Frequently Asked Questions

A person is counted as unemployed if they do not have a job but are actively looking for and available for work. Workers expecting to be recalled from a temporary layoff are counted as unemployed whether or not they searched for a job. Those who are not working and are not actively looking for work are classified as not in the labor force rather than unemployed.

No. The unemployment rate measures joblessness in the labor force, not the number of people receiving unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. State and local rates from the LAUS program are model-based estimates that draw on household surveys, surveys of employers, and UI claims data together, rather than UI claims alone.

The labor force is the sum of the employed and the unemployed. The participation rate is the share of the civilian non-institutional population age 16 and older that is either employed or unemployed. The unemployment rate is the share of the labor force that is unemployed. So participation measures how much of the population is engaged in the labor market, while the unemployment rate measures how many of those engaged are without a job.

The employment-population ratio is the share of the civilian non-institutional population age 16 and older that is employed. Unlike the labor force participation rate, which counts both the employed and the unemployed, the employment-population ratio counts only those who are working. It is useful as a direct measure of how much of the population is working.

Covered employment refers to jobs covered by state or federal unemployment insurance (UI) law, which is what QCEW measures. It includes most wage and salary jobs but excludes some categories, such as most self-employed workers and certain agricultural and other workers not subject to unemployment insurance law.

Because UI coverage is broad but not total, covered employment is close to, but not all of employment in an area.

An industry is a group of organizations in similar product or service markets; an occupation is an aggregation of jobs based on similar tasks. Industries shape the mix of occupations found within them, and most occupations appear across several industries.

QCEW and CES provide data by industry. OEWS provides data by occupation. Knowing which one your question is about determines which source to use.

An establishment is a single physical location where business is conducted, such as one store or one plant. A company or firm can own many establishments across different places and industries. An establishment count is a count of worksites, not of distinct companies.

The Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system groups similar jobs under standardized codes so data can be compared consistently. One code often covers several real-world titles because many specific titles share the same core work tasks. Codes range from broad occupational groups to detailed six-digit occupations.

When searching by job title, use keywords rather than an exact title, since a specialized title may fall inside a broader occupation. New or emerging roles may not yet have their own code.

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard system for classifying businesses by their economic activity. QCEW and other industry data are organized by NAICS. Codes range from broad sectors to detailed six-digit industries.

The Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) is a federal system for classifying fields of study and instructional programs. It is used to track and report program enrollments and completions consistently across institutions.

LAUS estimates the number of employed people by where they live, while CES and QCEW measure the number of jobs by the location of the employing establishment. Because one person can hold more than one job and many people can work outside the area where they live, the two measures can diverge for the same area. LAUS also captures some employment that CES and QCEW do not, such as independent contractors; for more, see “Does the data include self-employed, gig, or contract workers?”

CES is released monthly but is estimated and limited in detail. QCEW is a near complete count with more industry and county detail, but it is released with a roughly six-month lag.

Use CES for timely updates at the state and MSA level. Use QCEW when you need precise local or industry figures and can accept the lag.

It depends on the source. LAUS counts people by their work status, so it includes the self-employed, independent contractors, and gig workers among the employed. However, QCEW and CES exclude most self-employed and independent contracting work. The main exception is the self-employed who have incorporated their businesses and are counted as employees of those corporations.

It varies by program. LAUS provides estimates for all 100 North Carolina counties and the cities with population greater than 25,000, as well as regional areas such as workforce development board areas, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), and prosperity zones. QCEW is available down to the county level and carries detailed industry breakdowns where disclosure rules allow. CES publishes employment for the state and MSAs. Occupational wage data (OEWS) is available for state and metropolitan regions and is not published at the county level.

The median is the wage at the midpoint, where half of workers earn more and half earn less, which makes it the better choice for most purposes. The mean is influenced by a small number of high earners and can be higher than what most workers earn.

Whichever you use, state which one, because the two can differ substantially.

They show the pay range within an occupation at a point in time, from lower earners at the 10th percentile to higher earners at the 90th. They are a snapshot of workers currently in the occupation, not a projected career path.

A location quotient (LQ) compares how concentrated an industry or occupation is in an area to how concentrated it is in a larger reference area, usually the nation. It is the area’s share of employment in that category divided by that reference area’s share.

An LQ of 1.0 means the area matches the national average. Above 1.0 means the industry or occupation is more concentrated locally, which often signals a local specialization or a sector that serves customers beyond the region. Below 1.0 means it is less concentrated than the nation.

Seasonal adjustment removes predictable patterns, such as holiday hiring or summer employment, so that underlying trends are easier to see. Non-seasonally adjusted figures show the actual counts, including those seasonal swings.

Use seasonally adjusted data to compare one month to the next or to assess a trend. Use non-seasonally adjusted data when you want the actual level for a period or when comparing the same month across years.

Wage figures are generally nominal, meaning they are not adjusted for inflation. Comparing a nominal wage from an earlier year to a recent one overstates real gains, because part of the increase reflects rising prices rather than rising buying power.

To compare wages across years, adjust older figures for inflation to put them in current dollars. Otherwise, limit comparisons to a single year. The BLS CPI inflation calculator can convert an older wage into current dollars.

The projections estimate industry and occupational employment for the next 10 years. They are most useful for comparing expected growth across industries and occupations.

Because they describe expected conditions over the long term, they are best used to compare relative prospects across industries and occupations rather than to predict exact employment levels for a specific year.

Star Jobs evaluates occupations across North Carolina based on three factors – wages, projected growth rate, and projected openings – and assigns each occupation a rating from 1 to 5 stars. Higher-rated occupations indicate promising career prospects in North Carolina. For more information, visit our Star Jobs webpage.

Projected openings include replacement needs, such as workers who retire or leave the occupation, in addition to growth. A large occupation can generate many openings through turnover even if it is not adding jobs.

Not necessarily. A high opening count reflects the size of the occupation and its turnover, not how competitive it is or how quickly employers are hiring. Requirements, applicant pool, and local conditions all affect how hard a job is to get.

Use openings to gauge the scale of opportunity, not the odds for one applicant.

Historical series for most core programs are available through LEAD’s D4. OEWS is an exception. BLS does not encourage using OEWS for time-series analysis because the survey is designed for point-in-time estimates and its methodology and occupational classifications may change over time.

Many series are revised as more complete information becomes available. Monthly figures start as preliminary estimates, and CES is re-benchmarked to QCEW each year, so revisions generally improve accuracy over time. When you cite a figure, note its vintage (for example, “as of [month/year]”), and pull the full series from the current release rather than combining an older saved value with newer data.

Most core series are produced through federal-state cooperative programs. LEAD prepares the North Carolina estimates under agreement with BLS, using shared definitions and methods. The result is data tailored to North Carolina that remains comparable with national figures.

Yes, for the federal-state cooperative programs. Because states use shared definitions and methods, figures from programs such as LAUS, QCEW, CES, and OEWS are broadly comparable across states. Confirm you are comparing the same program, period, and adjustment, and be aware that suppression can differ by state.

It is likely suppressed to protect confidentiality. When too few employers or workers fall into a category, publishing the figure could identify a specific business, so it is withheld.