http://www.bls.gov/data/home.htm
The Bureau of Labor Statistics public
database, called LABSTAT, provided current and historical data for numerous
surveys and press releases. LABSTAT on
the Internet is composed of individual databases (in flat file format)
corresponding to each of the surveys.
These survey-specific databases are identified by a two-character survey
name abbreviation, as listed below.
Many of the OLD LABSTAT series were
based on SIC codes. These are being continued by series based on NAICS
codes. Other changes have also taken
place over time and few series present a consistent set of breakdowns over the
life of the series.
LABSTAT Data are found in many
compendia and online databases such as DRI and the
BEA Regional Economic Information
Series data.
Most of these data have ASCII
versions in ftp directories at BLS
ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub
Sample of Data & Documentation: EE – Employment, Hours, and Earnings
series_id year period value
footnote_codes
EES00000001 1988
M01 103623
EES00000001 1988
M02 104046
EES00000001 1988
M03 104311
EES00000001 1988
M04 104537
EES00000001 1988
M05 104811
EES00000001 1988 M06 105132
EES00000001 1988
M07 105400
EES00000001 1988
M08 105599
EES00000001 1988
M09 105814
EES00000001 1988 M10 106091
EES00000001 1988
M11 106368
EES00000001 1988
M12 106691
The series_id (EES00000001) can be broken
out into:
EE The series, S, Seasonal, 000000
Industry Code (Total, non-farm), 01 is data type code (all employees, in
thousands).
DATABASES by Program Areas
EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT
LF Labor Force Statistics from the
Current Population Survey Old Series (SIC)
LN Labor Force Statistics from the Current
Population Survey New Series (NAICS)
CE Employment,
Hours, and Earnings—National (NAICS)
EE Employment, Hours, and
Earnings-National (SIC)
EENA National Employment,
Hours and Earnings data (SIC)
CENA National Employment, Hours and Earnings
data (NAICS)
EESM State and Metropolitan Area
Employment, Hours and Earnings data (NAICS)
SM State and Area Employment, Hours, and
Earnings (NAICS)
EW Covered
Employment and Wages (SIC)
EN Covered Employment and Wages (NAICS)
CEW Covered Employment and Wages
LA Local Area Unemployment Statistics
GP Geographic Profile
ML Mass Layoff Statistics
JL Job Openings and Labor Turnover
Survey
JT Job
Openings and Labor Turnover Survey NAICS
PRICES AND LIVING CONDITIONS
CU Consumer Price Index-All Urban
Consumers
CW Consumer Price Index-Urban Wage
Earners and Clerical Workers
AP Average Price Data
LI Department Store Inventory Price
Index
SU Chained CPI-All Urban Consumers
PC Producer Price Index Industry Data
Revision-Current Series
PD Producer Price Index Industry Data
Revision-Discontinued Series
WP Producer Price Index Commodity
Data
EI International
Price Index
CX Consumer Expenditure Survey
COMPENSATION AND WORKING CONDITIONS
NC National Compensation Survey
EB Employee Benefits Survey
EC Employment Cost Index
CC Employer Costs for Employee
Compensation
WS Work Stoppage Data
CD Occupational Injuries and Illness
CF Census of Fatal Occupational
Injuries
SH Occupational Injury and Illness
Rates
PRODUCTIVITY AND TECHNOLOGY
PR Major
Sector Productivity and Costs Index
MP Major Sector Multifactor
Productivity Index
IN International Labor Statistics
EMPLOYMENT PROJECTIONS
EP Employment
Projections by Industry
INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS
IN International Labor Statistics
EI International
Price Index
LIST OF DATABASES in series order
AP Average Price
Data (1980-2002) Monthly, Not an Index.
Six household fuel categories, six motor fuel categories,
and 104 food
categories. Areas: cities, metro areas, size of
place/region groups.
BG Collective
Bargaining-State and Local Governments (1984-1995) Annual, Semi-
annual. Wage-rate changes, costs for employee compensation
changes for
bargining units in larger governments. Area: National.
