Progress Report - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Copenhagen (DENMARK) October 12-16, 1992

Transcription

1 1 Index Number: Title: Author: Progress Report - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Brian MacDonald Date: October, 1992 Country: Round Table: United States 7th Round Table Copenhagen (DENMARK) October 12-16, 1992 NOTE: The following graphic has not been reproduced: Selected Data Characteristics: and

2 2 Session No. 1 United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Progress Report: BLS Business Registry by Brian MacDonald Bureau of Labor Statistics U.S. Department of Labor Prepared for the Seventh International Roundtable on Business Survey Frames Copenhagen, Denmark October 12-16, 1992

3 3 INTRODUCTION 1. As reported at past International Roundtables on Business Survey Frames, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has been involved in a major program since 1986 to improve its business registry. This effort has consisted of three major phases: (1) improving the contents and delivery of the then-existing system, the Universe Maintenance System (UMS); (2) developing a new processing system, the Universe Data Base (UDB), to facilitate user access, expand editing procedures, maintain historical data, and develop time-series capabilities; and (3) collecting and storing information at a greater level of detail by switching from a reporting unit concept to an establishment (worksite) basis. 2. The purpose of this paper is to present the current status of this multi-year improvement program by detailing accomplishments over the past year and describing work in progress. In sequence, the paper will cover the topics of systems enhancements, the Business Establishment List Improvement Project, and other significant program developments. UDB SYSTEMS ENHANCEMENTS 3. The UDB Extract System, which enables business registry users to interact directly with the database, was made operational during the past year. As reported previously, the extract system is an interactive computer system in which data users submit batch jobs to extract information. 4. By selecting from a menu of standard data queries, users are able to extract records meeting their selection criteria. In addition, users can request customized queries to meet their specialized needs. The database is updated quarterly and currently contains twelve months of employment and address information for over seven million establishments. 5. The UDB Extract System offers a number of advantages to the data user. Through the use of queries, an easy access to many different types of data is provided to enhance research possibilities. Once a query is created, the user controls extraction scheduling and can independently extract different data for different purposes. Associated reports can be generated at the option of the users.

4 BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENT LIST IMPROVEMENT PROJECT 4 6. The third phase of the BLS program to improve the business registry is known as the Business Establishment List (BEL) Improvement Project. Under this project, business reporting for the BLS registry is being converted from a reporting unit basis to the establishment, or worksite, level. Thus, the project's primary focus is the group of employers with multiple locations within a given State. 7. Previously, multi-unit employers in most States provided data at what was termed the reporting unit level. For many businesses, this was the county level; for others, it was the county/industry level. Other multi-establishment employers not meeting the reporting criterion at that time of 50 or more employees in secondary counties and/or industries reported as a single unit. Under the BEL Improvement Project, all but the smallest multi-unit employers (those with ten or more employees in all secondary worksites combined) are now solicited to report at the worksite level. Therefore, current multi-unit reporters consist of previous multi-unit employers, most of whom began providing data at a greater level of detail in 1991, plus a large number of employers reporting disaggregated data for the first time. 8. The primary means for identifying new multi-unit employers is the BLS Annual Refiling Survey, whose other major goals are to verify or update the industrial, geographic, and auxiliary (ancillary) status codes and to collect physical location addresses for single-unit employers. All employers on the registry are surveyed over a three-year period based on their industrial classification. 9. The shift to establishment-level reporting was made possible by development and use of a new collection vehicle, the Multiple Worksite Report (MWR). This form is now being used by the States to collect quarterly the following data elements for each worksite of a company with multiple locations in one State: trade name, physical location address, worksite description, monthly employment, quarterly wages, and comments on any unusual data values. The MWR standardized both the format and content relative to the myriad of State-specific forms it replaced. As such, it generally simplified reporting and reduced the burden on many employers A key goal of the BEL Improvement Project was the implementation of the MWR by the first quarter of Eight States began using the MWR in 1990, forty States and the District of Columbia began in 1991, and two States began in Data for the fourth quarter of 1991 show an over-the-year increase of approximately 45% in the number of both multi-establishment employers and multi-establishment units, to 105,000 and 833,000, respectively.

5 5 11. To assist States in the collection of worksite-level data, BLS staff were heavily engaged in various forms of promoting the MWR and the related data collection process. Promotional activities included producing written explanations of the BEL Improvement Project, the MWR form, and employer reporting. Similar information was also developed in an interactive video format for use on personal computers. These materials were disseminated to large employers, the nation's two largest payroll associations, payroll software vendors, tax and payroll service bureaus, and payroll newsletter publishers. BLS representatives also spoke at payroll-related meetings, symposia, and conferences. Considerable telephone contact and numerous personal meetings were also useful in convincing employers to report and assisting them in reporting properly. 12. To further facilitate employer reporting of worksite-level data, magnetic media reporting of MWR data from employers to State agencies is scheduled to begin in early Replacing the need to deal with paper copies of the form will greatly simplify processing for those employers with a very large number of worksites. Central collection of data for employers with worksites in a number of States will begin at a later date, probably in Final reporting specifications, including the record format, have been issued to the States and are now being provided to large employers, payroll associations, payroll software vendors, tax and payroll service bureaus, and payroll newsletter publishers 13. During the past year, considerable effort was spent analyzing the reporting of employment data on the UDB and in related surveys. A Response Analysis Survey (RAS) was developed to determine if certain key reporters are generating and reporting correct employment counts in their administrative reporting. RAS activities are initially focusing on service bureaus, some of which report for tens of thousands of clients, and payroll software companies, whose software are used to produce the employment counts for numerous other employers. OTHER DEVELOPMENTS Data Elements 14. There has been continued improvement in data quality and quantity. The total number of records has increased over the past year by over 311,000. During the same period, the number of physical location addresses have increased by nearly 1,000,000. Forty-six percent of all records 1 now contain physical location addresses. The number of other data elements have also increased. Included are telephone numbers which have increased by over 650,000, and reporting unit descriptions which have increased by over 230,000.

