Displaying Previously Reported Data 

to Respondents in the 

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Program at the 

Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Emily Thomas

US Bureau of Labor Statistics

2021 FCSM Research and Policy Conference

November 4, 2021

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages(QCEW)

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

What is the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)?

QCEW is a Fed-State program that partners with Unemployment Insurance Tax departments in each state to collect and publish employment and wage information at the local County and MSA levels

Publishes monthly employment and quarterly wages for over 10 million establishments covering 97% of U.S. workers.

Publishes county-level summaries of monthly employment and quarterly wages by industry.

2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-digit NAICS industry detail

QCEW also serves as the universe sample for BLS sample-based surveys.

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

Uses of Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Data

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

Data Collection in QCEW

BLS 3020 - Multiple Worksite Report (MWR)

BLS 3023 – Annual Refiling Survey (ARS)

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

Multiple Worksite Report (MWR)

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

QCEW - MWR

QCEW states receive the Quarterly Contribution Report (QCR) from UI Tax on a monthly basis. This report contains monthly employment and quarterly wages for each firm operating in the state.

For single-establishment firms, this is sufficient for QCEW.

For multi-establishment firms, QCEW supplements this with the Multiple Worksite Report so that we have detailed NAICS and CTY level employment and wage data.

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

Who files an MWR?

Most multi-location employers with a total of 10 or more employees combined in their secondary locations are required or requested to complete the MWR. 

An employer's primary location is the location with the most employment in a State. All other locations within the State are secondary locations.

The MWR is mandatory in 31 states

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

Why do we collect the MWR?

Company ABC’s UI Report

-Reports E&W in CTY 123

-All E&W in retail industry

Company XYZ’s UI Report

-Reports E&W in CTY 789

-All E&W in retail industry

Location 1

-County 111

-Manufacturing

Location 2

-County 222

-Warehouse

Location 3

-County 333

-Manufacturing

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

Multiple Worksite Report

Collected quarterly and covers:

1.5% of all employers nationwide

17% of all worksites nationwide 

41% of all employment and wages nationwide

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

MWR Web

The MWR Web system is prepopulated each quarter with all eligible multis in QCEW. 

Each individual worksite and address

Reported monthly employment and quarterly wages from the prior quarter

Respondents log into the web system and report current quarter employment and wages for their worksite.

For existing MWR Web accounts, there is a >90% response rate each quarter. 

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

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MWR Web Edits

Prepopulated data allow more complex, live data editing

Current quarter data are compared with prior quarter for unexpected reporting patterns 

     (Ex. Higher than expected employment or wage levels)

Respondents are prompted to fix or explain anomalies (Ex. Seasonal hires, etc.)

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

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MWR Web Screens 

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

MWR Web Screens 

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

MWR Web Screens 

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

MWR Web Screens 

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

MWR Web Screens 

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

MWR Web Screens 

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

Annual Refiling Survey (ARS)

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

What is the ARS?

The ARS makes sure the information we have on file for establishments is correct.

This survey presents respondents with their current  industry and location

Respondents are asked to either verify that the current information is correct, or provide updated information.

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‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

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Purpose of the Annual Refiling Survey

As discussed earlier, the county, ownership, and NAICS codes are assigned initially to new establishments based on information received on the Status Determination Report.

The Annual Refiling Survey is an employer survey conducted to verify and update the industry and location codes of the reporting units on the QCEW micro file as well as verifying mailing and physical location addresses.

In addition , it can be used to identify potential multi establishment accounts - MWR accounts. These are accounts which report more than one location in a state under one UI account number. These will be covered in more detail in the next section.

Why is the ARS needed?

The basis for sampling by industrial and geographic coding for CES, OES, OSHS, LAUS, MLS and BLS Wage programs is the QCEW file.

INDUSTRY and GEOGRAPHIC codes in QCEW flow to many other sources and it is important that they are accurate.

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‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

ARS Identifies Multis

The ARS also asks employers if they have opened up any additional locations

This is a major source that QCEW uses to determine if an employer should be a multiple-establishment employer

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‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

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Purpose of the Annual Refiling Survey

As discussed earlier, the county, ownership, and NAICS codes are assigned initially to new establishments based on information received on the Status Determination Report.

The Annual Refiling Survey is an employer survey conducted to verify and update the industry and location codes of the reporting units on the QCEW micro file as well as verifying mailing and physical location addresses.

In addition, it can be used to identify potential multi establishment accounts - MWR accounts. These are accounts which report more than one location in a state under one UI account number. 

ARS Three Year Cycle

Conducted on a 3 year cycle so that 1/3 of eligible employers are selected each year

Employers are selected based on the 7th and 8th digits of their EIN number

Selection pattern allows an even distribution of industries, locations, and size classes each year.

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‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

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The ARS is conducted on a 3 year cycle. 

	The codes that are verified by Annual Refiling Survey are input to the microfile. Since the BLS Longitudinal Database (LDB) is the sampling source for most BLS establishment surveys, it is pertinent that it contain correct industry, location, and ownership codes. 

	Correct coding is critical to minimizing sampling and tabulation errors

Especially since the basis for sampling by industrial and geographic coding for CES, OES, OSHS, LAUS, MLS and BLS Wage programs is the QCEW file.

You may ask yourself why does an employer only receive a survey form once every three years? 

A 3-year cycle is used because: 

1. It's inefficient to contact all employers every year -- only a small percentage change business activity yearly. The 3-year cycle minimizes employer reporting burden.

2. The 3 year cycle spreads out the work load for the state QCEW staff. 

Employers are selected based on the 7th and 8th digits of their EIN number. 

00-33 the first year, 

34-6566-99 the third year 

 the second year, 

Therefore, the sample chosen will represent approximately one-quarter of all units each year. 

This sampling pattern was instituted in the QCEW program because a random selection across industries limits artificial industry employment changes that does occur when refiling is concentrated in certain industries.

Units with blank or zero-filled EINs are selected based on 9th and 8th position of the UI Number.

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

Prepopulated Industry

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

Why display current information?

25+ years ago, this survey was conducted without presenting the respondent with their current information. 

Respondents were only asked to provide their current industry and location.

Using pre-populated data reduces:

Non-economic churn

Respondent burden

Data processing/review cost

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‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

27

Purpose of the Annual Refiling Survey

As discussed earlier, the county, ownership, and NAICS codes are assigned initially to new establishments based on information received on the Status Determination Report.

The Annual Refiling Survey is an employer survey conducted to verify and update the industry and location codes of the reporting units on the QCEW micro file as well as verifying mailing and physical location addresses.

In addition , it can be used to identify potential multi establishment accounts - MWR accounts. These are accounts which report more than one location in a state under one UI account number. These will be covered in more detail in the next section.

Emily Thomas

Supervisory Economist

US Bureau of Labor Statistics

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages

www.bls.gov/cew

Thomas.Emily@bls.gov 

Contact Information

‹#› — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics • bls.gov

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