BP Collective
Bargaining-Private Sector (1983-1995) Quarterly andAnnual. Percent
changes in wage-rate, costs for employee
compensation
for bargining units in manufacturing and nonsupervisory
workers in
nonmanufacturing sectors. Area: National.
CC Employer Costs
for Employee Compensation. (1986-2003) Annual from 1986 to
1991,quarterly beginning in June 2002. Costs per hour
worked for wages
and salaries and employee benefits. Area: National.
CD Occupational
Injuries and Illness - Characteristics Data (1992- 1999)
Monthly, quarterly, and annual. Injury and illness data
by a variety of
characteristics.
Area: National.
CE Employment, Hours, and Earnings—National
(1939.- ) Monthly and Annual
averages (unadjusted). Employment, paid hours, and
earnings at industrial
detail of three-digit NAICS. Area: National.
CF Census of
Fatal Occupational Injuries (1992-2001) Annual. Fatal
occupational injuries by demographic attributes. May be
summarized by
major industry using 1987 SIC. Area: National.
CU Consumer
Price Index-All Urban Consumers (1947-2003) Various base
years. Monthly,
Annual averages (unadjusted), Major revision in 1998.
Some CPI begin
in 1913. Area: Metro cities, City
size/region groups.
CW Consumer
Price Index-Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (1947-2003)
Various base years. Monthly, Annual
averages (unadjusted), Major revision
in 1998. Some
CPI begin in 1913. Area: Metro cities, City size/region
groups.
CX Consumer
Expenditure Survey (1984-2001) Annual averages. Average annual
expenditures some demographic data and income, and
characteristics per
consumer unit are classified by 14 characteristics. Area:
National.
EB Employee
Benefits Survey (1985-2000) Annual. Incidence and provisions of
selected benefits and average benefit amount for selected
provisions.
Area: National.
EC Employment
Cost Index(1980-2003) Quarterly. Changes in cost of labor: wages
salaries,
benefits. Area: National.
EE Employment,
Hours, and Earnings-National (1909-2003) Monthly, Quarterly,
Annual average
(unadjusted). Employment,
paid hours, and earnings in
industrial detail based on 1987 SIC. Number of women
employed. This
series is being dicontinued. Area: National.
EENA National
Employment, Hours and Earnings data
(SIC-based) Discontinued.
ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/time.series/compressed/tape.format/
CENA National
Employment, Hours and Earnings data (NAICS-based)
ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/time.series/compressed/tape.format/
EESM State and
Metropolitan Area Employment, Hours and Earnings data (NAICS)
ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/time.series/compressed/tape.format/
EI International Price Index (1990-2203) Monthly.
Merchandise import and
export index. Separate files by SIC, Services,
Harmonized, SITC, BEA End
Use, and Locality of Origin. Localities of origin are not
explained. They
are Canada, EEC, Industrialized countries, Japan, Asian
newly
industrialized countries, and Latin America.
EN Covered
Employment and Wages (NAICS) (2001-2002).– Included are the number
of establishments, employment, and total wages of
employees covered by
various unemployment insurance programs not included in time series. See:
http://www.bls.gov/cew/home.htm
or
ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/cew/
EP Employment Projections by Industry (1958-2008).
Projections of output, price
and employment measures for each of about 185 industries.
Area: National
See also: ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/ep/
EW Covered Employment and Wages (SIC) (1997-2000).
These are the ES202 data
summaries. Included are the number of establishments,
employment, and
total wages of employees covered by various unemployment
insurance
programs. Area: National, State, County, Metro
Statistical Areas.
See: http://www.bls.gov/cew/ and in
ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special
request/cew/SIC
GP Geographic
Profile (1981-1998)Annual. Employed, civilian labor force,
civilian noninstitutional population, unemployment rate,
unemployed
Areas: State, Metropolitan cities.
HS Occupational
Injury and Illness Rates (1976-1988)1972 SIC codes. SEE SH
Annual. Incidence of work-related
injuries and illnesses in the form of
the number of injuries and illnesses, or lost workdays
per 100 full-time
employees. Areas: National.
