Chapter 3.
Occupational Employment Statistics
Concepts
An establishment is an economic unit which
processes goods or provides services, such as a factory,
mine, or store. It is generally at a single physical
location and is engaged primarily in one type of economic
activity. Single physical locations that encompass two or
more distinct economic activities are treated as two or
more establishments, provided that separate payroll
records are available and certain other criteria are met.
Unit total employment is the number of workers
who can be classified as full time or part time, workers
on paid vacations or other types of leave, workers on
unpaid or short-term absences (i.e., illness, bad
weather, temporary layoff, jury duty), salaried officers,
executives, staff members of incorporated firms,
employees temporarily assigned to other units, and
employees for whom this unit is their permanent (home)
duty station regardless of whether this unit prepares
their paycheck. Unit total employment excludes
proprietors (owners and partners) of unincorporated
firms, unpaid family workers, workers on extended leave
(i.e., pensioners and members of the Armed Forces), and
workers on long-term layoff.
Employees are reported in the occupation in which they
are working, even if they have been trained for a
different occupation. For example, an employee trained as
an engineer but working as a drafter is reported as a
drafter.
Working supervisors, those spending 20 percent
or more of their time at work similar to that performed
by workers under their supervision, are reported in the
occupations which are most closely related to their work.
Part-time workers, learners, and apprentices are
reported in the occupation in which they ordinarily work.
Industrial classification
The industrial classification system currently used for
compiling and publishing OES survey data is defined in
the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification Manual. (See appendix B in the print edition of the BLS Handbook of Methods for a detailed
description of this system.)
Under the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
system, reporting establishments are classified on the
basis of major product or activity.
Occupational classification
The OES classification system emphasizes occupations of
special interest to many data users, such as
technology-related occupations and those which require
substantial training. In addition, the system is concise
and compatible with the 1980 Standard Occupational Classification
(SOC) system. The titles and descriptions
of occupations are principally derived from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT).
The classification of occupations, with some exceptions,
follows the SOC principles which group occupations by
function, industry, and skill.
A "crosswalk," which relates OES occupations
to the SOC, the 1990 census classification system, and
the DOT, has been developed so that users can use OES
data in conjunction with these other sources. With
crosswalks, each classification system can be used as a
common denominator.
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Sources and Collection Methods
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