DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR - OOLMI - LMI DEFINITIONS
LMI DEFINITIONS
Commonly Used Terms in Labor Market Information
Auxiliary establishment
In the SIC coding system, a unit which is primarily engaged in performing services for other units of the same company rather than for other companies or the general public. Examples of auxiliary establishments are central administrative offices; research, development or testing labs; warehouses; and power plants.
Births
Those units, which are within scope of a survey as of the reference date of the survey but were not in the sampling frame. They include units, which existed in the universe but were not on the sampling frame as well as units, which came into existence after the creation of the sampling frame.
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. A Federal statistical agency responsible for estimation of Gross Domestic Product. Data from the CES and ES-202 programs are used in the GDP estimates.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Part of the U.S. Department of Labor, this Federal agency functions as the principal data-gathering agency of the Federal government in the field of labor economics. The BLS collects, processes, analyzes, and disseminates data relating to employment, unemployment, the labor force, productivity, prices, family expenditures, wages, industrial relations, and occupational safety and health. Well known data released by BLS include: the Consumer Price Index, the Produces Price Index, the unemployment rate, and nonagricultural employment levels.
Bureau of the Census
Part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. It conducts censuses of population and housing every 10 years and of agriculture, business, governments, manufactures, mineral industries, and transportation at 5-year intervals. The Census Bureau also conducts the monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) in cooperation with BLS. Data from this survey are the source of unemployment statistics.
Business Cycle
A periodically repeated sequence of fluctuations in the aggregate economy of an area, or the nation as a whole, varying in duration, but consisting of: a) upturn, including recovery and prosperity; b) cyclical peak; c) downturn, including recession; and d) cyclical trough.
Business Establishment List (BEL)
A master file of all employers covered under UI. The BLS maintains a master BEL file, and each SESA separately keeps it own State file. These files are used as sampling frames and also are the main source of establishment names and addresses for the various Federal/State cooperative surveys. Information contained on these files includes monthly employment, quarterly wages, an Employer Identification Number, a SIC code, an establishment name and address, and a state, county, and ownership code.
Census
A complete count (as opposed to a sample) of a specified population or some other measurable characteristic in a given area (housing, industry, etc.).
Census tracts
Census-designated units are small parts of MA’s and provide statistically comparable population and housing census tabulations. Tracts are designed to be relatively similar in population characteristics, economic status, and living conditions. The average tract has about 4,000 inhabitants. Census tract boundaries are recommended by local census tract committees and approved by the Bureau of the Census.
Civilian Labor Force
This represents the "pool" of available workers. It includes all civilians 16 years and older who are either employed or unemployed.
Civilian Noninstitutional Population
The base population used in the calculation of labor force statistics includes only persons aged 16 years and over. Members of the active-duty resident armed forces are excluded. Also excluded are inmates of penal and mental institution, sanitariums, and homes for the aged, infirm, and needy.
Class of Worker
This is a classification scheme that divides the employed into wage and salary workers, self-employed workers, and unpaid family workers. Wage and salary workers - those who receive wages, salary, commissions, tips, pay-in-kind from an employer - are further subdivided into private and government workers. Self-employed workers are those who work for profit in their own business or farm. Unpaid family workers are persons working without pay for at least 15 hours per week in a business or on a farm operated by a member of the household related by birth or marriage.
Confidence interval
A measure of the range of probable parameters attributable to the sample design (estimate plus or minus the standard error). The BLS standard is generally the 90 percent level of confidence.
Consumer Price Index (CPI)
A Bureau of Labor Statistics program which measures the average change in the prices of a fixed set of goods and services purchased by households. It is the most commonly recognized measure of inflation.
Correlation
The statistical technique which relates a pair of variables in order to determine how close the relationship is between the variables.
Covered Employment
Employees who are subject to State Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws or the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employee (UCFE) program. These "covered" employees will appear on the ES-202 report.
