Work programme section

Introduction

This section contains an overview of all the regular statistical output of CBS. The statistics are grouped under twenty themes. The work programme is described for each theme, together with new user requirements conveyed in the external consultation.

As explained earlier in this Multi-annual Programme, CBS can only meet requests for new statistics if they are financed by the parties that use them. If the statistics concern a more general public interest, CBS may also receive financing for them from the government or from other central parties.

This list was compiled in the first half of 2022. If the funding of multi-annual financial programmes is discontinued during the 2024-2028 period, it will not be possible to continue producing those statistics. CBS will give notice of any changes that have occurred in its portfolio of statistics in the annual work programmes.

1. Labour and social security

This theme includes statistics that describe the situation in the labour market. They include characteristics of the labour force, wages and labour costs, employment, unemployment, absenteeism, social security benefits, vacancies, jobs, and redundancies. Statistics are also published on jobs in the regions and commuting distances, labour migration (broken down by background characteristics), and the flexibilisation of the labour market. Multi-annual programmes cover topics such as persons receiving benefits, pension and statutory pension (AOW) entitlements, regional labour market projections, the use of the Social Support Act (WMO) in each municipality, detailed figures for the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations’ models for budgetary allocations to municipalities, the impact of reintegration programmes, statistics on trade unions, resumption of work by people who have been receiving unemployment benefit, information about labour, care, and child care.

New needs of users 2024-2028:

• Insight into the effects of digitisation on employment and output.
• Insight into scarcity and tightness in the labour market (including unused labour potential) and the position of self-employed persons in this labour market.
• Transfer data within education and between education and the labour market at regional level.
• Data on how education meets the demands of the labour market.
• Insight into the contribution of new schemes such as NOW and STAP.

2. Enterprises

The key statistics for this theme are the figures for the EU’s harmonised business register, which CBS uses to describe business demographics in the Netherlands. They also include sector-specific figures for revenue development, industrial revenue by product group, corporate revenue and expenditure, stocks, production indices, investments, use of ICT and research & development and innovation by enterprises. Multi-annual programmes concern detailed figures on business demographics and economic developments (more frequent and with a further breakdown by region). Figures for innovation in specific sectors, information about the economic impact of ICT and about the ICT sector. Development of revenue from online sales in the retail sector, purchases by consumers through international websites. Website cyber security, digital resilience of enterprises, internet platforms (Airbnb, Uber, etc.). The publication State of SMEs.

New needs of users 2024-2028:

• More detailed information about industries, for example regarding debt problems and the automation and digitisation of enterprises.
• Information about dependencies of enterprises, the medium-term effects of the coronavirus crisis and in particular the effects of the NOW and STAP schemes.
• Information about start-ups and scale-ups and the development of tech companies.

3. Population

This theme focuses on the current state and development of the population in the Netherlands due to births, deaths, immigration and emigration, trends in households, population ageing, changes of nationality, the formation and dissolution of relationships, urban development, projections for population growth and life expectancy (once every three years) and a population and housing census (once every ten years).

Multi-annual programmes concern Information about changes in the living situation, the Emancipation Monitor, relationships between parents and children, the consequences of flexible working relationships for the family, levels of education, the Migrant Monitor, immigration and integration.

New needs of users 2024-2028:

• More statistics regarding sex and gender and the Personal Records Database classification in relation to people's self-identification.
• Figures on migration and people’s religion and regional attachment.
• Information about specific groups such as people with a migration background and the LGBTI community.
• Demographic data and socioeconomic status and income. More specifically, insight into migration flows from East Slavic former Soviet countries and more detailed information on Indonesia. 
  Insight into polarisation in society, trust in each other and the rule of law and “dropouts”.

4. Construction and housing

The focus of this theme is statistics on the nature and size of the housing stock and changes in them. Information on granted building permits and construction costs, the productive hours per employee in residential and non-residential construction, price indices for existing owner-occupied homes, new-build homes, costs of home ownership, trade in real estate, production of homes, buildings and civil engineering. Details at district and neighbourhood level. Multi-annual programmes concern data about the housing market around gas extraction areas, the capacity of municipalities to raise revenues on the basis of the rateable values of properties (WOZ values), changes in the ownership structure of the housing stock, research into transformations. Additional detailed information on the housing market (the WoON survey), National Vacant Property Monitor (Landelijke monitor leegstand).

New needs of users 2024-2028:

• More extensive data on the housing market, such as developments in supply and demand.
• An extension of Woonbase with more information from land register data.
• Data concerning housing and hybrid working and data concerning the physical living environment.

