Business Employment Dynamics (BD) bd.txt Section Listing 1. Database Definition 2. FTP files listed in the database directory. 3. Time series, series file, data file, & mapping file definitions and relationships 4. Series file format and field definitions 5. Data file format and field definitions 6. Mapping file formats and field definitions 7. Data Element Dictionary ================================================================================ Section 1 ================================================================================ The following is a definition of: BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS Program Description: Business Employment Dynamics statistics track changes in employment at the establishment level, revealing the dynamics underlying net changes in employment. Summary Data Available: Quarterly data on Business Employment Dynamics are derived from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program. This program is the quarterly census of all establishments under State unemployment insurance programs, representing about 98 percent of employment on nonfarm payrolls. The data include all establishments subject to the State unemployment insurance (UI) laws and Federal agencies subject to the Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) program. Major exclusions from UI coverage are the self-employed workers, religious organizations, most agricultural workers on small farms, members of the Armed Forces and certain small nonprofit organizations. The Business Employment Dynamics totals require that establishment data be linked across quarters. This longitudinal aspect of the data allows the tracking of when establishments open, close, and expand or contract their employees. There are four types of job flows: employment gains at opening establishments, employment expansions at existing establishments, employment losses at closing establishments, and employment contractions at existing establishments. Increases in employment at opening and expanding establishments sum to measure job gains. Declines in employment at closing and contracting establishments sum to measure job losses. The more traditional measure of a net change in the employment is the difference between the number of jobs gained and the number of jobs lost. Data on establishment births and deaths are also available. Establishment births are a subset of openings, whereas establishment deaths are a subset of closings. These additional data categories remove seasonal and temporary openings and closings from the entire sets of those two series. Currently, job flow estimates are available as levels and as rates for the private sector, 2 and 3 digit NAICS sectors, total private and 2-digit NAICS sector by state, total private by size of employment change, and firm level size class data. The rates measure gross job gains and losses and their components as a percentage of the average of the previous and current quarter employment. Business Employment Dynamics statistics cover the period from September 1992 to the most recent quarter available. Estimates are available with and without seasonal adjustments. Seasonal adjustment is run concurrently and models are updated annually. Special characteristics of the data are footnoted where necessary. Updating Schedule: Business Employment Dynamics are updated quarterly and will be available about six months after the end of the reference quarter. Reference quarters end in March, June, September, and December. ================================================================================== Section 2 ================================================================================== The following Employment, Hours, and Earnings--National files are on the BLS internet in the sub-directory pub/time.series/bd: bd.contacts - Contacts for bd data bd.county - County codes mapping file bd.data.0.Current - All current year-to-date data bd.data.1.AllItems - All items bd.dataclass - Data class codes mapping file bd.dataelement - Data element codes mapping file bd.footnote - Footnote codes bd.industry - Industry codes mapping file bd.msa - MSA codes mapping file bd.ownership - Ownership codes mapping file bd.periodicity - Periodicity codes mapping file bd.ratelevel - Rate level codes mapping file bd.seasonal - Seasonal adjustment code mapping file bd.series - All series and their beginning and end dates bd.sizeclass - Sizeclass codes mapping file bd.state - State codes mapping file bd.txt - General information bd.unitanalysis - Unitanalysis codes mapping file ================================================================================= Section 3 ================================================================================= The definition of a time series, its relationship to and the interrelationship among series, data and mapping files is detailed below: A time series refers to a set of data observed over an extended period of time over consistent time intervals (i.e. monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, annually). BLS time series data are typically produced at monthly intervals and represent data ranging from a specific consumer item in a specific geographical area whose price is gathered monthly to a category of worker in a specific industry whose employment rate is being recorded monthly, etc. The FTP files