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QCEW provides a collection of CSV files representing logical slices of data. Data are sliced by industry, by area, and by establishment size-class. An industry slice contains all the records associated with the industry for a single time period. An area slice contains all the records associated with the area for a single time period. A size slice contains all records published within a specific size class for the first quarter of a specified year. These three types of slices are detailed below. These data slices are stored as CSV files. (Comma Separated Values) This file layout is defined below.
In June 2016, the entire collection of CSV files was migrated to data.bls.gov. The rest of the URL structure remains the same. A server-side redirect points to the new location. This redirect will be turned off at some point in the future. If you downloaded any of the code examples in the past, We recommend you update your codebase with the new versions here.
Example:
OLD: https://www.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/1/area/US000.csv
NEW: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/1/area/US000.csv
An industry slice contains all the records associated with the industry for a single time period. Industry slices are stored in folders by year and quarter. Consider the following URL:
https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/1/industry/10.csv
This URL points to the total, all industries (NAICS 10) CSV file for first quarter 2024. Notice the year, quarter, and industry codes (2024,1, and 10) are all visible in the URL. You can change these values to point at different time periods and industries. The URL above also contains the word "industry". This designates the type of data you're requesting. In this case we're requesting industry data. Some NAICS codes are hyphenated. For example, the NAICS code for manufacturing is 31-33. Industry file names do not contain hyphens, only numbers and underscores. So, the file for manufacturing is actually "31_33.csv" and to request first quarter manufacturing data for 2024, you'd use the following URL: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/1/industry/31_33.csv. For a complete list of industry titles and codes see: https://www.bls.gov/cew/classifications/industry/industry-titles.htm
An area slice contains all the records associated with the area for a single time period. Area slices are stored in folders by year and quarter. Consider the following URL:
https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/1/area/26000.csv
This URL points to the Michigan, State-level CSV file for first quarter 2024. Notice the year, quarter, and area code (2024,1, and 26000) are all visible in the URL. You can change these values to point at different time periods and areas. The URL above also contains the word "area". This designates the type of data you're requesting. In this case we're requesting area data. For a complete list of area titles and codes see: https://www.bls.gov/cew/classifications/areas/qcew-area-titles.htm
A size slice contains all records published within a specific size class for the first quarter of a specified year. Consider the following URL:
https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/1/size/3.csv
This URL points to the size-class 3 CSV file for first quarter 2024. Notice the year, quarter, and size code (2024,1, and 3) are all visible in the URL. You can change these values to point at different time periods and size classes. Note that size data is only available for the first quarter of each year. The URL above also contains the word "size". This designates the type of data you're requesting. In this case we're requesting size data. For a complete list of size-class titles and codes see:
https://www.bls.gov/cew/classifications/size/size-titles.htm
Note: Data slices by size class do not include data for "All Establishment Sizes" (Size code=0). Please use the data slices by area or industry for these concepts.
Quarterly data slices are stored in CSV files. These quarterly files conform to the layout detailed in the table below.
Field Number |
Field Name |
Data Type |
Maximum Length |
Field Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | area_fips | Text | 5 | 5-character FIPS code |
2 | own_code | Text | 1 | 1-character ownership code |
3 | industry_code | Text | 6 | 6-character industry code (NAICS, SuperSector) |
4 | agglvl_code | Text | 2 | 2-character aggregation level code |
5 | size_code | Text | 1 | 1-character size code |
6 | year | Text | 4 | 4-character year |
7 | qtr | Text | 1 | 1-character quarter (always A for annual) |