5. Financial and business services

The core of this theme is formed by information about holding companies (production and group services), the finances of large enterprises and annual statistics on developments in the financial markets and among investment funds. Other statistics concern the development of the revenues of car dealerships and the wholesale, services and transport sectors. Multi-annual programmes are: The State of SMEs, multi-annual analyses of key financial figures and interest paid by care institutions and research into the Financial Relations Act.

6. Health and welfare

This theme encompasses the health of persons, such as perceived health, the use of care (GP care, medicines, inpatient care, mental health care, specialist medical care etc.), lifestyle and causes of death. It also describes the health care sector by means of indicators such as the costs of care, employment in the health care sector and the revenues, costs and personnel of health care institutions and medical practices. Multi-annual programmes relate to subjects such as the use of facilities in the social domain, information for youth policy, the Youth Monitor, long-term care, persons with a disability, social cohesion and welfare, voluntary work, defaulters on health insurance premiums, standardised figures for mortality rates in hospitals, health surveys and social cohesion and welfare.

New needs of users 2024-2028:

• Coronavirus-related data, including data on the impact on public health and the economy, the labour market in health care and welfare, the effects of support policy, the role of delayed care in mortality, the medium-term effects on business activity, the way of working and COVID-19 vaccinations and infections.
• Mental consequences of increased working from home.
• Insight into the accumulation of issues, such as people with multiple problems.
• Insight into care outcomes.
• Data on allocation issues and broader, regional applications in the Monitor of Well-being.
• Sustainability and affordability of health care.
• Insight into how the growing need for health care can be met having regard to current developments in the labour market and the extent to which technology and innovation, such as robotisation of health care, can play a role.
• Data on the impact of technology and digitisation on people's lives.

7. Energy

The Dutch Energy Balance Sheet (extraction, imports, exports, stocks, conversion and consumption of energy per energy carrier), means of production of electricity, details of production and consumption of renewable energy, key figures for energy efficiency in homes, energy prices and turnover and annual financial figures of energy companies. The increasingly intensive EU energy policy and the changing energy system have led to a substantial expansion of the regular programme from the 2022 reporting year. New topics are hydrogen, batteries, faster statistics and more details of energy use in services and transport and from biomass, solar power and electricity production. Multi-annual programmes concern energy balance data for each sector and economic indicators for the Climate and Energy Outlook (KEV), regional data on energy consumption by households and enterprises, key figures on energy efficiency in enterprises, energy consumption by enterprises broken down by tax band and rate, more detailed energy prices and household energy bills. In the VIVET partnership (programme for improving the provision of information for the energy transition), projects are being conducted at the request of municipalities, provincial governments and energy regions to fill gaps in information provision at regional level with regard to the built environment and renewable energy.

New needs of users 2024-2028:

• Energy transition. This includes data on polarisation, the use of different energy sources, the need to accelerate sustainability while maintaining security of supply and the effects of this on business and society. The needs also arise from the objectives of the European Green Deal and the “Fit for 55” package and their translation into Dutch policy plans and objectives that require monitoring.

8. Income and expenditure

This theme covers statistics describing the status and development of the wealth of individuals and households, incomes in relation to living conditions and consumer spending by households, consumer confidence, the tax burden on incomes and economic independence. Multi-annual programmes concern the determination of purchasing power parities, a Poverty Monitor for various municipalities, the number of low-income households (for the purpose of allocating money from provincial and municipal funds), detailed data on poverty, welfare and quality of life, budget research.

New needs of users 2024-2028:

• Insight into income inequality and social inequality.
• Comparing various occupational groups in the public sectors in terms of income and expenditure data.

9. International trade

International trade in goods and services, details of international transport flows by mode of transport, statistics on international value chains, internationalisation and globalisation, socioeconomic effects of globalisation. Multi-annual programmes are the Internationalisation Monitor, with recent developments and analyses of international trade, international interconnectedness and globalisation. This Monitor provides facts and insights to support the public debate on internationalisation. Studies are also conducted on the following themes relating to globalisation and value chains: The Netherlands as a manufacturing or trading country, the relationship between imports and business performance, capital structure, economic interconnectedness and internationalisation and the impact of globalisation on employment.

New needs of users 2024-2028:

• Information on sustainability in relation to trade flows.
• Information about value chains and strategic dependencies due to the increasing importance of geopolitics.
• Financial interconnectedness with foreign countries.

10. Agriculture

This theme covers statistics on estimated crops, livestock herds, animal production, fisheries and aquaculture, organic farming and pesticides. It also includes information on the enterprise population and the agricultural labour force, the area under crops, the number of animals, types of business and economic scale. Multi-annual programmes focus among other things on financial information from farms and on agricultural commodities that contribute to deforestation. These primarily concern the production of timber, soya, palm oil, cacao and coffee. Sustainable production can prevent deforestation.

