Post on 29-Mar-2015
Measuring Quality in the BLS
Business Register
Richard ClaytonDavid Talan
Joint UNECE/OECD/Eurostat Meeting of the Group of Experts on Business Registers
Geneva, SwitzerlandSeptember 3-4, 2013
Outline
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) Program
Concepts and SourcesDimensions of QualityData Quality MetricsData Uses / UsersPublications
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
Quarterly census of employers covered under UI and federal employers covered under UCFE
QCEW – Quarterly Census of Employment and
Wages
Quarterly data (frequent) Released 6.5 months after reference
period - timely 9.2 million records and growing 133 million in employment Units, employment and wages 6 digit NAICS and county, ownership UI based, mandatory collections to run
UI Wages - 98% reported data Employment - 97% reported data Units - 95% reported data
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Investment in Quality
Source: BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) Administrative data from Unemployment
Insurance filings (UI) Huge investment in improving raw
administrative data Two supplemental collections
– ARS- Annual Refiling Survey– MWR- Multiple Worksite Report
QCEW Concepts
Employer
Establishment
Reporting unit
Multi-establishment employer
QCEW
Business Register Sources
UI Status Determination Form UI Quarterly Contribution Report
BLS Multiple Worksite Report BLS Federal Government Report BLS Annual Refiling Survey Forms
Status Determination Form
Data obtained:
UI account number
Business name Business
address Employer
identification number
Ownership status
Industry status Multi-
establishment employer status
Predecessor information
Quarterly UI Contribution Report
Data obtained:
Monthly employment Total wages Taxable wages Employer contributions
Multiple Worksite Report
Data obtained:
Establishment address Worksite description Monthly employment by
establishment Total wages by establishment
Annual Refiling Forms
Verify and update:
Industry codes Geographic codes Ownership status Business names and addresses Multi-establishment status
QCEW File
Submitted to BLS by States
Contains:
Business names and addresses Identification and classification information Employment and wage data
The QCEW File
Updates:
BLS Business Register Employment and wage data
Annual refiling code changes
BLS Business Register
Updated each quarter
9.2 million records
Longitudinally linked to create a time series for each establishment
BLS Business Register
Employers State UI Tax Unit
QCEWState
BLS Business Register (QCEW)
InitialStatus Forms
ContributionsReports
Federal Gov't Reports
Unit
Multiple WorksiteReports
QCEW File Deliverable
ARS Surveys
Business Register Data Flow
Independent Mechanism to Ensure Proper
Coverage
In 2012, 19.3 million weekly UI claims were filed. Each of these events ensures that QCEW
coverage is complete and the QCEW business register is able to capture new businesses in a timely fashion.
An average of 372,000 UI claims filed weekly
Dimensions of Quality
Quality – Measure of Reported Data
Relevant
Timely
Accurate
Data Quality: Setting Goals and
Standards
BLS Sets Data Quality Standards Communicates with BLS Regions and
States Prioritizes “focus” of data quality
Multiple Layers of Data Quality Review Federal-State Cooperative Program
BLS National Office BLS Regional Offices States
Quality-Cost Tradeoff
Cost Saving Initiatives Electronic Data Collection
– ARS and MWR ARS Collection via Contractor Touchtone Data Entry
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Data Quality Metrics
Reports that Measure Data Quality Flash Report Business Register Metrics Report Historical Tracking
Flash Report Monitors data quality received from
States Number of reported units Number of imputations Number of prorations Number of missing units Number of records with invalid
area/county and industry codes Reports generated twice each quarter
Initial and Updated reports generated
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Data Quality Metric: High Level of Reported
Data
Percentage of Unclassified NAICS in State B in Comparison to the National Average of Unclassified NAICS
Historical Tracking
Business Register Metrics
Generated after the data are linked Monitors:
System software Data quality Quality of analyst manual matches
Evaluates: The number and type of manual matches
(breakout/consolidation) Number of new QCEW businesses each quarter Number of births/deaths each quarter Number of unmatched records Number of weighted match records
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Quality Metric: High Linkage Rates
2000Q
1
2000Q
4
2001Q
3
2002Q
2
2003Q
1
2003Q
4
2004Q
3
2005Q
2
2006Q
1
2006Q
4
2007Q
3
2008Q
2
2009Q
1
2009Q
4
2010Q
3
2011Q
2
2012Q
1
2012Q
4
0.0%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
Percentage of Records Matched by SESA ID: 2000Q1-2012Q4
Timeliness
January 1 – March 31 = Reference Quarter
March 31 – April 30 = Reporting Period
May 1 – July 29 = UI Processing QCEW Extract from UI QCEW Edit & Review
July 30 – Sept 30 = State File sent to BLS BLS Review State Updates Received
October 7 = Publication
Lag = 6 months and 1 week
Accuracy
Thorough editing and review at the state, regional, and national levels each quarter
196 Interactive Edits State’s contact businesses to correct
questionable data and/or provide missing data
Development of new state system with even more powerful editing and review capabilities
Continuous Progress and Improvements
1991 –1992 : Multiple Worksite Reports - county Level
2001 : Longitudinal Database completed1998 – 2001 : NAICS Implemented2002 : Quarterly Publication Initiated2003 : Business Employment Dynamics
(BED): Geocoding started
2004 : NAICS History Released (Sept 2004)
4 Week Acceleration Completed 2005 : BED Firm Size Data2007 : NAICS 2007 Conversion (2007/Q1)2010 : QCEW Mapping Tool2012 : BED State Industry Data
UI Tax Rate & Actuarial Analysis
UI-Covered Employment
Local Area Unemployment
Personal Income (BEA)
Gross Domestic Product (BEA)
Economic Forecasting
Current Employment Statistics
Occupational Employment Statistics
Job Creation/Destruction• Size Class Dynamics• Business Survival Rates
Geocoded Establishments
Occupational Employment Statistics
Occupational Safety and Health Statistics
Current Employment Statistics
National Compensation Survey
Industrial Price Program
Occupational Safety and Health Statistics
Programmatic Uses
Benchmarking(Employment Base)
General Economic Uses
Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages Data (QCEW/
Analytical UsesSampling
Mass Layoff Statistics
State Revenue Projections
Jobs Openings & Labor Turnover Survey
Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey
Quarterly Press Releases, Annual Employment and Wages
Local Economic Development Indicators
• Clusters Analysis• Shift Share• Industry Diversity Indexes• Location Quotients
Federal Funds Allocation$175 Billion(HUD, USDA, HCFA/CHIP)
Minimum Wage Studies
Uses Of Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Data (QCEW)
Local Economic Impact Response Planning
Local Government Services Planning
Interagency Data Uses• Improve CPS After 2000 Census• LEHD• Industry Code Sharing
Local Transportation Planning
Accessing the QCEW and BED Macrodata
BED: http://www.bls.gov/bdm/home.htm
QCEW: http://www.bls.gov/cew/home.htm
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Contact Information
Richard ClaytonDavid Talan
Email: clayton.richard@bls.gov Email: talan.david@bls.gov
www.bls.gov/bdm