Technical Note
These data are the product of a federal-state cooperative program,
the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, also
known as the ES-202 program. The data are derived from summaries of
employment and total pay of workers covered by state and federal unem-
ployment insurance (UI) legislation and provided by State Workforce
Agencies (SWAs). The summaries are a result of the administration of
state unemployment insurance programs that require most employers to
pay quarterly taxes based on the employment and wages of workers cov-
ered by UI. QCEW data in this release are based on the 2007 North
American Industry Classification System. Data for 2009 are preliminary
and subject to revision.
For purposes of this release, large counties are defined as having
employment levels of 75,000 or greater. In addition, data for San
Juan, Puerto Rico, are provided, but not used in calculating U.S. av-
erages, rankings, or in the analysis in the text. Each year, these
large counties are selected on the basis of the preliminary annual av-
erage of employment for the previous year. The 335 counties presented
in this release were derived using 2008 preliminary annual averages of
employment. For 2009 data, two counties have been added to the publi-
cation tables: Johnson, Iowa, and Gregg, Texas. These counties will be
included in all 2009 quarterly releases. Two counties, Boone, Ky., and
St. Tammany, La., which were published in the 2008 releases, will be
excluded from this and future 2009 releases because their 2008 annual
average employment levels were less than 75,000. The counties in table
2 are selected and sorted each year based on the annual average em-
ployment from the preceding year.
The preliminary QCEW data presented in this release may differ from
data released by the individual states. These potential differences
result from the states' continuing receipt of UI data over time and
ongoing review and editing. The individual states determine their data
release timetables.
Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment measures
The Bureau publishes three different establishment-based employment
measures for any given quarter. Each of these measures--QCEW, Business
Employment Dynamics (BED), and Current Employment Statistics (CES)--
makes use of the quarterly UI employment reports in producing data;
however, each measure has a somewhat different universe coverage, es-
timation procedure, and publication product.
Differences in coverage and estimation methods can result in somewhat
different measures of employment change over time. It is important to
understand program differences and the intended uses of the program
products. (See table.) Additional information on each program can be
obtained from the program Web sites shown in the table.
Summary of Major Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES Employment Measures
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| QCEW | BED | CES
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Source |--Count of UI admini-|--Count of longitudi- |--Sample survey:
| strative records | nally-linked UI ad- | 400,000 establish-
| submitted by 9.1 | ministrative records| ments
| million establish- | submitted by 7.0 |
| ments in first | million private-sec-|
| quarter 2009 | tor employers |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Coverage |--UI and UCFE cover- |--UI coverage, exclud-|Nonfarm wage and sal-
| age, including all | ing government, pri-| ary jobs:
| employers subject | vate households, and|--UI coverage, exclud-
| to state and fed- | establishments with | ing agriculture, pri-
| eral UI laws | zero employment | vate households, and
| | | self-employed workers
| | |--Other employment, in-
| | | cluding railroads,
| | | religious organiza-
| | | tions, and other non-
| | | UI-covered jobs
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Publication|--Quarterly |--Quarterly |--Monthly
frequency | -7 months after the| -8 months after the | -Usually first Friday
| end of each quar- | end of each quarter| of following month
| ter | |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Use of UI |--Directly summarizes|--Links each new UI |--Uses UI file as a sam-
file | and publishes each | quarter to longitu- | pling frame and annu-
| new quarter of UI | dinal database and | ally realigns (bench-
| data | directly summarizes | marks) sample esti-
| | gross job gains and | mates to first quar-
| | losses | ter UI levels
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Principal |--Provides a quarter-|--Provides quarterly |--Provides current month-
products | ly and annual uni- | employer dynamics | ly estimates of employ-
| verse count of es- | data on establish- | ment, hours, and earn-
| tablishments, em- | ment openings, clos-| ings at the MSA, state,
| ployment, and wages| ings, expansions, | and national level by
| at the county, MSA,| and contractions at | industry
| state, and national| the national level |
| levels by detailed | by NAICS supersec- |
| industry | tors and by size of |
| | firm, and at the |
| | state private-sector|
| | total level |
| |--Future expansions |
| | will include data |
| | with greater indus- |
| | try detail and data |
| | at the county and |
| | MSA level |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Principal |--Major uses include:|--Major uses include: |--Major uses include:
uses | -Detailed locality | -Business cycle | -Principal national
| data | analysis | economic indicator
| -Periodic universe | -Analysis of employ-| -Official time series
| counts for bench- | er dynamics under- | for employment change
| marking sample | lying economic ex- | measures
| survey estimates | pansions and con- | -Input into other ma-
| -Sample frame for | tractions | jor economic indi-
| BLS establishment | -Analysis of employ-| cators