Current Employment Statistics (CES) Survey
A monthly survey of nonfarm business establishments used to collect wage and salary employment, worker hours, and payroll, by industry and area. Through the Federal/State cooperative effort, these data are used to compute current monthly employment, hours, and earnings estimates, by industry, for the nation, the 50 States and the District of Columbia, and over 250 MA’s.
Current Population (CPS) Survey
A monthly household survey of the civilian noninstitutional population, and wages, by industry, occupation, and demographic characteristics. Microdata for this survey are collected by the Bureau of the Census.
Deaths
Units, which were in a sampling, frame but are not now within the scope of the survey. They include units, which have gone out of business, have changed to an out-of-scope SIC, or were erroneously included on the sampling frame.
Deliverable
As specified by the LMI contract, any product required to be delivered by the States to BLS is generically called a "deliverable".
Department of Labor (DOL)
Cabinet-level agency which enforces laws protecting workers, promotes labor-management cooperation, sponsors employment training and placement services, oversees the unemployment insurance system, and produces statistics on the labor force and living conditions.
Discouraged Workers
These are persons who had no employment during the reference week, want a job, have looked for work during the past year, and are available to work, but did not look for work in the last four weeks because they believed that no jobs were available to them. Discouraged workers are classified as not in the labor force. They are not counted as unemployed because they have not made specific efforts to find work.
DOT
The Department of Labor’s Dictionary of Occupational Titles.
Durable goods
Manufactured items generally considered to have a normal life expectancy of three years of more. Includes 2-digit SIC codes 24, 25, 32-39. Automobiles, furniture, household appliances, and mobile homes are common examples.
Economic indicator
A set of data that serves as a tool for analyzing current economic conditions and future prospects. Usually classified according to their timing in relationship to the ups and downs of the business cycle, that is, whether they anticipate (lead), coincide with, or lag behind general business conditions.
Employed
Persons who, during the survey reference week, did any work as paid employees, in their own business, or who worked at least 15 hours as unpaid workers in a family business are employed. Also included are persons who had a job or business, but were temporarily absent because of illness, vacation, bad weather, labor-management disputes, or person reasons.
Employer Identification Number (EIN)
A 9-digit identification number assigned to employers by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
Employment and Earnings
A monthly publication of the Bureau of Labor Statistics containing current data for the CPS, CES, and LAUS programs.
Employment and Training Administration (ETA)
A part of the U.S. Department of Labor. This agency oversees the State UI programs and job training and placement services provided by State Employment Security Agencies.
ES-202 Program
A Federal/State cooperative program which collects and compiles employment and wage data for workers covered by State unemployment insurance (UI) laws, and Federal civilian workers covered by UCFE. State Employment Security Agencies collect and compile quarterly UI contribution reports which are submitted by all employers. These data are maintained in the State in micro and macrodata forms, and are also shipped to BLS. Any data from this program may be generically referred to as "ES-202" data.
Establishment
An economic units that produces goods or services, usually at a single physical location, and engaged in one or predominantly one activity.
Estimate
A numerical quantity calculated from sample data, or from a model, and intended to provide information about a universe.
Estimating cell
The most basic or lowest level (or strata) for which estimates are made. All higher level strata are aggregations of estimating cells. For establishment surveys, the estimating cell structure is generally stratified by SIC, area, and size of establishment. For household surveys, the estimating cell structure is generally stratified by demographic characteristic.
Extrapolate
To project values of a variable in an unobserved interval from values within an already observed interval.
Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS)
Standards for information processing issues by the National Bureau of Standards in the U.S. Department of Commerce. Includes a numeric designation for geographic areas such as States, counties, and MA’s.
Federal Reserve Board (Fed)
An independent government agency primarily responsible for keeping inflation under control. The Fed’s best weapon in the fight against inflation is control over certain short term interest rates. The Fed is a key user of Federal/State program data.
Federal/State Cooperative Programs
A series of programs in which the States and Federal government cooperate in accomplishing the goals of the program CES, ES-202, OES, and LAUS are Federal/State cooperative programs.
Firm
A business entity, either corporate or otherwise. May consist of one or several establishments.
