Important
This document is not an official Census Bureau publication. It is compiled from publicly accessible information by Lars Vilhuber (Labor Dynamics Institute, Cornell University). Feedback is welcome. Please write us at lars.vilhuber@cornell.edu. |
1. Purpose
The public-use Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI) data from the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics Program are available for download with the following data schema. These data are available as Comma-Separated Value (CSV) files through the LEHD website’s Data page at http://lehd.ces.census.gov/data/ and through LED Extraction Tool at http://ledextract.ces.census.gov/.
This document describes the data schema for QWI files. For each variable, a set of allowable values is defined. Definitions are provided as CSV files, with header variable definitions. Changes relative to the original v4.0 version are listed at the end.
2. File naming
The naming conventions of the data files is documented in lehd_csv_naming.html.
3. Extends
This version extends v4.0. Any file compliant with LEHD or QWI Schema v4.0 will also be compliant with this schema.
4. Basic Schema
Each data file is structured as a CSV file. The first columns contain identifiers, subsequent columns contain indicators, followed by status flags.
4.1. Generic structure
Column name |
---|
[ Identifier1 ] |
[ Identifier2 ] |
[ Identifier3 ] |
[ … ] |
[ Indicator 1 ] |
[ Indicator 2 ] |
[ Indicator 3 ] |
[ … ] |
[ Status Flag 1 ] |
[ Status Flag 2 ] |
[ Status Flag 3 ] |
[ … ] |
Note: A full list of indicators for each type of file are shown below in the Indicators section. While all indicators are included in the CSV files, only the requested indicators will be included in data outputs from the LED Extraction Tool.
4.2. Identifiers
Records, unless otherwise noted, are parts of time-series data. Unique record identifiers are noted below, by file type. Identifiers without the year and quarter component can be considered a series identifier.
4.2.1. Identifiers for qwi
Variable | Type | label |
---|---|---|
periodicity |
Char(1) |
Periodicity of report |
seasonadj |
Char(1) |
Seasonal Adjustment Indicator |
geo_level |
Char(1) |
Group: Geographic level of aggregation |
geography |
Char(8) |
Group: Geography code |
ind_level |
Char(1) |
Group: Industry level of aggregation |
industry |
Char(5) |
Group: Industry code |
ownercode |
Char(3) |
Group: Ownership group code |
sex |
Char(1) |
Group: Gender code |
agegrp |
Char(3) |
Group: Age group code (WIA) |
race |
Char(2) |
Group: race |
ethnicity |
Char(2) |
Group: ethnicity |
education |
Char(2) |
Group: education |
firmage |
Char(1) |
Group: Firm Age group |
firmsize |
Char(1) |
Group: Firm Size group |
year |
Num |
Time: Year |
quarter |
Num |
Time: Quarter |
4.3. Indicators
The following tables and associated mapping files list the indicators available on each file. The 'Indicator Variable' is the short name of the variable on the CSV files, suitable for machine processing in a wide variety of statistical applications. When given, the 'Alternate name' may appear in related documentation and articles. The 'Status Flag' is used to indicate publication or data quality status (see Status Flags). The 'Indicator Name' is a more verbose description of the indicator.
Indicator Variable | Alternate name | Status Flag | Indicator Name |
---|---|---|---|
Emp |
B |
sEmp |
Beginning-of-Quarter Employment: Counts |
EmpEnd |
E |
sEmpEnd |
End-of-Quarter Employment: Counts |
EmpS |
F |
sEmpS |
Full-Quarter Employment (Stable): Counts |
EmpSpv |
Fprev |
sEmpSpv |
Full-Quarter Employment in the Previous Quarter: Counts |
EmpTotal |
M |
sEmpTotal |
Employment - Reference Quarter: Counts |
HirA |
A |
sHirA |
Hires All: Counts (Accessions) |
HirN |
H1 |
sHirN |
Hires New: Counts |
HirR |
R1 |
sHirR |
Hires Recalls: Counts |
