A B C D E F G I J L M N O P Q R S T U W

A

Affirmative Action - A Federal government program covering actions, policies, and procedures for employers/contractors that are designed to achieve equal employment opportunity. The affirmative action obligation includes a thorough, systematic effort to prevent discrimination from occurring or to detect it and eliminate it as promptly as possible, and recruitment and outreach measures.
 
See also - Census Affirmative Action packets
American Community Survey - The ACS is a yearly Census Bureau survey, information from which is currently available for Oregon's 15 largest counties and eight largest cities. Starting in 2010, the ACS will replace the long-form Census survey, which was done only once every ten years.
 
Annual Average Employment - The average number of people employed over a given year in a given occupation or industry. Gives a measure of average employment during the year without the effects of seasonal variations.
 
Average - The most popular understanding of the term is the arithmetic mean, which is calculated by summing all the values under consideration, and dividing by the number of values. Another average is the median or middle point, in which there are equal number of data points above and below that data point. The final type is the mode, which is the data point that occurs the most frequently. So, given the following 7 data points: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, and 9; then the mean is 4.143 (1+2+3+4+5+5+9)/7); the median (the middle value) is 4, and the mode (most common) is 5 (there are 2 of them, only 1 of the others).
 
Average Annual Pay - Calculated by dividing total annual pay by the average of the twelve monthly employment levels. "Pay" includes wages (with bonuses and severance pay), cash value of meals and lodging, tips and employer paid contributions to individual retirement accounts.
 
See also - Average Weekly Wage
Average Hourly Earnings - Calculated by dividing workers' gross payrolls by their total hours worked. They reflect the earnings of workers, including premium pay. They differ from wage rates, which are the amounts payed for a given unit of work or time. Note - Average hourly earnings do not represent total labor costs per hour for the employer, because they exclude retroactive payments and irregular bonuses, employee benefits, and the employer's share of payroll taxes. Also, earnings for those employees not covered under production worker and non-supervisory categories are not reflected in the estimates.
 
See also - Average Weekly Wage - Employment Cost Index
Average Weekly Payroll - Calculated by dividing total wages earned by workers in an industry in one year by the annual average employment in that industry.
 
Average Weekly Wage - Calculated by dividing the annual average payroll by 52.
 
See also - Average Hourly Earnings

B

Bureau of Economic Analysis - A division of the Department of Commerce, BEA is the Federal agency responsible for estimation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Data from the CES and ES-202 programs are used in GDP estimates.
 
Bureau of Labor Statistics - BLS is an agency within the US Department of Labor and is the principal fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the field of labor economics and statistics. The BLS collects, processes, analyzes, and disseminates essential statistical data relating to employment, unemployment, the labor force, productivity, prices, family expenditures, wages, industrial relations, and occupational safety and health. Well known data released by BLS include the Consumer Price Index, the Producer Price Index, the national unemployment rate, hours and earnings, and nonfarm employment levels.
 
Business Cycle - The recurring expansion and contraction of the economy.
 
See also - Productivity - Recession - Unemployment
Business Ownership Designation - Is the designation as to who controls firms and other organizations and agenicies. Ownership can be private, or part of Federal, state, tribal, or local government.
 

C

Career Information System - A complete occupational, educational and job search information system for based in Oregon for Oregonians. The public can access this system on the Internet, or can use the computers that are located at most One-Stop Centers, Employment Department Field Offices, Vocational Rehabilitation Services offices, public secondary schools, and community colleges.
 
See also - Oregon CIS
Census - An official, usually periodic, count of population that also records their demographic information.
 
See also - American CommunitySurvey - Census Bureau - Census Tract
Census Bureau - A division of the Department of Commerce, it conducts censuses of population and housing every ten years and of agriculture, business, governments, manufacturing, mineral industries, and transportation at five-year intervals. The Census Bureau also conducts the monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) in cooperation with BLS. Information from this survey provides input for the calculation of unemployment statistics.
 
See also - American CommunitySurvey - Census - Census Tract - Decennial Census
Census Tract - A small, relatively permanent subdivision of a county, and the smallest geographic area for which census data are collected and presented. Census tracts are always sub-areas within a county, but may not follow zip code lines.
 