are organized such that data users are provided with the following set of files to use in their efforts to interpret data files: a) a series file (only one series file per data) b) mapping files c) data files The series file contains a set of codes which, together, compose a series identification code that serves to uniquely identify a single time series. Additionally, the series file also contains the following series-level information: a) the period and year corresponding to the first data observation b) the period and year corresponding to the most recent data observation. The mapping files are definition files that contain explanatory text descriptions that correspond to each of the various codes contained within each series identification code. The data file contains one line of data for each observation period pertaining to a specific time series. Each line contains a reference to the following: a) a series identification code b) year in which data is observed c) period for which data is observed (M13, Q05, and S03 indicate annual averages) d) value e) footnote code (if available) ================================================================================= Section 4 ================================================================================= File Structure and Format: The following represents the file format used to define bd.series. Note that the Field Numbers are for reference only; they do not exist in the database. Data files are in ASCII text format. Data elements are separated by spaces; the first record of each file contains the column headers for the data elements stored in each field. Each record ends with a new line character. Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. series_id 30 BDS0000006000200090110004LQ5 (NOTE: last two characters are intentionally left blank) 2. seasonal 1 S or U (S=seasonally adjusted, U=Not seasonally adjusted) 3. msa_code 5 00000 (Currently Business Employment Dynamics does not produce data at MSA level) 4. state_code 2 00 (This is for U.S. totals - state data based on FIPs code) 5. county_code 3 000 (Currently Business Employment Dynamics does not produce data at county level) 6. industry_code 6 000000 (See bd.industry for industry mapping file, NOTE: State data only available at 2-digit NAICS, National at 2 or 3 digit NAICS) 7. unitanalysis_code 1 1 (Used for both establishment and firm size class data series) 8. dataelement_code 1 1 or 2 (1=Employment change level, 2=Number of establishments) 9. sizeclass_code 2 01 (00 is for establishment level by industry and/or state, 01 - 09 is for firm size class, >=10 is for establishment data by size of employment change) 10. dataclass_code 2 01 (ranges from 01-08, with 07 being establishment births and 08 establishment deaths) 11. ratelevel_code 1 L or R (L=level, R=rate) 12. periodicity_code 1 Q or A (Q=quarterly, A=annual NOTE: not all data are available for annual series) 13. ownership_code 1 5 (Private sector only) 14. series_title 256 It varies 15. footnote_codes 10 It varies 16. begin_year 4 1992 17. begin_period 3 Q03 18. end_year 4 2021 (As of last update to this file) 19. end_period 3 Q04 (As of last update to this file) The series_id (BDS0000006000200090110004LQ5) can be broken out into: Code Value data abbreviation = BD seasonal (code) = S msa_code = 00000 state_code = 06 county_code = 000 industry_code = 200090 unitanalysis_code = 1 dataelement_code = 1 sizeclass_code = 00 dataclass_code = 04 ratelevel_code = L periodicity_code = Q ownership_code = 5 ================================================================================== Section 5 ================================================================================== File Structure and Format: The following represents the file format used to define each data file. Note that the field numbers are for reference only; they do not exist in the database. Data files are in ASCII text format. Data elements are separated by spaces; the first record of each file contains the column headers for the data elements stored in each field. Each record ends with a new line character. The bd.data file is partitioned into a number of separate files: See Section 2 The above-referenced data files have the following format: Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. series_id 30 BDS0000006000200090110004LQ5 2. year 4 2020 3. period 3 Q02 4. value 12 821741 5. footnote_codes 10 It varies ================================================================================ Section 6 ================================================================================ File Structure and Format: The following represents the file format used to define each mapping file. Note that the field numbers are for reference only; they do not exist in the database. Mapping files are in ASCII text format. Data elements are separated by tabs; the first record of each file contains the column headers for the data elements stored in each field. Each record ends with a new line character. File Name: bd.county Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. county_code 3 000 2. county_name 100 National File Name: bd.dataclass Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. dataclass_code 2 07 2. dataclass_name 60 Establishment Births File Name: bd.dataelement Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. dataelement_code 