Community urged to complete ESO surveys

(CNS): As the deadline approaches for the completion of the 2013 round of annual surveys measuring economic activity in the Cayman Islands officials are urging businesses to complete the outstanding forms before Friday 10 May. The Economics and Statistics Office (ESO) staff distributed some 3,400 forms locally to businesses, non-profit institutions and government organisations in the last week of March and first week of April as part of the System of National Accounts (SNA) survey. The survey is the main basis for estimating the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), along with the economic contribution of all sectors to GDP.

Over 1,200 Balance of Payments (BOP) forms were also distributed. BOP measures receipts from and payments to overseas entities.

”We are kindly requesting all entities with outstanding forms to please complete these and return them to ESO by May 10th, 2013,” said the ESO Director Maria Zingapan. “These returns are crucial in ensuring that we have a complete picture of the status of the Cayman Islands’ economy. In 2011, it was estimated from that year’s survey that GDP grew 0.9% after declining for three consecutive years.” 

The surveys are confidential as mandated in the Statistics Law (2011 Revision) and are exempt from the Freedom of Information (FOI) Law. Both surveys were designed in accordance with standards issued by international bodies such as the United Nations Statistical Commission and the International Monetary Fund.

The results from all returns will be published in aggregate form only and information provided by individual entities will remain undisclosed.