Glossary of OEA Definitions and Acronyms

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C

Census Bureau: Part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. It conducts censuses of population and housing every 10 years and of agriculture, business, governments, manufacturers, mineral industries, and transportation at 5-year intervals. The Census Bureau also conducts the monthly Current Population Survey, in cooperation with BLS. Data from this survey are the source of unemployment statistics.
Census Tracts: Census tracts are small, relatively permanent statistical subdivisions of a county. Census tracts are delineated for all metropolitan areas (MA) and other densely populated counties by local census statistical area committees following Census Bureau guidelines. Census tracts usually have between 2,500 and 8,000 persons and, when first delineated, are designed to be homogenous with respect to population characteristics, economic status, and living conditions. Census tracts do not cross county boundaries. The spatial size of census tracts varies widely depending on the density of settlement.
CES: Current Employment Statistics program data are published each month and are considered one of the earliest indicators of the state's economic health in terms of employment. This program, which is administered in cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS),collects data each month on employment, hours, and earnings from a sample of nonfarm establishments (including government). The sample includes over 7,000 reporting units in Wisconsin. From these data, employment, hours, and earnings estimates are produced for industries as identified in the NAICS, for state and major metropolitan statistical area level.
CEW - now called QCEW: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. Using quarterly data submitted by state agencies, BLS summarizes employment and wage data for workers covered by State unemployment insurance (UI) laws and summarizes employment and wage data for civilian workers covered by the program of Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE). Commonly called the ES-202 program. Employment counts are available by industry group for the State and all Counties. Some employment data may be deemed confidential to avoid disclosure of operations of individual reporting units.

Civilian Labor Force: Generally, civilian labor force includes all persons who are either working or looking for work. Specifically, it is composed of all civilians over 16 years of age who are either employed or unemployed, except:
persons engaged in housework in their home,
persons in school,
persons with a new job not scheduled to begin for more than 30 days,
persons unable to work because of long-term physical or mental illness,
persons temporarily unable to work,
retired persons,
persons too old to work,
persons doing less than 15 hours weekly of unpaid family work,
seasonal workers surveyed in the off-season and not looking for work,
inmates of institutions,
persons not looking for work because they believe no jobs are available, and >
voluntarily idle persons.; Since the labor force includes both employed and unemployed, the unemployment rate is the ratio of unemployed in this category to the total number of individuals in this category. For example, if 4 million persons in a civilian labor force of 100 million are unemployed, the unemployment rate is 4 percent.

Civilian Non-institutional Population: Included are persons 16 years of age and older residing in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, who are not inmates of institutions (e.g., institutions for individuals judged mentally incompetent, jail or prison, nursing home facility), and includes those who are not on active duty in the Armed Forces.

Commuting Patterns: A labor market concept that refers to worker flows between municipalities, counties and states. Data representing commuting patterns is collected through the decennial census. Data on commuting patterns can reveal the most economically developed areas, such as those that draws large amounts of labor, or they may reveal the need for economic development, such as those counties which export large amounts of labor.
Coincident Indicator: An economic indicator which varies directly with, and at the same time as, the related economic trend, thereby providing information about the current state of the economy. (source: http://www.investorwords.com/)

CPI: Consumer Price Index. The Consumer Price Index measures the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative market basket of consumer goods and services. User fees (such as for water) and sales and excise taxes paid by the consumer are included; however, income taxes and investments (like stocks and life insurance) are not included.


Covered Employment: Employment in any industry insured under the provisions of the Wisconsin Unemployment Insurance Law.

CPS: Current Population Survey; A national household survey conducted each month by the U.S. Bureau of the Census for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Information is gathered from a sample of 60,000 households (about 900 in Wisconsin) designed to represent the civilian noninstitutional population of persons 16 years old and older. The time period covered in the monthly survey is a calendar week. Since July 1955, the calendar week, Sunday through Saturday, which includes the 12th day of the month has been defined as the reference week. The actual survey is conducted during the following week, which is the week containing the 19th day of the month.

