Entrepreneurship Indicators Database

Detailed information for 2011

The objective of the Entrepreneurship Indicators Database is to provide comprehensive business demography statistics and performance indicators for enterprises in Canada.

Data release - October 21, 2014

• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

The Entrepreneurship Indicators Database is based on existing administrative data sources.

The entrepreneurship data provides government researchers and academics, who have a strategic interest in promoting growth of businesses, with integrated data to facilitate analysis and provide information that can be used to encourage and promote businesses.

Subjects

• Business performance and ownership
• Entry, exit, mergers and growth

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The Entrepreneurship Indicators Database contains a complete, up-to-date and unduplicated list of all businesses in Canada based on Statistics Canada's Business Register.

Instrument design

This product uses existing administrative data. No new survey collection is involved.

Sampling

Data are collected for all units of the target population, therefore, no sampling is done.

Data sources

Data are extracted from administrative files and derived from other Statistics Canada surveys and/or other sources.

The Entrepreneurship Indicators Database is based on several sources:

- The Statistics Canada Business Register
- Administrative Data: incorporated (T2), unincorporated (T1) tax declaration and payroll deduction accounts (PD7) from Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

Error detection

Error detection occurs at two levels. Micro data error detection and edits of fields are performed during the construction of the input files. Validation is carried out to ensure that data values for each field are present in every year and that they are consistent over time. During the creation of the Entrepreneurship Indicators Database, longitudinal consistency comparisons are also made at the macro level. In particular, employment, revenue, and NAICS information is edited to ensure consistency at an aggregate level over time.

Imputation

This methodology does not apply.

Estimation

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Quality evaluation

Quality measures include various methods, for instance:

An historical trend analysis was done by comparing data from the current Entrepreneurship Indicators Database to the previous SME Warehouse versions in order to verify the historical coherence of data.

The Entrepreneurship Indicator data were confronted with data from the Business Register for coherence.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any data that would divulge information obtained under the Statistics Act that relates to any identifiable person, business or organization without the prior knowledge or the consent in writing of that person, business or organization. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

No Entrepreneurship Indicators Database micro data are accessible by the public. All counts are aggregated and, if necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Data available in the Entrepreneurship Indicators Database are subject to revision if the source data and/or methodologies used are revised.

Data accuracy

Coverage Error - The number of enterprises is derived from the Statistics Canada Business Register. It includes all enterprises having a valid business number for the reference year in question.

Employment and revenue data used to produce the Entrepreneurship Indicators Database are based on information provided by the CRA. Therefore, the quality of the data is ultimately dependent upon the quality of the information submitted by Canadian businesses to CRA. Revenue and employment variables used to produce the Entrepreneurship Indicators Database come from the Business Register and the CRA administrative data files.

Total employment reported in this data product should not be confused with Statistics Canada's estimates of employment produced by the Labour Force Survey.

Data Accuracy: The Centre for Special Business Projects has taken the following measures to ensure and improve data accuracy:

1) Duplicate BNs were eliminated, and
2) Businesses having inconsistent NAICS code over time were corrected using historical information and other administrative information.