ABS COVID response webpage

Australian Statistician's Briefing to the Australian Business Economists

• a webpage dedicated to all ABS COVID-19 statistical products
• a webpage with information for survey respondents
• a webpage summarizing ABS COVID-19 response with links to both webpages above, statements of the Australian Statistician and media releases.

On 30 April, the Australian Statistician gave a briefing to the Australian Business Economists on:

• how ABS has responded to the changed world
• how ABS arrived at the suite of outputs they had released over the previous month
• how ABS had transformed the way they do things to embrace new, rapid response surveys to give governments and the community the most up-to-date statistics possible, and
• how ABS data can help decision-makers navigate the uncertain economic terrain over the coming months.

ABS COVID-19 statistical products

Australian Statistician's Briefing to the Australian Business Economists

The ABS is committed to delivering timely and accurate information about the impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on Australian society and the economy.

The ABS is producing a range of existing and new statistical products, providing relevant insights on households, employment and industry to inform government, business and community responses to the pandemic. A dedicated task force has been established to identify and secure new data sources to supplement the production of existing ABS products, address emerging policy questions and data needs in response to COVID-19, and deliver novel and innovative products in the future.

New statistical releases will provide information on:

• Business impacts such as cash flow and turnover
• Additional monthly analysis on hours worked, including reasons for working less hours, and quarterly hours worked analysis by industry
• Preliminary retail turnover data
• Interactive employment maps
• Preliminary import and export data
• COVID-related employment and health implications for households
• Additional analysis of short term overseas visitors and international students
• Interactive age and health conditions population maps
• Confidentialised microdata for Australian businesses will be made available for researchers through TableBuilder so they can produce tables, graphs and maps.

ABS is protecting the health of its staff and respondents, while ensuring the ongoing operating capacity.

By mid-March, given the risks associated with travel and gatherings in confined spaces, ABS reduced the number of agencies and individuals attending lock-ups for market sensitive statistics. ABS also suspended surveys that required close face-to-face contact, including those within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, to protect vulnerable populations.

Some of the regular activities were paused to free up resources to ensure the key economic series weren’t at risk, or to make way for the collection of COVID-19 related data. Critical teams were identified, and surge capacity and shadow teams put in place to keep production processes going in the event that infection rates of ABS staff rose to critical levels.

INSEE has been complying with the confinement and has been able to ensure continuity of its mission through teleworking. This required redefining priorities and adapting certain operation to the new conditions. INSEE informs about the impact of the COVID-19 on its work through press releases and a dedicated web page.

Registers: INSEE assured the public about that it will continue to maintain the population register and the business register which are under its responsibility.

Surveys: INSEE carries household surveys exclusively by phone or online if possible (employment survey and living conditions survey). ICT survey will not be carried out in 2020. Replies already provided by companies online will be preserved but there will be no reminders and no legal consequences of non-response. Certain large companies whose responses are indispensable can be contacted.

Statistical production: INSEE aims to ensure the continuity of the production of national accounts. The provisional annual accounts for 2019 should be published as planned. The publication of trimestral accounts for first and second trimester 2020 may not follow the usual calendar, in particular the first estimate, which is scheduled 30 days after the end of each trimester.

INSEE will continue to publish according to the usual calendar (or almost) all the main economic indicators, including monthly industrial production index, trimestral employment figures and monthly price index. Economic developments and difficulties in data collection may however affect the quality of certain indicators. This will be systematically documented.

Every week, INSEE will publish daily number of deaths reported by the communes, based on the civil registration system.

INSEE is in contact with mobile operators to measure the distribution of the population on the territory. This work will lead to a publication as soon as possible.

Economic impacts: INSEE aims to publish an analysis of the economic situation every two weeks. INSEE will issue updated press releases as necessary if conditions of data collection deteriorate or if INSEE encounters difficulties in ensuring continuity of service.

• Explained in simple terms how the COVID-19 outbreak affects the operations of Statistics Netherlands
• Assured about their continued efforts to maintain the production of statistics at the highest possible level
• Underscored the importance of reliable data during a crisis  for various stakeholders and the need to continue the data collection
• Thanked in advance those who provide the data for their collaboration under the difficult circumstances.

Actions to ensure continuity of statistical production, a special internal task force

The main challenge is not to interrupt the production and publication of short-term economic indicators and maintain information quality standards.