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D

DOT: Dictionary of Occupational Titles. A classification structure for jobs observed in the American economy, using a standard method of grouping jobs based on the function performed, the tools used, the persons served, the techniques used, and the product or service.
Discouraged Workers: Persons, not included in the count of unemployed, who make no active attempt to find a job because they think none is available, or they believe they lack the skills necessary to compete in the labor market. Discouraged workers are considered to be not in the labor force.

Disguised Unemployment: Potential workers who are not employed and who do not qualify as part of the civilian labor force are therefore are not counted officially as unemployed. For example, a self-employed person in a seasonal industry is not counted as part of the labor force during the off-season if he or she is not looking for work.
DOL: United States Department of Labor; Cabinet-level Federal agency which enforces laws protecting workers, promotes labor-management cooperation, sponsors employment training and placement services, oversees the unemployment insurance system, and produces statistics on the labor force and living conditions.

Duration of Unemployment: This is a measure of the number of full weeks that a person has been unemployed. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes several series on duration, showing the number unemployed for various lengths of time. There are also two published measures of average duration of unemployment: (1) mean duration and (2)median duration. Mean duration is the arithmetic average duration of unemployment in weeks; median duration is the midpoint of a distribution of weeks of unemployment.
DWD: Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development
(formerly DILHR, Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations)
DWS: Division of Workforce Solutions, within the Department of Workforce Development

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E

Economic Indicator: A set of data that serves as a tool for analyzing current economic conditions and future prospects. Usually classified according to their timing in relationship to the ups and downs of the business cycle, that is, whether they anticipate (lead), coincide with, or lag behind general business conditions.

Economic Fluctuations: Variations above and below the trend line of an economy. These variations have long been referred to as business cycles, but because they are not limited to the business sector of an economy and because cycle suggests a regularity which most investigators cannot find, many writers today use the expression economic fluctuations. Many theories are given to explain these fluctuations. Wars, of course, have a major influence on an economy, as do natural disasters such as storms or droughts. More subtle forces include changes of governments, the irregularity of major innovations, the phasing-out of products, and population growth.

Economic Time Series: A set of quantitative data collected over regular time intervals (such as weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually) which measures an aspect of economic activity. The series may measure a broad aggregate such as gross national product, or a narrow segment such as the sales of tractors or the price of copper.

Employed: Definition differs by Bureau of Labor Statistics programs:

Current Population Survey and Local Area Unemployment Statistics define employed as: Individuals 16 years of age and older who worked at least one hour for pay or who worked unpaid for at least 15 hours in a family business during the week which includes the 12th of the month. Individuals are also counted if they had a job but were temporarily absent from their jobs due to illness, bad weather, vacation, a labor dispute or for personal reasons.

Current Employment Statistics defines employed as: Including all paid employees, regardless of age, who worked during or received pay for any part of the pay period that includes the 12 day of the month.

Quarterly Census for Employment and Wages defines employed as: The number of workers on the payroll who earned wages during the pay period including the 12th day of the month. Persons on paid leave are included, but those on leave without pay for this entire payroll period are excluded.

Employment and Training Administration (ETA): An agency within the U.S. Department of Labor. This agency oversees the State UI programs and job training and placement services provided by State Employment Security Agencies.
ES-202: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, any data from this program may be generically referred to as "ES-202" data. Using quarterly data submitted by state agencies, Bureau of Labor Statistics summarizes employment and wage data for workers covered by State unemployment insurance (UI) laws and summarizes employment and wage data for civilian workers covered by the program of Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE). Employment counts are available by industry group for the State and all Counties. Some employment data may be deemed confidential to avoid disclosure of operations of individual reporting units.
Establishment: An economic unit that produces goods or services, usually at a single physical location, and engaged in one or predominantly one activity.
Establishment Survey: Establishment, also known as Place of Work. Employers complete a survey using data from their employer payroll records. Establishment survey is also referred to as payroll data survey. Establishments are classified as to size and industry. Included in the survey are large establishments, which in most industries are those with 250 or more employees, as well as full-time and part-time employees. And both permanent and temporary employees, are counted if they receive any pay during the reference period (the week that includes the 12th of the month). Workers on paid sick leave or on paid holiday or vacation are also counted. Persons on the payroll of more than one establishment are included in the tally of each. Proprietors, self-employed persons, unpaid family workers, and domestic household workers are excluded. This survey is conducted under the auspices of the Current Employment Statisticsprogram.

