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BLS area wage surveys
will cover more areas
The Bureau of Labor Statistics will restructure the probability sample of labor markets for its area wage survey program to reflect changes in the number and geographic boundaries of the Nation's metropolitan statistical areas. The new area sample will be phased in over a 4-year period beginning in January 1987, and will contain 90 areas when fully implemented. The 32 largest areas in terms of nonfarm employment will be surveyed annually, and two groups of 29 areas will be surveyed in alternate years.
Currently, 70 areas are surveyed annually. Of these areas, 56 will remain in the program; geographic boundaries, however, will change for 34 of them.
This article gives a brief description of the Bureau's area wage survey program and the changes to be made in the probability sample of areas surveyed. The article covers area wage survey program objectives and program evolution from initial 1947-48 studies of pay for office clerical occupations in 11 large cities. It also describes the metropolitan area concept used in the program, reasons for changes in the area sample, the method for selecting the new sample, and the differences between the old and new area samples.
This excerpt is from an article published in the June 1986 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. The full text of the article is available in Adobe Acrobat's Portable Document Format (PDF). See How to view a PDF file for more information.
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