Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) is a cooperative program between the State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs) and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor. The QCEW program produces a comprehensive tabulation of employment and wage information for workers covered by state unemployment insurance (UI) laws, and federal workers covered by the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) program. Publicly available files include data on the number of establishments, monthly employment, and quarterly wages, by NAICS industry, county, and ownership sector for the entire U.S. These data are aggregated to annual levels, higher industry levels (NAICS industry groups, sectors, and supersectors), and higher geographic levels (national, state, and Metropolitan Statistical Areas [MSAs]). The latest annual data currently available is for 2013; the second quarter of 2014 was recently released.
Data from the QCEW program serve as an important input to many labor and economic programs. QCEW data is shared with Current Employment Statistics as a source for benchmarking employment estimates and Occupational Employment Statistics programs as a sampling frame and benchmark. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the Department of Commerce uses QCEW data as the base for developing the wage and salary component of personal income estimates. The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the Department of Labor and the SESAs use QCEW data to administer the employment security program. The QCEW data accurately reflect the extent of coverage of the state UI laws and are used to measure UI revenues for national, state and local area employment and UI taxable wage trends.
FACTS ABOUT QCEW DATA COLLECTION AND PROCEDURES:
- In general, QCEW monthly employment data represent the number of covered workers who worked during, or received pay for, the pay period that included the 12th day of the month. It excludes proprietors, the unincorporated self-employed, unpaid family members, and certain farm and domestic workers. The employment count also excludes workers who earned no wages during the entire applicable pay period because of work stoppages, temporary layoffs, illness, or unpaid vacations. Major exclusions from UI coverage include self-employed workers, most agricultural workers on small farms, all members of the Armed Forces, elected officials in most states, most employees of railroads, some domestic workers, most student workers at schools, and employees of certain small nonprofit organizations. Click here for more information pertaining to covered and noncovered workers.
- Industry classification codes are assigned by the QCEW staff. An industry consists of a group of establishments primarily engaged in producing or handling the same product or group of products, or in rendering the same services. Employment and wage data developed in the QCEW program have been classified by industry since 1938. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) was introduced in 1997 and is periodically revised to reflect changes in the industrial structure of the U.S. and North American economies. The NAICS replaces the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system, which was developed in the 1930s. An industrial code, based on a description provided by the employer on a questionnaire, is assigned to each establishment in accordance with the 2012 NAICS. Each year, changes in establishment classification codes resulting from the verification process and corrections are introduced with the data reported for the first quarter. For more information on the classification systems used by the QCEW program, please refer to the QCEW Industry Classification page.
- The QCEW program converted to the 2012 revision of NAICS during the first quarter 2011. For more information on the 2012 NAICS revision, please visit the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.For a crosswalk from the 2007 NAICS to 2012 NAICS, go to NAICS 2007 to NAICS 2012.
- Each year, QCEW publishes the “Top 300 Private Manufacturing and Non-Manufacturing Employers in North Carolina.” This annual report is updated with the publication of the first quarter QCEW data. The employers are ranked in order according to employment size (1,000 & over). Industry and county data are revised during the first quarter of each year. To review North Carolina’s largest top 300 private employers for first quarter 2014, click here.
- Each quarter, the NC Department of Commerce, Labor & Economic Analysis Division, publishes the “25 Largest Employers by County.” Companies are published by the “Doing Business As” name. Industry and county data are revised during the first quarter of each year. To review the "Top 25 Employers by County," click here.
- BLS publishes data from the QCEW program every quarter in the County Employment and Wages press release. This is usually released six to seven months after the end of the quarter.
Ways to Access QCEW Data:
The NC Department of Commerce’s Labor & Economic Analysis Division website, which provides labor market data. Demand Driven Data Delivery System (D4).
NCWorks Online is a one-stop online resource for job seekers and employers in North Carolina. Job seekers can search for jobs, create résumés, and find education and training. Employers can search for candidates, post jobs, and search labor market information. Click here.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides data at the county, MSA, state, and national levels. There are a variety of research tools, news releases, databases, publications, and tables available on the Bureau of Labor Statistics–QCEW website.