Nicaragua

Title of the survey

Encuesta Mensual de Salario (Sistema Estadístico de Salario) Monthly Wage Survey (System of wages statistics)

Organization responsible

Ministerio del Trabajo, Dirección de Productividad y Salario.

Periodicity of the survey

Monthly

Objectives of the survey

To determine the average monthly earnings of employees in nominal and real terms. The results of the survey form reference indicators, which are taken into account in decisions on the socio-economic policy of the country.

Main labour topics covered by the survey

Earnings.

Reference period

The month.

Coverage of the survey

Geographical

Six regions of the country. The North Atlantic and South areas are excluded.

Industrial

All branches of economic activity, excluding the armed forces and domestic services. In the case of agriculture, five heading are covered, with the largest number of employees.

Establishments

Enterprises in the formal sector which employ more than 20 workers.

Persons

All employees. Working proprietors, home workers and casual workers, persons subcontracted from other enterprises and unpaid family workers are excluded.

Occupations

Information is not collected by occupational but by occupational category (see under Employment).

Concepts and definitions

Employment

Employees are all permanent workers who work for an employer, public or private, and receive a wage, a salary, commission, payment for piece work or payment in kind. They include the following occupational categories, identified separately:

manual workers: workers who possess the skills and proficiency, with or without academic qualifications, to carry out work related directly or indirectly to the production of material goods or services by the use of techniques, instruments or machines and to maintain and repair them. In general terms, the skills can be acquired either by prior training or by experience at work (e.g. textile operative, packer, production assistant, construction worker, etc.);
service workers: workers whose functions include the supply of a service directed towards the satisfaction of certain personal or social needs, such as janitors, messengers, caretakers, gardeners etc.;
administrative workers: those who assist or support the administration in its work of management (e.g. archivist, office workers, filing clerk, secretary etc.);
technical and professional workers: persons who apply their knowledge of scientific and technical methods to the area of production (agricultural or industrial) or to the economic, social, legal, educational or health sectors, or who carry out activities that involve explaining, executing and investigating the general laws required by the various processes of an economic and social activity;
managerial workers: persons who specialize in planning, organizing, coordinating or directing, on their own responsibility and within the authority conferred on them, the activities of an organization, enterprise or institution, whether state, private or mixed. This occupational category is subdivided as follows:
- office head,
- department head,
- deputy manager,
- manager,
- general manager,
- other directors.

Earnings

The remuneration which employees receive for their work, whether in cash or in kind, regardless of whether payment is monthly, weekly or at another interval. Data are collected on the following components, for each of the occupational categories:

wage fund: the total of the basic wages and salaries paid to permanent, active workers who worked in the reference month. It includes only amounts paid for the normal day or normal hours of work; it does, however, include payment for absences, public holidays and other paid leave, and all kinds of regular supplements and allowances (for shift work, night work, bonuses paid regularly, etc.),
incentive pay: the total of incentive payments to permanent workers,
basic cost of living subsidy: the net amount paid by the enterprise by way of subsidy towards the basic consumer products which the enterprise grants to the workers,
social benefits of:
- food,
- medical expenses,
- transport,
- other social benefits.

The statistics of earnings refer only to sums received for the normal day or normal hours of work. They include basic wage and salary rates and the value of the subsidy for basic products. They exclude payments for overtime, payment for vacations or annual leave, and irregular supplements and allowances. Data are also collected on the minimum wage defined for the occupation requiring the lowest qualifications in each enterprise in the first two occupational categories (manual workers and service workers).

Wage/salary rates

Not relevant.

Hours of work

These refer to normal hours of work in accordance with laws or regulations. Statistics on hours of work are not compiled.

International recommendations

The concept of earnings used in this survey covers all components of earnings. However, for the purpose of wages statistics, only payments which are received for the normal day or normal hours of work are included.

Classifications

Industrial

The International Standard Industrial Classification of all economic activities (ISIC), Rev. 2, 1968 is used.

Occupational

Not relevant.

Others

By sector (enterprise and management) and occupational category.

Sample size and design

Statistical unit

The sample unit is the establishment.

Survey universe / sample frame

The sample was selected on the basis of the social security register. The sample frame is made up of all workers who are members of the social security in enterprises and institutions with 20 or more workers.

Sample design

The survey is based on a random sample, stratified by region and branch of economic activity. It covers 242 enterprises and organizations selected from six regions and nine branches of economic activity. It covers 57 per cent of all workers in the formal sector. The original size of the sample has not been altered since 1989. It has, however, been updated by the replacement of enterprises which have closed down for good.

Field work

Data collection

This is carried out by means of questionnaires sent to the enterprises and by personal interviews.

Survey questionnaire

This consists of a simple form which collects information by occupational category, as follows:

the number of workers, by category,
the minimum wage laid down for manual workers and service workers and the number of workers in the occupations requiring the lowest qualifications,
the total of each of the components of wages and social benefits.

It is accompanied by general guidelines which lay down the way in which the questionnaire is to be filled in and the definition of the occupational categories.

Substitution of sampling units

In the case of non-response, the sampling units are replaced by enterprises in the same branch of activity and of similar size with regard to the volume of output and number of workers.

Data processing and editing

The data are checked and verified by hand and are then processed by computer. If inconsistencies are detected in the information, this is followed up by a visit by the interviewer and by telephone.

Types of estimates

Totals and averages of earnings per month and by branch of economic activity.

Construction of indices

Monthly index numbers of earnings are constructed, by branch of economic activity.

Weighting of sample results

Not relevant. The data reflect the situation in the establishments selected and are given as averages valid throughout the country.

Adjustments

Non-response

No adjustments are made.

Other bias

No adjustments are made.

Use of benchmark data

Not relevant.

Seasonal variations

In the agricultural sector corrections are made for cultivation work (e.g. of export crops such as coffee and sugar-cane in which wages are regulated in relation to the phases of the agricultural cycle) and harvesting work (which is paid more highly than cultivation work).

Indicators of reliability of the estimates

Coverage of the sampling frame

Establishments and institutions with 20 or more workers, which constitute the survey univers, are those which show the most stability in the market.

Sampling error / sampling variance

The estimated standard error is approximately four per cent.

Non-response rate

Not calculated.

Non-sampling errors

Not considered.

Conformity with other sources

Not relevant.

Available series

Average national wages, by sector (enterprise and management) and branch of economic activity.

History of the survey

The System of wages statistics has been carried out since 1989.

Documentation

Data on average earnings are published monthly, about 45 days after the reference period of the survey (the title of the publication is not available). The results of the survey can also be provided on diskette, and data on wages by occupational category can be obtained on request.

Confidentiality / Reliability criteria

The data and reports submitted by private persons for statistical purposes are strictly confidential and may not be divulged under any circumstances under the name of the individual.

Other information

Data supplied to the ILO for publication

Data on average earnings of employees, per normal hour of work and per month, in non-agricultural activities and in specific industries, are published in the Yearbook of Labour Statistics, in Tables 16 to 20.