11. Macroeconomics

The core of this programme comprises national accounts, regional accounts, monthly indicators for the Dutch economy, figures on productivity and calculations of economic growth. Macroeconomic indicators in the national accounts include economic growth, the government deficit and the disposable income of households. The national accounts also provide data on consumption, investments, imports and exports and employment. Economic reports cover manufacturing output, bankruptcies, international trade, consumption, investments, owner-occupied homes, producer and consumer confidence, temporary employment agencies and the hospitality industry and the Business Cycle Tracer. Multi-annual programmes are the Business Survey Netherlands (COEN), which measures the expectations of businesses in order to gauge the business climate. Another publication is the Monitor of Well-being, which contains data on income and matters such as education, health and the environment. The Monitor is used among other things for the Accountability Debate in May.

New needs of users 2024-2028:

• More insight into heterogeneity in macroeconomics and into distinctions in groups, for example to describe wealth inequality.
• Continuing development of indicators for the Monitor of Well-being with greater regionalisation so that the Monitor can also be used for regional issues.
• Greater insight into value chains because of the importance of being able to monitor major transitions in energy, climate, sustainability and the circular economy.

12. Nature and environment

This theme covers information on sustainability and well-being, the costs and financing of environmental policy and environmental costs for enterprises. Statistics are also published on greenhouse gases, the use of pesticides in agriculture and by government authorities, water consumption and water bills, waste and material flows, as well as financial data on all these aspects. Multi-annual programmes on this theme focus on providing more specific information about the broad concept of well-being, the SDGs, quality assurance in the monitoring of nature for the purpose of international agreements, trends in indicators for species and biodiversity, manure statistics and nutrient budgets, emissions into water, the country’s natural capital and municipal waste.

New needs of users 2024-2028:

• Structural monitoring of sustainability and environmental indicators, including citizens’ perception of problems. Examples of required output are the materials monitor, footprint calculations, data on environmental damage and information on the circular economy. This includes information about the plastics chain, consumption relative to second-hand purchases, marketed textiles, waste from offices, shops and the service sector, as well as volumes of hazardous substances, biotic waste streams and information about new substances and products. This concerns not only the information itself, but also cross-links between the environment and other policy areas.
• With regard to the natural capital accounts, users need information on the North Sea.
• Figures in the field of climate adaptation are also required, as is information on water board levies in relation to investments in the duty of care and water quality.

13.  Education

This theme focuses on statistics concerning educational institutions, pupils and students, early school leavers, student careers, vocational education and training, lifelong learning, the financing of education and international comparisons of education.

Multi-annual programmes are the Youth Monitor, Emancipation Monitor, contributions to the education in figures website, links between education and the labour market, educational disadvantages and cohort research.

New needs of users 2024-2028:

• Data on employee skills and their development.
• More insight into transfer data within education and between education and the labour market, particularly at regional level.
• Quality of education, equality of opportunity, digitisation and young people/new entrants as well as research and innovation.

14.  Government and politics

Statistics on this theme relate to the government finances. They cover income and expenditure, tax revenue by tax type, social benefits, social insurance data, expenditure by function, the government’s balance sheet, government debt and deficit (EMU criteria, EDP) for each tier of government. The theme also encompasses details of the budgets of municipalities, provincial governments and water boards. Multi-annual programmes relate to additional funding that local authorities and provincial governments can receive to implement specific central government policies. These are hypothecated payments. The spending of these funds is accounted for in the Single information, Single audit (SiSa) system. CBS provides the logistics for the required information.

New needs of users 2024-2028:

• Consequences of decentralisation of government tasks.
• Developments in the field of investment funds set up by the government.

15. Prices

Figures for the consumer price index and inflation, producer prices in industry, service prices, rent survey, average prices of energy for end-users, fuel prices, price indices for the cost of home ownership, price indices for new and existing owner-occupied homes, production of housing and other buildings, civil engineering and construction. Multi-annual programmes are European price comparisons and the determination of purchasing power parities (ESTAT ECP-PPP), developments in prices of inland shipping services.

New needs of users 2024-2028:

• More insight into the consequences of high energy prices and related inflation for various incomes/population groups, including the inhabitants of the Caribbean Netherlands.

16.  Security and justice

This theme focuses on information about registered crime and personal information relating to prosecution, trial, prison sentences, victim support, debt restructuring and legal aid. The statistics also record personal experiences of victims of crime and public perceptions of safety. This category also includes statistics on asylum and residence.

Multi-annual programmes concern contributions to research and publications on the subjects of security, detainees, juvenile delinquency and sub-regional data and open data relating to police figures and crime. This also includes information about youth protection and juvenile rehabilitation. Long-term research is also being conducted into the residence status and integration of asylum seekers and status holders and data is collected and analysed for the monitoring and evaluation of the new Civic Integration Act.

