Measuring Quality in the BLS
Business Register
Richard Clayton
David Talan
Joint UNECE/OECD/Eurostat Meeting of the
Group of Experts on Business Registers
Geneva, Switzerland
September 3-4, 2013
Outline
 Quarterly
Census of Employment
and Wages (QCEW) Program
 Concepts and Sources
 Dimensions of Quality
 Data Quality Metrics
 Data Uses / Users
 Publications
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
Employment
Units
- 98% reported data
- 97% reported data
- 95% reported data
4
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
QCEW

Establishment

Reporting unit

Multi-establishment employer
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
BLS
Business
Register

9.2 million records

Longitudinally linked to create a time
series for each establishment
Business Register Data Flow
Employers
Initial
Status Forms
Contributions
Reports
Multiple Worksite
Reports
Federal Gov't Reports
ARS Surveys
BLS Business QCEW File
Deliverable
Register
(QCEW)
State UI
Tax Unit
State
QCEW
Unit
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
19
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
Data Quality Metric:
High Level of Reported Data
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Historical Tracking
Percentage of Unclassified NAICS in State B in Comparison to the
National Average of Unclassified NAICS
Business Register Metrics


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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
Quality Metric:
High Linkage Rates
Percentage of Records Matched by
SESA ID: 2000Q1-2012Q4
2012Q1
2011Q1
2010Q1
2009Q1
2008Q1
2007Q1
2006Q1
2005Q1
2004Q1
2003Q1
2002Q1
2001Q1
2000Q1
100.0%
90.0%
80.0%
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
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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 completed
1998 – 2001 : NAICS Implemented
2002
: Quarterly Publication Initiated
2003
: Business Employment Dynamics (BED)
: Geocoding started
2004
: NAICS History Released (Sept 2004)
4 Week Acceleration Completed
2005
: BED Firm Size Data
2007
: NAICS 2007 Conversion (2007/Q1)
2010
: QCEW Mapping Tool
2012
: BED State Industry Data
Uses Of Quarterly Census of Employment
and Wages Data (QCEW)
Local Economic Development
Indicators
• Clusters Analysis
• Shift Share
• Industry Diversity Indexes
• Location Quotients
Minimum Wage Studies
Quarterly Press Releases,
Annual Employment and Wages
Job Creation/Destruction
•Size Class Dynamics
•Business Survival Rates
Geocoded Establishments
Interagency Data Uses
• Improve CPS After 2000 Census
• LEHD
• Industry Code Sharing
Local Government Services
Planning
Local Economic Impact
Response Planning
Local Transportation Planning
Current Employment
Statistics
Gross Domestic Product (BEA)
Occupational
Employment Statistics
Personal Income (BEA)
State Revenue Projections
Occupational Safety
and Health Statistics
Economic Forecasting
Jobs Openings & Labor
Turnover Survey
General Economic Uses
Benchmarking
(Employment Base)
Analytical Uses
Quarterly Census
of Employment &
Wages Data
(QCEW/
Sampling
Industrial Price Program
Programmatic Uses
UI Tax Rate & Actuarial
Analysis
UI-Covered Employment
National Compensation Survey
Current Employment
Statistics
Occupational Employment Statistics
Local Area Unemployment
Mass Layoff Statistics
Federal Funds Allocation
$175 Billion
(HUD, USDA, HCFA/CHIP)
Occupational Safety and Health
Statistics
Job Openings & Labor Turnover
Survey
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 Clayton
David Talan
Email: clayton.richard@bls.gov
Email: talan.david@bls.gov
www.bls.gov/bdm