See also - American Community Survey - Census - Census Bureau
Civilian Labor Force - The civilian labor force comprises the total of all civilians age 16 and older classified as employed or unemployed. It is considered to be a measure of available workers.
 
See also - Employed - Labor Force - Labor Force Participation Rate - Unemployed
Civilian Non-institutional Population - Total population age 16 or older excluding prison inmates or those hospitalized or in some other form of institution.
 
See also - Civilian Labor Force - Labor Force - Labor Force Participation Rate - Unemployment
Consumer Price Index - A measure of the average change in prices over time for a set group of goods and services. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes CPIs for two population groups: (1) for all urban consumers (CPI-U) which covers approximately 80 percent of the total population, and (2) for all urban wage earners and clerical workers (CPI-W) which covers 32 percent of the total population. Among the CPI components are the costs of housing, food, transportation, and energy. While the CPI is not technically a cost of living index, it is often used to indicate changes in the cost-of-living.
 
See also - Employment Cost Index - Inflation
Covered Employment and Wages - The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program, officially called the ES-202 program, is a cooperative endeavor of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the employment security agencies of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Using information submitted quarterly by employers to state agencies, BLS summarizes employment and payroll data for workers covered by state Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws and for civilian workers covered by the program of Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE).
 
Current Employment Statistics - A monthly survey of nonfarm business establishments used to estimate payroll employment, worker hours and earnings, by industry and area. Through the Federal/State cooperative effort, these data are used to compute current monthly employment, hours and earnings estimates, by industry, for the nation, the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and over 250 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) and Primary Metropolitan Statistical Areas (PMSA). In Oregon this information is also gathered for each county.
 
See also - Covered Employment and Wages - Metropolitan Statistical Area
Current Population Survey - A monthly survey of the population of the United States, not including military personel and people in institutions. It is conducted by household, and provides statistics on employment, unemployment, and wages by industry, occupation, and demographic characteristics. The data are collected by the Bureau of the Census in cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
 
See also - Demographics
Cyclical Unemployment - Unemployment that results from periodic declines in the business cycle (for example, recessions). Downswings in the level of economic activity create unemployment as a result of inadequate demand for workers. During a recovery, cyclical unemployment will be reduced or eliminated.
 
See also - Frictional Unemployment - Recession - Structural Unemployment - Unemployment Insurance

D

Data Limitations - Margin of error in collection methods, or incomplete data, which affect the accuracy of some statistical analysis.
 
Decennial Census - Every 10 years, the Census Bureau conducts an enumeration, or head count, of everyone living in the Country, as required by the Constitution. The entire nation is divided into small sections called Census Tracts, and within each tract the Census bureau attempts to count the number of persons, and to record their demographic, economic, and housing characteristics. The first official US Census was done in 1790, the most recent count was done on April 1, 2000. The data from the census are key to planning for both private business and government.
 
Demographics - Data related to population; size, components of change, and characteristics (for example age, education, etc).
 
See also - American Community Survey - Current Population Survey - Decennial Census
Discouraged Workers - A term used to describe jobless persons, age 16 or over, who are not actively seeking employment because they believe that they would be unable to find a job. Discouraged workers are not counted as unemployed, or even as part of the labor force. Their numbers, however, are estimated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
 
See also - Dislocated Workers
Dislocated Occupations - Occupations to which workers who become unemployed are unlikely to return.
 
See also - Dislocated Workers
Dislocated Workers - Workers who have become unemployed because of structural changes in an industry, natural disaster, or other factors, and have limited opportunity to return to their old industry or occupation.
 
See also - Discouraged Workers - Dislocated Occupations
Durable Goods - Manufactured items generally considered to have a normal life expectancy of three years or more. Examples are automobiles, furniture, household appliances, etc.
 
Duration of Unemployment - Represents the length of time that unemployed persons had been looking for work at a given point in time.
 
See also - Unemployment

E

ES-202 - The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program, officially called the ES-202 program, is a cooperative endeavor of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the employment security agencies of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Using information submitted quarterly by employers to state agencies, BLS summarizes employment and payroll data for workers covered by state Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws and for civilian workers covered by the program of Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE).
 