Fiscal Year (FY)
A 12-month period established for budgetary and accounting purposes. In the Federal Government, the fiscal year begins October 1 and ends September 30.
Full Time
Persons who were at work for 35 hours or more during the survey reference week are designated as working full time.
GDP
Gross Domestic Product. The total of all goods and services produced by the US economy. GDP is compiled quarterly by the US Department of Commerce. CES employment and earnings data are used for advance GDP estimates. ES-202 wage data are used for the final GDP estimates.
Goods producing industries
In the SIC coding structure, those industries that primarily produce goods. Mining, construction, and manufacturing.
Household
As defined by the Census Bureau, all persons who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a room or group of rooms intended for occupancy as separate living quarters and having either a separate entrance or complete cooking facilities for the exclusive use of the occupants.
Industry
Describes the type of economic activity engaged in by a group of firms as used in the compilation of economic statistics. The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system provides numerical classifications for industries.
Labor dispute
An controversy concerning terms or conditions of employment, or concerning the association or representation of persons in negotiating, fixing, maintaining, changing, or seeking to arrange terms or conditions of employment, regardless of whether or not the disputants stand in the proximate relation of employer and employee.
Labor Market Area (LMA)
An economically integrated geographical unit within which workers may readily change jobs without changing their place of residence. All States are divided into exhaustive LMAs, which usually consist of (except in New England) a county or a group of contiguous counties.
LAUS Program
Local Area Unemployment Statistics Program. A Federal/State cooperative program which produces employment, labor force, and unemployment estimates for States and local areas.
Labor Market Information
The body of data available on the particular labor market, including employment and unemployment statistics, occupational statistics, and average hours and earnings data. LMI is also used to refer to the statistical research and analysis offices of the State Employment Security Agencies. These offices are also referred to as Research and Analysis (R&A) or Research and Statistics (R&S) offices.
LMI Cooperative Agreement
A series of contracts between the State Employment Security Agencies and BLS for the collection and sharing of Labor Market Information including the ES-202, CES, OES, and LAUS programs.
Macrodata
Single establishment or household (micro) data aggregated to any level. Data at the estimating cell level and summary cell levels are all macrodata. Compare to microdata.
Mass Layoff Statistics Program
A BLS Federal/State cooperative program, which collects and publishes data on mass layoffs.
Mean
A number typifying or representing a set of observations, obtained by dividing the sum of the observations by the number of observations. The mean can be weighted or unweighted.
Metropolitan Area (MA)
A geographic area comprising a county containing a central city of 50,000 inhabitants or more, plus contiguous counties that are socially and economically integrated with the central city. There are 3 types of MA’s: MSA’s, PMSA’s, and CMSA’s.
A Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)
is a relatively free standing MA typically surrounded by nonmetropolitan counties. If an area that qualifies as an MA has more than 1 million inhabitants, Primary Metropolitan Statistical Areas (PMSAs) may be defined within in. PMSAs consist of a large urbanized county or cluster of counties that demonstrates very b internal economic and social links, but are also linked to other portions of the larger area. This larger area is then called a Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA).
Microdata
Data reported from an individual establishment or household. Data on a single BLS-790 form or a single UI contribution report are microdata. Compare to macrodata.
Moving average
A series of calculations made by initially taking the simple average, or arithmetic mean, of a consecutive number of items, and then dropping the first item and adding the next item in sequence and averaging, so that the number of items in the series remains constant. This is a continuous process.
Multi-establishment
A firm or reporting unit which consists of more thanone establishment.
National Office (NO)
Term used to refer to the offices and employees of BLS in Washington, D.C.
New entrants
These are persons who are unemployed but have never been employed.
Noneconomic code change
Occurs when a SIC, ownership, or are code for an establishment must be changed for any reason other than an economic code change. This includes: 1) Code changes due to a restructuring of the SIC coding system or MSA definition, 2) when there was an error in assigning the original code, or 3) when there was a previous change in economic activity, ownership, or location, but an economic code change was not made.
