(520 KB)
document for details on the most current production cycle.
Q: How do I select more than one state's data at a time?
A: Data from multiple states can be compared by selecting "United States" in the Geography Level dropdown. States' data are made available to users on a rolling basis every quarter, so data from different vintages may be available at any one time. Sub-state data from different states cannot currently be compared in QWI Explorer - we may offer these sub-state comparisons in future updates.
Q: How do I compare indicators in QWI Explorer?
A: QWI Explorer allows indicator comparisons by selecting one of three indicator categories (Counts, Rates, or Earnings) in the Group dropdown. Indicator values will appear as columns in the table, grouped in the bar/line chart, or mapped in the thematic map. You can now easily compare, for example, Beginning of Quarter Employment to End of Quarter Employment by selecting "Counts" as the Group category or Turnover Rate to Hiring Rate by selecting "Rates" as the Group category. Group by Indicator is not compatible with the Normalize by X-Axis/Group functionality.
Q: How can I avoid getting so many Settings Conflict popups?
A: The Settings Conflict popups appear when a user's selection is incompatible with a previously selected parameter. The popups can be disabled by clicking the "Advanced Settings" link to the top right of the application and activating one or both of the "Ignore Conflicts" checkboxes. When settings conflicts are ignored, QWI Explorer will resolve conflicts automatically.
These conflicts are the result of the many complex interactions that occur between the indicator's firm and worker characteristics as well as the various visualizations. The following list highlights the most common conflicts found in QWI Explorer:
Q: Why am I unable to group by more than 25 characteristics in the Bar Chart and 50 in the Line Chart?
A: The Bar Chart can handle up to 25 Group elements/characteristics and the Line Chart can handle up to 50 Group elements/characteristics selected at a time. If more than 25 elements are selected while the Bar Chart is active, only the first ten and last ten elements are shown in the chart, separated by an axis break symbol. If more than 50 elements are selected while the Line Chart is active, only the first 50 elements are shown as lines in the chart. There are no such Group limitations for the data shown in the table or map. These limits were imposed in order to ensure consistent and readable charts. To fit a category with more elements in the charts, users must select the desired category as the X-Axis rather than the Group.
Q: How do I open the QWI CSV file in Excel without corrupting the data?
A. If the CSV output from QWI Explorer is opened directly into Microsoft Excel, the categorical variable columns are often erroneously classified as numbers rather than text. This can cause leading zeroes to be dropped and other data corruption issues. The following steps are recommended in order to bring the CSV outputs into Excel:Q: How do the Line and Bar Chart visualizations handle the display of non-continuous data (specifically when Year/Quarter is the selected category in the X-Axis)?
A: The Bar Chart displays only the quarters that are selected in the X-Axis characteristics selection popup.
The Line Chart displays a continuous set of quarters along the horizontal axis regardless of what quarters are selected by the u ser (bounded by the first and last quarters selected). In the zoomed out view of the Line Chart, quarters that were not selecte d (and are therefore are not contributing to the plotting of the line) are indicated with light pink fill in the background. In the zoomed in view, quarters that were not selected are missing the circular data points along each line. If a continuous set of a single quarter is selected (e.g. all 2nd Quarters from 2000 to 2012, in order to remove seasonality), the chart will be lab eled "Q# Series" and the pink fill will be removed from the background of the chart.
Q: How do I use the data normalization/share of total functionality in QWI Explorer?
A: Click the Normalize on X-Axis or Normalize on Group checkbox to normalize the data table and chart/map by the column total or the row total (or if Quarter is the active X-Axis or Group category, normalized by the oldest selected quarter). The total for each column or row (i.e. the denominator used in normalization) can be added to the table and chart/map for reference by clicking the blue text below the X-Axis/Group dropdown and activating the topmost checkbox.
The data normalization/share of total functionality has the following caveats:
Q: How do I compare yearly averages in QWI Explorer?
A: QWI Explorer allows comparisons of yearly averages by selecting "Yearly Averages" in the X-Axis or Group dropdowns. Yearly averages are calculated using all available quarters within each selected year. Count indicators get a simple average while Rate and Earnings indicators get a weighted average. The availability of historical data varies by state.
Q: Why is the data's most current quarter different from state to state?
A: As mentioned in the first FAQ above, QWI data are still submitted and processed on a state-by-state basis. States' data are made available to users on a rolling basis every quarter, so updated data for a larger state (such as California or Texas) may not be available in the QWI Explorer until several weeks after smaller states' data is available. For more information on the status of a particular state's QWI data, please review the QWI Database Status Table .
Additionally, data submission delays or quality assurance issues can cause some states to skip the most current QWI Production cycle. Please see the QWI Data Notices
(520 KB)
document for details on the most current production cycle.
Q: What are the units for the 32 Indicators?
A. The QWIs can be organized into three categories, Counts, Rates, and Earnings.
There are four rate indicators:
Q: How can I view data by Firm Age and Firm Size?
A: Firm Age and Firm Size characteristics are available as a Beta release of QWI data. These firm characteristics are only available under the following conditions:
For more information on Firm Age and Size characteristics in the QWI data, please see the Firm Age/Size Release Notice
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.
Q: Why are the QWIs not available for all quarters?
A. Not all indicators are available in all quarters, as most require leading or lagging data for calculation. Some indicators, such as TurnOvrS, SepSnx, EarnSepS, require two leading quarters in order to calculate. Please refer to the QWI 101
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document for specific time constraints by indicator.
Q: How are indicators aggregated when multiple characteristics from the same category are selected as filters?
A: When multiple characteristics are selected in the Filters/Aggregations popup, QWI Explorer aggregates characteristics according to the following rules:
Q: What is the geographic vintage of the tabulation areas in the QWI data?
A: Geographic tabulation areas in the QWI data are based on the previous year's TIGER/Line Census geography as of the first release each year (i.e 2018 TIGER/Line geographies are used as of the R2019Q1 vintage). Since the entire time series of QWI data are recalculated every quarter, this means that all years and quarters of data are tabulated in the most current geographies available. See https://lehd.ces.census.gov/data/schema/latest/lehd_public_use_schema.html#_geography for more information on the current geographic vintage.
If there an FAQ missing? Please help us make our documentation pages as useful as possible! Submit FAQ suggestions to CES.QWI.Feedback@census.gov with subject heading QWI Explorer: FAQ Suggestions.