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International Technical Cooperation
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Labor Market Information: Business Establishment Surveys
Tuition
Information about tuition costs may be obtained by submitting an online inquiry to staff in the BLS Division of International Technical Cooperation (ITC).
Participant profile
This seminar is designed for economists, statisticians, researchers, analysts, and other professionals working with labor market information in national statistical programs. Participants should have an elementary knowledge of statistics and some experience in analyzing labor or economic data.
Objectives
To develop participants' capability to produce and analyze labor market information collected from business establishments by:
- Defining labor market information
- Discussing techniques for using data from administrative sources
- Presenting methodologies for designing and conducting surveys of business establishments
- Analyzing data on the characteristics of the labor force
- Combining data from a variety of sources to understand the labor market as a whole
Program content
Labor market information is essential for tracking and analyzing the economy of a country. National and local governments need labor market information to reduce unemployment, generate employment, and plan training programs to meet the needs of industry. It is also used in determining future workforce training needs, identifying the availability of labor, ascertaining prevailing wage rates, and exploring potential markets. Labor market information is valuable to local and regional planning agencies as well as industries and businesses looking for site locations, seeking ways of attracting and retaining skilled workers, or assessing the scope and size of potential markets. Labor unions find this information useful for determining comparable wage and compensation levels, local working conditions, and training needs. Investors, educators, workers, and job seekers also benefit from timely and reliable labor market information to help them make sound decisions.
This seminar will show participants how to develop labor market information using data collected from business establishments. A business establishment survey provides detailed data on employment, hours, and earnings of workers on payrolls. Establishment surveys can provide detailed data by industry and occupation, which are vital to understanding the dispersion of jobs in a country's economy.
Participants are encouraged to bring with them the following materials for use in discussions and workshops: 1) methodological documentation on how data related to the seminar topic are collected in their home countries; 2) questionnaires used in their countries for obtaining those data; and 3) sample publications of those data.
The seminar includes discussions on the following topics:
Introduction to labor markets
- What they are and how they are defined
- Reasons for conducting business establishment surveys
- Sources of information
Understanding components of labor market information
- Labor force supply and demand
- Business employment dynamics
- Employment by industry and occupation
- Hours of work
- Employee wages, earnings, and benefits
Designing and conducting business establishment surveys
- Concepts and definitions
- Survey design
- Questionnaire design
- Sampling
- Data collection
- Weighting
- Data validation
- Estimation procedures
- Data processing and tabulation
Data analysis and dissemination
- Analysis by sector, industry, and occupation
- Graphical analysis and presentation of data
Last Modified Date: June 7, 2024