A B C D E F G I J L M N O P Q R S T U W

A

Annual Average Employment - The average number of people employed over a given year in each occupation or industry. Gives a measure of average employment during the year without the effects of seasonal variations.
 
Average Annual Payroll - Calculated by dividing total annual pay by the average of the twelve monthly employment levels. "Pay" includes wages (with bonuses and severance pay), cash value of meals and lodging, tips and employer paid contributions to individual retirement accounts.
 
Average Hourly Earnings - Calculated by dividing workers' gross payrolls by their total hours worked. They reflect the earnings of workers, including premium pay. They differ from wage rates, which are the amounts payed for a given unit of work or time. Note - Average hourly earnings do not represent total labor costs per hour for the employer, because they exclude retroactive payments and irregular bonuses, employee benefits, and the employer's share of payroll taxes. Also, earnings for those employees not covered under production worker and non-supervisory categories are not reflected in the estimates.
 
Average Weekly Wage - Calculated by dividing the annual average payroll by 52.
 

B

Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) - A division of the U.S. Department of Commerce, BEA is the Federal agency responsible for estimation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Data from the CES and ES-202 programs are used in GDP estimates.
 
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) - BLS is an agency within the U.S. Department of Labor and is the principal fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the field of labor economics and statistics. The BLS collects, processes, analyzes, and disseminates essential statistical data relating to employment, unemployment, the labor force, productivity, prices, family expenditures, wages, industrial relations, and occupational safety and health. Well known data released by BLS include the Consumer Price Index, the Producer Price Index, the national unemployment rate, hours and earnings, and nonfarm employment levels.
 
Business Cycle - The recurring expansion and contraction of the economy.
 

C

Census Bureau - A division of the U.S. Department of Commerce, it conducts censuses of population and housing every ten years and of agriculture, business, governments, manufacturing, mineral industries, and transportation at five-year intervals. The Census Bureau also conducts the monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) in cooperation with BLS. Information from this survey provides input for the calculation of unemployment statistics.
 
Civilian Labor Force - The civilian labor force comprises the total of all civilians age 16 and older classified as employed or unemployed. It is considered to be a measure of available workers.
 
Civilian Non-Institutional Population - Total population age 16 or older excluding prison inmates or those hospitalized or in some other form of institution.
 
Consumer Price Index (CPI) - A measure of the average change in prices over time for a set group of goods and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) for all urban consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 80 percent of the total population, and (2) for all urban wage earners and clerical workers (CPI-W) which covers 32 percent of the total population. Among the CPI components are the costs of housing, food, transportation, and energy. While the CPI is not technically a cost of living index, it is often used to indicate changes in the cost-of-living.
 
Covered Employment and Wages (QCEW) - The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program, is a cooperative endeavor of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the employment security agencies of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Using information submitted quarterly by employers to state agencies, BLS summarizes employment and payroll data for workers covered by state Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws and for civilian workers covered by the program of Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE).
 
Current Employment Statistics (CES) - A monthly survey of nonfarm business establishments used to estimate payroll employment, worker hours and earnings, by industry and area. Through the Federal/State cooperative effort, these data are used to compute current monthly employment, hours and earnings estimates, by industry, for the nation, the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and over 250 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) and Primary Metropolitan Statistical Areas (PMSA). In Oregon this information is also gathered for each county.
 
Current Population Survey (CPS) - A monthly survey of the population of the United States, not including military personnel and people in institutions. It is conducted by household, and provides statistics on employment, unemployment, and wages by industry, occupation, and demographic characteristics. The data are collected by the Bureau of the Census Bureau in cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
 
Cyclical Unemployment - Unemployment that results from periodic declines in the business cycle (for example, recessions). Downswings in the level of economic activity create unemployment as a result of inadequate demand for workers. During a recovery, cyclical unemployment will be reduced or eliminated.
 

D

Discouraged Workers - A term used to describe jobless persons, age 16 or over, who are not actively seeking employment because they believe that they would be unable to find a job. Discouraged workers are not counted as unemployed, or even as part of the labor force. Their numbers, however, are estimated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
 
Durable Goods - Manufactured items generally considered to have a normal life expectancy of three years or more. Examples are automobiles, furniture, household appliances, etc.
 

