1. Labor Statistics in the United States Grace York March 2004

2. Labor Statistics Includes Basic employment and labor force data Welfare of the labor force Industrial employment issues

3. Basic Employment Data Employed persons and salary by industry and occupation Unemployed persons (actively looking for work) Labor Force (combination of employed and those unemployed who are looking for work)

4. Labor Force Data May be broken down by demographic characteristics Age Race Sex Educational attainment Marital status Number of children

5. People Not in Labor Force Examples: Retired Disabled Caring for children Students Data incorporated in Census rather than labor statistics

6. Welfare of Workers Examples: Salaries Benefits (vacation, insurance) Worker injuries Consumer price index Consumer expenditures

7. Industrial Employment Issues Examples: Labor unions Labor strikes Employment cost index Worker Productivity

8. Two U.S. Statistical Agencies U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – Conducts surveys of industries and governments on all aspects of labor and prices U.S. Census Bureau – Conducts surveys of individuals on employment status – Conducts surveys of industries on finances (employment, payrolls, income)

9. Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/ http://www.bls.gov/

10. BLS Handbook of Methods http://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homtoc.htm http://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/homtoc.htm Subject Surveys – Employment and Unemployment – Compensation and Working Conditions – Occupational Safety and Health – Productivity and Technical – Economic Growth and Employment Projections – Prices and Living Conditions Contents of Each Survey Section – Survey descriptions, definitions, and methodology – Sample survey forms – Bibliographies

11. BLS Surveys Census Bureau – Monthly household survey of employment conducted for BLS Bureau of Labor Statistics – Questionnaires and visits to business establishments – Collects data provided by states – Does not survey individual people or households – Frequency varies: monthly, quarterly, annually, every few years Not All Data Can Be Compared

12. Classification Systems Standard Occupation Code – http://www.bls.gov/soc/home.htm http://www.bls.gov/soc/home.htm (Agricultural positions are farm managers and four types of agricultural workers) North American Industrial Classification System – http://www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/ http://www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/ (Includes detailed types of farms)

13. Employment Data Current Employment Survey – Monthly national and state data on employment, hours and earnings - nonfarm only Current Population Survey – Monthly data on characteristics of the labor force for the nation and states, including unemployment State and Local Unemployment – Monthly data from states on unemployment rates in places over 25,000 Occupational Employment Survey – Annual data on 700 occupations and 400 industries

14. Current Employment Survey Main Page http://www.bls.gov/bls/employment.htm BLS Handbook of Methods – Survey used – Forms of publication Detailed tables Analytical Tables Prepared by BLS Data Collection Forms Related Government Statistical Programs

15. Current Employment Survey Access to Tables http://www.bls.gov/bls/employment.htm Most popular tables Create Your Own Customized Tables – Single and multiple screen methods FTP Data Pre-Tabulated Data Special Analytical Tables Created by BLS

16. Current Population Survey http://www.bls.gov/cps/home.htm http://www.bls.gov/cps/home.htm Monthly survey of households rather than businesses Conducted by the Census Bureau Employment and unemployment by age, race, sex, education, etc. Why people dropped out of the labor force Wages Labor union membership, Special Analytical Tables Created by BLS

17. Local Area Unemployment http://www.bls.gov/lau/home.htm http://www.bls.gov/lau/home.htm Monthly employment and unemployment States, counties and places of 25,000+ Data from State Unemployment Insurance Records

18. Industries http://www.bls.gov/lau/home.htm http://www.bls.gov/lau/home.htm Employer Costs (Salaries and Benefits) Labor Productivity Occupational Safety and Health (responsibility of employer)

19. Employer Costs http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/home.htm Salary and benefits per hour for industries and occupations

20. Labor Productivity http://www.bls.gov/lpc/home.htm http://www.bls.gov/lpc/home.htm Output per hour worked and rate of change over time Available by industry Uses several different survey programs

21. Safety and Health http://www.bls.gov/iif/home.htm http://www.bls.gov/iif/home.htm Worker illnesses and fatalities Data comes from Occupational Safety and Health Administration Records Fatalities by cause, demographics, and industry Injuries by industry and days of missed work

22. Occupations http://www.bls.gov/bls/occupation.htm http://www.bls.gov/bls/occupation.htm Wages by Occupation (400) and Industry (750) for Nation, States, and Metropolitan Areas – very detailed Occupational Wages by State and Metropolitan Area – not by industry; less detailed Career Information Occupational Projections Occupational Outlook Handbook

