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Percentile Wages
10th
10th Percentile
10% of workers earn below this level; 90% earn above.
25th
25th Percentile
25% of workers earn below this level; 75% earn above.
75th
75th Percentile
75% of workers earn below this level; 25% earn above.
90th
90th Percentile
90% of workers earn below this level; 10% earn above.
A
- Average Quarterly Employment
- The sum of three months of employment divided by three. Used in the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program.
- Average Quarterly Wages
- Derived from the division of gross quarterly wages by the average monthly employment in the quarter.
- Average Weekly Wages AWW
- Derived from the division of average quarterly wages by 13 (the average number of weeks in each quarter).
- Average Annual Wages
- Calculated by dividing total annual wages by the average of the twelve monthly employment levels.
B
- Benchmark
- A point of reference (either an estimate or a count) from which measurements can be made or upon which adjustments to estimates are based. Benchmarking is an annual statistical audit of data, replacing and/or recalculating results using the most up-to-date information to correct for estimating or reporting errors.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics BLS
- A part of the U.S. Department of Labor. BLS functions as the principal data-gathering agency of the federal government in the field of labor economics. BLS collects, processes, analyzes, and disseminates data relating to employment, unemployment, the labor force, productivity, prices, family expenditures, wages, industrial relations, and occupational safety and health.
C
- Civilian Labor Force
- The total number of age 16+, noninstitutionalized civilians who are working or are actively seeking work and are available for employment. Mathematically, it is the sum of employed plus unemployed.
- Combined Statistical Area CSA
- A U.S. Office of Management and Budget term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan and
micropolitan statistical areas that can demonstrate economic or social linkage. There are 9
CSAs in North Carolina.
census.gov/geographies/reference-maps/2020/geo/csa.html - Covered Employer
-
An employer covered under statutes relating to the payment of unemployment insurance taxes
who meets one or more of the following requirements:
- Employs at least one worker at any time.
- Acquires all or a substantial portion of a covered employer.
- Subject to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act.
- A nonprofit organization with four or more employees for at least 20 weeks during the calendar year.
- A state agency, state-operated hospital or school of higher education, or a political subdivision of the state.
- An employer of agricultural labor paying $20,000 or more in any one quarter, or employing 10 workers for 20 weeks during the year.
- Pays cash wages of $1,000 or more in any calendar year for domestic help in a private home.
Specific exclusions from coverage:
- Agriculture employment not defined above; sole proprietors; railroad workers.
- Children under 21 in the employ of a parent; elected officials; students or inmate workers.
- Commissioned real estate, insurance, and direct seller salespeople; church employees; work relief program participants.
- Crosswalk
- A method that provides a means of matching components of different systems.
- Current Employment Statistics CES
- Statistics based on a monthly survey of nonfarm business establishments. Data include wage and salary employment, worker hours, and payroll by industry and area. Through a federal/state cooperative effort, these data are used to compute current monthly employment, hours, and earnings estimates by industry for the nation, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and all Metropolitan Areas.
- Current Population Survey CPS
- Monthly household survey of the civilian non-institutional population of the United States,
providing monthly statistics on employment, unemployment, and related subjects. Analyzed and
published each month by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau.
census.gov/programs-surveys/cps.html
D
- Data Suppressed
- Publication of employment and wage data is withheld for any subsector consisting of fewer than three reporting units, or in which a single establishment accounts for 80 percent or more of an industry's employment. If only one subsector is restricted, the next smallest is also restricted to allow disclosure of total industry information.
- Durable Goods
- Known as "hard goods," these are manufactured or processed items generally considered to have a normal life expectancy of three years or more. Industries include: Furniture and Related Product; Wood Product; Nonmetallic Mineral Product; Fabricated Metal Product; Machinery; Computer and Electronic Product; Electrical Equipment and Appliance; and Transportation Equipment.
E
- Employed
-
In the Current Population Survey (CPS),
persons are classified as employed if they meet any of the following criteria:
- During the survey week, did any work at all as paid employees, in their own business or profession, on their own farm, or worked 15+ hours as unpaid workers in a family enterprise.
- Were temporarily absent from a job due to illness, bad weather, vacation, labor-management disputes, or personal reasons.
- Worked at least 1 hour as a paid employee or in their own business, profession, trade, or farm.
- Employment to Population Rate
- Measures the civilian labor force currently employed against the total working-age population. Calculated as: (Employed ÷ Civilian Noninstitutional Population) × 100.
- Establishments
- The physical location of a certain economic activity — for example, a factory, mine, store, or office. A single establishment generally produces a single good or provides a single service. An enterprise can consist of one or multiple establishments classified in one or several industries.
- Experience Wage
- The average of the highest two-thirds of wages paid in each occupation.
F
- Female Employment
- Produces estimates of female employment. Data is only available for the U.S.
G
- Geography
- Indicates the area for which the data were reported.
I
- Industry
- A group of establishments that produce similar products or provide similar services. A given industry, or even a particular establishment in that industry, might have employees in dozens of occupations. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) groups similar establishments into industries.