IN International
Labor Statistics (1950-2002)(also called Foreign Labor
Statistics)Monthly,
Quarterly, Annual. Data from foreign statistical
offices,
lightly treated by BLS. Includes consumer price index, exchange
rate, labor
force, employment, unemployment and manufacturing measures
(output, hours,
compensation). Nations: Australia, Canada, France,
Germany, Italy,
Netherlands, Sweden UK and U.S.
JL Job
Openings and Labor Turnover Survey SIC(Dec 2000-June 2003). Monthly
With May 2003 data, SIC-based data will no longer be
produced
or published.
estimates of rates and levels for job openings, hires, and
total separations.
Total separations are further broken out into quits,
layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Areas: 4
Regions.
JT Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey NAICS
(2000-2003). Monthly.
Estimates of rates and levels for job openings, hires,
and total
separations.
Total separations are further broken out into quits,
layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Areas: 4
Regions.
LA Local Area
Unemployment Statistics (1988-present) Monthly, Annual
(unadjusted)
Labor Force, employment, unemployment, unemployment rate for
local areas.
Earlier data available are monthly state (1978-) annual
state (1970).
Historical data can be found at:
http://www.bls.gov/lau/staa_7001.prn
Areas: Lots,
cities, metros, counties, states, regions, divisions, labor
market areas,
remainders
LF Labor Force
Statistics from the Current Population Survey Old Series SIC –
end date 2002
(1955-2001). Monthly, quarterly, annual
(unadjusted). Not
in timeseries.
SEE: ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/lf/
Consists
of estimates of
population, labor force, employment, unemployment, and
miscellaneous series –
mainly rates. There is a crosswalk
between old LF
database and new LN database. Areas: National.
LN Labor Force
Statistics from the Current Population Survey New Series NAICS
(1994-2003).
Detailed statistics are available in
ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/time.series/compressed/tape.format.
See Current
Employment
Situation reports. Areas: National.
LI Department
Store Inventory Price Index (1941-2002)Monthly. Inventory
weighted price index of goods carried by department
stores. U.S. average.
Areas: National.
ML Mass Layoff
Statistics (1995-2001). Monthly, Quarterly, Annual.
Establishments which have at
least 50 initial claims for unemployment
insurance (UI) filed against them during a 5-week period.
By Industry.
Areas: National, State, Region, Division.
MP Major
Sector Multifactor Productivity Index (1948-1999) Annual. Changes in
output per unit of combined labor and capital inputs --
the ratio of an
output index to an input index comprising a weighted
average of hours of
all persons and of capital services. The weight for hours is labor's
share of total costs and for capital services, capital's
share. National.
MU Consumer
Price Index-All Urban Consumers (Old Series)(1947-1997). Monthly.
Indexes for
various items and groups of items at different geographies.
Areas:
National. Region, City Size, Metro cities, Region/size of city.
MW Consumer
Price Index-Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (Old Series)
Monthly.
Indexes for various items and groups of items at different
geographies. Areas: Same as MU.
NC National
Compensation Survey (1997-2001) 4 Months. Mean hourly wage
data for all workers in an occupation for detailed
occupation and 85
geographical areas. Areas: National, State, larger
cities.
NL National
Longitudinal Survey –Not really a time series – see
http://data.bls.gov/labjava/nls_outside.jsp
PC Producer
Price Index Industry Data Revision-Current Series (varies 1926-
2003) Monthly.
PPI
is based on productivity, production,
employment, wages, and earnings
productivity, in all goods producing industries and some
in the service
sector. NAICS replaces SIC in January 2004. Areas:
National.
PD Producer
Price Index Industry Data Revision-Discontinued Series. Like the
current series
in coverage and content, but consist of series that are
discontinued
such as leaded gas. Areas: National.
PR Major Sector Productivity and Costs Index (1947-2003)
Quarterly.
Productivity and costs measures for six major sectors.
Employment,
compensation, hours, output, non-labor costs. Areas:
National.
