The Production and Sales survey seeks to obtain monthly information on the industrial sector regarding the level of production and the value of sales.

The Barbados National Accounts Survey is a questionnaire that captures Annual Financial Statements from a sample of businesses. The survey assists in the compilation of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for some industries in our economy.

The Export/Import Price Index (XMPI) Survey is designed to capture the change in prices of goods and services traded internationally with Barbados. The XMPI can be a useful tool in tracking trade flows in real terms by breaking down changes in the value of traded goods.

The Continuous Labour Force Sample Survey (CLFSS) as undertaken by the BSS (by law, under the provisions of the Statistics Act CAP 192) collects on a continuous, quarterly basis current socio-economic data from persons in randomly selected households across Barbados. It obtains data on the adult population, 15 years and over, who may be in the Labour Force (employed and unemployed) or classified as Inactive (i.e. not in the Labour Force). It covers the civilian non-institutional population of the island.

Reasons for conducting the Survey:

• • To determine the National Employment, Unemployment and Underemployment levels and rates in the country.
  • To look at the distribution of skills / professions in the different sectors of the economy and inequalities in the distribution of wealth, income and living conditions of households throughout the country.
  • To supply statistical information to users for social and economic planning and for the determination of related needs and targets.

The most common users are: government ministries and departments, political parties unions, economic planners, researchers, international donor countries or bodies (e.g. UN, IDB, CDB, UK, USA), interested individuals, etc.

Damage Assessment is the tool used to determine the magnitude and impact of damage caused by a disaster. The process is through the collection and analysis of information to determine needs of victims and to create strategies to restore affected areas.

The Price Collection Survey is the instrument used to compile the Retail Price Index (RPI). The RPI is an indicator that shows the prices of a basket of goods which in turn shows how much the cost of living changes from one month to the next.

The Household Budget Survey (HBS), an ad hoc survey, is being planned to be conducted during the course of 2021. Field investigators from the Statistical Service will commence interviews of a sample of households in selected Enumeration Districts.

The HBS is a comprehensive survey of a representative sample of private households in Barbados, gathering data on income and consumption expenditure. In the past, it has been undertaken at 10-year intervals - since 1988. It is an expensive exercise, requiring great resources. This factor has limited it from being conducted more frequently. The strength of the survey is that it allows data users to relate the expenditures and income of consumers to the characteristics of those same consumers.

1. To obtain the basic information required for a revision of the Retail Price Index (RPI) with respect to:
   • Determining the list of items to be included in a new basket of consumer goods and services.
   • Revising the ‘weights’ (relative proportion to the total budget) of all the items in the basket. These weights are required for the computation of the index.
   • Reviewing the outlets to be canvassed for the collection of price quotations on the items to be included in the Index.
2. To provide an independent source of information to estimate and improve the figures on private final consumption expenditure, as required for a more comprehensive estimation of Gross Domestic Product and other National Accounting aggregates.
3. To gather information to facilitate the estimation of income distribution in the island.