| surveys | ment expansion and |
| | contraction by size|
| | of firm |
| | |
-----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
Program |--www.bls.gov/cew/ |--www.bls.gov/bdm/ |--www.bls.gov/ces/
Web sites | | |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coverage
Employment and wage data for workers covered by state UI laws are
compiled from quarterly contribution reports submitted to the SWAs by
employers. For federal civilian workers covered by the Unemployment
Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) program, employment and wage
data are compiled from quarterly reports submitted by four major fed-
eral payroll processing centers on behalf of all federal agencies,
with the exception of a few agencies which still report directly to
the individual SWA. In addition to the quarterly contribution reports,
employers who operate multiple establishments within a state complete
a questionnaire, called the "Multiple Worksite Report," which provides
detailed information on the location and industry of each of their es-
tablishments. QCEW employment and wage data are derived from microdata
summaries of 9.1 million employer reports of employment and wages sub-
mitted by states to the BLS in 2008. These reports are based on place
of employment rather than place of residence.
UI and UCFE coverage is broad and has been basically comparable from
state to state since 1978, when the 1976 amendments to the Federal Un-
employment Tax Act became effective, expanding coverage to include
most State and local government employees. In 2008, UI and UCFE pro-
grams covered workers in 134.8 million jobs. The estimated 129.4 mil-
lion workers in these jobs (after adjustment for multiple jobholders)
represented 95.5 percent of civilian wage and salary employment. Cov-
ered workers received $6.142 trillion in pay, representing 93.8 per-
cent of the wage and salary component of personal income and 42.5 per-
cent of the gross domestic product.
Major exclusions from UI coverage include self-employed workers, most
agricultural workers on small farms, all members of the Armed Forces,
elected officials in most states, most employees of railroads, some
domestic workers, most student workers at schools, and employees of
certain small nonprofit organizations.
State and federal UI laws change periodically. These changes may have
an impact on the employment and wages reported by employers covered
under the UI program. Coverage changes may affect the over-the-year
comparisons presented in this news release.
Concepts and methodology
Monthly employment is based on the number of workers who worked dur-
ing or received pay for the pay period including the 12th of the
month. With few exceptions, all employees of covered firms are re-
ported, including production and sales workers, corporation officials,
executives, supervisory personnel, and clerical workers. Workers on
paid vacations and part-time workers also are included.
Average weekly wage values are calculated by dividing quarterly total
wages by the average of the three monthly employment levels (all em-
ployees, as described above) and dividing the result by 13, for the 13
weeks in the quarter. These calculations are made using unrounded em-
ployment and wage values. The average wage values that can be calcu-
lated using rounded data from the BLS database may differ from the av-
erages reported. Included in the quarterly wage data are non-wage cash
payments such as bonuses, the cash value of meals and lodging when
supplied, tips and other gratuities, and, in some states, employer
contributions to certain deferred compensation plans such as 401(k)
plans and stock options. Over-the-year comparisons of average weekly
wages may reflect fluctuations in average monthly employment and/or
total quarterly wages between the current quarter and prior year le-
vels.
Average weekly wages are affected by the ratio of full-time to part-
time workers as well as the number of individuals in high-paying and
low-paying occupations and the incidence of pay periods within a quar-
ter. For instance, the average weekly wage of the work force could in-
crease significantly when there is a large decline in the number of
employees that had been receiving below-average wages. Wages may in-
clude payments to workers not present in the employment counts because
they did not work during the pay period including the 12th of the
month. When comparing average weekly wage levels between industries,
states, or quarters, these factors should be taken into consideration.
Federal government pay levels are subject to periodic, sometimes
large, fluctuations due to a calendar effect that consists of some
quarters having more pay periods than others. Most federal employees
are paid on a biweekly pay schedule. As a result of this schedule, in
some quarters, federal wages contain payments for six pay periods,
while in other quarters their wages include payments for seven pay pe-
riods. Over-the-year comparisons of average weekly wages may reflect
this calendar effect. Higher growth in average weekly wages may be at-
tributed, in part, to a comparison of quarterly wages for the current
year, which include seven pay periods, with year-ago wages that re-
flect only six pay periods. An opposite effect will occur when wages
in the current period, which contain six pay periods, are compared
with year-ago wages that include seven pay periods. The effect on
over-the-year pay comparisons can be pronounced in federal government
due to the uniform nature of federal payroll processing. This pattern
may exist in private sector pay; however, because there are more pay
period types (weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, monthly) it is less pro-
nounced. The effect is most visible in counties with large concentra-
tions of federal employment.