E

Employed - A condition in which persons 16 years of age or older worked for compensation in a business during the week which includes the 12th day of the month, or worked at least 15 hours (during the week which includes the 12th day of the month) as unpaid workers in a family business; or had jobs from which they were temporarily absent due to illness, bad weather, vacation or labor-management dispute. Used to describe statistical employment payroll numbers that reflect the number of jobs rather than the number of persons employed.
 
Employment Cost Index (ECI) - A measure of the change in the cost of labor, free from the influence of employment shifts among occupations and industries. Compensation used in the ECI includes all wages, salaries, and benefit costs paid by employers. Simply put, it measures the change in the total cost of labor to employers and so includes the cost of benefits as well as wages.
 
Employment, Nonfarm Payroll - An estimate of full- or part-time jobs with nonagricultural employers for any part of the pay period which includes the 12th of the month. Because this estimate comes from a survey of employers and is a count of jobs, persons who work for two different companies would be represented twice. Persons may receive pay from a job if they are temporarily absent due to illness, bad weather, vacation, or labor-management dispute. This estimate is based on where the jobs are located, regardless of where the workers reside, and is therefore sometimes referred to as employment "by place of work". Nonfarm payroll employment information is collected and compiled based on the Employment Department's Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey.
 

F

Frictional Unemployment - Unemployment resulting from the lags involved in the redeployment of labor. If the number of vacancies in an occupation was exactly equal to the number seeking employment, there "should" be no unemployment. In practice, though, it takes time for the unemployed to find vacancies, be interviewed, and be hired. At any one time, therefore, there exists a small pool of unemployed owing to these "frictions" in the workings of the labor market. Frictional unemployment results primarily from people looking for their first jobs or those who quit one job to look for another.
 

G

Goods-Producing Industries - Industries that produce tangible products. The goods producing sector includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
 
Growth Openings - Job opportunities resulting from new businesses opening or existing businesses expanding.
 

I

Industry - A group of establishments that produce similar products or provide similar services.
 
Inflation - The overall general upward price movement of goods and services in an economy. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the most widely cited measure. The Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates CPI by collecting prices for a representative basket of consumer goods and services each month from thousands of retail and service establishments nationwide.
 
Internship - An experience that takes place at a work site, paid or unpaid, during which an intern (often a student, but not always) works with an employee to complete structured projects or activities specific to that business or occupation.
 

J

Job Shadow - An experience that takes place at a work site in which an individual observes and interacts with an employee to learn about a specific job. As an exploratory exercise, teachers (employers and workers) share first-hand knowledge about occupations and businesses in their region; and the individual gains real life experience, which may lead them to improved career choice decisions. Also being used as part of the interview process by some employers.
 

L

Labor Force - Consists of all people, age 16 and over, who are either employed or unemployed, including those on active military duty.
 
Labor Force Participation Rate - The percentage of people 16 years of age and older in a specific population who are considered part of the labor force, that is, either employed or unemployed. This ratio Indicates the degree to which a population is working. A low rate might indicate a reliance on other forms of income, or a significant number of discouraged workers, while a high rate might indicate a tight labor market.
 
Labor Market - An economic marketplace in which the supply consists of workers and demand consists of jobs. A labor market is traditionally defined by a geographic area in which workers can change jobs without changing places of residence. A labor market can be further specified by industry, occupation, education level, age, business ownership, or other attributes. Jobs can be filled or unfilled; workers can be employed or unemployed.
 
Labor Market Information - Data available on a particular labor market, including geographic and industry employment and unemployment estimates, occupational employment projections and wage information, and industrial average hours and earnings data. Statistical research and analysis offices of State Employment Security Agencies often use this term as part of their titles.
 
Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) - A Federal/State cooperative program that produces monthly employment, labor force, and unemployment estimates for states and local areas.
 

M

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) - An MSA is a metropolitan area (MA) that is not closely tied to another MA. Generally an MSA is surrounded by non-metropolitan counties. Metropolitan statistical areas are based on county boundaries, not city boundaries. The Office of Management and Budget in Washington, D.C. designates metropolitan statistical areas. If an MSA has more than one million people, it may be categorized as a primary metropolitan statistical area (PMSA). Each MSA must include an urbanized area of at least 50,000 population, provided that the component county/counties of the MSA have a total population of at least 100,000. In Oregon, there are eight MSAs:
  • Albany MSA, which consists of Linn County.
  • Bend MSA, which includes Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson counties.
  • Corvallis MSA, which consists of Benton County.
  • Eugene-Springfield MSA, which consists of Lane County.
  • Grants Pass MSA, which consists of Josephine County.
  • Medford MSA, which consists of Jackson County.
  • Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA MSA which includes Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah, Washington, and Yamhill counties in Oregon, and Clark and Skamania Counties in Washington.
  • Salem MSA, which includes Marion and Polk counties.