Earnings - a general term describing monetary compensation paid to individuals for work performed. Depending on the context, this might not include irregular items such as tips, commissions, profit sharing and bonuses, but may include overtime pay, vacation and sick leave pay, shift differential and hazardous duty pay.
 
See also - Income
Economic Census - Profiles the US economy every 5 years, from the national to the local level. Results from the 2002 census provide information on businesses operating at more than 21 million locations, giving key information on the number of businesses and employees, the value of shipments, sales, receipts, revenue and payroll.
 
Employed - A condition in which persons 16 years of age or older worked for compensation in a business during the week which includes the 12th day of the month, or worked at least 15 hours (during the week which includes the 12th day of the month) as unpaid workers in a family business; or had jobs from which they were temporarily absent due to illness, bad weather, vacation or labor-management dispute. Used to describe statistical employment payroll numbers that reflect the number of jobs rather than the number of persons employed.
 
See also - Total Employment
Employment Cost Index - A measure of the change in the cost of labor, free from the influence of employment shifts among occupations and industries. Compensation used in the ECI includes all wages, salaries, and benefit costs paid by employers. Simply put, it measures the change in the total cost of labor to employers and so includes the cost of benefits as well as wages.
 
See also - Full Employment - Producer Price Index - Unit Labor Costs
Employment, Nonfarm Payroll - An estimate of full- or part-time jobs with nonagricultural employers for any part of the pay period which includes the 12th of the month. Because this estimate comes from a survey of employers and is a count of jobs, persons who work for two different companies would be represented twice. Persons may receive pay from a job if they are temporarily absent due to illness, bad weather, vacation, or labor-management dispute. This estimate is based on where the jobs are located, regardless of where the workers reside, and is therefore sometimes referred to as employment "by place of work". Nonfarm payroll employment information is collected and compiled based on the Employment Department's Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, and was formerly referred to as nonagricultural wage and salary employment.
 
See also - Total Employment

F

Frictional Unemployment - Unemployment resulting from the lags involved in the redeployment of labor. If the number of vacancies in an occupation was exactly equal to the number seeking employment, there "should" be no unemployment. In practice, though, it takes time for the unemployed to find vacancies, be interviewed, and be hired. At any one time, therefore, there exists a small pool of unemployed owing to these "frictions" in the workings of the labor market. Frictional unemployment results primarily from people looking for their first jobs or those who quit one job to look for another.
 
See also - Cyclical Unemployment - Seasonal Unemployment
Full Employment - The level of employment, or unemployment rate, which provides the maximum sustainable rate of economic growth and Gross Domestic Product without resulting in accelerating inflation. A Full Employment rate that is also just above the rate which will cause inflationary pressure, is called the Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment (NAIRU).
 
See also - Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment

G

Goods-Producing Industries - Industries that produce tangible products. The goods producing sector includes mining, construction, and manufacturing.
 
See also - Durable Goods - . Nondurable Goods
Gross Domestic Product - The total value of all goods and services produced by the US economy. GDP is compiled quarterly by the U.S. Department of Commerce. CES employment and earnings data are used for advance GDP estimates. ES-202 wage data are used for the final GDP estimates.
 
See also - Gross State Product
Gross State Product - The total market value, in terms of current dollars, of all final goods and service produced in the state in one year.
 
See also - Gross Domestic Product
Growth Openings - Job opportunities resulting from new businesses opening or existing businesses expanding.
 

I

Income - A recurring benefit, usually measured in money, that is received by a person from labor performed or from returns on capital investments. The major elements of income are wages (including tips and bonuses), rents, interest and dividends, transfer payments, and proprietors¦ withdrawls.
 
See also - Oregon Wage Information
Industry - A group of establishments that produce similar products or provide similar services.
 
See also - North American Industrial Classification System
Industry Employment - The number of filled positions in a particular industry at a particular time. This does not necessarily imply full-time or year-round positions.
 
See also - Covered Employment and Wages - Current Employment Statistics - Industry/Occupational Matrix - North American Industrial Classification System
Industry/Occupational Matrix - A data file that contains occupational staffing patterns of industries, based on the Employment Department's Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. The matrix is a tool used to convert between industry employment and occupational employment.
 
