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BLS Restricted Data Access
Bureau of Labor Statistics > BLS Restricted Data Access > Home

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Policy for Researcher State Microdata Access

Background

There are two classes of state microdata:
  1. Cooperative Agreement signatory states, which grant blanket agreement to all BLS-approved research projects.
  2. Non-signatory states, which elect to review projects and will approve projects based on their individual state laws. Non-signatory states are solicited for each agreement.
Access to data from the following states is granted on a case-by-case basis, as determined by state laws.

Fiscal Year 2025 Non-Signatory States

  • Florida
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Kentucky
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Mississippi
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont

Institution Transfer Procedures

Researchers sometimes change institutions during the course of their project; for example, when Ph.D. candidates graduate and then find employment. BLS can transfer the legal agreement with the old institution to the new institution so data access may continue, but the consent from the non-signatory states does not transfer and BLS will not ask non-signatory states again for their consent. At the beginning of the project, researchers must choose one of the following paths:

Include Non-signatory State data in output with the following restrictions:

  • The data-sharing agreement will be non-transferable.
  • Data access for the project will end on either the expiration date of the data-sharing agreement or when the researcher is no longer affiliated with the sponsoring institution or organization, whichever comes first.

Include only Cooperative Agreement State data in output:

  • Access to non-signatory state data will not be included.
  • The agreement will be transferable to any eligible institution.

If no output has been prepared before the researcher submits a request to transfer sponsoring institutions:

  • States will not be re-solicited for consent.
  • Access to non-signatory state data will be revoked.
  • The agreement will be transferable to any eligible institution.