Nondurable goods
Manufactured items generally considered to last for three years or less. Includes 2-digit SIC codes 20-23 and 26-31. Food, beverages, clothing, shoes, and gasoline are common examples.
Non-sampling error
Any error in the estimate other than the sampling error. Non-sampling error can arise from the use of an inaccurate sampling frame, improper sample allocation and selection procedures, poorly designed survey questionnaires, inaccurate data clarification/verification techniques, inaccurate reporting or coding from survey respondents, errors in estimation methodology, incorrect specifications, human error in execution and validation, computer program errors, etc. It is important to note that non-sampling errors also occur in censuses.
Not in the Labor Force
All persons in the civilian noninstitutional population who are neither employed or unemployed are not in the labor force.
OES Program
Occupational Employment Statistics Program. A Federal/State cooperative program which collects detailed occupational and wage data by industry on an annual basis. . As of the spring of 1996, OES has expanded its collection to include wages from all states; changed from a three-year cycle down to an annual cycle; and, expanded coverage from the state level to the MSA+ level where approximately 360 labor regions are covered
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Located in the Executive Office of the President, this agency prepares the President’s budget with the Council of Economic Advisors and the Treasury Department. OMB also oversees all Federal data collection. Among other duties, this federal agency is responsible for enforcing the Paperwork Reduction Act and, in so doing, must approve all surveys and data collection forms, which represent a reporting burden on employers.
Ownership code
A numerical code, which specifies the several layers of government and the private sector of the economy.
Part Time
Persons who were at work for between 1 and 34 hours during the survey reference week are designated as being part time. Part-time workers are further classified by their usual status at their present job and by their reason for working part time.
Part Time for Economic Reasons
Persons who work part time involuntarily because of slack work, material shortages, repairs to plant and equipment, start or termination of a job during the week, or inability to find full-time work. To be classified in this category, respondents must want and be available for full-time work.
Participation Rate
The proportion of the population that is in the labor force.
Producers Price Index (PPI)
A Bureau of Labor Statistics program which measures the average change in producers’ selling prices of a fixed set of goods and services. The Producer Price Index is sometimes thought of as the "Wholesale" or "Industrial" Price Index.
Probability sampling
(Also referred to as "Random Sampling") A sampling procedure which gives each of the possible samples a fixed and determinate probability of selection or which gives each unit on a sampling frame a fixed and known chance of being included in the sample. Probability samples permit the calculation, from the sample data, of measures of reliability for the estimates.
Quarterly Contribution Report (QCR)
A mandatory report filed quarterly by almost all U.S. employers to the SESA for UI purposes. Employers report the number of employees, total wages, and UI taxable wages, and compute their UI tax liability for each UI account. Used by the ES-202 program as input into the ES-202 data base.
Quarterly Unemployment Insurance Address file (QUI)
A computer file prepared quarterly by state ES-202 programs and provided to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These files store the names, addresses, employment, wages, as well as other data items, of the establishments covered by state unemployment insurance programs and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees.
Race and Hispanic Origin
Many CPS series are grouped according to race or ethnic background. At present the only racial groups identified by the CPS are "white" and "black". Some series are also available under a "black and other" designation, which refers to all non-white racial groups. "Hispanic origin" refers to an ethnic rather than a racial designation and persons in this group will also be classified by race.
Reentrants
These are unemployed persons who have been employed in the past, but were out of the labor force prior to beginning their current job search.
Reference date
The reference date of a sample frame is the date when the characteristics of the population existed on the frame. The reference date of the survey, however, is the date for which the respondents are requested to submit the data.
Regression
A statistical tool which utilizes the relation between two or more variable so that one variable can be predicted or estimated from the other(s).
Relative error
The difference between the estimate and the actual population value expressed as a percentage of the latter.
Relative standard error
The ratio of the standard error of an estimator to the estimator’s expected value. An estimate of it is the estimated standard error divided by the estimate. (Also coefficient of variation, or CV).
Sample
A subset of a universe. Usually selected as representative of the universe.