See also - North American Industrial Classification System - Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics - Standard Occupational Classification
Inflation - The rate of increase of prices of a set group of goods and services, excluding more volatile prices, such as food and energy prices.
 
See also - Consumer Price Index
Inflationary Expectation - Anticipation of higher inflation contributing to faster price increases.
 
See also - Consumer Price Index - Core inflation Rate - Employment Cost Index
Internship - An experience that takes place at a work site, paid or unpaid, during which an intern (often a student, but not always) works with an employee to complete structured projects or activities specific to that business or occupation.
 

J

Job Shadow - An experience that takes place at a work site in which an individual observes and interacts with an employee to learn about a specific job. As an exploratory exercise, teachers (employers and workers) share first-hand knowledge about occupations and businesses in their region; and the individual gains real life experience, which may lead them to improved career choice decisions. Also being used as part of the interview process by some employers.
 

L

Labor Force - Consists of all people, age 16 and over, who are either employed or unemployed, including those on active military duty.
 
See also - Civilian Labor Force - Employed - Labor Force Participation Rate - Unemployed
Labor Force Participation Rate - The percentage of people 16 years of age and older in a specific population who are considered part of the labor force, that is, either employed or unemployed. This ratio Indicates the degree to which a population is working. A low rate might indicate a reliance on other forms of income, or a significant number of discouraged workers, while a high rate might indicate a tight labor market.
 
See also - Civilian Labor Force - Employed - Labor Force - Unemployed
Labor Force Separation - is the rate at which workers permanently leave the labor force through death, retirement, or through becoming disabled. Retirement, in this context, is defined more broadly than the typical understanding of the word. It includes any "long-term" removal from the labor force, such might occur when a parent remains at home during the early years of their child's life. These rates are summarized by occupation and are used to calculate projections of replacement openings for occupations into the future.
 
Labor Force Turnover - all job changing which occurs within the labor force, excluding permanent separations from the labor force. Two major types of labor force turnover include: 1) lateral or vertical movement within an occupation; and 2) transfers between occupations, either in the same firm or to other firms.
 
See also - JOLTS, a national labor turnover survey by the Department of Labor - Turnover Rate
Labor Market - An economic marketplace in which the supply consists of workers and demand consists of jobs. A labor market is traditionally defined by a geographic area in which workers can change jobs without changing places of residence. A labor market can be further specified by industry, occupation, education level, age, business ownership, or other attributes. Jobs can be filled or unfilled; workers can be employed or unemployed.
 
Labor Market Information - Data available on a particular labor market, including geographic and industry employment and unemployment estimates, occupational employment projections and wage information, and industrial average hours and earnings data. Statistical research and analysis offices of State Employment Security Agencies often use this term as part of their titles.
 
See also - Oregon Labor Market Information System - Regional Economists - Workforce Analysts - Workforce Information
Labor Productivity - The amount of output by worker per unit of hours worked.
 
See also - Consumer Price Index - Oregon Wage Information
Labor Trends - A monthly publication that provides current economic and labor market information for Oregon. A typical issue includes articles and graphics outlining and analyzing employment events and issues, as well as one-time articles on specific issues.
 
Local Area Unemployment Statistics - A Federal/State cooperative program that produces monthly employment, labor force, and unemployment estimates for states and local areas.
 

M

Mean - The most popular understanding of the term is the arithmetic mean, which is calculated by summing all the values under consideration, and dividing by the number of values. Another average is the median or middle point, in which there are equal number of data points above and below that data point. The final type is the mode, which is the data point that occurs the most frequently. So, given the following 7 data points: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, and 9; then the mean is 4.143 (1+2+3+4+5+5+9)/7); the median (the middle value) is 4, and the mode (most common) is 5 (there are 2 of them, only 1 of the others).
 
Median - another measure of average value. If all values were listed in ascending or descending order, the median would be the value in the middle.
 
See also - Average
Metropolitan Area - In general, an MA is a large population nucleus together with adjacent communities that have a high degree of economic and social integration with that nucleus. Each MA must contain either a place with a minimum population of 50,000 or a U.S. Census Bureau-defined urbanized area and a total MA population of at least 100,000. An MA contains one or more central counties. An MA also may include one or more outlying counties that have close economic and social relationships with the central county. An outlying county must have a specified level of commuting to the central counties and also must meet certain standards regarding metropolitan character, such as population density, urban population, and population growth.
 
