Short-term statistics: The impact of a new base year and new activity classification

During 2009 the activity classification used for short-term statistics (STS) in the EU changed from NACE Rev. 1.1 to NACE Rev. 2, and at the same time the base year weights for the various activities and countries changed from 2000 to 2005. This publication focuses on the combined impact of these changes on the index values. As a result of the changes, the level of the EU-27’s industrial production index in December 2008 was lower by 1.4 percentage points. Classification changes in construction appear quite minor, but the changes in weights are substantial, notably in Spain and Germany. These changes lowered the level of the construction production index by around 2.9 percentage points in the EU-27 in the final quarter of 2008. The most complex changes caused by the introduction of NACE Rev. 2 are in services, notably with the establishment of a new Section for information and communication services. As a result of these changes the level of the EU-27’s services turnover index in the final quarter of 2008 was lower by 6.6 percentage points.