8 | disclosure_code | Text | 1 | 1-character disclosure code (either ' '(blank) or 'N' not disclosed) |
9 | qtrly_estabs | Numeric | 8 | Count of establishments for a given quarter |
10 | month1_emplvl | Numeric | 9 | Employment level for the first month of a given quarter |
11 | month2_emplvl | Numeric | 9 | Employment level for the second month of a given quarter |
12 | month3_emplvl | Numeric | 9 | Employment level for the third month of a given quarter |
13 | total_qtrly_wages | Numeric | 15 | Total wages for a given quarter |
14 | taxable_qtrly_wages | Numeric | 15 | Taxable wages for a given quarter |
15 | qtrly_contributions | Numeric | 13 | Quarterly contributions for a given quarter |
16 | avg_wkly_wage | Numeric | 8 | Average weekly wage for a given quarter |
17 | lq_disclosure_code | Text | 1 | 1-character location-quotient disclosure code (either ' '(blank) or 'N' not disclosed |
18 | lq_qtrly_estabs | Numeric | 8 | Location quotient of the quarterly establishment count relative to the U.S. (Rounded to the hundredths place) |
19 | lq_month1_emplvl | Numeric | 8 | Location quotient of the employment level for the first month of a given quarter relative to the U.S. (Rounded to the hundredths place) |
20 | lq_month2_emplvl | Numeric | 8 | Location quotient of the employment level for the second month of a given quarter relative to the U.S. (Rounded to the hundredths place) |
21 | lq_month3_emplvl | Numeric | 8 | Location quotient of the employment level for the third month of a given quarter relative to the U.S. (Rounded to the hundredths place) |
22 | lq_total_qtrly_wages | Numeric | 8 | Location quotient of the total wages for a given quarter relative to the U.S. (Rounded to the hundredths place) |
23 | lq_taxable_qtrly_wages | Numeric | 8 | Location quotient of the total taxable wages for a given quarter relative to the U.S. (Rounded to the hundredths place) |
24 | lq_qtrly_contributions | Numeric | 8 | Location quotient of the total contributions for a given quarter relative to the U.S. (Rounded to the hundredths place) |
25 | lq_avg_wkly_wage | Numeric | 8 | Location quotient of the average weekly wage for a given quarter relative to the U.S. (Rounded to the hundredths place) |
26 | oty_disclosure_code | Text | 1 | 1-character over-the-year disclosure code (either ' '(blank) or 'N' not disclosed) |
27 | oty_qtrly_estabs_chg | Numeric | 8 | Over-the-year change in the count of establishments for a given quarter |
28 | oty_qtrly_estabs_pct_chg | Numeric | 8 | Over-the-year percent change in the count of establishments for a given quarter (Rounded to the tenths place) |
29 | oty_month1_emplvl_chg | Numeric | 9 | Over-the-year change in the first month's employment level of a given quarter |
30 | oty_month1_emplvl_pct_chg | Numeric | 8 | Over-the-year percent change in the first month's employment level of a given quarter (Rounded to the tenths place) |
31 | oty_month2_emplvl_chg | Numeric | 9 | Over-the-year change in the second month's employment level of a given quarter |
32 | oty_month2_emplvl_pct_chg | Numeric | 8 | Over-the-year percent change in the second month's employment level of a given quarter (Rounded to the tenths place) |
33 | oty_month3_emplvl_chg | Numeric | 9 | Over-the-year change in the third month's employment level of a given quarter |
34 | oty_month3_emplvl_pct_chg | Numeric | 8 | Over-the-year percent change in the third month's employment level of a given quarter (Rounded to the tenths place) |
35 | oty_total_qtrly_wages_chg | Numeric | 15 | Over-the-year change in total quarterly wages for a given quarter |
36 | oty_total_qtrly_wages_pct_chg | Numeric | 8 | Over-the-year percent change in total quarterly wages for a given quarter (Rounded to the tenths place) |
37 | oty_taxable_qtrly_wages_chg | Numeric | 15 | Over-the-year change in taxable quarterly wages for a given quarter |
38 | oty_taxable_qtrly_wages_pct_chg | Numeric | 8 | Over-the-year percent change in taxable quarterly wages for a given quarter (Rounded to the tenths place) |
39 | oty_qtrly_contributions_chg | Numeric | 13 | Over-the-year change in quarterly contributions for a given quarter |
40 | oty_qtrly_contributions_pct_chg | Numeric | 8 | Over-the-year percent change in quarterly contributions for a given quarter (Rounded to the tenths place) |
41 | oty_avg_wkly_wage_chg | Numeric | 8 | Over-the-year change in average weekly wage for a given quarter |
42 | oty_avg_wkly_wage_pct_chg | Numeric | 8 | Over-the-year percent change in average weekly wage for a given quarter (Rounded to the tenths place) |
Annual-average data slices are stored in CSV files. These annual-average files conform to the layout detailed in the table below.