New needs of users 2024-2028:

• Subversive crime and its effects on society, the illegal economy and undeclared work and the risks associated with the further digitisation of society, such as cybercrime.
• Data concerning economic security, such as cyber security of individuals and enterprises.
• Data on less visible phenomena such as discrimination.

17.  Traffic and transport

Freight and passenger transport by mode, transport operations and traffic intensity, emissions from road traffic, the motor vehicle fleet, revenues of the transport sector, production statistics for transport companies. Multi-annual programmes are the National Travel Survey (ODiN) of mobility in the Netherlands; road length: basic information on goods transport; Vehicle Emission Shipment Data Interface (VESDI); container transport; circular economy; National Mobility Data Access Point (NTM) and inland shipping price movements.

New needs of users 2024-2028:

• Regionalisation of data and new statistics to track the transition to sustainable mobility.
• More and better insight into mobility, commuter flows, goods transport.
• Breakdowns between electric and hybrid vehicles and between new modes of transport in the light electric vehicle (LEV) and light electric freight vehicle (LEFV) categories.

18.  Recreation, culture and religion

Statistics on overnight accommodation, holidays taken by Dutch citizens, short-stay recreational and business trips abroad by Dutch citizens, sports accommodation, sports clubs and fitness centres. Multi-annual programmes are tourism accounts (contribution to GDP, employment, expenditure), recreational facilities, research into recreational activities, dashboard on trends in tourism, recreation and leisure activities, sports accounts, cultural accounts, statistics on cultural activities: museums, libraries and performing arts.

New needs of users 2024-2028:

• Data concerning festivals, the culture and media sector, migration and religion.

19.  Regional and spatial statistics

This theme focuses on information at district and neighbourhood level (CBSinUwBuurt.nl), statistics about proximity to amenities, key data broken down at different regional levels, grid square statistics, postcode statistics, statistics on rural and urban development; the urbanisation issue. Multi-annual programmes relate to spatial data for the standards in the Financial Relations Act, data on changes in land use in the Netherlands, the spatial effects of planning policy (Infrastructure and Spatial Planning Monitor (MIR), National Environmental Vision Document (NOVI) Monitor. Developing and providing access to regional economic indicators.

New needs of users 2024-2028:

• Regional, subregional and cross-border figures, partly as a result of decentralisation, for more targeted monitoring and control in the development and implementation of policy, including at regional level. For example, regional figures on the age profile, people’s attachments, commuting flows, data on investments and types of economic activities and further developments of well-being indicators.
• Number of people and economic value in areas outside dykes or areas behind primary and regional flood defences.

20.  Caribbean Netherlands

CBS publishes statistics on subjects such as population, labour, safety, prices, tourism, health and culture in the Caribbean Netherlands. Unlike the European Netherlands, no specific statistical obligations / regulations apply to the Caribbean Netherlands. The Multi-annual Programme is adopted every four years. Multi-annual programmes include the topics of gross domestic product, income, purchasing power and the income position of households in the Caribbean Netherlands compared to the social minimum benchmark set by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, jobs and wages, a housing price index, a price level measurement, the Caribbean Netherlands Youth Monitor, and from 2022 also a Monitor of Well-being for the Caribbean Netherlands.

New needs of users 2024-2028:

• Regionalised information. In the case of the Caribbean Netherlands, this mainly concerns specific information about price developments and household incomes, for specific policy decisions concerning the minimum subsistence level.
• Kingdom-wide comparative information, for example with regard to prices, but also in the broad social context of the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Data and information concerning housing in the Caribbean Netherlands, for example on the housing stock.
• Support for the Country Packages, including a measure aimed at improving statistics.
• Insight into cross-links between the physical and social living environment.

21. Blaise: Advanced software for questionnaires

The final theme in this work programme concerns not statistics but an important tool for collecting survey information. Blaise is a software platform used to create and conduct questionnaires for official statistical processes with computer-assisted interviewing and methodological requirements. CBS developed Blaise 34 years ago to fulfil its own statutory duties. Blaise is used by national and regional statistical institutes, universities and research organisations around the world and thus contributes to international standardisation. Customers pay a cost-covering licence fee to CBS to use Blaise. New technological possibilities, new user wishes and increased requirements and information security make it necessary to continuously develop and maintain the Blaise software and to support users. Blaise thus contributes to effective and efficient data collection by CBS and more than a hundred statistical institutes around the world.

New needs of users 2024-2028:

• The use of so-called Smart Surveys relying on various data sources and external sensors in order to further reduce the administrative burden for citizens and enterprises and further increase the response rate.
• Further development work for surveys by various means (online, telephone, face to face, etc.).
• Further cloud integration.