Abstract
John C. Wohlford, Mary Anne Phillips, Richard L. Clayton, and George S. Werking (2003) "Reconciling Labor Turnover
and Employment Statistics." Proceedings of the Section on Government Statistics, 2003,
American Statistical Association.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provides two major monthly
indicators of employment dynamics: the monthly employment change from the
Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey and monthly hires and separations
data from the new Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). On a
conceptual basis, one would expect that the over-the-month difference in
hires minus separations would equal employment change for an establishment.
However, there are a number of concept, reference period, and employer
payroll practice issues that impact this relationship. This paper looks at
the difficulty in measuring monthly hires and separations and the
methodology that BLS put in place to control for expected differences from
employment data. Measures of the magnitude and seasonal nature of the
differences will be presented along with what is currently known about the
causes of these differences. The paper will conclude with a discussion of
future research plans.
Last Modified Date: July 15, 2004
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