This paper demonstrates that the share of apprentices exhibits a relatively strong seasonal pattern. This means that statistics on the share of apprentices such as those presented in official publications differ substantially from the actual yearly mean if they are measured on a date close to the minimum (end of July) or the maximum (around the turn of the year). In addition, the deviation from the yearly mean differs between occupations at certain measurement dates because occupations have different apprenticeship durations. This paper proposes to estimate the yearly average of apprenticeship shares on the basis of daily shares instead of certain measurement dates. It also argues to use daily accurate employment data from the German social security system. © Springer 2009.
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