QCEW - Georgia Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (Readme file) The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, or QCEW (formerly called the Covered Employment and Wages Program, or ES-202 Program), is one of the central programs supporting economic research on employment and earnings. Georgia's QCEW Program is a cooperative endeavor with the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The QCEW Program is a comprehensive and accurate source of employment and wage data, by industry, at the state, regional and county levels. The primary report to BLS is the Enhanced Quartery Unemployment Insurance (EQUI) file. The QCEW Program provides a virtual census of nonagricultural employees and their wages representing approximately 98 Percent of Georgia's nonfarm employment. "Covered" employment refers broadly to private sector employees, as well as state, county and municipal government employees insured under the Employment Security Act. Federal employees are insured under separate laws but are considered covered for the purposes of the QCEW employment and wages program. Railroad workers, elected officials, student workers and some agricultural workers are examples of types of employees not included in the QCEW report although the BLS estimates that 44 percent of agricultural workers nationally are included in the survey. Total wages include gross wages and salaries, pay for vacation and other paid leave, tips and other gratuities that are reported to the employer, bonuses (including severance pay), stock options, some sickness and disability payments, the cash value of meals and lodging, and, in some states, contributions to deferred compensation plans (such as 401k plans). In Georgia, only currently taxable income is reported; i.e., no profit sharing or contributions to Employee Stock Ownership Programs (ESOPs) are included. Source of the Data QCEW data is collected in close cooperation with the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Tax division of the Department of Labor. The UI tax law requires wage and employment reporting for all the firms covered under the UI tax code. The QCEW conducts ongoing surveys to verify the location and type of economic activity occurring at each of the more than 220,000 reporting units (firms) in the state. An employer may operate in a number of different locations. For example, The fact that there are seven post offices in Morrison County, for example, helps evaluate the economic health of that area. In addition, firms might also distinguish between sales and manufacturing operations, which occur at the same site. A government entity might distinguish between judicial administration, police protection and correctional institutions even though all three may be operating at the same location. Providing the most accurate picture of the economy possible obtaining detailed reporting essential. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) uses QCEW data as a major input in estimating Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Other BLS federal/state statistical programs, including Current Employment Statistics (CES) and Occupational Employment Statistics (OES), use the QCEW report as a sampling frame and for benchmarking. QCEW data are used to set maximum Unemployment Insurance benefit levels, assist in determining the solvency of the UI Trust Fund. QCEW data also are used in making determinations of state eligibility for federal assistance. QCEW data are used in state revenue forecasting, employment density studies for developing transportation policies, and for economic planning and development. The Enhanced Quarterly Unemployment Insurance (EQUI) file serves as the sample frame for national economic statistical surveys which produce the Producer Price Index, Occupational Safety and Health Statistics, and the Employment Cost Index. Confidentiality (Nondisclosure / ND) To assure the anonymity of U.I. covered firms, public disclosure of all QCEW Report data is contingent on the number of U.I. covered accounts included in an individual data sector. and each account's share of the employment reported in that data sector. Data for any QCEW Report detail or total record, or for levels summarized from individual data records (such as summarized industry level data), that has less than three establishments shall not be disclosed. If there are three or more establishments, then data are also withheld if one establishment comprises 80 percent or more of the record employment. The value of withheld data will not be discernible through simple calculations of other released data. The above criteria were used in coding the data in the following tables for nondisclosure. In instances where data has been determined to be nondisclosable, an (nd) has been inserted in the following fields: # of Units Employment (all months and average) Total Wages Average Weekly Wage In addition, to ensure nondisclosable data is not divulged, data sufficient to bring the nondisclosable data to within the above tolerances has also been masked with "nd" flags. Geographic Coverage: Statewide, Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA's), and Counties. Tables are in text format. File names are displayed as listed below. Source_Area_Period_Periodtype Source: Statistical Summaries of Employment and Wages Reports (QCEW) Area: Alb Albany Atl Atlanta Ath Athens Aug Augusta Col Columbus Mac Macon Sav Savannah Ga Georgia Hrs Hourly ST State MSA Metropolitan Statistical Area Period: 1990 - 2000 using the last two characters of that year i.e. 1999=99 and 2000=00 Periodtype: a Annual 01 January 02 February 03 March 04 April q1 1st Quarter q2 2nd Quarter q3 3rd Quarter 01a 1999 Annual 02q1 1st Quarter 2002 Question concerning information listed in QCEW tables contact: Roger.Salandi@dol.state.ga.us Georgia Department of Labor Workforce Information & Analysis Division 148 International Blvd Atlanta, GA 30303 Pnone (404) 232-3875, Extension 21298