Nassau and Suffolk counties. The years for which data are available and the industry detail vary by area. Total nonagricultural employment is available for the state and most major labor areas from 1958 to the present. Due to the implementation of a major SIC code change in the mid-1970s, all industry detail starts with January 1976 data. For more information concerning the Nonagricultural Wage and Salary Employment see Technical Notes .
Businesses use the employment data to guide in plant location and sales program decisions.
Researchers use the information as an economic indicator. In this program, a sample of 20,000 employers in New York State voluntarily submit monthly information on employment, payroll and hours worked. Data from individual firms are grouped by industry and used as a sample for estimating industrywide statistics. Employment estimates for a given month are first made public about three weeks after the end of that month. These estimates are preliminary and may be changed when the following month's data is released.