Sep |
S |
sSep |
Separations: Counts |
HirAEnd |
A2 |
sHirAEnd |
End-of-Quarter Hires |
HirAEndR |
A2R |
sHirAEndR |
End-of-Quarter Hiring Rate |
SepBeg |
S2 |
sSepBeg |
Beginning-of-Quarter Separations |
SepBegR |
S2R |
sSepBegR |
Beginning-of-Quarter Separation Rate |
HirAs |
A3 |
sHirAs |
Hires All (Stable): Counts (Flows into Full-Quarter Employment) |
HirNs |
H3 |
sHirNs |
Hires New (Stable): Counts (New Hires to Full-Quarter Status) |
SepS |
S3 |
sSepS |
Separations (Stable): Counts (Flow out of Full-Quarter Employment) |
SepSnx |
S3R |
sSepSnx |
Separations (Stable): Next Quarter: Counts (Flow out of Full-Quarter Employment) |
TurnOvrS |
FT |
sTurnOvrS |
Turnover (Stable) |
FrmJbGn |
JC |
sFrmJbGn |
Firm Job Gains: Counts (Job Creation) |
FrmJobLs |
JD |
sFrmJobLs |
Firm Job Loss: Counts (Job Destruction) |
FrmJbC |
JF |
sFrmJbC |
Firm Job Change: Net Change |
HirAEndRepl |
EI |
sHirAEndRepl |
Replacement Hires |
HirAEndReplr |
EIR |
sHirAEndReplr |
Replacement Hiring Rate |
FrmJbGnS |
FJC |
sFrmJbGnS |
Firm Job Gains (Stable): Counts |
FrmJbLsS |
FJD |
sFrmJbLsS |
Firm Job Loss (Stable): Counts |
FrmJbCS |
FJF |
sFrmJbCS |
Job Change (Stable): Net Change |
EarnS |
ZW3 |
sEarnS |
Full Quarter Employment (Stable): Average Monthly Earnings |
EarnBeg |
ZW1 |
sEarnBeg |
Beginning-of-Quarter Employment: Average Monthly Earnings |
EarnHirAS |
ZWFA |
sEarnHirAS |
Hires All (Stable): Average Monthly Earnings |
EarnHireNS |
ZWFH |
sEarnHireNS |
Hires New (Stable): Average Monthly Earnings |
EarnSepS |
ZWFS |
sEarnSepS |
Separations (Stable): Average Monthly Earnings |
Payroll |
W1 |
sPayroll |
Total Quarterly Payroll: Sum |
5. Categorical Variables
Categorical variable descriptions are displayed above each table, with the variable name shown in parentheses. Unless otherwise stated, every possible value/label combination for each categorical variable is listed. Please note that not all values will be available in every table.
5.1. agegrp
( label_agegrp.csv )
agegrp | label |
---|---|
A00 |
All Ages (14-99) |
A01 |
14-18 |
A02 |
19-21 |
A03 |
22-24 |
A04 |
25-34 |
A05 |
35-44 |
A06 |
45-54 |
A07 |
55-64 |
A08 |
65-99 |
5.2. education
education | label |
---|---|
E0 |
All Education Categories |
E1 |
Less than high school |
E2 |
High school or equivalent, no college |
E3 |
Some college or Associate degree |
E4 |
Bachelor’s degree or advanced degree |
E5 |
Educational attainment not available (workers aged 24 or younger) |
5.3. ethnicity
ethnicity | label |
---|---|
A0 |
All Ethnicities |
A1 |
Not Hispanic or Latino |
A2 |
Hispanic or Latino |
5.4. firmage
firmage | label |
---|---|
0 |
All Firm Ages |
1 |
0-1 Years |
2 |
2-3 Years |
3 |
4-5 Years |
4 |
6-10 Years |
5 |
11+ Years |
5.5. firmsize
firmsize | label |
---|---|
0 |
All Firm Sizes |
1 |
0-19 Employees |
2 |
20-49 Employees |
3 |
50-249 Employees |
4 |
250-499 Employees |
5 |
500+ Employees |
5.8. race
( label_race.csv )
race | label |
---|---|
A0 |
All Races |
A1 |
White Alone |
A2 |
Black or African American Alone |
A3 |
American Indian or Alaska Native Alone |
A4 |
Asian Alone |
A5 |
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander Alone |
A6 |
Some Other Race Alone (Not Used) |
A7 |
Two or More Race Groups |
5.9. seasonadj
seasonadj | label |
---|---|
S |
Seasonally adjusted |
U |
Not seasonally adjusted |
5.11. Industry
5.11.1. Industry levels
ind_level | label |
---|---|
3 |
NAICS Subsectors |
4 |
NAICS Industry Groups |
A |
All Industries |
S |
NAICS Sectors |
5.11.2. Industry
Only a small subset of available values shown. The 2012 NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) is used for all years. QWI releases prior to R2015Q3 used the 2007 NAICS classification (see Schema v4.0.1). For a full listing of all valid 2012 NAICS codes, see http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch?chart=2012.
