Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages is a highly reliable near-census of all jobs covered by unemployment insurance. The QCEW data is useful for determining county employment trends, identifying emerging job needs, targeting skills gaps, among other uses.
User expertise rating:
Advanced. Interpretation of county level data requires some familiarity with labor markets and industries.
Sample questions:
How dependent is a given county on a given industry? Are the wages in a given county’s key industries competitive with the state or national average? What proportion of total county wages in a given county come from the highest-paying industries?
