Chapter 5.
Employment and Wages Covered by Unemployment Insurance
The Covered
Employment and Wages program, commonly called the
ES-202 program, is a cooperative endeavor of the Bureau
of Labor Statistics and the employment security agencies
of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
and the Virgin Islands. Using quarterly data submitted on
magnetic media or electronically by the agencies, BLS
summarizes employment and wage data for workers covered
by State unemployment insurance (UI) laws and for
civilian workers covered by the program of Unemployment
Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE).
The ES-202 program is a comprehensive and accurate
source of employment and wage data, by industry, at the
national, State, and county levels. It provides a virtual
census of nonagricultural employees and their wages. In
addition, about 47 percent of all workers in agricultural
industries are covered.
Background The ES-202 program can trace its origins back
to the Social Security Act of 1935, which authorized
collection of information to determine if State
unemployment compensation programs were in compliance
with the act. From the inception of the national UI
system in 1938, when the Federal Unemployment Tax Act
became effective, until 1972, collection of the data,
publication, and technical expertise were the
responsibilities of the U.S. Department of Labor's
Manpower Administration or its predecessor agencies.
Semiannual reports summarizing the data were issued until
1950, when the periodical Employment and Wages began
quarterly publication. In 1972, BLS assumed
responsibility and continued quarterly publication until
1975. Employment and Wages then became an annual
publication.
Next: Concepts and
Methodology
|