industry | label |
---|---|
00 |
All NAICS Sectors |
000 |
All NAICS Subsectors |
0000 |
All NAICS Industry Groups |
11 |
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting |
111 |
Crop Production |
1111 |
Oilseed and Grain Farming |
1112 |
Vegetable and Melon Farming |
… |
|
2382 |
Building Equipment Contractors |
2383 |
Building Finishing Contractors |
2389 |
Other Specialty Trade Contractors |
31-33 |
Manufacturing |
311 |
Food Manufacturing |
3111 |
Animal Food Manufacturing |
3112 |
Grain and Oilseed Milling |
3113 |
Sugar and Confectionery Product Manufacturing |
… |
5.12. Geography
5.12.1. Geographic levels
geo_level | label |
---|---|
C |
Counties |
M |
Metropolitan/Micropolitan |
N |
National (50 States + DC) |
S |
States |
W |
Workforce Investment Areas |
Geography labels are provided in separate files, in directories by state. Note that cross-state CBSA will have state-specific parts, and thus will appear in multiple files. A separate label_fipsnum.csv contains values and labels for all entities of geo_level n or s, and is a summary of separately available files. For convenience
5.12.2. State-level values
geography | label |
---|---|
02 |
Alaska |
01 |
Alabama |
05 |
Arkansas |
04 |
Arizona |
06 |
California |
08 |
Colorado |
09 |
Connecticut |
… |
|
46 |
South Dakota |
47 |
Tennessee |
48 |
Texas |
00 |
National (50 States + DC) |
49 |
Utah |
51 |
Virginia |
50 |
Vermont |
53 |
Washington |
5.12.3. Detailed state and substate level values
For a full listing of all valid geography codes (except for WIA codes), see http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/tiger.html. Note about geography codes: Four types of geography codes are represented with this field, depending on the value of geo_level. Each geography has its own code structure:
-
State is the 2-digit FIPS 55-2 (now INCITS 38:200x) code (geo_level = s)
-
A two-digit 00 reflects coverage for "National (50 States + DC)" (geo_level = n)
-
County is the 5-digit FIPS 6-4 (now INCITS 31:200x) code (geo_level = c)
-
Metropolitan/Micropolitan codes are constructed from the 2-digit state FIPS code and the 5-digit CBSA code provided by the Census Bureau’s Geography Division. (geo_level = m)
-
In the QWI, the metropolitan/micropolitan areas are the state parts of the full CBSA areas.
-
-
The WIA code is constructed from the 2-digit state FIPS code and the 6-digit WIA identifier provided by LED State Partners. (geo_level = w)
The 2015 vintage of Census TIGER/Line geography is used for all tabulations as of the R2015Q4 release.
For convenience, a composite file containing all geocodes is available as label_geography_all.csv.
State | Format file |
---|---|
AK |
|
AL |
|
AR |
|
AZ |
|
CA |
|
CO |
|
CT |
|
DC |
|
DE |
|
FL |
|
GA |
|
HI |
|
IA |
|
ID |
|
IL |
|
IN |
|
KS |
|
KY |
|
LA |
|
MA |
|
MD |
|
ME |
|
MI |
|
MN |
|
MO |
|
MS |
|
MT |
|
NC |
|
ND |
|
NE |
|
NH |
|
NJ |
|
NM |
|
NV |
|
NY |
|
OH |
|
OK |
|
OR |
|
PA |
|
RI |
|
SC |
|
SD |
|
TN |
|
TX |
|
US |
|
UT |
|
VA |
|
VT |
|
WA |
|
WI |
|
WV |
|
WY |
6. Status flags
( label_flags.csv )
Each status flag in the tables above contains one of the following valid values. The values and their interpretation are listed in the table below.
flag | label |
---|---|
-2 |
no data available in this category for this quarter |
-1 |
data not available to compute this estimate |
1 |
OK |
5 |
Value suppressed because it does not meet US Census Bureau publication standards. |
6 |
Value calculated from other released measures - no significant distortion |
7 |
Value calculated from other released measures - some of which have significantly distorted data |
9 |
Data significantly distorted - fuzzed value released |
10 |
Aggregate of cells - no significant distortion |
11 |
Aggregate of cells not released because component cells do not meet U.S. Census Bureau publication standards |
12 |
Aggregate of cells - some of which have significantly distorted data |
7. Changes
For a description of how schema files are versioned, see main directory.
7.1. This version (revisions)
-
2015-03-15: Initial release
7.2. Version 4.0.1 from 4.0
-
2015-02-24: removed obsolete flag values
-
2015-04-01: updated IL, NE geography definitions
7.3. Version 4.0.2 from 4.0.1
-
2015-04-01: switched NAICS coding from 2007 to 2012
7.4. Version 4.0.3 from 4.0.2
-
2015-09-14: switched Geovintage to 2014, updated AK and SD files, added MA.
7.5. Version 4.0.4 from 4.0.3
-
2015-11-30: updated OR.
-
2015-12-10: Added consolidated geography label file label_geography_all.csv
-
2015-12-22: Updated the identification of the correct geo vintage
-
2015-12-22: Added a link to NAICS 2012 tables
-
2015-12-22: Removing the 99 row in industry values - only used for internal error checking
7.6. Version 4.0.5 from 4.0.4
-
2016-03-15: updated MO (new WIB code).
-
2016-03-15: Added us/label_geography.csv to have an entry for the National QWI
-
2016-03-15: Added better cross-links between CSV naming schame, and datafile schema
-
2016-03-15: Corrected label_geo_level.csv to include the national level value.
-
2016-03-15: Clarified description of geography codes