Field Number |
Field Name |
Data Type |
Maximum Length |
Field Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | area_fips | Text | 5 | 5-character FIPS code |
2 | own_code | Text | 1 | 1-character ownership code |
3 | industry_code | Text | 6 | 6-character industry code (NAICS, SuperSector) |
4 | agglvl_code | Text | 2 | 2-character aggregation level code |
5 | size_code | Text | 1 | 1-character size code |
6 | year | Text | 4 | 4-character year |
7 | qtr | Text | 1 | 1-character quarter (always A for annual) |
8 | disclosure_code | Text | 1 | 1-character disclosure code (either ' '(blank) or 'N' not disclosed) |
9 | annual_avg_estabs | Numeric | 8 | Annual average of quarterly establishment counts for a given year |
10 | annual_avg_emplvl | Numeric | 9 | Annual average of monthly employment levels for a given year |
11 | total_annual_wages | Numeric | 15 | Sum of the four quarterly total wage levels for a given year |
12 | taxable_annual_wages | Numeric | 15 | Sum of the four quarterly total taxable wage totals for a given year |
13 | annual_contributions | Numeric | 13 | Sum of the four quarterly contribution totals for a given year |
14 | annual_avg_wkly_wage | Numeric | 8 | Average weekly wage based on the 12-monthly employment levels and total annual wage levels |
15 | avg_annual_pay | Numeric | 8 | Average annual pay based on employment and wage levels for a given year |
16 | lq_disclosure_code | Text | 1 | 1-character location-quotient disclosure code (either '' (blank) or 'N' not disclosed) |
17 | lq_annual_avg_estabs | Numeric | 8 | Location quotient of annual average establishment count relative to the U.S. (Rounded to the hundredths place) |
18 | lq_annual_avg_emplvl | Numeric | 8 | Location quotient of annual average employment relative to the U.S. (Rounded to the hundredths place) |
19 | lq_total_annual_wages | Numeric | 8 | Location quotient of total annual wages relative to the U.S. (Rounded to the hundredths place) |
20 | lq_taxable_annual_wages | Numeric | 8 | Location quotient of taxable annual wages relative to the U.S. (Rounded to the hundredths place) |
21 | lq_annual_contributions | Numeric | 8 | Location quotient of total annual contributions relative to the U.S. (Rounded to the hundredths place) |
22 | lq_annual_avg_wkly_wage | Numeric | 8 | Location quotient of annual average weekly wage relative to the U.S. (Rounded to the hundredths place) |
23 | lq_avg_annual_pay | Numeric | 8 | Location quotient of annual average pay relative to the U.S. (Rounded to the hundredths place) |
24 | oty_disclosure_code | Text | 1 | 1-character over-the-year disclosure code (either ' '(blank) or 'N' not disclosed) |
25 | oty_annual_avg_estabs_chg | Numeric | 8 | Over-the-year change in annual average establishments for a given year |
26 | oty_annual_avg_estabs_pct_chg | Numeric | 8 | Over-the-year percent change in annual average establishments for a given year (Rounded to the tenths place) |
27 | oty_annual_avg_emplvl_chg | Numeric | 9 | Over-the-year change in annual average employment for a given year |
28 | oty_annual_avg_emplvl_pct_chg | Numeric | 8 | Over-the-year percent change in annual average employment for a given year (Rounded to the tenths place) |
29 | oty_total_annual_wages_chg | Numeric | 15 | Over-the-year change in the total annual wages for a given year |
30 | oty_total_annual_wages_pct_chg | Numeric | 8 | Over-the-year percent change in total annual wages for a given year (Rounded to the tenths place) |
31 | oty_taxable_annual_wages_chg | Numeric | 15 | Over-the-year change in taxable annual wages for a given year |
32 | oty_taxable_annual_wages_pct_chg | Numeric | 8 | Over-the-year percent change in taxable annual wages for a given year (Rounded to the tenths place) |
33 | oty_annual_contributions_chg | Numeric | 13 | Over-the-year change in annual contributions for a given year |
34 | oty_annual_contributions_pct_chg | Numeric | 8 | Over-the-year percent change in annual contributions for a given year (Rounded to the tenths place) |
35 | oty_annual_avg_wkly_wage_chg | Numeric | 8 | Over-the-year change in annual average weekly wage for a given year |
36 | oty_annual_avg_wkly_wage_pct_chg | Numeric | 8 | Over-the-year percent change in annual average weekly wage for a given year (Rounded to the tenths place) |
37 | oty_avg_annual_pay_chg | Numeric | 8 | Over-the-year change in average annual pay for a given year |
38 | oty_avg_annual_pay_pct_chg | Numeric | 8 | Over-the-year percent change in average annual pay for a given year (Rounded to the tenths place) |
Last Modified Date: September 23, 2024