3.3. Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI)
3.3.1. Overview
The Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI) are a set of measures of workforce composition and worker turnover calculated from unemployment insurance wage records. The QWI SEINUNIT table contains these measures calculated at the establishment level. Internally, this table is referenced as the Unit Flows File (UFF_B).
Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI_ZZ_SEINUNIT)
Scope: State
Key: SEIN YEAR QUARTER SEINUNIT
Establishment-level measures include:
Worker and Job Flows: accessions, separations, job creation, job destruction
Worker compensation for stocks and flows
Dynamic worker compensation summary statistics for stocks and flows
The QWI may be used in combination with the ECF to match to other Census micro business databases and can be linked by employer-establishment identifiers to other LEHD Infrastructure files. Aggregated versions of some of these measures are available in the QWI public use data.
3.3.2. User Guidance
QWI Calculation
QWI measures are calculated at the job level using the longitudinal work history of the worker at the employer. The work history has been corrected to account for successor-predecessor relationships (jobs reported to multiple SEINs which should be considered a single spell of employment). Measures are weighted to account for multiple imputation as well as successor-predecessor reporting issues. Measures are then aggregated to the establishment level for the QWI microdata table. Job creation, job destruction, and a number of rates are calculated after aggregation.
Because only quarterly earnings are available in the job history, patterns of zero or positive earnings are referenced to generate QWI count measures. Some basic concepts used in defining QWI measures follows. The full definitions of QWI measures are presented in Abowd et al. [2009].
- Flow employment
Any job with positive earnings in quarter t is counted towards flow employment (M) in t. It is noted that this measure may contain a significant fraction of short duration jobs that do not survive the quarter.
- Point-in-time employment
A job with positive earnings in quarters t and t+1 is inferred to be active at the seam between the quarters. This counts as an end-of-quarter job (E) in t, and a beginning-of-quarter job (B) in t+1.
- Separations
A job with earnings in t and no earnings in t+1 is counted as a separation (S) in t. Separations from continuning quarter employment (CS) is a recommended measure, as it ignores noise from short duration jobs.
- Accessions
A job with no earnings in t-1 and earnings in the t is counted as an accession (A) in t. Accessions into continuning quarter employment (CA) is a recommended measure, as it ignores noise from short duration jobs.
- Full quarter
A job with earnings in t-1, t, and t+1 is considered full quarter employed (stable) in t. This concept is used to calculate measures of average earnings per job, removing jobs that are active for only part of the quarter. Note, this could represent a mix of full- and part-time jobs.
The number of leading or lagging quarters of data required for the calculation of a measure is presented on the detailed tables that follow.
QWI Count Measures
These primary counts are calculated at the job level and aggregated to the establishment level. A job-level reference is provided to assist in cross-referencing variables in Abowd et al. [2009]. For corresponding measures that are released in QWI public use files, the public use name is given.
QWI Variable |
Job Reference |
Description |
Leading Quarters |
Lagging Quarters |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
\(B\) |
\(b\) |
Beginning-of-period employment |
1 |
0 |
Emp |
\(E\) |
\(e\) |
End-of-period employment |
0 |
1 |
EmpEnd |
\(M\) |
\(m\) |
Employment any time during the period |
0 |
0 |
EmpTotal |
\(F\) |
\(f\) |
Full-quarter employment |
1 |
1 |
EmpS |
\(Fpv\) |
Full-quarter employment - previous quarter |
2 |
1 |
EmpSpv |
|
\(A\) |
\(a1\) |
Accessions |
1 |
0 |
HirA |
\(CA\) |
\(a2\) |
Accession into Continuing Quarter Employment |
1 |
1 |
HirAEnd |
\(FA\) |
\(a3\) |
Flow into full-quarter employment |
2 |
1 |
HirAS |
\(S\) |
\(s1\) |
Separations |
0 |
1 |
Sep |
\(CS\) |
\(s2\) |
Separations from Continuing Quarter Employment |
1 |
1 |
SepBeg |
\(FS\) |
\(s3\) |
Flow out of full-quarter employment |
2 |
1 |
SepS |
\(FSnx\) |
Flow out of full-quarter employment - next quarter |
1 |
2 |
SepSnx |
|
\(H\) |
\(h1\) |
New hires |
4 |
0 |
HirN |
\(CH\) |
\(h2\) |
New Hires into Continuous Quarter Employment |
4 |
1 |
|
\(H3\) |
\(h3\) |
Full-quarter new hires |
5 |
1 |
HirNS |
\(R\) |
\(r1\) |
Recalls |
4 |
0 |
HirR |
\(CR\) |
\(r2\) |
Recalls into Continuous Quarter Employment |
4 |
1 |
|
\(W1\) |
\(w1\) |
Total payroll of all employees |
0 |
0 |
Payroll |
QWI Earnings
Total earnings for select full quarter job histories are aggregated to the establishment level. These are presented as average monthly earnings, dividing the quarterly earnings by 3. The base count associated with the total earnings is given. A job-level reference is provided to assist in cross-referencing variables in Abowd et al. [2009]. For corresponding measures of earnings per job released in QWI public use files, the public use name is given.
