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 Count Measures

QWI Variable

Job Reference

Description

Leading Quarters

Lagging Quarters

Public Use QWI

\(B\)

\(b\)

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 Earnings

QWI Variable

Job Reference

Description

Leading Quarters

Lagging Quarters

Earnings Base

Public Use QWI

\(W2B\)

\(w2b\)

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 Establishment-level Calculations

QWI Variable

Description

Leading Quarters

Lagging Quarters

Calculation

Public Use QWI

\(Ebar\)

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)

Access Requirements for 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 Format

SAS Data Table

Download Codebook

CSV

Variable Information

Variable Information for QWI_ZZ_SEINUNIT
Variable Name Type Length Description
SEIN char 12 State Employer ID Number
SEINUNIT char 5 State UI Reporting Unit Number
YEAR num 4 Year YYYY
QUARTER num 4 Quarter QQ

ES_OWNER_CODE

char 1

Cleaned OWNER_CODE O (See details in appendix)

GEOID_2020 char 15 Census geocode: Tabulation state FIPS (2) || Tabulation county FIPS (3) || tract (6) || block (4)

LEG_GEO_QUAL

num 3

Quality of final geography (See details in appendix)

SIC1987FNL

char 6

Cleaned SIC Code IIII (See details in appendix)

NAICS2022FNL

char 6

Final 2022 NAICS Code NNNNNN (See details in appendix)

DELTA num 8 Ramp fuzz factor
DELTAZ num 8 Ramp fuzz factor- Z measures

LEG_CBSA

char 5

Core-Based Statistical Area (See details in appendix)

LEG_STATE

char 2

ES202 FIPS State SS (See details in appendix)

LEG_COUNTY

char 5

(See details in appendix)

LEG_WIB

char 8

(See details in appendix)

QWI_UNIT_WEIGHT num 3 UI this quarter and ES in at least one quarter

ES_STATE

char 2

(See details in appendix)

UNIT_QUARTERS_OFF num 3 Number of quarters away from data that establishment was found
QWI_FINAL_WEIGHT num 3 In-scope for QWI tabulation
B num 8 Beginning-of-period employment
E num 8 End-of-period employment
M num 8 Employment any time during the period
F num 8 Full-quarter employment
H3 num 8 Full-quarter new hires
W1 num 8 Total payroll of all employees
W2B num 8 Average monthly earnings of beginning-of-period employees
W3 num 8 Average monthly earnings of full-quarter employees
WH3 num 8 Average monthly earnings of new hires to full-quarter status
DELTA_B num 8 Fuzzed: Beginning-of-period employment
DELTA_E num 8 Fuzzed: End-of-period employment
DELTA_M num 8 Fuzzed: Employment any time during the period
DELTA_F num 8 Fuzzed: Full-quarter employment
FPV num 8 Full-quarter employment - previous quarter
DELTA_FPV num 8 Fuzzed: Full-quarter employment - previous quarter
A num 8 Accessions
DELTA_A num 8 Fuzzed: Accessions
CA num 8 Accession into Continuing Quarter Employment
DELTA_CA num 8 Fuzzed: Accession into Continuing Quarter Employment
FA num 8 Flow into full-quarter employment
DELTA_FA num 8 Fuzzed: Flow into full-quarter employment
S num 8 Separations
DELTA_S num 8 Fuzzed: Separations
CS num 8 Separations from Continuing Quarter Employment
DELTA_CS num 8 Fuzzed: Separations from Continuing Quarter Employment
FS num 8 Flow out of full-quarter employment
DELTA_FS num 8 Fuzzed: Flow out of full-quarter employment
FSNX num 8 Flow out of full-quarter employment - next quarter
DELTA_FSNX num 8 Fuzzed: Flow out of full-quarter employment - next quarter
H num 8 New hires
DELTA_H num 8 Fuzzed: New hires
CH num 8 New Hires into Continuous Quarter Employment
DELTA_H3 num 8 Fuzzed: Full-quarter new hires
R num 8 Recalls
DELTA_R num 8 Fuzzed: Recalls
CR num 8 Recalls into Continuous Quarter Employment
DELTA_W1 num 8 Fuzzed: Total payroll of all employees
DELTA_W2B num 8 Fuzzed: Average monthly earnings of beginning-of-period employees
DELTA_W3 num 8 Fuzzed: Average monthly earnings of full-quarter employees
WFA num 8 Average monthly earnings of transits to full-quarter status
DELTA_WFA num 8 Fuzzed: Average monthly earnings of transits to full-quarter status
DELTA_WH3 num 8 Fuzzed: Average monthly earnings of new hires to full-quarter status
WFS num 8 Average monthly earnings of separations from full-quarter status
DELTA_WFS num 8 Fuzzed: Average monthly earnings of separations from full-quarter status
EBAR num 8 Average employment
DELTA_EBAR num 8 Fuzzed: Average employment
JF num 8 Net job flows
DELTA_JF num 8 Fuzzed: Net job flows
JC num 8 Job creation
DELTA_JC num 8 Fuzzed: Job creation
JCR num 8 Average job creation rate
JD num 8 Job destruction
DELTA_JD num 8 Fuzzed: Job destruction
JDR num 8 Average job destruction rate
FBAR num 8 Average full-quarter employment
DELTA_FBAR num 8 Fuzzed: Average full-quarter employment
FJF num 8 Net change in full-quarter employment
DELTA_FJF num 8 Fuzzed: Net change in full-quarter employment
FG num 8 Average full-quarter employment growth rate
FJC num 8 Full-quarter job creation
DELTA_FJC num 8 Fuzzed: Full-quarter job creation
FJCR num 8 Average full-quarter job creation rate
FJD num 8 Full-quarter job destruction
DELTA_FJD num 8 Fuzzed: Full-quarter job destruction
FJDR num 8 Average full-quarter job destruction rate
AR num 8 Average accession rate
SR num 8 Average separation rate
FAR num 8 Average rate of flow into full-quarter employment
FSR num 8 Average rate of flow out of full-quarter employment