Labour productivity of the ICT sector exceeds the average of enterprises two times

By preliminary data, the value added of the ICT sector in 2009 was 7.6 billion kroons, which accounted for 9% of the total value added of the business sector. Labour productivity of the ICT sector exceeded the average labour productivity of the business sector more than two times. It resulted mainly from the enterprises of telecommunications with four times higher labour productivity than the average of business sector.

In 2009, the enterprises of ICT sector sold products, goods and services for 24.9 billion kroons, which accounted for 5% of the total net sales of the business sector. Service enterprises gave the majority of the net sales of ICT sector (19.6 billion kroons). The net sales of the ICT manufacturing enterprises were 5.3 billion kroons. The number of persons employed in the ICT sector was 16,000, accounting for 4% of the total number of persons employed in business enterprises. At the same time the personnel costs of ICT sector accounted for 7% of the personnel costs of business sector.

Statistics Estonia published the overview of the ICT sector for the first time in 2009. The ICT sector comprises manufacturing and service economic activities, the products of which maintain, transmit or display data and information electronically. The economic activities of the ICT sector in manufacturing industries are manufacture of computers and peripheral equipment, manufacture of electronic components and loaded electronic boards, manufacture of communication equipment and consumer electronics, manufacture of magnetic and optical media. The economic activities of the ICT sector in service industries are wholesale of information and communication equipment, software publishing, telecommunications, computer programming activities, consultancy and related activities, data processing, hosting and related activities, web portals, repair of computers and communication equipment. The economic activities and main indicators of the ICT sector are based on the recommendations of the Working Party on Indicators for the Information Society (WPIIS) of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in order to guarantee the international comparability.