EDS: Estimates Deliver System. This system produces occupational wage and employment estimates at geographic levels not provided for in the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program.

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F

Frictional Unemployment: Frictional unemployment is unemployment that comes from people moving between jobs, careers, and locations. There is likely to be some frictional unemployment even when there is technically full employment, because most people change jobs from time to time.
Full-Time Employment: Defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as employment of 35 hours or more in a week.

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G

Gross Domestic Product: The market value of all final goods and services produced in a particular period in the United States, regardless of who owns the resources.
Gross National Product: The market value of all final goods and services produced in a particular period with labor and property supplied by US residents.
Goods Producing Industries: Under the current classification taxonomy North American Industry Classification System, goods producing industries are grouped within three Supersectors: Natural Resources and Mining; Construction, and Manufacturing.

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H

HIDDEN INFLATION*: If in two different years a family (or a nation) purchases identical goods and services, inflation for them can be measured by simply noting the difference in prices paid. However, when prices increase, many consumers lower their standard of living by purchasing goods of lower quality. For example, a family may buy a deluxe washing machine during a period of stable prices; yet if the appliance needs replacement during or after an inflationary period, the family may buy an economy model. To the extent that this practice is followed, hidden inflation adds to the inflation cost shown by price indexes.
HOUSEHOLD: As defined by the Census Bureau, all persons who occupy a housing unit. A housing unit is a room or group of rooms intended for occupancy as separate living quarters and having either a separate entrance or complete cooking facilities for the exclusive use of the occupants.

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I

INDICATOR*: A statistic which can be used, usually with others, to reach a conclusion regarding the economy. A LEADING INDICATOR (the most useful for making predictions) is one whose changes are usually followed by certain changes in the overall economy, a COINCIDENT INDICATOR changes at the same time as the overall economy, and a LAGGING INDICATOR is useless for prediction because it changes after the economy in general has changed.
INDUSTRY: A generic term for a distinct group of productive or profit-making enterprises. Industries are described and classified by their primary activity or product by the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code.
INFLATION*: There are many definitions of inflation, usually worded for completeness and technical accuracy. For most practical applications it is sufficient to consider that inflation is a decrease in the purchasing power of a nation's monetary unit. Prices go up, and "the dollar buys less." The CONSUMER PRICE INDEX is one indicator that attempts to measure the rate of inflation
INPUT-OUTPUT TABLE*: A matrix which shows the way in which industries or SECTORs interact. It generally shows, for each industry, the amount of that industry's output that goes to each other industry as input (as raw materials or as semifinished products), as well as the amount that goes to the final markets of the economy. The table may also indicate each industry's consumption of the products of other industries, as well as its contribution to the production process, in the form of value added. The tables permit the tracing of the industrial changes in consumer demand and investment-goods demand, of imports and exports, and of government purchases. Some input-output tables include an employment multiplier for each industry so that officials can determine where government assistance would be most effect for employment growth.

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J

JTPA: Job Training Partnership Act; Federal legislation enacted in 1982 with the stated purpose of

[establishing] programs to prepare youth and adults facing serious barriers to employment for participation in the labor force by providing job training and other services that will result in increased employment and earnings, increased educational and occupational skills, and decreased welfare dependency, thereby improving the quality of the work force and enhancing the productivity and competitiveness of the Nation.