6 6 Firm Linkage 15. The BLS registry currently provides partial firm affiliation information--at the legal entity level, as defined by the Employer Identification Number (EIN). As reported last year, the firm linkage system is designed to exceed our current capabilities by linking affiliated establishments at 2 the enterprise level. Establishment data from Dun & Bradstreet's Corporate Affiliations File (CAF) are matched to establishment data in the BLS registry to construct a list of multiestablishment enterprises. Firm identification numbers from the CAF, along with EINs and Unemployment Insurance (U.I.) account numbers on the registry, are used to link all private sector records on the registry for affiliates of multi-establishment firms. Once the linkage is established, individual establishment data is aggregated to the enterprise level. 16. The results of aggregating 1990 data are encouraging. The generated data compare favorably to data from other sources, including Dun & Bradstreet and the Census Bureau s 1987 Enterprise Statistics. Data derived from the system have been shared with other BLS offices and agencies within the Department of Labor. We have nearly completed processing of the 1991 data, although we are finding that the current matching system is not as efficient as it could be. As a result, we intend to develop a more efficient, flexible system that is less complicated and costly than the present system, the Generalized Iterative Record Linkage System (GIRLS). The new system will completely replace GIRLS. The system will be general enough to meet other record matching needs, including the Census matching project. Foreign Direct Investment Project 17. Due to the dramatic changes in global economic relationships during the 1980's, foreign direct investment in the U.S. continues to be of major interest. The data previously available in the U.S. allowed for only general conclusions concerning foreign direct investment. The BLS Foreign Direct Investment Project was initiated for the purpose of creating a BLS database of foreign-owned establishments for use in analysis of foreign investment in U.S. firms. Initial work has focused on the employment and wage impact of foreign direct investment by detailed industry and geographic area; the second phase will focus on the effect of foreign direct investment on occupational employment in those firms. 18. The project consists of two fundamental components: the BLS business registry and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) file of foreign-owned enterprises. These two files are linked together by the EIN, a common data element contained on both files. The resulting subset of data is a BLS file of foreign-owned establishment data with identification and characteristics information.

7 7 19. BEA provided BLS with their files of foreign-owned enterprises for 1989 and Among the data elements included on these files were EIN and employment for each enterprise. Some of the enterprises had zero-filled EIN's while others had EINs which did not match with any on the BLS file. In these cases, BLS staff conducted research to identify valid EINs for the enterprise. In cases where an initial match was obtained but where BLS' employment data was significantly less than BEA's, data produced by the firm linkage project was used to identify additional firms within the enterprise. It is interesting to note that while approximately 50% of the EIN's that BEA provided did not match with any on the BLS file, only 2.5% of the employment remained unmatched. 20. BLS published 1989 and 1990 employment and wage data for foreign-owned establishments for the first time this year. Our next effort will focus on producing occupational employment data for these foreign-owned establishments. Census Matching Project 21. The sharing of SIC codes with the Census Bureau that was described in last year's progress report has begun. BLS is providing four digit SIC codes on a quarterly basis for matched records from two Census Bureau files which do not have complete 4-digit SIC codes: (1) the Standard Statistical Establishment List unclassified file (641,833 records), and (2) the Annual Survey of Manufacturers partially classified file (23,995 records). During the match procedure, only Census records whose EIN, State, County and Establishment Name information match the BLS business register are assigned a BLS SIC code. The percentage of these matching establishments, as well as certain other match indicators (i.e. assigned SIC code agreement), are maintained by both BLS and the Census Bureau for analytical purposes. 22. Direct benefits of the joint matching activities include a reduced response burden on employers and real federal government savings. In addition, the project offers both BLS and the Census Bureau the opportunity to examine differences in establishment coverage and SIC coding practices between the two agencies. SUMMARY 23. As in years past, I believe that BLS accomplishments over the past twelve months have been substantial. Over the next year, we will see further systems enhancements, examine the full impact of the Business Establishment List Improvement Project, intensify efforts on the Foreign Direct Investment Project, and expand our data sharing with the Census Bureau and possibly other U.S. statistical agencies.

8 8 NOTES 1. This count is based on the contents of the Quarterly Unemployment Insurance Name and Address files. Some States provide physical location addresses for single unit employers on only the Annual Refiling Survey Control File. The number of physical location addresses on the registry, thus, actually exceeds the number cited here. 2. For additional information of firm linkage, refer to "Exact Matching for Constructing BLS' Enterprise Register," prepared by Brian MacDonald and Catherine Armington for the Fifth International Roundtable on Business Survey Frames.