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Article Excerpt
This section of the Review presents the principal statistical series collected and calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics: series on labor force; employment; unemployment; labor compensation; consumer, producer, and international prices; productivity; international comparisons; and injury and illness statistics. In the notes that follow, the data in each group of tables are briefly described; key definitions are given; notes on the data are set forth; and sources of additional information are cited.
General notes
The following notes apply to several tables in this section:
Seasonal adjustment. Certain monthly and quarterly data are adjusted to eliminate the effect on the data of such factors as climatic conditions, industry production schedules, opening and closing of schools, holiday buying periods, and vacation practices, which might prevent short-term evaluation of the statistical series. Tables containing data that have been adjusted are identified as "seasonally adjusted." (All other data are not seasonally adjusted.) Seasonal effects are estimated on the basis of current and past experiences. When new seasonal factors are computed each year, revisions may affect seasonally adjusted data for several preceding years.
Seasonally adjusted data appear in tables 1-14, 17-21, 48, and 52. Seasonally adjusted labor force data in tables 1 and 4-9 and seasonally adjusted establishment survey data shown in tables 1, 12-14, and 17 are revised in the March 2007 Review. A brief explanation of the seasonal adjustment methodology appears in "Notes on the data."
Revisions in the productivity data in table 54 are usually introduced in the September issue. Seasonally adjusted indexes and percent changes from month-to-month and quarter-to-quarter are published for numerous Consumer and Producer Price Index series. However, seasonally adjusted indexes are not published for the U.S. average All-Items CPI. Only seasonally adjusted percent changes are available for this series.
Adjustments for price changes. Some data--such as the "real" earnings shown in table 14--are adjusted to eliminate the effect of changes in price. These adjustments are made by dividing current-dollar values by the Consumer Price Index or the appropriate component of the index, then multiplying by 100. For example, given a current hourly wage rate of $3 and a current price index number of 150, where 1982 = 100, the hourly rate expressed in 1982 dollars is $2 ($3/150 x 100 = $2). The $2 (or any other resulting values) are described as "real," "constant," or "1982" dollars.
Sources of information
Data that supplement the tables in this section are published by the Bureau in a variety of sources. Definitions of each series and notes on the data are contained in later sections of these Notes describing each set of data. For detailed descriptions of each data series, see BLS Handbook of Methods, Bulletin 2490. Users also may wish to consult Major Programs of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Report 919. News releases provide the latest statistical information published by the Bureau; the major recurring releases are published according to the schedule appearing on the back cover of this issue.
More information about labor force, employment, and unemployment data and the household and establishment surveys underlying the data are available in the Bureau's monthly publication, Employment and Earnings. Historical unadjusted and seasonally adjusted data from the household survey are available on the Internet:
www.bls.gov/cps/
Historically comparable unadjusted and seasonally adjusted data from the establishment survey also are available on the Internet:
www.bls.gov/ces/
Additional information on labor force data for areas below the national level are provided in the BLS annual report, Geographic Profile of Employment and Unemployment.
For a comprehensive discussion of the Employment Cost Index, see Employment Cost Indexes and Levels, 1975-95, BLS Bulletin 2466. The most recent data from the Employee Benefits Survey appear in the following Bureau of Labor Statistics bulletins: Employee Benefits in Medium and Large Firms; Employee Benefits in Small Private Establishments; and Employee Benefits in State and Local Governments.
More detailed data on consumer and producer prices are published in the monthly periodicals, The CPI Detailed Report and Producer Price Indexes. For an overview of the 1998 revision of the CPI, see the December 1996 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. Additional data on international prices appear in monthly news releases.
Listings of industries for which productivity indexes are available may be found on the Internet:
www.bls.gov/lpc/
For additional information on international comparisons data, see International Comparisons of Unemployment, Bulletin 1979.
Detailed data on the occupational injury and illness series are published in Occupational Injuries and Illnesses in the United States, by Industry, a BLS annual bulletin.
Finally, the Monthly Labor Review carries analytical articles on annual and longer term developments in labor force, employment, and unemployment; employee compensation and collective bargaining; prices; productivity; international comparisons; and injury and illness data.
Symbols n.e.c. = not elsewhere classified. n.e.s. = not elsewhere specified. p = preliminary. To increase the timeliness of some series, preliminary figures are issued based on representative but incomplete returns. r = revised. Generally, this revision reflects the availability of later data, but also may reflect other adjustments.
Comparative Indicators
(Tables 1-3)
Comparative indicators tables provide an overview and comparison of major BLS statistical series. Consequently, although many of the included series are available monthly, all measures in these comparative tables are presented quarterly and annually.
