NBS to make data more credible

China will publish its findings on the housing vacancy rate after scrutinizing the findings from pilot programs in some cities, the nation's top statistician said on Wednesday.

Ma Jiantang, head of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), said the government will take steps to improve the accuracy and credibility of its official data.

The draft of the housing price statistics reform will be published in two months, and come into effect from 2011. At the same time the bureau will still use the old method for reference purposes.

Trials are also being conducted for a unified local gross domestic product (GDP) calculation system. The bureau will send its preliminary plan for approval soon.

"After it gets the consent, we will incorporate the necessary changes, get legal approval and then implement it," he said.

The bureau is also planning to come out with monthly data on GDP without including the seasonal factors from next year onwards, as this will better reflect economic growth fluctuations. Ma, however, said a final decision will be made only after further evaluations.

The bureau will start using more and more advanced software in its data collection process. It has already made a beginning in this regard, by using specialized software to calculate seven key indicators. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and some domestic institutes helped the bureau in this initiative, he said.

Other changes on the agenda are specific classification of salary statistics and a new sample pool of the monthly unemployment rate. The new sample pool of monthly unemployment and six-month labor market surveys in the first half of 2011, will utilize data collected from the sixth census.

"We should utilize the census data to collate information on vacant houses," said Ma, adding nearly 10 percent of the census respondents will be asked to answer a questionnaire on residence information.

He said despite the various definitions of "vacant" housing, and the unwillingness of some residents to provide true information, the government will try to collect the relevant statistics in an accurate and professional way.