Chapter 2.
Employment, Hours, and Earnings from the Establishment Survey
Data Sources and
Collection Methods
Sample data
Each month, the State agencies cooperating with BLS, as well as
BLS Data Collection Centers, collect data on employment,
payrolls, and paid hours from a sample of establishments.
Data are collected through various automated collection modes
and by mail. Touch-tone data entry (TDE) serves as the primary
type of electronic reporting, although a large number of reports
are collected via direct electronic file transmission (EDI),
and a small but growing number are received via the Internet
(Web). Additionally, many respondents report via
computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) or
FAX. Table 1
summarizes the distribution of the CES sample by
collection mode.
Table 1. Distribution of the CES sample by
collection mode
Collection method |
Percent of reports |
TDE
|
30 |
CATI
|
22 |
EDI
|
19 |
FAX
|
15 |
Mail
|
13 |
Web
|
1 |
Sample enrollment. Each year, new sample units are enrolled
in the CES survey to account for the births of new firms, to
realign the sample distribution with the universe distribution,
and to rotate a portion of the sample. Approximately 40,000
sample units are enrolled each year. New enrollments generally
report via CATI for a number of months and then may be converted
to one of the automated reporting modes such as TDE,
FAX, or Web.
Data reporting. Each month, the respondents extract the
requested data from their payroll records, which are maintained
for a variety of payroll, tax, and accounting purposes. Data are
collected for the pay period that includes the 12th of each
month. The CES forms shown at the end of this chapter provide
information on CES data concepts and definitions.
All firms with 1,000 employees or more are asked to
participate in the survey, as is a sample of firms across
all employment sizes. In 2003, the CES sample consisted of
about 160,000 businesses and government agencies that represented
approximately 400,000 individual worksites drawn from a sampling
frame of UI tax accounts. The sample rotation plan allows most
firms to report for 4 years and then be rotated out of the
sample for a similar period.
A CES reporting form (BLS form 790 series) is provided to
all CES respondents except those that report via electronic
file. For units that report via CATI, TDE, or Web, the form
provides a convenient means to record their data each month.
For units that report via mail, the form is submitted each
month by the respondent, edited by the State agency, and
returned to the respondent for use again the following month.
The CES report form has been used since 1930, but there have
been substantial changes in its design and in the data
collected over this timespan. Six variations of the basic CES
form currently are used. The variations tailor the data items,
concepts, and definitions for each major industry sector.
Separate forms are used for natural resources and mining,
construction, manufacturing, service-providing industries,
public administration, and educational services.
The design of the CES form is particularly important in
maintaining continuity and consistency in reporting from month
to month. The use of a single form for the entire year allows
the respondent to compare the latest data submitted with the
data submitted in prior months.
All reported data, regardless of method of collection, are
edited by the State agency or the BLS Data Collection Center
each month to ensure that the information is correctly reported
and that it is consistent with the data reported by the
establishment in earlier months. The State agencies and Data
Collection Centers electronically transmit the data to the BLS
central office in Washington, DC, where the data are further
edited to detect processing and reporting errors that might have
been missed in the initial editing. When questionable reports
are discovered at any stage of the editing process, the
collection site responsible for the initial collection of the
data contacts the respondent for clarification or correction.
The staff of the BLS Washington office prepares national
estimates of employment, hours, and earnings using the
edited data. The State agencies also use the data to develop
State and area estimates.
Benchmark data
Since 1940, the basic source of benchmark information
for all employees has been the periodic tabulations compiled
by State Employment Security Agencies from reports filed by
establishments covered under State UI laws. The State agencies
receive quarterly reports from each employer subject to the UI
laws; these reports show total employment in each month of the
quarter and the total quarterly wages for all employees. The
State agencies submit tabulations of these reports to the BLS
Washington office each quarter. (See chapter 5.)
For the few industries exempt from mandatory UI coverage,
other sources are used for benchmark information. For example,
data on employees covered under Social Security laws, published
by the U.S. Census Bureau in County Business Patterns, augments
the UI data for religious organizations, private schools, and
interns and trainees in hospitals. The Surface Transportation
Board, the Federal agency charged with regulating interstate
surface transportation, provides data for interstate
railroads.
The UI data for State and local government employment are
supplemented as necessary with Census Bureau data derived from
the Census of Governments for local elected officials and
certain other groups. A short description of the benchmark
process is given in the section on estimating procedures for
employment, below.
All estimates back to the most recent benchmark month are
subject to revision each year when new benchmarks become
available. National benchmarks are published 11 months after
the benchmark month (March). For example, the revised estimates
based on the March 2003 benchmarks were released in February
2004. The interbenchmark revision period extended from April
2002 through February 2003. Estimates based on the new benchmark
level also were released in February of 2004 for the
postbenchmark periodApril 2003 through January 2004. Subsequent
estimates also are based on the 2003 benchmark levels until
release of the 2004 benchmark.
To determine the appropriate revisions, the new benchmarks
for March are compared with the estimates previously made for
that month. The differences represent: 1) Estimating errors
that accumulated since the previous benchmark revision and 2)
corrections to establishments industry classification. These
differences are assumed to have accumulated at a regular rate.
The all-employee estimates are wedged, or tapered, in order to
smooth out the differences between the new and old benchmarks.
Estimates for the 6 months subsequent to the benchmark month
are revised by applying the previously computed sample movement
and new factors reflecting firm births and deaths to the new
benchmark level. (See the section on estimating procedures for
a discussion of the treatment of firm births and deaths in the
CES program.) Estimates for women workers and production workers
are recomputed using the revised all-employee estimates and the
previously computed sample ratios of these workers to all
employees. Estimates for the months after the benchmark
include the sample updates and new birth/death factors, as
well as the effects of linking from a new benchmark level.
Next: Sample Design
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