1 2 2. dataelement_name 80 Number of Establishments (NOTE: Firm size class data does not include counts of the number of firms for any data class. This is because of the dynamic sizing methodology used to construct the series.) File Name: bd.industry Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. industry_code 6 200090 2. industry_name 100 Leisure and hospitality (NOTE: For 3-digit NAICS national data the code is 300 followed by the 3-digit NAICS code - EX: 300721 = Accommodation) File Name: bd.msa Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. msa_code 5 00000 2. msa_name 100 National File Name: bd.ownership Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. ownership_code 1 5 2. ownership_name 30 Private Sector File Name: bd.periodicity Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. periodicity_code 1 Q 2. periodicity_name 30 Quarterly (Annual data are available for U.S. totals at the 2-digit NAICS sector level and for each state at the Total private level. These values can be downloaded for each quarter (i.e. March to March, June to June, etc.), however the supplemental tables and charts are only updated once a year for the March to March time period. File Name: bd.ratelevel Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. ratelevel_code 1 L 2. ratelevel_name 30 Level (Rates are calculated using the value of the component for a given series as the numerator and the average of the current and prior quarter levels (either employment or establishment counts) as the denominator. The BD program does not produce data for levels, but those data can be obtained at www.bls.gov/cew File Name: bd.sizeclass Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. sizeclass_code 2 00 2. sizeclass_name 100 All size classes (00 is for industry and/or state data, 01 to 09 is for firm size class, >=10 is for establishment level by size of employment change) File Name: bd.state Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. state_code 2 06 2. state_name 30 California File Name: bd.unitanalysis Field #/Data Element Length Value(Example) 1. unitanalysis_code 1 1 2. unitanalysis_name 30 Establishment ========================================================================================= Section 7 ========================================================================================= BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS(BD) DATABASE ELEMENTS Data Element Length Value(Example) Description begin_period 3 M01-M13 Identifies first data observation Q01-Q05 within the first year for which Ex: M06=June data are available for a given (M=Monthly, M13=Annual time series. Avg, Q=Quarterly, Q05= Annual Avg) begin_year 4 YYYY Identifies first year for which Ex: 1992 data are available for a given time series. county_code 3 000 Code identifying the county of the observation. county_name 100 Text County name of the observation. Ex. National dataclass_code 2 02 Code identifying the data class of the observation. dataclass_name 60 Text Data class name of the observation. Ex: Expansions dataelement_code 1 1 Code identifying the data element of the observation. dataelement_name 80 Text Data element name of the observation. Ex: Employment end_period 3 M01-M13 Identifies last data observation Q01-Q04 within the last year for which Ex: M06=June data are available for a given (M=Monthly, M13=Annual time series. Avg, Q=Quarterly, Q05= Annual Avg) end_year 4 YYYY Identifies last year for which Ex: 2020 data are available for a given time series. footnote_codes 10 It varies Identifies footnotes for the data series. industry_code 6 000000 Code identifying industry. industry_name 100 Text Name of industry. Ex: Grocery Stores msa_code 5 00000 Code identifying the msa's for the data observation. msa_name 100 Text MSA name of the observation. Ex. National ownership_code 1 5 Code identifying ownership of the data observation. ownership_name 30 Text Ownership name of the observation. Ex.Private Sector period 3 M01-M13 Identifies period for which Q01-Q04 data is observed. Ex: M06=June (M=Monthly, M13=Annual Avg, Q=Quarterly, Q05= Annual Avg) periodicity_code 1 Q Code identifying the periodicity of the data observation. periodicity_name 30 Text Periodicity name of the observation. Ex. Quarterly ratelevel_code 1 Ex: L Code identifying the rate level of the observation. ratelevel_name 30 Text Description of rate level. Ex: Level seasonal 1 S=Seasonally Code identifying whether the Adjusted data are seasonally adjusted. U=Unadjusted series_id 30 BDS0000006000200090110004LQ5 Code identifying the specific series. sizeclass_code 2 01, 13 Code identifying size class of the data observation (00 is for industry and/or state data, 01 to 09 is for firm size class, >=10 is for establishment level by size of employment change). sizeclass_name 100 Text Description of size class. Ex. 1 to 4 employees, 4 jobs (indicating an establishment either gained or lost 4 jobs from the prior quarter) state_code 2 00 Code identifying the state that the observation belongs to. state_name 30 Text State name of the observation. Ex. National unitanalysis_code 1 1 Code idenifying the unit analysis of the data observation. unitanalysis_name 30 Text Unit analysis name of the observation. Ex. Establishment value 12 103623 Data value for series. year 4 YYYY Identifies year of observation. Ex: 2003