Metropolitan Statistical Area - An MSA is a metropolitan area (MA) that is not closely tied to another MA. Generally an MSA is surrounded by non-metropolitan counties. Metropolitan statistical areas are based on county boundaries, not city boundaries. The Office of Management and Budget in Washington, D.C. designates metropolitan statistical areas. If an MSA has more than one million people, it may be categorized as a primary metropolitan statistical area (PMSA). Each MSA must include an urbanized area of at least 50,000 population, provided that the component county/counties of the MSA have a total population of at least 100,000. In Oregon, there are six MSAs:
  • Eugene-Springfield MSA, which consists of Lane County.
  • Medford MSA, which consists of Jackson County.
  • Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA MSA which includes Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah, Washington, and Yamhill counties in Oregon, and Clark and Skamania Counties in Washington.
  • Salem MSA, which includes Marion and Polk counties.
  • Corvallis MSA, which consists of Benton County.
  • Bend MSA, which consists of Deschutes County.
Mode - in statistics, the number or value that appears most often in a series or collection of data.
 
See also - Average

N

National Compensation Survey - A Bureau of Labor survey that provides information on average weekly or hourly earnings and compensation for selected occupations.
 
See also - Employment Cost Index
Natural Population Increase - the number of births minus the number of deaths in a specified area over a specified period of time.
 
Net Population Migration - The number of people who moved into an area minus the number of people who moved out during a specified period of time.
 
Nominal Income - The face value of currency, with no regard to actual purchasing power over time. In other words, this is "dollar value" not adjusted for inflation. Nominal income is the number of dollars received as wages, rent, interest or profits.
 
See also - Consumer Price Index - Gross Domestic Product
Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment - The theoretical rate of unemployment which provides the maximum long-run sustainable economic growth and output below which inflationary pressure begin to accelerate. Usually defined as the full employment level, when cyclical unemployment is minimal or zero. Believed to be around four percent currently.
 
See also - Full Employment
Nondurable Goods - Manufactured items generally expected to last for less than three years. In terms of manufacturing industries, they would fall into the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) 2-digit code 32. Food, beverages, clothing, shoes, and gasoline products are examples.
 
See also - Durable Goods
Nonfarm Payroll Employment - An estimate of full- or part-time jobs with nonagricultural employers for any part of the pay period which includes the 12th of the month. Because this estimate comes from a survey of employers and is a count of jobs, persons who work for two different companies would be represented twice. Persons may receive pay from a job if they are temporarily absent due to illness, bad weather, vacation, or labor-management dispute. This estimate is based on where the jobs are located, regardless of where the workers reside, and is therefore sometimes referred to as employment "by place of work". Nonfarm payroll employment information is collected and compiled based on the Employment Department's Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, and was formerly referred to as nonagricultural wage and salary employment.
 
See also - Total Employment
North American Industrial Classification System - A system of identifying industry activity, NAICS has replaced the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. NAICS was developed jointly by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to provide new comparability in statistics about business activity across North America.
 
See also - Industry - Standard Industrial Classification

O

Occupation - A collection of jobs with similar duties (for example secretary, machinist, accountant, truck driver), regardless of industry. Most occupations are found in more than one industry.
 
See also - Occupational Classifications
Occupational Classifications - systems of collective job descriptions which attempt to place individual jobs into general, but recognizable categories. Currently, two different occupational classifications systems are in general use in the U.S.: the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC), and O*NET. In addition, the Career Information System (CIS), which is the designated career information delivery system for Oregon, has its own occupational classifications. SOC is used in the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) employer surveys conducted in every state and territory in the U.S. Therefore, it is the classification system of choice for most occupational publications and software products produced and used in Oregon.
 
See also - Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics - Standard Occupational Classification
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics - A Federal/State cooperative program that collects detailed occupational data by industry. The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey is an annual mail survey measuring occupational employment and occupational wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments, by industry. On a national level, the survey samples approximately 400,000 establishments per year, taking 3 years to fully collect the sample of 1.2 million establishments. The OEWS survey uses Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) and North American Industrial Classifications (NAICS) codes.
 