N

Nondurable Goods - Manufactured items generally expected to last for less than three years. In terms of manufacturing industries, they would fall into the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) 2-digit code 32. Food, beverages, clothing, shoes, and gasoline products are examples.
 
Nonfarm Payroll Employment - An estimate of full- or part-time jobs with nonagricultural employers for any part of the pay period which includes the 12th of the month. Because this estimate comes from a survey of employers and is a count of jobs, persons who work for two different companies would be represented twice. Persons may receive pay from a job if they are temporarily absent due to illness, bad weather, vacation, or labor-management dispute. This estimate is based on where the jobs are located, regardless of where the workers reside, and is therefore sometimes referred to as employment "by place of work". Nonfarm payroll employment information is collected and compiled based on the Employment Department's Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, and was formerly referred to as nonagricultural wage and salary employment.
 
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) - A system of identifying industry activity, NAICS has replaced the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. NAICS was developed jointly by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to provide new comparability in statistics about business activity across North America.
 

O

Occupation - A collection of jobs with similar duties (for example secretary, machinist, accountant, truck driver), regardless of industry. Most occupations are found in more than one industry.
 
Occupational Classifications - systems of collective job descriptions which attempt to place individual jobs into general, but recognizable categories. Currently, two different occupational classifications systems are in general use in the U.S.: the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC), and O*NET. In addition, the Career Information System (CIS), which is the designated career information delivery system for Oregon, has its own occupational classifications. SOC is used in the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) employer surveys conducted in every state and territory in the U.S. Therefore, it is the classification system of choice for most occupational publications and software products produced and used in Oregon.
 
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - A Federal/State cooperative program that collects detailed occupational data by industry. The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey is an annual mail survey measuring occupational employment and occupational wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments, by industry. On a national level, the survey samples approximately 400,000 establishments per year, taking 3 years to fully collect the sample of 1.2 million establishments. The OEWS survey uses Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) and North American Industrial Classifications (NAICS) codes.
 
Oregon Career Information System (CIS)- This organization provides a system of occupational and educational information to help Oregonians learn about the world of work and education. Schools, colleges, social agencies, and businesses who provide career guidance and employee development services use CIS products to assist clients and students with the process of career planning or career transition.
 
Oregon Wage Information (OWI) - Represents the most comprehensive collection of Oregon Wage data available. It offers a broad spectrum of wage rates from many sectors of Oregon's economy, and is designed to assist job seekers, employers, career planners, and others needing Oregon wage rates for specific occupations.
 
Ownership - Is the designation as to who controls firms and other organizations and agencies. Ownership can be private, or part of Federal, state, tribal, or local government.
 

P

Pay Period - The accounting period that an employer sets up to systematically count employee hours worked in order to pay for work done (earnings). Examples of common pay periods are daily, weekly, bi-weekly (every two weeks) and monthly, although others are possible.
 
Payroll - Total wages paid by a business to its employees for work performed during the pay period (weekly, monthly, etc).
 
Per Capita Personal Income (PCPI) - The total amount of income earned in a geographic region divided by the population in that region.
 
Percentile Wages - A percentile wage shows the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more.
  • 10th percentile: 10% of workers earn less than the stated wage and 90% earn more.
  • 25th percentile: 25% of workers earn less than the stated wage and 75% earn more.
  • 50th percentile: 50% of workers earn less than the stated wage and 50% earn more.
  • 75th percentile: 75% of workers earn less than the stated wage and 25% earn more.
  • 90th percentile: 90% of workers earn less than the stated wage and 10% earn more.
Personal Income - An estimate of total gross income that an individual receives from wages, proprietor's income, rents, dividends, interest payments, and transfer payments.
 

Q

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) - The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program, is a cooperative endeavor of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the employment security agencies of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Using information submitted quarterly by employers to state agencies, BLS summarizes employment and payroll data for workers covered by state Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws and for civilian workers covered by the program of Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE).
 