In case of the production of short-term economic statistics, we anticipate problems in surveying and in the imputation methods of missing data, as well as the temporary or definitive suspension of some businesses in certain industries.

The main challenges for the price indices are:

• Preserving the health integrity of the work team,
• Carry out the day-to-day work of operation, facing existing restrictions, but seeking to obtain the result by alternative methods.
• Resolve the no response problem by alternative methods of data collection and processing.
• Ensure the publication of the National Consumer Price Index, defined as data of national interest.
• Ensure the quality and reliability of the data.

• NSO sent most of its offices employees to work under a home office structure starting March 23th 2020, keeping just a small crew to operate.
• Field personal worked on the census until March 30th 2020.
• On April 6th 2020 practically everyone still in the office was sent home.
• The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare indicated to NSO that the contracts of its temporary employees who carry out field activities should be maintained.

• In line with the TurkStat National Data Release Calendar, in order to ensure timely publication of news bulletins and statistics, home office working has been initiated and remote access to databases has been provided.
• Personnel started to work in shifts both in the central office and regional offices by rotation and by remote accessing from home (telecommuting). Approximately 10 % of the staff goes to work in every unit. In each department, in every unit, there is some staff on duty to take necessary precautions. Except this, each unit organizes their work schedule themselves in control of their superior. As a result, the number of personnel has been decreased in the offices (% 90 of staff telecommuting ) to decrease the contagion of the pandemic. Meetings and other social interactions were stopped, instead of it, video-conferences were organized.

• There are 26 regional offices of TurkStat (corresponding to NUTS II level regions), which are in charge of the compilation, evaluation, quality control, analysis of the data and its transfer to the Center. Approximately 3/4 of the total staff are working in the regional offices, with the majority of them are interviewers who are primarily engaged in data collection. Therefore, due to the Covid-19 illness, some challenges are expected to be experienced during data collection processes in surveys and hence, some measures mentioned below have been taken by NSO to overcome these challenges.
• In Regional Offices, face to face interviews with the households and workplaces for some surveys were stopped temporarily. Instead of it, interviews by e-mail, telephone, web survey and data collection by administrative register methods will be continued during the pandemic.
• Sim cards are bought each consisting of adequate minutes and internet data for interviewers in the regional offices so that they can call the respondents at home, including the first meeting of Labour Force Survey. This application is valid only for three months. Afterwards it is planned to adopt and reorganize the regional offices to our Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) system and software.
• By optimising the software infrastructure, CATI operators (Working for LFS and CPI Rental Prices) are made to work at home as if they were at office. Thus, all the phone calls are still recorded and given quality scores. Our experts can listen all the calls at their homes by connecting our call center software.
• An official application to “Informatics and Communication Authority” is made to get a special phone number (1XY) that is only given to governmental institutions working for common good. With this application, it is aimed to make respondents feel safe when they are called-up to conduct a survey.
• NSO have been sending information letters to the respondents before the starting of the fieldwork of each survey according to the agreement between TurkStat and Turkish Post Office for years. These new practices are announced with our informative letters and Respondent Information Module on our website to inform respondents that they can be called by phone during COVID-19 in order to conduct surveys.
• Besides letters, respondents are also given information by SMSs and emails.
• In terms of  business surveys , Computer Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI) method was the main channel. Our staff in regional offices ensures respondents participation to surveys by reminding them with phone calls and emails.
• Household Budget Survey (HBS) is postponed 1 month due to quality problems that it is not nominal enough to conduct this survey by CATI.
• Alternative data sources like outlets’ websites, e-invoice, e-archive invoice, card payments for some studies are used to fill data gaps in data collection during this Covid-19 period.

• to continue the price collection from outlets by price collectors whenever possible.
• to replace missing price  by  price obtained from other sources.

