First experimental statistics based on WIH data

Eurostat has published its first experimental statistics based on data produced by the Web Intelligence Hub (WIH). These statistics focus on labour market demand for ICT specialists and use the online job advertisements (OJAs) data of the WIH as a source. 

By changing many occupations and tasks, digitalisation has an impact on the labour market. Occupations are increasingly engaging digital technologies in their activities. Therefore, there is a growing need for qualified personnel to deal with more technology- and data-intensive working environments. 

Eurostat’s experimental statistics provide detailed and timely information on the need for ICT professionals in the labour market. The statistics capture the size of the demand – measured as the share of OJAs for ICT specialists in the total number of OJAs – and the change in the demand compared to the same period of the previous year. 

The source of data for producing the indicators are web scraped OJAs, collected by the WIH and analysed through natural language processing (NLP). Given that the WIH is continuously improving the process and the coverage of the web portals is not exhaustive (impacting on the quality of the data output and the comparability across time and countries), the indicators have been published under the label of ‘experimental statistics’ on Eurostat’s dedicated webpage. 

The main advantage of OJA as a data source is the additional information on occupation and skills requirements, which it provides shortly after the reference period. For more information on strengths and limitations of the WIH as a data source, see Eurostat’s metadata page on WIH OJA microdata. 

You can find first results of the experimental statistics on labour market demand for ICT specialists in online job advertisements in Eurostat’s public database (tables isoc_sk_oja1, isoc_sk_oja2, isoc_sk_oja3) and in a short article and learn how the data have been compiled from their methodological note . 

All data users are invited to help Eurostat to improve the indicators and share their views on these  experimental statistics by email to: ESTAT-ICT-SURVEYS@ec.europa.eu or ESTAT-WIH@ec.europa.eu.

This article was first published in the WIH Newsletter on 23 April 2024.