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Understanding ECI Series IDs: A guide to series ID usage and formatting

When working with data from the Employment Cost Index (ECI), each series available will be assigned a specific series ID code. These codes are 17 digits long with each part corresponding to a feature of that series. Using the codes listed below, users can put together each portion of any series ID used in the ECI.

Understanding the different components of series IDs allows users to quickly find series using the Series ID shortcut, create custom database query code using the BLS Public Data API, and reference IDs in existing literature. Series ID codes are used for more programs than the ECI; the Series ID Format page contains information on each ID format used by any BLS program.

Publication Prefix (AA) ▸
- Every BLS database uses a unique prefix to identify the specific publication. ECI Series are labeled CI; other NCS series prefixes include CM for the Employer Cost for Employee Compensation and WM for the Modeled Wage Estimates; others can be found on the Series ID Format page.
Seasonal adjustment (B) ▸
- S for seasonally adjusted and U for not seasonally adjusted series.
Ownership (C) ▸
- Indicator of whether the establishment represents all workers, only those in the private sector, or only those in state and local government. For more information on exclusions from the survey scope, see the Handbook of Methods.
  Table 1. Ownership codes
  Series ID Code Ownership
  
  1
  Civilian Workers
  
  2
  Private Industry Workers
  
  3
  State and Local Government Workers
Estimate code (DD) ▸
- The type of employer provided compensation, either from wages and salaries or benefits.
  Table 2. Estimate codes
  Series ID Code Estimate
  
  01
  Total compensation
  
  02
  Wages and salaries
  
  03
  Total benefits
  
  15*
  Health Insurance
  
  *Private industry only

Table 1. Ownership codes
Series ID Code	Ownership
1	Civilian Workers
2	Private Industry Workers
3	State and Local Government Workers

Table 2. Estimate codes
Series ID Code	Estimate
01	Total compensation
02	Wages and salaries
03	Total benefits
15*	Health Insurance
*Private industry only

Industry (EEEE) ▸

Establishments are classified into industries using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).

Table 3. Industry codes
Series ID Code	Industry	NCS Code	NAICS Code
0000	All workers	000000	21-92
4400	Utilities	220000	22
2300	Construction	230000	22
3000	Manufacturing	300000	31-33
3100*	Nondurable goods manufacturers	310000	311-316, 322-326
3200*	Durable goods manufacturers	320000	321, 327, 331-337, 339
3211	Aircraft manufacturing	336411	336411
4000	Trade, transportation, and utilities	400000	42, 44-45, 48-49, 22
4120	Retail trade	412000	44-45
4110	Wholesale trade	420000	42
4300	Transportation and warehousing	430000	48-49
5100	Information	510000	51
5200	Finance and insurance	520000	52-53
520A	Financial activities	520A00	52-53
5220	Credit intermediation	522000	522
5240	Insurance carriers	524000	524
5300	Real estate and rental and leasing	530000	53
5400	Professional, scientific, and technical services	540000	54
540A	Professional and business services	540A00	54-56
5600	Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	560000	56
6000	Education and health services	600000	61-62
6100	Educational services	610000	61
6111	Elementary and secondary schools	611100	6111
6120	Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools	612000	6112-6113
6200	Health care and social assistance	620000	62
6220	Hospitals	622000	622
6230	Nursing and residential care facilities	623000	623
6231	Nursing care facilities	623100	6231
7000	Leisure and hospitality	700000	71-72
7200	Accommodation and food services	720000	72
8100	Other services (except public administration)	810000	81
9200	Public administration	920000	92
G000	Goods producing	G00000	21, 23, 31-33
S000	Service providing	S00000	22, 42-92
*Discontinued

Occupation (FFF) ▸

Workers are classified into occupations using the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system.

Table 4. Occupation codes
Series ID Code	Occupation	NCS Code	SOC Code
000	All workers	000000	11-53
00X*	All workers excluding sales	000001	-
W00*	All white collar occupations	114300	-
W0X*	All white collar occupations, excluding sales	114301	-
B00*	All-blue collar occupations	455300	-
110	Management, business, and financial occupations	111300	11-13
100	Management, professional and related occupations	112900	11-29
120	Professional and related occupations	152900	15-29
12C	Primary, secondary, and special education school teachers	252000	252
12N	Registered nurses	291111	29114
300	Service occupations	313900	31-39
210	Sales and related occupations	410000	41
200	Sales and office occupations	414300	41-43
22D*	Office and administrative support occupations (SOC 2010)	43000D	43
220	Office and administrative support occupations	430000	43
405	Construction, extraction, farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	454700	45-47
400	Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	454900	45-49
420	Construction and extraction occupations	470000	45
430	Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	490000	49
510	Production occupations	510000	51
500	Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	515300	51-53
52D*	Transportation and material moving occupations (SOC 2010)	53000D	53
520	Transportation and material moving occupations	530000	53
*Discontinued
- Dashes indicate occupations that were classified under the Occupational Classification System (OCS). These series were discontinued during the transition to NAICS.

Subcell (GGG) ▸

Category identifying the attributes of workers or establishments for the estimate.

Table 5. Subcell codes
Series ID Code	Characteristic
000	All workers
510	Union
520	Nonunion
710	Excluding incentive-paid occupations
210	Northeast census region
220	South census region
230	Midwest census region
240	West census region
233	East North Central census division
226	East South Central census division
310*	Metropolitan
212	Middle Atlantic census division
248	Mountain census division
211	New England census division
320*	Nonmetropolitan
249	Pacific census division
225	South Atlantic census division
234	West North Central census division
227	West South Central census division
0LB	Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH CSA
0LJ	Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA
0LI	New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA
0LA	Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA-AL CSA
0LN	Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale, FL CSA
0LM	Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA CSA
0LD	Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK CSA
0LF	Houston-Pasadena, TX CSA
0LC	Chicago-Naperville, IL-IN-WI CSA
0LE	Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, MI CSA
0LH	Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI CSA
0LO	Phoenix-Mesa, AZ CSA
0LG	Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA CSA
0LK	San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA CSA
0LL	Seattle-Tacoma, WA CSA
*Discontinued

Datatype (H) ▸

Table 6. Datatype codes
Series ID Code	Datatype
A	12-month percent change, current dollar
Q	3-month percent change, current dollar
I	Current dollar index
Z	12-month percent change, constant dollar
X	3-month percent change, constant dollar
T	Constant dollar index
S	Survey response rate
R	Usable rate, initiations
P	Usable rate, updates

While it is easy to break a series down like this, it’s also important to know that not all combination of series ID codes will result in a published series. Not all possible estimate combinations are published; some estimates are only available for certain ownerships, industry groups, etc.

Example

Here is a breakout of the series ID for 3-month percent change, not seasonally adjusted, in wages and salaries for private industry union workers in goods-producing industries:

CIU202G000000510Q

CI: ECI

U: not seasonally adjusted

2: private industry

02: wages and salaries

G000: goods-producing industries

000: all occupations

510: union workers

Q: 3-month percent change, current dollar

For More Information

Each BLS series has a unique series ID, and while many have the same components, most have different codes. To find a series ID format for a different BLS program, see the Series ID Format page.

For more information on the Employment Cost Index (ECI): data can be found in table form or through the database search tools, and the Handbook of Methods and factsheets provide information on key concepts.