Opportunity Cost - The amount of something that must be given up or sacrificed to obtain something else. For instance, if you choose to spend $50.00 on football tickets, you give up the opportunity to buy a $50.00 savings bond, so one of the opportunity costs of the football tickets is the purchase and possible investment return of the savings bond.
 
Oregon Career Information System - A complete occupational, educational and job search information system for based in Oregon for Oregonians. The public can access this system on the Internet, or can use the computers that are located at most One-Stop Centers, Employment Department Field Offices, Vocational Rehabilitation Services offices, public secondary schools, and community colleges.
 
See also - Oregon CIS
Oregon Labor Market Information System - This web site provides economic information to employers, job seekers, students, policy makers, analysts and others. It is designed to give users access to the Employment Department's information resources free of limitations due to time or location. It is part of the Department's effort to encourage people to make informed decisions based on the best data available.
 
See also - www.qualityinfo.org
Oregon Labor Trends - A monthly publication that provides current economic and labor market information for Oregon. A typical issue includes articles and graphics outlining and analyzing employment events and issues, as well as one-time articles on specific issues.
 
Oregon Wage Information - Represents the most comprehensive collection of Oregon Wage data available. It offers a broad spectrum of wage rates from many sectors of Oregon's economy, and is designed to assist job seekers, employers, career planners, and others needing Oregon wage rates for specific occupations.
 
Ownership - Is the designation as to who controls firms and other organizations and agenicies. Ownership can be private, or part of Federal, state, tribal, or local government.
 

P

Pay Period - The accounting period that an employer sets up to systematically count employee hours worked in order to pay for work done (earnings). Examples of common pay periods are daily, weekly, bi-weekly (every two weeks) and monthly, although others are possible.
 
Payroll - Total wages paid by a business to its employees for work performed during the pay period (weekly, monthly, etc).
 
See also - Average Annual Pay - Average Weekly Wage
Payroll Employment, Nonfarm - An estimate of full- or part-time jobs with nonagricultural employers for any part of the pay period which includes the 12th of the month. Because this estimate comes from a survey of employers and is a count of jobs, persons who work for two different companies would be represented twice. Persons may receive pay from a job if they are temporarily absent due to illness, bad weather, vacation, or labor-management dispute. This estimate is based on where the jobs are located, regardless of where the workers reside, and is therefore sometimes referred to as employment "by place of work". Nonfarm payroll employment information is collected and compiled based on the Employment Department's Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, and was formerly referred to as nonagricultural wage and salary employment.
 
See also - Total Employment
Per Capita Personal Income - The total amount of income earned in a geographic region divided by the population in that region.
 
Percentile Wages - A percentile wage shows the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more.
  • 10th percentile: 10% of workers earn less than the stated wage and 90% earn more.
  • 25th percentile: 25% of workers earn less than the stated wage and 75% earn more.
  • 50th percentile: 50% of workers earn less than the stated wage and 50% earn more.
  • 75th percentile: 75% of workers earn less than the stated wage and 25% earn more.
  • 90th percentile: 90% of workers earn less than the stated wage and 10% earn more.
Personal Income - An estimate of total gross income that an individual receives from wages, proprietor's income, rents, dividends, interest payments, and transfer payments.
 
Poverty Level - The poverty level is a determined by the United States Housing and Urban Development Department to estimate what it costs to minimally feed, cloth, and provide shelter for families of different sizes. The most common quoted family size is four, but the guidelines give values for families from 1 to 8 persons. The guidelines also give a numeric amount for each person over 8 in the family. Refers to an income level below which the recipients are considered to be living in poverty. This level is adjusted each year, and varies depending on the number of members in each household. The U.S. Census Bureau measures the poverty level.
 