QWI Variable |
Job Reference |
Description |
Leading Quarters |
Lagging Quarters |
Earnings Base |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
\(W2B\) |
\(w2b\) |
Average monthly earnings of beginning-of-period employees |
1 |
0 |
\(B\) |
EarnBeg |
\(W3\) |
\(w3\) |
Average monthly earnings of full-quarter employees |
1 |
1 |
\(F\) |
EarnS |
\(WFA\) |
\(wa3\) |
Average monthly earnings of transits to full-quarter status |
2 |
1 |
\(FA\) |
EarnHirAS |
\(WH3\) |
\(wh3\) |
Average monthly earnings of new hires to full-quarter status |
5 |
1 |
\(H3\) |
EarnHirNS |
\(WFS\) |
\(ws3\) |
Average monthly earnings of separations from full-quarter status |
1 |
2 |
\(FSnx\) |
EarnSepS |
Establishment-level Calculations
After aggregation to the establishment level, a number of measures are created based on the primary counts. For corresponding measures that are released in QWI public use files, the public use name is given.
QWI Variable |
Description |
Leading Quarters |
Lagging Quarters |
Calculation |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
\(Ebar\) |
Average employment |
1 |
1 |
\((E + B) / 2\) |
|
\(JF\) |
Net job flows |
1 |
1 |
\(E-B\) |
FrmJbC |
\(JC\) |
Job creation |
1 |
1 |
\(max(0,JF)\) |
FrmJbGn |
\(JCR\) |
Average job creation rate |
1 |
1 |
\(JC /Ebar\) |
|
\(JD\) |
Job destruction |
1 |
1 |
\(|min(0,JF)|\) |
FrmJbLs |
\(JDR\) |
Average job destruction rate |
1 |
1 |
\(JD /Ebar\) |
|
\(Fbar\) |
Average full-quarter employment |
2 |
1 |
\((F + Fpv)/2\) |
|
\(FJF\) |
Net change in full-quarter employment |
2 |
1 |
\(F-Fpv\) |
FrmJbCS |
\(FG\) |
Average full-quarter employment growth rate |
2 |
1 |
\(FJF /Fbar\) |
|
\(FJC\) |
Full-quarter job creation |
2 |
1 |
\(max(0,FJF)\) |
FrmJbGnS |
\(FJCR\) |
Average full-quarter job creation rate |
2 |
1 |
\(FJC /Fbar\) |
|
\(FJD\) |
Full-quarter job destruction |
2 |
1 |
\(|min(0,FJF)|\) |
FrmJbLsS |
\(FJDR\) |
Average full-quarter job destruction rate |
2 |
1 |
\(FJD / Fbar\) |
|
\(AR\) |
Average accession rate |
1 |
1 |
\(A / Ebar\) |
|
\(SR\) |
Average separation rate |
1 |
1 |
\(S / Ebar\) |
|
\(FAR\) |
Average rate of flow into full-quarter employment |
2 |
1 |
\(FA / Fbar\) |
|
\(FSR\) |
Average rate of flow out of full-quarter employment |
2 |
1 |
\(FS / Fbar\) |
Establishment Characteristics on QWI Table
The establishment characteristics on the QWI table are acquired through a lookup to the Employer Characteristics File (ECF), using a key of SEIN-SEINUNIT-YEAR-QUARTER. Because the establishment may not exist on the ECF in all quarters it appears on the QWI table, a longitudinal lookup may be used to get characteristics from a following quarter. This is indicated in the UNIT_QUARTERS_OFF variable. For more information on this lookup, see Adding Establishment Characteristics.