23. Occupations http://www.bls.gov/oes/home.htm http://www.bls.gov/oes/home.htm Comparison of salaries by like occupation (e.g. computer and mathematics specialists) Salaries of detailed occupations (.e.g statisticians) by industry or state or metropolitan area

24. Occupations http://www.bls.gov/bls/blswage.htm http://www.bls.gov/bls/blswage.htm Helps employers set wage for new jobs Covers most metropolitan areas Broader groups of occupations (computer and mathematical scientists not statisticians)

25. Occupational Projections http://www.bls.gov/emp/home.htm http://www.bls.gov/emp/home.htm Compare growth rate of jobs by education or detailed occupation Compare growth industries and occupations within them

26. Occupational Outlook Handbook http://www.bls.gov/oco/home.htm http://www.bls.gov/oco/home.htm Helps high school and college students make career choices Searchable or browsable Provides – Educational requirements – Working conditions – Salaries – Job prospects

27. Inflation and Expenditures http://www.bls.gov/bls/inflation.htm http://www.bls.gov/bls/inflation.htm Consumer Price Index – Inflation rate used for government economic policies and salary increase Producer Prices – Inflation rate in wholesale prices – Used as economic predictor Consumer Expenditures – Spending habits used for marketing

28. Consumer Price Index http://www.bls.gov/cpi/home.htm http://www.bls.gov/cpi/home.htm Rate of change in cost of – Food – Shelter – Clothes – Transportation – Medical care – Recreation Collected monthly from 87 urban areas

29. Consumer Expenditures http://www.bls.gov/cex/home.htm http://www.bls.gov/cex/home.htm Annual amount spent on individual products by household characteristics Total amount spent on all products by household characteristics

30. Printed Publications http://www.bls.gov/opub/home.htm http://www.bls.gov/opub/home.htm BLS Handbook of Methods Occupational Outlook Handbook Occupational Outlook Quarterly Monthly Bulletin of Labor Statistics Technical Articles

31. BLS Index http://www.bls.gov/ http://www.bls.gov/ A-Z Index for Browsing Search Engine for Entire Web Site

32. Census Bureau Programs http://www.census.gov/ http://www.census.gov/ Census of Population and Housing (10 years) American Community Survey (annual) Current Population Survey (monthly) Economic Census (5 years) Census of Agriculture (5 years) County Business Patterns (annual) Trade Statistics (monthly)

33. Census Bureau Programs http://www.census.gov/ http://www.census.gov/ Census of Population and Housing Taken every 10 years Data to small geographic areas (8 blocks) Labor force status Occupation Industry Income and poverty Transportation to work

34. Census Bureau Programs http://www.census.gov/ http://www.census.gov/

35. Decennial Census http://factfinder.census.gov/ http://factfinder.census.gov/

36. Decennial Census http://factfinder.census.gov/ http://factfinder.census.gov/

37. Decennial Census http://www.census.gov/eeo2000/index.html http://www.census.gov/eeo2000/index.html Occupation by sex and race for places of 50,000+ Educational attainment by age, race and sex for places of 50,000+ For affirmative action hiring

38. Decennial Census http://www.census.gov/eeo2000/index.html http://www.census.gov/eeo2000/index.html

39. Current Population Survey http://www.census.gov/ http://www.census.gov/ Use A-Z Index to Access Most Subjects

40. County Business Patterns http://www.census.gov/epcd/cbp/view/cbpview.html http://www.census.gov/epcd/cbp/view/cbpview.html Employment and payrolls by detailed industry States, counties, metropolitan areas, and zip code Collected annually

41. Census of Agriculture http://www.nass.usda.gov/census/ http://www.nass.usda.gov/census/

42. National Center for Education Statistics http://www.nces.ed.gov/ http://www.nces.ed.gov/ Directories of schools and school districts with enrollment by race Enrollment, teachers, and school funding for all education levels by state National educational test results Outcomes of education (salaries by education level) Special studies on parental involvement, teacher unions, financial aid, early childhood education

43. National Center for Education Statistics http://www.nces.ed.gov/ http://www.nces.ed.gov/

44. Finding U.S. Government Statistics No single search engine for all variables Alternatives – FedStats http://www.fedstats.gov/> – Textual search engines http://www.google.com/unclesam http://www.firstgov.gov/ – List of Government Agencies in http://www.firstgov.gov http://www.firstgov.gov

45. Fedstats http://www.fedstats.gov/ http://www.fedstats.gov/

46. FirstGov http://www.firstgov.gov/ http://www.firstgov.gov/