Producer Price Index - Indexes that measure the average change in the selling prices received by domestic producers of goods and services over time. PPI's measure price changes from the perspective of the seller. This contrasts with other measures, such as the Consumer Price Index (CPI), that track price changes from the purchaser's perspective, and the Employment Cost Index (ECI), that measure cost changes from the employer's point of view. Sellers' and purchasers' prices may differ due to government subsidies, sales and excise taxes, and distribution costs. PPI data are commonly used in escalating purchase and sales contracts. These contracts typically specify dollar amounts to be paid at some point in the future. It is often desirable to include an escalation clause that accounts for increases in input prices. For example, a long-term contract for bread may be escalated for changes in wheat prices by applying the percent change in the PPI for wheat to the contracted price for bread. Other uses of PPI are as an economic indicator and as a deflator of other economic series. The PPI is sometimes called the "Wholesale" or "Industrial" Price Index.
 
See also - Consumer Price Index - Employment Cost Index
Productivity - The amount of output by worker per unit of hours worked.
 
See also - Consumer Price Index - Oregon Wage Information

Q

QualityInfo.org - This web site provides economic information to employers, job seekers, students, policy makers, analysts and others. It is designed to give users access to the Employment Department's information resources free of limitations due to time or location. It is part of the Department's effort to encourage people to make informed decisions based on the best data available.
 
See also - www.qualityinfo.org
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages - The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program, officially called the ES-202 program, is a cooperative endeavor of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the employment security agencies of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Using information submitted quarterly by employers to state agencies, BLS summarizes employment and payroll data for workers covered by state Unemployment Insurance (UI) laws and for civilian workers covered by the program of Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE).
 

R

Real Income - Real Dollars, or Real Income are dollars or income that are adjusted for inflation or deflation by indexing them to a past point in time. This contrasts with Nominal Dollars or Nominal Income, which refer to current monetary value.
 
Real Per Capita Personal Income - The per capita personal income (PCPI) of a geographic area after adjusting for inflation.
 
See also - Per Capita Personal Income
Recession - A period of decline in total output, income, employment, and trade, usually lasting from six months to a year, and marked by widespread contractions in many sectors of the economy.
 
See also - Gross Domestic Product - Per Capita Personal Income - Unemployment Rate
Regional Economic Information System - Employment information from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, that includes farm, nonfarm, military, civilian, and self-employment. Annual State data are available 8 months after year¦s end; metro and county data are available 16 months after year¦s end. Despite the time lag, this is the most comprehensive source of employment information by geography and industry available from the government. The Regional Economic Information System has extensive geographic coverage available back to 1969, including all states, MSA's, and counties.
 
Regional Economic Profiles - These are publications compiled and published every two years by the Research section of the Employment Department. They provide a concise overview of the economies of Oregon and its regions, and contain information on population, unemployment, income and wages. They are available by State, work force regions, The Oregon Consortium region, and the Portland PMSA.
 
Regional Economists - Oregon Employment Department economists who are experts on employment and work force issues for the region of the state in which they live and work. They estimate employment and other economic trends; write articles, analyses, and publications; and make presentations to businesses, civic groups, schools, and other groups.
 
See also - Oregon Labor Market Information System - WorkforceAnalysts
Regional Workforce Investment Boards - Regional Workforce Boards made up of partner agencies, business employers and labor boards. By law these Regional Boards are made up of at least 51 percent employers. The responsibilities of the RWIB are to focus on strategic planning, policy development and oversight of the local work force investment system.
 
See also - Workforce Investment Act
Replacement Openings - Job opportunities resulting from the need to replace workers who have permanently left their occupation.
 
See also - Labor Force - Oregon Wage Information

S

School to Work - Are programs that connect classroom learning to the world of work. They help students apply academic subjects to job skills. Since the programs are both school and work-based, employers become involved to expose students to a work environment in their firms or industries.
 
See also - Internship - Job Shadow
Seasonal Adjustment - A statistical process which removes the effect of typical seasonal events such as summer breaks for school, or weather-related fluctuations in food processing or construction. Data that have been seasonally adjusted are more likely to reflect true changes in the economy.
 
See also - Seasonal Unemployment - Unemployment Rate
Seasonal Unemployment - Unemployment associated with predictable swings in employment and job seeking that occurs at similar times each year. These seasonal events include seasonal changes in weather, reduced or expanded production, harvests, major holidays, the opening and closing of schools, and other swings that follow a more or less regular pattern each year.
 