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L

LABOR FORCE: Defined as all persons 16 years of age or over within a specific geographic area who are either employed or unemployed. Total Labor Force includes the civilian labor force and members of the Armed Forces stationed either in the United States or abroad, counted by their place of residence. Civilian Labor Force comprises the total of all civilians in the labor force. For statistical purposes, the labor force is the sum of persons employed and persons unemployed and looking for work.
LABOR MARKET: The economic transactions involving the hiring of people on the one side and the selling of one's labor on the other side. Labor market does not refer to a physical marketplace.
LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE: The proportion of the total civilian noninstitutional population or of a demographic subgroup of that population classified as "in the labor force".
LABOR MARKET AREA (LMA): Labor Market Areas are the basic substate geographic areas used for LAUS (Local Area Unemployment Statistics) estimation. Consisting of a central city or cities and the surrounding territory within commuting distance, it is an economically integrated geographical unit within which workers may readily change jobs without changing their place of residence. Labor market areas generally contain one or more counties.
LMI: Labor Market Information; The body of information that deals with the functioning of labor markets and the determination of the demand for and supply of labor. It includes, but is not limited to, such key factors as changes in the level and/or composition of economic activity, the population, employment and unemployment, income and earnings, and wage rates and fringe benefits
LABOR SURPLUS AREA: A civil jurisdiction classified as a labor surplus area when its average unemployment rate is at least 20 percent above the average unemployment for all states (plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) during the previous 2 calendar years. During periods of high national unemployment, the 20 percent ratio is disregarded and an area is classified as a labor surplus area if its unemployment during the previous 2 calendar years was 10 percent or more. This designation allows establishments in the area preference in bidding for certain federal contracts.
LABOR TURNOVER*: The percentage of an employer's workers who are replaced because of voluntary or involuntary leaving, usually on an annual basis.
LAGGING INDICATOR: A statistic which does not change until after the economy in general has changed. For example, the value of construction completed is a lagging indicator because the main effect on the economy occurred when plans were announced and contracts let and during the peak of construction activity. See also COINCIDENT INDICATOR; LEADING INDICATOR (below).
LAUS: Local Area Unemployment Statistics. BLS Program carried out by each state to determine unemployment rates by state and local areas.
LEADING INDICATOR*: A statistic valued for predicting purposes because its movement is generally followed by a certain movement of the economy in general. Building permits obtained is often used as a leading indicator. Economists sometimes refer to a short list, which is a composite of 12 leading indicators that have correlated particularly well with economic changes that have followed. Average weekly hours, unemployment claims, and corporate profits are included in the short list. See also COINCIDENT INDICATOR; LAGGING INDICATOR.

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M

METROPOLITAN AREAS (MAs): Standard definitions of metropolitan areas for Federal statistical purposes are established under the auspices of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Revisions to these definitions occur each decade following the decennial census. The general concept of a metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area is that of a core area containing a substantial population nucleus, together with adjacent communities having a high degree of economic and social integration with that core. Currently defined metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas are based on application of 2000 standards. Each metropolitan statistical area (MSA) must have at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more inhabitants. Each micropolitan statistical area must have at least one urban cluster of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000 population.

Please note: Beginning in January 2005 Wisconsin's MSAs were redefined. CES and LAUS data back to 1990 will be republished using the new MSA definitions. Complete replacement of historical data for new and redefined MSAs is strongly encouraged.

Wisconsin has 11 Metropolitan Statistical Areas within its borders, and another four that cross the state line into Minnesota and Illinois. There are also 13 Micropolitan Areas in Wisconsin.

Map of Metropolitan Statistical Areas

Map of Micropolitan Statistical Areas (coming soon)
MLS: The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a Federal-State cooperative statistical effort that uses a standardized, automated approach to identify, describe, and track the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from individual state unemployment insurance (UI) databases. The MLS program reports on mass layoff actions that result in workers being separated from their jobs.

Monthly mass layoff numbers are from establishments which have at least 50 initial claims for unemployment insurance filed against them in a 5-week period. Extended mass layoff numbers (released quarterly) are from a subset of such establishments---those where the employer indicates that 50 or more people were separated from their jobs for at least 31 days.

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NAICS: North American Industrial Classification System. A new economic classification system that replaces the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) for statistical purposes. NAICS is a system for classifying establishments by type of economic activity. NAICS will be used by Federal statistical agencies that collect or publish data by industry. It is also expected to be widely used by State agencies, trade associations, private businesses, and other organizations. To read more about NAICS, please see the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
NONAGRICULTURAL WAGE AND SALARY EMPLOYMENT: Includes all full-time and part-time employees of all classes (including employees on paid vacation or paid sick leave) who work in or receive compensation from nonagricultural establishments for any part of the pay period that includes the 12th of the month. It does not include pensioners, members of the armed forces, self-employed or unpaid family workers, or persons on leave of absence without pay. These statistics are collected in coordination with the CES program (Other term: NFWS, Nonfarm Wage and Salary)
NORMAL UNEMPLOYMENT*: The unemployment rate which exists because of imperfections in job markets. Imperfections are such factors as absence of costless job information, lack of perfect mobility, membership limitation by unions, and licensing for purposes of restricting quantities of workers. Also called natural rate of unemployment.
NOT IN THE LABOR FORCE: Includes all persons 16 years old and over who are not employed or unemployed. This group consists mainly of students, persons whose only activity is keeping house, retired workers, seasonal workers during an "off" season who are not looking for work, inmates in institutions, disabled persons, and unpaid persons working less than 15 hours a week in a family business or farm.

