The Northern Ireland Annual Business Inquiry (Experimental) (NIABI)
From the 1st April 2011, the responsibility for the collection of data and production of official labour market and economic statistics transferred from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (DFP). This transfer mirrored the position in Great Britain where most business surveys and labour market data collection and statistical production have been transferred from the departments with policy responsibilities to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). However, it is important to note that there are no planned changes to the production of economic and labour market statistical publications and outputs as a result of the transfer.
The 2010 Northern Ireland Annual Business Inquiry (NIABI) collects both financial and employment information from businesses and other establishments and covers about two thirds of the economy. This includes the Production, Construction, Distribution and Service industries in Northern Ireland but excludes public sector activity for the most part.
Please note that the information presented throughout the December 2011 bulletin is based on reporting unit (head office) information, and is therefore not directly comparable with the April 2011 NIABI bulletin which reported on local unit (individual site) activity.
A number of methodological improvements were initially introduced in the production of Annual Business Inquiry results for 2008 and 2009. In order to take due account of user feedback in terms of ongoing development these statistics have therefore been described as "experimental", although they are considered to meet National Statistics standards. Also, DFP has moved to producing results using Statistics Canada’s Generalized Estimation System. This has allowed DFP to continue to produce estimates, with an associated measure of their quality (The notes in Section 4 of the Statistical Bulletin provide further information.)
Headline data from the most recent survey:
Turnover and Gross Value Added
Turnover Turnover is defined as the value of total sales and work done. by businesses in Northern Ireland was estimated to be worth £60,461 million in 2010 (excluding VAT); an increase of 2.8% compared to 2009. After expenditure on goods and services was accounted for, this represented a total figure of £18,664 million in terms of approximate Gross Value Added (GVA). GVA, which is a measure of the value of economic activity generated by businesses, increased by 3.8% (£675 million) over the year.
Production Industries (Section B - E)
Turnover in the Production Industries increased by 5.0%, while GVA increased by 2.6%. Manufacturing is the dominant industry (based on turnover) within Production, and experienced a similar increase in turnover (4.9%), but a higher increase in GVA (5.4%).
Construction Industries (Section F)
In the construction industries, turnover increased by 2.9%. Purchases decreased by 3.2% over the year, contributing to a GVA increase of 8.0%.
Distribution Industries (Section G)
The Distribution Industries showed an increase in turnover of 3.4%, while GVA increased by 8.1%.
Other Service Industries (Sections H – S excl O)
Other Service Industries experienced a slight reduction in turnover and purchases (-1.1% and -0.8% respectively), but a marginal increase in GVA (0.3%).
Transport and Storage, the largest industry (based on turnover) within the Other Service industries, also experienced reductions in turnover (-3.6%) and purchases (-18.4%). However, as shown by the coefficients of variation in Table 1, Section 3, many of the financial estimates for this, and other industries within Services were subject to relatively high levels of volatility.
"The Annual Business Inquiry was reviewed by ONS in 2004 and the review document is available at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_commerce/ABI_Quinn_rev3.pdf. This covers the period 1998-2001 when NI data was processed as part of the ONS system. Since 2002, NI ABI data has been processed independently of ONS by DETI".
The NIABI Quinquennial review is under way and this includes a voluntary survey of users. This should provide information on any unmet user needs. The results will be published in Spring 2012.
[ 21-12-2011 ] Background to the Northern Ireland Annual Business Inquiry
[ 21-12-2011 ] Sample Coverage
The Northern Ireland Annual Business Inquiry (NIABI)
Historical results on a SIC 2003 basis
| Table name | Description | File Size |
|---|---|---|
| Table 1 | NIABI Results by Section 2000-2007 | 35KB |
| Table 2 | NIABI Results by Manufacturing Sub-Section | 30KB |
Adobe Acrobat Northern Ireland Annual Business Inquiry on a Reporting Unit basis 2010 (pdf 120.0kb)
| Table Name | Description | File Size |
|---|---|---|
| Table 3 | Northern Ireland Annual Business Inquiry 2009 and 2010 reporting unit results - Estimates and Quality Estimate information | 30kb |
Results on a SIC 2007 Local Unit basis (Published April 2011)
Northern Ireland Annual Business Inquiry sub-regional results (Local Unit based)
| Table name | Description | File Size |
|---|---|---|
| Table 4 | NIABI Results by DCA and NUTS3 2009 | 53KB |
Statistical Press Release
The latest statistical press release is available below:
Adobe Acrobat NI Annual Business Inquiry 2010 Press Release (79kb)
Northern Ireland Annual Business Inquiry - Quality and Revisions
| Table | Description | File Size |
|---|---|---|
| 21 December 2011 | NIABI Quality Report | 24kb |
| 21 December 2011 | NIABI Revisions Policy | 13kb |
Archive data for Annual Business Inquiry (ABI) can be accessed by clicking on the link below.
