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