- Initial Claim
- A request for a determination of entitlement to and eligibility for compensation following unemployment. An additional initial claim is a subsequent initial claim filed to reopen a claim series when a break of one week or more has occurred due to intervening employment.
L
- Labor Force
- See Civilian Labor Force.
- Labor Force Participation Rate
- Percentage of the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and older that is working or actively looking for work. An important labor market measure because it represents the relative amount of labor resources available for the production of goods and services.
- Labor Market Information LMI
- A body of knowledge describing the nature, characteristics, and operation of mechanisms, institutions, and participants involved in matching labor supply with demand. LMI comprises economic, social, and demographic information — including population data, labor force data, occupational data, general economic trends, and career data — describing past and current conditions and forecasting future ones. Used to determine policy and program needs, allocate resources, and establish program performance standards.
- Local Area Unemployment Statistics LAUS
- A federal BLS/state cooperative statistical program producing monthly and annual labor force, employment, unemployment, and unemployment rate estimates by place of residence for states, counties, metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, and selected cities. The NC Department of Commerce's LEAD division maintains a cooperative agreement with BLS.
M
- Mean
- The sum of all values of a given list divided by the number of items in the list; also referred to as the average.
- Median
- The middle value of a distribution of numbers; half the values are above the median and half are below.
- Metropolitan Statistical Area MSA
- Geographic entities defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for use by federal
statistical agencies. The general concept is a core area containing a substantial population
nucleus of at least 50,000 people, together with adjacent communities having a high degree
of economic and social integration with that core. There are 17 MSAs in North Carolina.
census.gov — NC MSA reference map (PDF) - Micropolitan Statistical Area
- A geographical area delineated by the U.S. OMB containing a substantial population
nucleus with at least one urban cluster of at least 10,000 but fewer than 50,000 people.
There are 26 Micropolitan Statistical Areas in North Carolina.
census.gov — NC reference map (PDF)
N
- Nondurable Goods
- Known as "soft goods," these are manufactured or processed items generally considered to last three years or less. Industries include: Food; Beverage and Tobacco Products; Textiles; Apparel; Paper; Printing; Chemical; and Plastics and Rubber Manufacturing.
- North American Industry Classification System NAICS
- A classification system developed jointly by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to provide improved comparability in industrial statistics across North America. NAICS replaced the U.S. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system.
O
- Occupation
- The kind of work a person does to make a living. Occupations are specific jobs usually found in several industries. For example, cafeteria worker is a service occupation found in many different industry sectors including services, trade, and manufacturing.
- Occupational Employment Statistics OES
- Data on employment and wages for more than 800 occupations and about 400 nonfarm industries nationally, plus occupational data for states and metropolitan areas.
P
- Prosperity Zones
- The State of North Carolina operates eight administrative regions known as Prosperity Zones. Each Zone features a one-stop physical location where citizens and businesses can interact with representatives from multiple state agencies, encouraging better collaboration. Subject matter experts are deployed in each Zone, covering transportation, environmental topics, workforce development, community planning, and business liaison services.
Q
- Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages QCEW
- Comprehensive employment and wage data by industry and geographic area, derived from quarterly unemployment insurance tax returns filed by employers.
S
- Salary
- Fixed compensation paid for labor or services. Most salaries are paid for fixed periods of working hours.
- Seasonal Factors
- Events that cause normal fluctuations in business activity within individual or combinations of industries. Seasonal factors include, but are not limited to, weather conditions, holidays, and school schedules.
- Seasonally Adjusted
- A statistical adjustment eliminating the influence of weather, holidays, school schedules, and other recurring seasonal events from an economic time series. By smoothing these fluctuations, data are easier to compare month to month. Only U.S. and North Carolina state civilian labor force and CES employment estimates are seasonally adjusted; estimates below the state level are unadjusted.
- Service Providing
- Industries including Trade, Transportation & Utilities; Information; Financial Activities; Professional and Business; Educational and Health; Leisure and Hospitality; Other; and Government.
- Standard Occupational Classification SOC
- A system for classifying all occupations in the economy — including private, public, and military — based on work performed and required skills, education, training, and credentials.
U
- Unadjusted
- An economic time series not statistically adjusted to eliminate seasonal fluctuations such as weather, holidays, and school schedules. This data is not comparable month to month. All levels of civilian labor force and CES estimates have a not seasonally adjusted series.
- Unemployment
- Persons age 16 or older are classified as unemployed if they do not have a job, have actively looked for work in the prior four weeks, and are currently available for work. Persons waiting to be recalled to a job from which they had been temporarily laid off are also considered unemployed.
- Unemployment Rate
- The number of unemployed persons expressed as a percent of the labor force.
- Unit
- An establishment, generally at a single physical location, where business is conducted or where services or industrial operations are performed.
W
- Wage and Salary Employment
- Full-time and part-time workers (including employees on paid vacation or paid sick leave) who work or receive compensation from establishments for any part of the pay period including the 12th of the month. Workers involved in labor-management disputes are excluded. This is a count of the number of jobs, available by industry.
- Wages
- A payment, usually of money, for labor or services performed. Wages may not be reflective of full-time work schedules.