3.3.3. Codebook
Table Metadata for Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI_ZZ_SEINUNIT)
| State Approval Required | IRS Approval Required | SSA Approval Required | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access Requirements | X |
- Description
The microdata version of the public use QWI data, containing establishment-level hires, separations, net job growth, and average earnings.
- Scope
State
- Key
sein year quarter seinunit
- Sort Order
sein year quarter seinunit
- File Formats
SAS Data Table, Parquet
- Download Codebook
Variable Information
| Variable Name | SAS Variable Type | SAS Variable Length | Parquet Variable Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| sein | char | 12 | string | State Employer ID Number |
| seinunit | char | 5 | string | State UI Reporting Unit Number |
| year | num | 4 | uint32 | Year YYYY |
| quarter | num | 4 | uint8 | Quarter QQ |
| char | 1 | string | Cleaned OWNER_CODE O (See details below) |
|
| geoid_2020 | char | 15 | string | Census geocode: Tabulation state FIPS (2) || Tabulation county FIPS (3) || tract (6) || block (4) |
| num | 3 | uint8 | Quality of final geography (See details below) |
|
| char | 6 | string | Cleaned SIC Code IIII (See details in appendix) |
|
| char | 6 | string | Final 2022 NAICS Code NNNNNN (See details in appendix) |
|
| delta | num | 8 | float64 | Ramp fuzz factor |
| deltaz | num | 8 | float64 | Ramp fuzz factor- Z measures |
| char | 5 | string | Core-Based Statistical Area (See details in appendix) |
|
| char | 2 | string | ES202 FIPS State SS (See details in appendix) |
|
| char | 5 | string | ||
| char | 8 | string | ||
| qwi_unit_weight | num | 3 | float32 | UI this quarter and ES in at least one quarter |
| char | 2 | string | ||
| unit_quarters_off | num | 3 | float32 | Number of quarters away from data that establishment was found |
| qwi_final_weight | num | 3 | float32 | In-scope for QWI tabulation |
| b | num | 8 | float64 | Beginning-of-period employment |
| e | num | 8 | float64 | End-of-period employment |
| m | num | 8 | float64 | Employment any time during the period |
| f | num | 8 | float64 | Full-quarter employment |
| h3 | num | 8 | float64 | Full-quarter new hires |
| w1 | num | 8 | float64 | Total payroll of all employees |
| w2b | num | 8 | float64 | Average monthly earnings of beginning-of-period employees |
| w3 | num | 8 | float64 | Average monthly earnings of full-quarter employees |
| wh3 | num | 8 | float64 | Average monthly earnings of new hires to full-quarter status |
| delta_b | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Beginning-of-period employment |
| delta_e | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: End-of-period employment |
| delta_m | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Employment any time during the period |
| delta_f | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Full-quarter employment |
| fpv | num | 8 | float64 | Full-quarter employment - previous quarter |
| delta_fpv | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Full-quarter employment - previous quarter |
| a | num | 8 | float64 | Accessions |
| delta_a | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Accessions |
| ca | num | 8 | float64 | Accession into Continuing Quarter Employment |
| delta_ca | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Accession into Continuing Quarter Employment |
| fa | num | 8 | float64 | Flow into full-quarter employment |
| delta_fa | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Flow into full-quarter employment |
| s | num | 8 | float64 | Separations |
| delta_s | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Separations |
| cs | num | 8 | float64 | Separations from Continuing Quarter Employment |
| delta_cs | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Separations from Continuing Quarter Employment |
| fs | num | 8 | float64 | Flow out of full-quarter employment |
| delta_fs | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Flow out of full-quarter employment |
| fsnx | num | 8 | float64 | Flow out of full-quarter employment - next quarter |
| delta_fsnx | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Flow out of full-quarter employment - next quarter |
