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MADISON – Actual jobs data for the third quarter of 2012, based on reports from 96 percent of Wisconsin business establishments and submitted in February by the Department of Workforce Development (DWD), is now accessible online through WORKnet,<http://worknet.wisconsin.gov/worknet/> the DWD’s labor market information system.
Key highlights of the data, which will be released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data, include:
* QCEW data show Wisconsin added 20,481 private-sector jobs from September 2011 through September 2012.
* The data from September 2011 to September 2012 includes a gain of 8,794 manufacturing jobs, or a 2% increase.
* Wages in the 13-week third quarter of 2012 experienced 1.8% fewer wages compared to the 14-week third quarter in 2011.
The BLS will incorporate the figures in its next QCEW data release on all states March 28. As with all such QCEW updates, the data will undergo additional revision by BLS and, when posted on the BLS website<http://www.bls.gov/cew/>, will differ slightly from the numbers posted on WORKnet<http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/>.
The QCEW is considered by most economists to be the most accurate measure of jobs because it is compiled on a quarterly basis from Unemployment Insurance records submitted by 160,000 (over 96%) of Wisconsin business establishments. The QCEW is one of three data sets that BLS uses to measure employment and unemployment. The other two include:
* Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS): compiled from a monthly survey of 1,450 households. Measures the labor force, employment, unemployment, and the unemployment rate.
* Current Employment Statistics (CES): compiled from a monthly survey sent to about 5,500 employers (3.5% of Wisconsin employers). CES data has been shown to be volatile and subject to major revisions.
The three BLS job measures were relatively consistent in Wisconsin until June 2011, when the CES began to show results inconsistent with QCEW and LAUS data and other economic indicators. This inconsistency has continued with each quarterly release of actual jobs data, including the release of data for the third quarter of 2012.
