As described in Chapter Two, the Census Bureau first collected data on state and local government employment and payrolls in 1940. The Department of Labor now conducts monthly surveys of public employment; the Bureau continues to compile detailed statistics on an annual basis.

The employment survey shares many of the same concepts as the finance survey: the individual government as its focus; the broad definition of a government to include dependent agencies; and the functional categories. Thus, many of the sections elsewhere in this manual apply equally to employment data.

Employment refers to all persons gainfully employed by and performing services for a government. Employees include all persons paid for personal services performed from all sources of funds, including persons paid from Federally-funded programs, paid elected officials, persons in a paid leave status, and persons paid on a per meeting, annual, semiannual, or quarterly basis.

Excluded from employment statistics are employees on unpaid leave, unpaid officials, pensioners, persons whose work is performed on a fee basis, and contractors and their employees.

The classification of an employee as full- or part-time is determined by the standard used by the reporting government itself; that is:

Payroll amounts are gross payrolls for the pay period that includes March 12. Gross payrolls includes all salaries, wages, fees, overtime, premium and night differentials, commissions, bonuses, or awards paid to employees before withholdings for taxes,insurance, etc. It excludes employer share of fringe benefits like retirement, Social Security, health and life insurance, and the value of living quarters and subsistence allowances furnished to employees.

Data collected for the one pay period that includes March 12 are converted to monthly figures using the following conversion factors:

From the employment data collected from state and local governments, the Census Bureau computes certain derived statistics, as follows:

Full-time equivalent employment is a derived statistic that provides an estimate of a government's total full-time employment by converting part-time employees to a full-time amount. To the actual number of full-time employees reported is added the number of employees that could have been employed if the reported number of hours worked by part-time employees had been worked by full- time employees instead.

These statistics are computed for each functional category of a government using the following formula:

The method for calculating full-time equivalent employment based on part-time hours worked has been in use since the 1986 employment survey. Prior to the 1985 survey, the Bureau used a different method, one based on payrolls. (For the October 1985 employment survey no full-time equivalent employment data were calculated.)

This payroll method computed full-time equivalent employment for each functional category of a government using the following formula:

Average March earnings is a derived statistic representing the average monthly payroll per full-time employee. This statistic is computed for each functional category of a government using the following formula:

The employment survey uses certain functional categories, or more accurately sub-categories, that are not found in the finance survey. They are defined below:

Higher Education,

• Instructional Employees--Includes personnel engaged in teaching and related academic research as well as teachers at hospitals and agricultural experiment stations and farms.

• Other Higher Education Employees--Includes all noninstructional employees. Noninstructional employees at hospitals and outpatient clinics operated by higher education institutions and serving the general public are excluded from Higher Education and reported under the Hospitals (code 36) or Health (code 32) function, respectively. Likewise, agricultural extension services employees and noninstructional employees at agricultural experiment stations and farms are excluded from Higher Education and reported under the Other Natural Resources (code 59) function.

• School Instructional Employees--Includes not only classroom teachers, but also principals, supervisors of instruction, teacher aides, substitute teachers, school librarians, library aides, and guidance personnel.

• Includes administrative and clerical personnel; plant operation, maintenance, and custodial personnel; cafeteria, bus transportation, health, recreation, student, and all other employees. Exclude contractors and employees of contractors. Report as part-time all student employees and other employees whose hours of work are less than standard full-time work hours.

• Police Officers--Includes personnel with the power of arrest ("sworn" officers).

• Other Police Protection Employees

• Firefighters--Includes personnel trained and/or engaged in fire suppression and prevention.

• Other Fire Protection Employees

During the quinquennial census of governments, the Bureau frequently collects additional information about public employment.

Data on Labor Management Relations provide statistics on state and local employees who belong to employee organizations, governments with a labor relations policy, contractual agreements between governments and employee bargaining units, employees covered by contractual agreements, and employee bargaining units.

Data on Government Costs for Employee Benefits provide statistics on state and local government costs for providing selected benefits for their employees, such as Federal Social Security, retirement, unemployment compensation insurance, disability insurance, life insurance, hospital/medical insurance, uniform and equipment allowances, bonuses and cash awards, and other benefits. This report also contains information on the number of current state and local government employees covered by Federal Social Security.