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OCCUPATION: The name or title of a job that identifies the principal business or activity of a person's life. Currently, we classify occupations using the Standard Occupational Classification Codes.
OES: Occupational Employment Statistics; The OES program collects data on occupational employment from employers. These data are used in the program which creates the Wisconsin occupational employment projections. The OES code structure is used in reporting occupational statistics in many state and federal reports.

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P

PART TIME EMPLOYMENT: Defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as employment between 1 and 34 hours per week.
PER CAPITA PERSONAL INCOME (PCPI): Total income received by individuals from all sources--wage and salary disbursements, other labor income, proprietors' income, rental income, dividends, personal interest income, and transfer payments--minus personal contributions for social insurance, divided by the population.
PIC: Private Industry Council
PRIVATE HOUSEHOLD WORKERS: Persons who work for profit or fees, in private households, as child care workers, cooks, housekeepers or servants.
PRIVATE SECTOR*: That portion of the total economy which does not directly involve any level of government, as opposed to the public sector, which includes all operations of all levels of government.
PPI: Producer Price Index; A Bureau of Labor Statistics program which measures the average change in producers' selling prices of a fixed set of goods and services. The Producer Price Index is sometimes thought of as the "Wholesale" or "Industrial" Price Index.
PRODUCTIVITY*: The ratio of real GNP to total hours worked in the nation, where real GNP is GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT expressed in constant dollars (adjusted for inflation). Productivity is loosely defined as the output of an average worker over a period of one year. As automated equipment allows workers to produce more, productivity increases; as work rules become more restrictive, a counterforce tends to reduce productivity. Productivity is watched by economists as one key to fighting inflation; increases in productivity reduce costs, and the only way to improve the income of everyone (not just those who receive wage increases) is through increases in productivity.
PURCHASING POWER: A ratio of the amount of goods and services which a given amount of money will currently buy to the amount it would have bought in a specified base year. When consumer items are being considered, purchasing power is the reciprocal of the CONSUMER PRICE INDEX. Sometimes purchasing power is used simply as a qualitative reference to the amount of goods and services a certain amount of money will buy.

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QCEW: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. Formerly the CEW, a Bureau of Labor Statistics program which publishes a quarterly count of employment and wages reported by employers, available at the county, MSA, state and national levels by industry.

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The statistical modifications to a data series to reveal the economic change instead of the seasonal change. A data series such as unemployment counts are affected by seasonal influences like weather, the opening and closing of schools, holidays and other seasonal events. Seasonal events will hide underlying trends that could be significant for interpreting an economic time series. Removal of seasonal influences from the statistical counts allows for assessing only the economic changes over time, thus allowing for a better analysis of the more important underlying reasons for month-to-month changes in joblessness.

SEASONAL UNEMPLOYMENT

Seasonal unemployment is very regular and predictable, occurring at the same basic time each year. Industries affected by seasonal unemployment include agricultural related industries, construction, and any industry affected by seasonal fluctuations in the demand for their products.

SECTOR*

Economists divide the economy into three main sectors--consumer, business (also called the industrial sector), and government (also called the public sector). While it is recognized that economic units in all three sectors have much in common (all buy and sell; have inputs, outputs, and budgets; and consume goods and services), grouping according to goals and motivations is highly significant because of its effect on economic decisions. Sometime a subgroup is referred to as a sector--we might read about "the transportation sector of our economy" in a newspaper.