R

Recession - A period of decline in total output, income, employment, and trade, usually lasting from six months to a year, and marked by widespread contractions in many sectors of the economy.
 
Regional Economists - Oregon Employment Department economists who are experts on employment and workforce issues for the region of the state in which they live and work. They estimate employment and other economic trends; write articles, analyses, and publications; and make presentations to businesses, civic groups, schools, and other groups.
 
Replacement Openings - Job opportunities resulting from the need to replace workers who have permanently left their occupation.
 

S

Seasonal Adjustment / Seasonally Adjusted - A statistical process which removes the effect of typical seasonal events such as summer breaks for school, or weather-related fluctuations in food processing or construction. Data that have been seasonally adjusted are more likely to reflect true changes in the economy.
 
Seasonal Unemployment - Unemployment associated with predictable swings in employment and job seeking that occurs at similar times each year. These seasonal events include seasonal changes in weather, reduced or expanded production, harvests, major holidays, the opening and closing of schools, and other swings that follow a more or less regular pattern each year.
 
Service-Producing Industries - Those industries that primarily produce services: transportation, communications, and utilities; trade; Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate (FIRE); services; and, government.
 
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) - The occupational coding system currently used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to classify occupations. Occupational information in QualityInfo.org is displayed by SOC.
 
Structural Unemployment - Unemployment caused by a long-term change in the economic structure of an area. This unemployment tends to be long-term in nature as it results from the general problem of skill and location mismatches between jobs and workers.
 

T

Total Employment - An estimate of all civilians 16 years of age or older who worked for compensation in a business or on a farm during the week which included the 12th day of the month; or worked at least 15 hours (during the week which includes the 12th day of the month) as unpaid workers in a family business; or had jobs from which they were temporarily absent due to illness, bad weather, vacation, or labor-management dispute. This estimate is based on the residence of the workers, and each worker is counted only once, even if they hold more than one job. Therefore, this is sometimes referred to as employment "by place of residence." The Employment Department's Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) staff compiles total employment data.
 

U

Unemployed - Persons 16 and over who had no job at all during the week which includes the 12th day of the month, had taken some specific steps to obtain a job within the prior month, and were available for work, expecting recall from a layoff, or waiting to begin new employment within 30 days. Persons not in the labor force, including so-called discouraged workers, are distinguished from the unemployed by the fact that they are not actively seeking work.
  
Unemployment - A situation that exists when members of the non-institutional civilian labor force wish to work but cannot find a job. It is considered an involuntary situation instead of one in which persons voluntarily choose leisure over work. There are several types of unemployment categorized by their uses and characteristics. They are: cyclical unemployment, frictional unemployment, seasonal unemployment, structural unemployment, and technological unemployment.
 
Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) - A program to provide Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits to individuals whose salary/wages were earned in Federal civilian employment.
 
Unemployment Insurance - Government program that collects a tax from employers to pay benefits to workers who are laid off. Unemployment insurance benefits help to provide economic stability to individuals and communities during economic downturns, and help to maintain the incomes of workers in seasonal industries.
 
Unemployment Rate - The percent of the non-institutional civilian labor force which is currently unable to find employment, but which is actively seeking employment. It is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed by the number in the labor force at a given point in time. This is NOT the percentage of the population who are unemployed, but rather an estimate of the percentage of those who want to work, are able to work, and are actively seeking work but are unable to find employment. To find out what percentage of the population is employed or unemployed, one should look to the "employment-population ratio" from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which measures the "the proportion of the civilian non-institutional population 16 years and over with a job".
 

W

Workforce - Consists of all people, age 16 and over, who are either employed or unemployed, including those on active military duty.
 
Workforce Analysts - Oregon Employment Department staff strategically located throughout Oregon to assist employers, employer associations, planners, and other workforce development partners, in their labor market information needs. Their role is to make this information more accessible, understandable, and relevant to specific workforce development needs of employers. They assist employers in conducting customized research in the areas of wages, occupations, and workplace strategies, frequently through the use of the Internet and other information technologies. They also assist employers with skill identification as a component of workforce recruitment and retention.
 
Workforce Information - Data available on a particular labor market, including geographic and industry employment and unemployment estimates, occupational employment projections and wage information, and industrial average hours and earnings data. Statistical research and analysis offices of State Employment Security Agencies often use this term as part of their titles.