SA State and
Area Employment, Hours, and Earnings SIC(1939-2003) State, area,
national estimates
of employment, hours, and earnings for up to 4 digit
SIC codes
(recent data). See also BEA series on
State Personal Income
which includes
the employment and earnings data. Areas: State, County.
SH Occupational
Injury and Illness Rates (1987 SIC codes) 1989-2003. Annual
measure of incidence of work-related injuries and
illnesses resulting
from work events and is in the form of the number of
injuries and
illnesses, or lost workdays per 100 full-time
employees. By industry.
Areas: National.
SM State and
Area Employment, Hours, and Earnings NAICS. (1990-2003). Monthly.
Employment, hours, weekly earnings for
up to 6 digit NAICS codes.
Areas: State, Major cities.
SU Chained
CPI-All Urban Consumers. (1999-).Monthly. Annual average. Designed
to be closer to
a cost-of-living index than the regular CPI it employes a
different
measure to calculate changes in consumer behavior
(substitution)
in response to changing prices. Considerable time delays
in these
calculations. Areas: U.S. City average (National).
WP Producer
Price Index Commodity Data(1947-2003). Monthly. measure of price
change for goods sold in primary market. First commercial
transaction
(e.g. wholesale) classified for over 3,000 commodities
Areas: National.
WS Work
Stoppage Data (1947-2002)
Monthly & Annual. All work stoppages—
strikes and lockouts--involving 1,000 workers or more and
lasting one
full shift or longer. Areas: National.
LABSTAT is divided into a number of
directories and sub-directories.
ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub
/pub
and its sub-directores contain most of the data.
/time.series
and its sub-directories contain the survey-specific
historical
time series. All survey-specific
directories (i.e.,
/ap.../ws)
contain data and documentation.
xx.series: Series-level data.
xx.data.0-n: Observation-level data, which may be
partitioned, depending on the size of the
files.
xx.map: Survey-specific mapping files, which
relate
codes
to meaningful names (i.e. xx.industry,
xx.area,
etc...).
xx.doc: Documentation for individual surveys,
including
a survey description, the table
structure,
information on data partitioning,
and
definitions of data elements.
xx.contacts: Survey-specific contact phone number
listing
for
specific information on data files and
answers
to program (i.e. CPI) related
questions.
/time.series
/compressed
/bin contains file decompression tools for
decompressing files
located in /time.series/compressed/tape.format
/tape.format contains a set of compressed time series
data files
/doc contains all the survey-specific documentation, the
news
release
documentation, and this overview.
/economy
contains a table showing current data for each of the major
economic
indicators produced by BLS (i.e CPI, PPI, etc...).
/news.release
contains the two most recent releases for all BLS news
releases,
as well as documentation.
/history
contains historical news release files.
/special.requests
contains data files which are made available to
users
in response to requests which could not otherwise be satisfied
by
the correct structure of the data on the series. (To arrange for
a
special request refer to the xx.contacts.)
LABSTAT DATABASE DOCUMENTATION
The LABSTAT database documentation
is designed to be a reference tool for
users of the LABSTAT system. The documentation for each database consists
of six sections:
Survey Description: A brief description of the survey,
and the
data
available.
Summary Data A brief description of available data elements
Available: and their characteristics.
Frequency of The frequency (i.e., monthly, quarterly,
Observation: annually)data of a particular series are
published.
Data Characteristics: The value of the various data series
available
for
that particular survey.
Updating Schedule: The frequency new data are made
available on
LABSTAT.
File Structure and Format: List of files available and what they
contain.
Element Definitions: A defined list of data elements for
each
survey.
LABSTAT
NEWS RELEASE DOCUMENTATION
For each news release published by
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the two
most current are stored in the
/news.release directory. The
documentation
provides a list of the
abbreviations used to identify the news releases,
and a description of the
sub-directories available to the user.
CONTACTS
If you have any questions or
comments regarding the LABSTAT system on the
Internet, address e-mail to
labstat.helpdesk@bls.gov.
If you have any questions or
comments regarding timeseries data, refer to
the xx.contacts files located in
each timeseries sub-directory.