• Press release on monthly unemployment rate was published for March 2020, based on the Labor Force Survey, https://www.csb.gov.lv/en/Statistics/Covid19/Unemployment-rate-in-March-2020
• Provisional estimates on household savings at the beginning of 2020 were prepared based on the obtained data in EU SILC survey, https://www.csb.gov.lv/en/Statistics/Covid19/Household-savings-at-the-beginning-of-2020;
• Monthly press releases on current economic indicators are prepared since March, https://www.csb.gov.lv/en/Statistics/covid19/Business-confidence-indicators-in-April
• Special press release on changes in fuel prices and consumption was prepared, https://www.csb.gov.lv/en/Statistics/Covid19/Fuel-price-dynamics
• Brief flash estimates were prepared on:
  • Operation of ports in March 2020 compared to March 2019 (cargo turnover (by type of cargo));
  • Passenger turnover of Riga airport in March 2020 compared to March 2019 (passengers turnover, number of flights, freight and mail volumes); https://www.csb.gov.lv/en/Statistics/covid19/Passenger-turnover-at-Riga-International-Airport-in-March
  • Activities of Latvian hotels and tourism accomodation sites, accomodation activities for March 2020 compared to March 2019, persons served, number of nights spent, by foreign nationals, local travellers, main countries from which the travellers arrived). https://www.csb.gov.lv/en/Statistics/Covid19/Latvian-hotels-and-other-accommodation-establishments-in-March-2020
  • Passenger turnover: passengers transported by public transport (buses (cities and intercities), railway, tram, troley-buses, ferries.
• Publication of the meat production in slaughterhouses (average purchase price, imports, exports of live animals and meat in March 2020);
• Total electricity consumption in January, February, March (2020 vs 2019)

Data dissemination was adapted timely, so to stay relevant and serve decision makers and public. Extra info graphics were prepared with COVID-19 related statistics, like, map with territories with the biggest share of senior population, number of population with chronic diseases etc. As of 9 April special section on the web page introduced with COVID-19 related socio-economic indicators (number of employees in most affected sectors etc.) All recent releases can be found there.

• Labor Force Survey for 2nd quarter complemented with extra questions on remote working
• Business Tendency Survey has been supplemented with questions on the factors influencing the activities of enterprises
• Business Tendency Survey in Industry has been complemented with additional questions on product orders

• Daily updates of the Statistical Business Register’s information of the VAT payers' register and the sign of termination of activity for enterprises, which have been liquidated, insolvency and liquidation proceedings have been initiated, reorganized, economic activity has been terminated and receives downtime benefits.
• In order to eliminate physical contacts, consumer price data collection was adapted giving more significance to the use of alternative data sources - internet sites and telephone interviews.
• Extra attention is given to the HICP quality indicators - proportion of imputations, marking indices with affected quality. In March only two sub-indices have been marked accordingly in the database - passenger transport by sea and package holidays, which were calculated based on the smaller number of prices. Total CPI for March meets quality requirements and is considered to be reliable. As of April CPI publication, taking into account number of Covid-19 affected sub-indices and considering the importance of keeping data users informed, additional section on the data collection, data quality, number of imputations and imputation methods .........is attached to every CPI press release. Taking into account elimination/ease of Covid-19 restrictions, necessity of further extended comments will be evaluated after the validation of CPI data for July.

Considering that since March 2020 all CAPI interviews were suspended, extra efforts were invested to promote and organize wider use of CATI and CAWI for social surveys. The need for timely and qualitative statistical information was recognized by Cabinet of Ministers and National Parliament, so on 30 April special amendments were made and approved in the Order “On Declaring the State of Emergency”, establishing the obligation for the State Revenue Service, Office of the Citizenship and Migration Affairs and the Road Traffic Safety Directorate to provide upon request from the Central Statistical Bureau the information on contact telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of natural persons included in the sample of the Labor Force Survey, EU SILC and ICT survey. Cooperation with involved institutions has turned out very successful. The work of interviewers’ team is being reorganized accordingly.

Besides that, the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia has been able to agree with the State Revenue Service on faster information exchange on the volumes of performed transactions from VAT declarations, in addition to the existing agreement (letter to the SRS, referring to the state of emergency in the country).

The Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia has put a lot of efforts in communication with user groups during the COVID-19 outbreak. As soon as state of emergency was announced in mid-March, information on suspended home interviews on social media was published and press release prepared. Soon after separate press release for business statistics respondents and individual persons stressing importance of continuous data providing so to assess the impact of COVID-19 was prepared. In the beginning of April special press release with our greatest gratitude to respondents who have continued to provide data for statistical purposes was issued and special call (info graphics) for enterprises and individual persons to participate in surveys followed shortly after.

https://twitter.com/CSP_Latvija/status/1258327113754652679, https://twitter.com/CSP_Latvija/status/1258327313852313604/photo/1 (Latvian only)