, equivalent to 5.7 % of the non-financial business economy total.

The apparent labour productivity of the EU-27's information and communication services sector in 2008 was EUR 87 thousand per person employed, close to double the non-financial business economy average of EUR 45.2 thousand per person employed. Alongside this relatively high apparent labour productivity the average personnel costs within the sector were EUR 50.2 thousand per employee compared with 30.9 thousand per employee on average in the non-financial business economy.

The wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio shows that value added per person employed was equivalent to 172.6 % of average personnel costs per employee. This was substantially higher than the non-financial business economy average (146.3 %), and one of the highest among the NACE sections within the non-financial business economy. Equally the EU-27’s information and communication services sector recorded a gross operating rate of 21.0 % in 2008, just over double the 10.2 % average for the non-financial business economy and lower only than the rate recorded for mining and quarrying (31.0 %) and real estate (39.7 %).

Sectoral analysis

Two of the six subsectors (at the division level) dominate the information and communication services sector in the EU-27, namely telecommunications (Division 61) and computer programming, consultancy and related activities (Division 62). These two subsectors generated close to three quarters (73.8 %) of sectoral value added, employed more than three fifths (63.1 %) of the workforce and accounted for more than four fifths (83.3 %) of investment. The third largest subsector was publishing (Division 58) which employed 16.6 % of the workforce and contributed 11.9 % of value added. Telecommunications and programming and broadcasting activities were the only two of the six subsectors where the share of sectoral employment was lower than the value added share.

The high apparent labour productivity figure for the whole of the EU-27’s information and communication services sector in 2008 was pulled upwards by the large telecommunications subsector which recorded apparent labour productivity of EUR 165 000 per person employed. The programming and broadcasting activities subsector (Division 60) also recorded high apparent labour productivity (EUR 100 thousand per person employed) while for all other subsectors (NACE divisions) the value of this indicator was below the sectoral average (EUR 87 thousand) but above the non-financial business economy average. Equally all of the subsectors recorded average personnel costs above the non-financial business economy average, ranging from EUR 41.5 thousand per employee for motion picture, video and TV programming, production, sound recording and music publishing (Division 59) to EUR 54.4 thousand per employee for computer programming, consultancy and related activities. These ratios are not available for the publishing subsector, but the publishing of books, periodicals and other publishing activities (Group 58.1) – which is the largest activity within publishing – recorded even lower average personnel costs (EUR 40.0 thousand per employee). Due to its very high apparent labour productivity the telecommunications subsector recorded the highest level of wage-adjusted labour productivity among the subsectors, with a ratio of 314.4 %: this was the third highest wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio at the NACE division level within the non-financial business economy, lower only than the extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas (Division 06) and rental and leasing activities (Division 77). This and the programming and broadcasting activities subsector (193.0 %) were the only subsectors to record a wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio above the non-financial business economy average (146.3 %), with the motion picture, video and TV programming, production, sound recording and music publishing subsector recording the lowest ratio (122.1 %).

The telecommunications subsector also recorded the highest levels for the gross operating rate (30.4 %) and the investment rate (20.3 %). For the gross operating rate the EU-27’s telecommunications subsector was the only subsector above the information and communication services sectoral average in 2008, underlining the size of this subsector and the extent to which its performance (by this measure) exceeded that of the other subsectors.

Country analysis

The United Kingdom was the largest Member State in the information and communication services sector in 2008 both in terms of value added and employment with shares of the EU-27 total of 21.9 % and 19.4 % respectively. Collectively the five largest Member States accounted for 73.2 % of the EU-27 value added in this sector, compared with a combined share of 71.4 % for the non-financial business economy as a whole, indicating a slightly higher than average concentration in the largest Member States. This sector accounted for 10 % or more of non-financial business economy value added in Luxembourg, Ireland and the United Kingdom, while its contribution was just 5.0 % in Lithuania and Austria – see Figure 2.

In the two largest subsectors, namely telecommunications and computer programming, consultancy and related activities, the United Kingdom generated the largest share of EU-27 value added, while Germany was the largest Member State in publishing, programming and broadcasting activities as well as information service activities. France accounted for the largest share (29.5 %) of EU-27 value added in the subsector for motion picture, video and TV programming, production, sound recording and music publishing and was also the most specialised Member State in this subsector.

Regional analysis

Media, news and communications activities are often concentrated around capital cities or other densely populated regions. Many of the regions listed in Table 5 include capital cities or their surrounding regions. Some of the exceptions include Groningen in the Netherlands and the British regions of Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol/Bath area as well as Cheshire.

The five most specialised regions in the information and communications sector (in terms of employment) are specialised in different subsectors as can be seen from Figure 4: Stockholm (Sweden) is most specialised in publishing; Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire (United Kingdom) in computer programming, consultancy and related activities; Bratislavský kraj (Slovakia) in telecommunications; Lazio (Italy) in motion picture, video and TV programming, production, sound recording and music publishing; and Wien (Austria) in information services.

Size class analysis

The enterprise size structure of the EU-27’s information and communication services sector is clearly dominated by large enterprises (with 250 or more persons employed) – just over three fifths (63.7 %) of the value added was generated by the approximately 2 200 large enterprises and these employed more than two fifths (44.8 %) of the workforce. Among the non-financial business economy NACE sections this is the third highest share of value added contributed by large enterprises, smaller only than the shares in mining and quarrying (Section B) and electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (Section D). Large enterprises accounted for substantial shares of value added in programming and broadcasting activities (80.1 %) and telecommunications (92.0 %).

Among the Member States the importance of large enterprises was greatest in value added terms in Spain and Poland where their contribution to the information and communication services sector was over 70 % in 2008. Only in the Baltic Member States did large enterprises contribute less than half of the sectoral value added, with Lithuania recording the lowest share (42.9 %); in these Member States medium-sized enterprises (with 50 to 249 persons employed) generated more than 20 % of sectoral value added, as was also the case in Finland and Cyprus.

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

Technological and regulatory advancements have made it possible for broadcasting to be opened wider than the traditional government-licensed organisations that used to distribute a small number of radio and television channels according to a fixed schedule; using a range of modern technologies broadcasting can be undertaken with far lower entry barriers, providing a wider range of content and services to users.

Information and communication technologies (ICT) affect people's everyday lives in many ways and EU policies in this area range from regulating entire sectors to trying to protect an individual's privacy. The increased availability of broadband services and of wireless devices is transforming economic and societal behaviour. Widespread access to the Internet via broadband is seen as essential for the development of advanced services on the Internet.

In May 2010 the European Commission adopted its Communication concerning a Digital Agenda for Europe (COM(2010) 245 final), a strategy for a flourishing digital economy by 2020, replacing the i2010 initiative; this is one of seven flagship initiatives under the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. It outlines policies and actions aimed at maximising the benefit of the digital era to all sections of society and the economy. The agenda focuses on seven priority areas for action: creating a digital single market, greater interoperability, boosting Internet trust and security, providing much faster Internet access, encouraging investment in research and development, enhancing digital literacy skills and inclusion, and applying ICT to address challenges facing society like climate change and the ageing population.

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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