Labor market indicators include employment measures from two major surveys and information on rates of change in compensation provided by the Employment Cost Index (ECI) program. The labor force participation rate, the employment-population ratio, and unemployment rates for major demographic groups based on the Current Population ("household") Survey are presented, while measures of employment and average weekly hours by major industry sector are given using nonfarm payroll data. The Employment Cost Index (compensation), by major sector and by bargaining status, is chosen from a variety of BLS compensation and wage measures because it provides a comprehensive measure of employer costs for hiring labor, not just outlays for wages, and it is not affected by employment shifts among occupations and industries.
Data on changes in compensation, prices, and productivity are presented in table 2. Measures of rates of change of compensation and wages from the Employment Cost Index program are provided for all civilian nonfarm workers (excluding Federal and household workers) and for all private nonfarm workers. Measures of changes in consumer prices for all urban consumers; producer prices by stage of processing; overall prices by stage of processing; and overall export and import price indexes are given. Measures of productivity (output per hour of all persons) are provided for major sectors.
Alternative measures of wage and compensation rates of change, which reflect the overall trend in labor costs, are summarized in table 3. Differences in concepts and scope, related to the specific purposes of the series, contribute to the variation in changes among the individual measures.
Notes on the data
Definitions of each series and notes on the data are contained in later sections of these notes describing each set of data.
Employment and Unemployment Data
(Tables 1; 4-29)
Household survey data
Description of the series
Employment data in this section are obtained from the Current Population Survey, a program of personal interviews conducted monthly by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The sample consists of about 60,000 households selected to represent the U.S. population 16 years of age and older. Households are interviewed on a rotating basis, so that three-fourths of the sample is the same for any 2 consecutive months.
Definitions
Employed persons include (1) all those who worked for pay any time during the week which includes the 12th day of the month or who worked unpaid for 15 hours or more in a family-operated enterprise and (2) those who were temporarily absent from their regular jobs because of illness, vacation, industrial dispute, or similar reasons. A person working at more than one job is counted only in the job at which he or she worked the greatest number of hours.
Unemployed persons are those who did not work during the survey week, but were available for work except for temporary illness and had looked for jobs within the preceding 4 weeks. Persons who did not look for work because they were on layoff are also counted among the unemployed. The unemployment rate represents the number unemployed as a percent of the civilian labor force.
The civilian labor force consists of all employed or unemployed persons in the civilian noninstitutional population. Persons not in the labor force are those not classified as employed or unemployed. This group includes discouraged workers, defined as persons who want and are available for a job and who have looked for work sometime in the past 12 months (or since the end of their last job if they held one within the past 12 months), but are not currently looking, because they believe there are no jobs available or there are none for which they would qualify. The civilian noninstitutional population comprises all persons 16 years of age and older who are not inmates of penal or mental institutions, sanitariums, or homes for the aged, infirm, or needy. The civilian labor force participation rate is the proportion of the civilian noninstitutional population that is in the labor force. The employment-population ratio is employment as a percent of the civilian noninstitutional population.
Notes on the data
From time to time, and especially after a decennial census, adjustments are made in the Current Population Survey figures to correct for estimating errors during the intercensal years. These adjustments affect the comparability of historical data. A description of these adjustments and their effect on the various data series appears in the Explanatory Notes of Employment and Earnings. For a discussion of changes introduced in January 2003, see "Revisions to the Current Population Survey Effective in January 2003" in the February 2003 issue of Employment and Earnings (available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/cps/rvcps03.pdf).
Effective in January 2003, BLS began using the X-12 ARIMA seasonal adjustment program to seasonally adjust national labor force data. This program replaced the X-11 ARIMA program which had been used since January 1980. See "Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Labor Force Series in 2003," in the February 2003 issue of Employment and Earnings (available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/cps/cpsrs.pdf) for a discussion of the introduction of the use of X-12 ARIMA for seasonal adjustment of the labor force data and the effects that it had on the data.
At the beginning of each calendar year, historical seasonally adjusted data usually are revised, and projected seasonal adjustment factors are calculated for use during the January-June period. The historical seasonally adjusted data usually are revised for only the most recent 5 years. In July, new seasonal adjustment factors, which incorporate the experience through June, are produced for the July-December period, but no revisions are made in the historical data.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION on national household survey data, contact the Division of Labor Force Statistics: (202) 691-6378.
Establishment survey data
Description of the series
Employment, hours, and earnings data in this section are compiled from payroll records reported monthly on a voluntary basis to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and its cooperating State agencies by about 160,000 businesses and government agencies, which represent approximately 400,000 individual worksites and represent all industries except agriculture. The active CES sample covers approximately one-third of all nonfarm payroll workers. Industries are classified in accordance with the 2002 North American Industry Classification System. In most industries, the sampling probabilities are based on the size of the establishment; most large establishments are therefore in the sample. (An establishment is not necessarily a firm; it may be a branch plant, for example, or warehouse.)...
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