| h | num | 8 | float64 | New hires |
| delta_h | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: New hires |
| ch | num | 8 | float64 | New Hires into Continuous Quarter Employment |
| delta_h3 | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Full-quarter new hires |
| r | num | 8 | float64 | Recalls |
| delta_r | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Recalls |
| cr | num | 8 | float64 | Recalls into Continuous Quarter Employment |
| delta_w1 | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Total payroll of all employees |
| delta_w2b | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Average monthly earnings of beginning-of-period employees |
| delta_w3 | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Average monthly earnings of full-quarter employees |
| wfa | num | 8 | float64 | Average monthly earnings of transits to full-quarter status |
| delta_wfa | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Average monthly earnings of transits to full-quarter status |
| delta_wh3 | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Average monthly earnings of new hires to full-quarter status |
| wfs | num | 8 | float64 | Average monthly earnings of separations from full-quarter status |
| delta_wfs | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Average monthly earnings of separations from full-quarter status |
| ebar | num | 8 | float64 | Average employment |
| delta_ebar | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Average employment |
| jf | num | 8 | float64 | Net job flows |
| delta_jf | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Net job flows |
| jc | num | 8 | float64 | Job creation |
| delta_jc | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Job creation |
| jcr | num | 8 | float64 | Average job creation rate |
| jd | num | 8 | float64 | Job destruction |
| delta_jd | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Job destruction |
| jdr | num | 8 | float64 | Average job destruction rate |
| fbar | num | 8 | float64 | Average full-quarter employment |
| delta_fbar | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Average full-quarter employment |
| fjf | num | 8 | float64 | Net change in full-quarter employment |
| delta_fjf | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Net change in full-quarter employment |
| fg | num | 8 | float64 | Average full-quarter employment growth rate |
| fjc | num | 8 | float64 | Full-quarter job creation |
| delta_fjc | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Full-quarter job creation |
| fjcr | num | 8 | float64 | Average full-quarter job creation rate |
| fjd | num | 8 | float64 | Full-quarter job destruction |
| delta_fjd | num | 8 | float64 | Fuzzed: Full-quarter job destruction |
| fjdr | num | 8 | float64 | Average full-quarter job destruction rate |
| ar | num | 8 | float64 | Average accession rate |
| sr | num | 8 | float64 | Average separation rate |
| far | num | 8 | float64 | Average rate of flow into full-quarter employment |
| fsr | num | 8 | float64 | Average rate of flow out of full-quarter employment |
Details for variable es_owner_code on QWI_ZZ_SEINUNIT
- Description
Cleaned OWNER_CODE O
- Codebook
Code Label 1 Federal government 2 State government 3 Local government 5 Private ownership
Details for variable leg_geo_qual on QWI_ZZ_SEINUNIT
- Description
Quality of final geography
- Codebook
Code Label 1 Physical address location based on complete street address 2 Physical address location based on ZIP+4, ZIP+2, or USPS finance area centroid 3 Physical address location based on street or ZIP Code centroid with block group accuracy 4 Physical address location based on street centroid within a tract, ZIP Code, or city; a 5-digit ZIP Code; or a municipality centroid 5 Mailing address location based on complete street address 6 Mailing address location based on ZIP+4, ZIP+2, or USPS finance area centroid 7 Mailing address location based on street or ZIP Code centroid with block group accuracy 8 Mailing address location based on street centroid within a tract, ZIP Code, or city; a 5-digit ZIP Code; or a municipality centroid 9 County assignment from QCEW 10 County imputation