Consumer Sector. This sector comprises individuals and households, and supplying it is the overall purpose of the economy. Characteristics of this sector are that it sells factors of production, it buys goods and services, and it is motivated by the desire to increase utility. The consumer sector is not noted for efficiency or objectivity in decisions.
Business Sector. This sector includes nonprofit organizations as well as regular firms. It buys factors of production and uses them to produce goods and services, which it sells to all three sectors. Motivations are complex and include long-run growth, survival, and filling a need in society, as well as profits. Although ther are exceptions, the business sector is characterized by efficiency and objectivity in its decisions.
Government Sector. This sector includes all levels of government--federal, state, city, etc. Although some of its income comes from sales of goods and services, most of it is from direct and indirect taxes. In the field of economics, government is needed to establish and enforce the rules of competition and to ensure that parties adhere to the rules of fairness.

SELF-EMPLOYED WORKERS

Persons who work for profits or fees in their own unincorporated business, trade or professional practice. Persons working in their own incorporated business are counted as wage and salary workers.

SERVICE DELIVERY AREA (SDA)

A geographical area designated by the governor, within which employment and training services are provided under the Job Training Partnership Act. The 17 SDAs in Wisconsin were replaced by Workforce Development Areas (WDAs), July 1, 1998. See map of the WDAs.

SERVICE PRODUCING INDUSTRIES

Industries are lumped into two main groups: Service Producing and Goods Producing. Service Producing Industries include Trade, Transportation, Business Services, and more.

SIC

Standard Industrial Classification. Former method of categorizing industries for statistical purposes. Currently, NAICS (North American Industrial Classification System), is used.

SOC

Standard Occupational Classification; A standard classification used in social and economic statistical reporting programs, such as the Census Bureau or Bureau of Labor Statistics programs. There are far fewer occupations defined by the SOC than in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles.

STRIKE

A work stoppage by employees acting together in an attempt to bring pressure on management to give in to their demands concerning wages, working conditions, union recognition, or some other issue.

STRUCTURAL UNEMPLOYMENT

This type of unemployment occurs when the basic nature of the economy changes over time such that skills which unemployed workers possess are no longer demanded by employers. Structural unemployment is involuntary unemployment and typically requires retraining or education of displaced workers to bring their skills into line with demand.

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U

UI

Unemployment Insurance (formerly UC: Unemployment Compensation)

UNDEREMPLOYED

Persons working full- or part-time in jobs that are below their earning capacity or level of competence. The terms underemployed and underutilized are used interchangeably. Underemployed has also been defined as "involuntary part-time employment" or employment of a person on a part-time basis when full-time work is desired.

UNEMPLOYED

The number of people who, during the reference week (includes the 12th of the month),

had no employment but were available for work and;
had engaged in any specific jobseeking activity within the past four weeks, such as registering at a public or private employment office, meeting with prospective employers, checking with friends or relatives, placing or answering advertisements, writing letters of application or being on a union or professional register;
were waiting to be called back to a job from which they had been laid off within the past 6 months; or
were waiting to report to a new wage or salary job within 30 days.

All persons who had no employment during the reference week, were available for work, except for temporary illness, and had made specific efforts to find employment some time during the 4 week-period ending with the reference week are classified as unemployed. Persons who were waiting to be recalled to a job from which they had been laid off need not have been looking for work to be classified as unemployed.

UNEMPLOYMENT

Occurs when any of the factors of production (labor, land, capital and entrepreneurship) are not employed in production of goods and services. Unemployment occurs when labor, a factor of production, is not being fully utilized to due to the unavailability of suitable jobs. It is strictly defined as a situation where people who are willing and able to work cannot find employment. There are three types of unemployment: Frictional, Seasonal, and Structural. Also see NORMAL UNEMPLOYMENT.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

The unemployment rate represents the number of unemployed as a percent of the labor force. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate eliminates the influence of regularly recurring seasonal fluctuations which can be ascribed to weather, crop-growing cycles, holidays, vacations, regular industry model changeover periods, and the like, and therefore more clearly shows the underlying basic trend of unemployment.
The ratio of unemployed to the civilian labor force is expressed as a percent.

UNPAID FAMILY WORKERS

Persons who worked without pay for 15 hours a week or more in a business operated by a family member.

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W

Workforce Development Area (WDA): link to the WDA map site

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If you have questions about these terms please contact the economist: Eric Grosso for more information.

Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development

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