In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, states veri-
fy with employers and update, if necessary, the industry, location,
and ownership classification of all establishments on a 4-year cycle.
Changes in establishment classification codes resulting from this
process are introduced with the data reported for the first quarter of
the year. Changes resulting from improved employer reporting also are
introduced in the first quarter.
QCEW data are not designed as a time series. QCEW data are simply the
sums of individual establishment records and reflect the number of es-
tablishments that exist in a county or industry at a point in time.
Establishments can move in or out of a county or industry for a number
of reasons--some reflecting economic events, others reflecting adminis-
trative changes. For example, economic change would come from a firm
relocating into the county; administrative change would come from a
company correcting its county designation.
The over-the-year changes of employment and wages presented in this
release have been adjusted to account for most of the administrative
corrections made to the underlying establishment reports. This is done
by modifying the prior-year levels used to calculate the over-the-year
changes. Percent changes are calculated using an adjusted version of
the final 2008 quarterly data as the base data. The adjusted prior-
year levels used to calculate the over-the-year percent change in em-
ployment and wages are not published. These adjusted prior-year levels
do not match the unadjusted data maintained on the BLS Web site. Over-
the-year change calculations based on data from the Web site, or from
data published in prior BLS news releases, may differ substantially
from the over-the-year changes presented in this news release.
The adjusted data used to calculate the over-the-year change measures
presented in this release account for most of the administrative
changes--those occurring when employers update the industry, location,
and ownership information of their establishments. The most common ad-
justments for administrative change are the result of updated informa-
tion about the county location of individual establishments. Included
in these adjustments are administrative changes involving the classi-
fication of establishments that were previously reported in the un-
known or statewide county or unknown industry categories. Beginning
with the first quarter of 2008, adjusted data account for administra-
tive changes caused by multi-unit employers who start reporting for
each individual establishment rather than as a single entity.
The adjusted data used to calculate the over-the-year change measures
presented in any County Employment and Wages news release are valid
for comparisons between the starting and ending points (a 12-month pe-
riod) used in that particular release. Comparisons may not be valid
for any time period other than the one featured in a release even if
the changes were calculated using adjusted data.
County definitions are assigned according to Federal Information
Processing Standards Publications (FIPS PUBS) as issued by the Nation-
al Institute of Standards and Technology, after approval by the Secre-
tary of Commerce pursuant to Section 5131 of the Information Technolo-
gy Management Reform Act of 1996 and the Computer Security Act of
1987, Public Law 104-106. Areas shown as counties include those desig-
nated as independent cities in some jurisdictions and, in Alaska,
those designated as census areas where counties have not been created.
County data also are presented for the New England states for compara-
tive purposes even though townships are the more common designation
used in New England (and New Jersey). The regions referred to in this
release are defined as census regions.
Additional statistics and other information
An annual bulletin, Employment and Wages, features comprehensive in-
formation by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wag-
es for the nation and all states. The 2007 edition of this bulletin
contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED)
on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quar-
ter 2008 version of this news release. Tables and additional content
from the 2007 Employment and Wages Annual Bulletin are now available
online at http://www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn07.htm. These tables present
final 2007 annual averages. The tables are included on the
CD which accompanies the hardcopy version of the Annual Bulletin. Em-
ployment and Wages Annual Averages, 2007 is available for sale as a
chartbook from the United States Government Printing Office, Superin-
tendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250, telephone
(866) 512-1800, outside Washington, D.C. Within Washington, D.C., the
telephone number is (202) 512-1800. The fax number is (202) 512-2104.
News releases on quarterly measures of gross job flows also are
available upon request from the Division of Administrative Statistics
and Labor Turnover (Business Employment Dynamics), telephone (202)
691-6467; (http://www.bls.gov/bdm/); (e-mail: BDMInfo@bls.gov).
Information in this release will be made available to sensory im-
paired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; TDD mes-
sage referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.