Sample allocation
The process of assigning a sample size or sampling rate to each stratum in a stratified sampling plan.
Sample frame
(Also known as "frame"). A listing of all units in the universe, from which a sample can be drawn.
Sample weight
A numerical value, assigned to a sample unit for use in estimation. It is equal to the sampling rate reciprocal.
Sampling error
The measure of sampling variability, that is , the variations that might occur by chance because only a sample of the population is surveyed. In other words, that part of the error of an estimate which is due to the fact that the estimate is obtained from a sample rather than from a census of the universe.
Sampling ratios
The proportion of units needed to be sampled to provide data of a specified level of statistical reliability. Sampling rations vary by cell, depending on the degree of variability of the measured item.
Schedule
A term sometimes used to refer to a survey questionnaire.
Seasonal adjustment
Adjustment of time-series data to eliminate the effect of seasonal variations. Examples of such variations include school terms, holidays, yearly weather patterns, etc.
Series break
A large change in the level of a time series resulting from: A major change in methodology; A major change in industry definition; A major industry or area coding error; The permanent loss of a major reporter; Area redefinition. If a series has been broken, data prior to the break are not comparable to data after the break.
Service producing industries
In the SIC coding structure, those industries that primarily produce services. TPU, Trade, FIRE, Services, and Government.
Standard deviation
A measure of dispersion around the mean value of a population. Frequently denoted by sigma, (s) is the square root of the variance.
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual
The manual published by OMB which is the key to the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. This manual goes into great detail in explaining how to assign and/or interpret SIC codes.
Standard Industrial Classification System (SIC)
A hierarchical classification system which defines all establishments to a specific industry based on their primary output or product.
State Employment and Security Agency (SESA)
A generic name for the State agency usually responsible for three activities: The Unemployment Insurance (UI) Program -- UI tax collection, administration, and determination and payment of unemployment benefits. The Employment or Job Service Program -- an exchange for workers seeking work and employers seeking workers. Research and Analysis -- collection, analysis, and publication of labor market information.
Strata
The parts into which a sample frame are partitioned according to predetermined criteria for the purpose of sampling and estimation. In Federal/State programs, these strata are usually based on SIC, geographic area, and size. The process of partitioning the sample frame is called "stratification".
Strike
A work stoppage by employees acting together in an attempt to bring pressure on management to give in to their demands concerning wages, working conditions, union recognition, or some other issue.
Survey
A study of all or a portion of the whole, conducted for the purpose of making generalized statements about the whole.
Survey design
All procedures used in a survey. Includes frame development, sample design, form design, tabulation plans, etc.
Survey Reference Week
The calendar week (Sunday through Saturday) that contains the 12th of the month. All data collected in the survey refers to this week.
Time series
A variable in which the values are successive observations over time.
Trend
The long term or overall movement of a series over time. Any economic time series is assumed to be made up of trend, irregular, cyclical, and seasonal movements.
UI - Unemployment InsuranceSocial welfare program first instituted in the Great Depression to provide temporary financial assistance to eligible unemployed workers. Unemployment insurance programs are administered by State Employment Security Agencies under state law, subject to federal minimum standards.
UI account number
The State Unemployment Insurance account into which an establishment pays UI contributions. These contributions (taxes) fund Unemployment Insurance benefits for eligible workers. UI account numbers are assigned to firms, which may have one or more establishments.
Unemployed
Persons who had no employment during the survey reference week but were available for work, except for temporary illness, and had made specific efforts to find work during the preceding 4 weeks are unemployed. Persons awaiting recall to a job from which they have been laid off need not be looking for work to be classified as unemployed. Persons waiting to start a new job are counted as unemployed only if they have looked for work during the prior four weeks. Otherwise, they are considered to be out of the labor force.
Unemployment Rate
This is the number of unemployed persons expressed as a percent of the civilian labor force. The unemployment rate is calculated for a large number of groups within the labor force classified by sex, race, Hispanic origin, age, marital status, etc.
Universe
The entire population to be measured.
Variance