Published Reports: Use Statistical Universe
Useful resources for
understanding BLS Data
BLS Handbook of Methods:
DSS HD8064.2 .B56 1988
HD8064.2 .B56
1982
DOCS: L 2.3: 2134-1 and L 2.3: 2134-2 and L 2.3: 2285 (1988)
Current version:
URL: http://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/home.htm
Handbook Contents
Preface
Introduction
Employment and
Unemployment Statistics
Chapter 1. Labor
force data derived from the Current Population Survey UPDATED
Chapter 2.
Employment, hours, and earnings from the establishment survey
Chapter 3.
Occupational employment statistics
Chapter 4.
Measurement of unemployment in States and local areas
Chapter 5.
Employment and wages covered by unemployment insurance
Chapter 6. Mass
layoff statistics
Chapter 7.
National longitudinal surveys
Compensation and
Working Conditions
Chapter 8.
National compensation measures
Occupational
Safety and Health
Chapter 9. Occupational
safety and health statistics
Productivity and
Technology
Chapter 10.
Productivity measures: Business sector and major subsectors
Chapter 11.
Industry productivity measures
Chapter 12.
Foreign labor statistics
Economic Growth
and Employment Projections
Chapter 13.
Economic growth and employment projections
Prices and Living
Conditions
Chapter 14.
Producer prices UPDATED
Chapter 15.
International price indexes
Chapter 16.
Consumer expenditures and income
Chapter 17.
Consumer price indexes
NAICS
North American
Industrial Classification System
http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html
http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naicstab.htm
http://www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm
http://www.bls.gov/ces/cesseriespub.htm
http://globalinsight.com/Scripts/NAICS
Questions about NAICS
What is
"NAICS"?
NAICS (rhymes with "lakes") stands
for the North American Industry Classification System. With the release of data
in March 2003, NAICS replaced the current Standard Industrial Classification
(SIC) system and now serves as the new structure for classifying business
activity in the United States.
How is NAICS
structured?
NAICS codes are organized hierarchically. The
highest category, Domain, is divided into Goods-Producing and
Service-Providing. These two sub-categories then split into Supersectors such
as Leisure and Hospitality and Financial Activities, which break down into
Sectors, such as Accommodation & Food Services and Finance & Insurance,
and ultimately branch out into Industries such as Hotels and Insurance
Carriers. NAICS codes extend to 6 digits.
Which data series are
most affected by NAICS, and what historical data are available?
The Current Employment Statistics (CES)
Program and the Covered Employment and Wages (ES-202) Program have undergone
the greatest changes. Since data classified according to NAICS is not
comparable with data based on the SIC, the SIC-based CES and ES-202 time series
have ended. In addition, historical SIC-based CES employment data are no longer
available.
Why the switch from
the SIC to NAICS?
The SIC was developed in the 1930s, when the
U.S. economy was manufacturing-dominated. Today’s services-centered economy has
rendered the classification structure of the SIC system obsolete, as the SIC
often failed to adequately account for new and emerging service industries.
NAICS rectifies this shortcoming and, moreover, establishes consistent
classification standards, meaning that, for the first time, industry data from
Canada and Mexico can be compared with U.S. industry data.
How does NAICS
improve upon the SIC?
Process, not product orientation — NAICS
establishes a unified economic concept for defining industries, by grouping
firms together based on their use of similar raw material inputs, capital
equipment, and labor, or how they produce an end product or provide a service.
For example, software publishers are grouped in the same NAICS subsector as
magazine publishers, newspaper publishers, etc. because all are engaged in
issuing copies of works for sale to the general public in one or more formats,
including print, CD-ROM, or online. In contrast, under the SIC, firms were
grouped in industries based on what end product they produced or service they
provided: software publishers, therefore, were grouped with other firms engaged
in data processing and computer programming services, reproduction of software,
and other computer-related services. This “process”-oriented classification methodology
yields industrial groupings that are more homogenous, and thus better suited
for economic analysis than SIC groupings.