Seasonally Adjusted - A statistical process which removes the effect of typical seasonal events such as summer breaks for school, or weather-related fluctuations in food processing or construction. Data that have been seasonally adjusted are more likely to reflect true changes in the economy.
 
See also - Seasonal Unemployment - Unemployment Rate
Service-Producing Industries - Those industries that primarily produce services: transportation, communications, and utilities; trade; Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate (FIRE); services; and, government.
 
Standard Industrial Classification - An industry classification system used in all establishment-based Federal economic statistics prior to 2001. The SIC defined industries in accordance with the composition and structure of the economy. It was developed for use in the classification of establishments by type of activity in which they are engaged. The SIC has been replaced by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
 
Standard Occupational Classification - The occupational coding system currently used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to classify occupations. Occupational information in OLMIS (QualityInfo.org) is displayed byt SOC.
 
See also - Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Statistical Validity - Data that include accurate collection and sampling methods and period of reference, using generally accepted statistical methods.
 
Statistically Valid - Data that include accurate collection and sampling methods and period of reference, using generally accepted statistical methods.
 
Structural Unemployment - Unemployment caused by a long-term change in the economic structure of an area. This unemployment tends to be long-term in nature as it results from the general problem of skill and location mismatches between jobs and workers.
 

T

Technological Unemployment - A form of structural unemployment created by the substitution of automated equipment for labor, or by changing technologies.
 
Total Employment - An estimate of all civilians 16 years of age or older who worked for compensation in a business or on a farm during the week which included the 12th day of the month; or worked at least 15 hours (during the week which includes the 12th day of the month) as unpaid workers in a family business; or had jobs from which they were temporarily absent due to illness, bad weather, vacation, or labor-management dispute. This estimate is based on the residence of the workers, and each worker is counted only once, even if they hold more than one job. Therefore, this is sometimes referred to as employment "by place of residence." The Employment Department¦s Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) staff compiles total employment data.
 
See also - Covered Employment and Wages - Employment, Nonfarm Payroll
Trend - Data pattern that demonstrates a direction and/or statistical tendency.
 
Turnover Rate - The rate at which a firm replaces those workers whose positions they are obliged to refill. The associated productivity costs, along with the overhead costs associated with recruiting and training replacement staff can be substantial.
 
See also - Labor Force Turnover Rate

U

UCFE - A program to provide Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits to individuals whose salary/wages were earned in Federal civilian employment.
 
Unemployed - Persons 16 and over who had no job at all during the week which includes the 12th day of the month, had taken some specific steps to obtain a job within the prior month, and were available for work, expecting recall from a layoff, or waiting to begin new employment within 30 days. Persons not in the labor force, including so-called discouraged workers, are distinguished from the unemployed by the fact that they are not actively seeking work.
 
 
Unemployment - A situation that exists when members of the non-institutional civilian labor force wish to work but cannot find a job. It is considered an involuntary situation instead of one in which persons voluntarily choose leisure over work. There are several types of unemployment categorized by their uses and characteristics. They are: cyclical unemployment, frictional unemployment, seasonal unemployment, structural unemployment, and technological unemployment.
 
Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees - A program to provide Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits to individuals whose salary/wages were earned in Federal civilian employment.
 
Unemployment Insurance - Government program that collects a tax from employers to pay benefits to workers who are laid off. Unemployment insurance benefits help to provide economic stability to individuals and communities during economic downturns, and help to maintain the incomes of workers in seasonal industries.
 
Unemployment Rate - The percent of the non-institutional civilian labor force which is currently unable to find employment, but which is actively seeking employment. It is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed by the number in the labor force at a given point in time. This is NOT the percentage of the population who are unemployed, but rather an estimate of the percentage of those who want to work, are able to work, and are actively seeking work but are unable to find employment. To find out what percentage of the population is employed or unemployed, one should look to the "employment-population ratio" from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which measures the "the proportion of the civilian non-institutional population 16 years and over with a job".
 
Unit Labor Costs - Unit labor costs are the costs of labor input required to produce one unit of output. They are computed as the ratio of labor costs in nominal terms divided by real output.
 
See also - Employment Cost Index - Producer Price Index

W

Worker Productivity - The amount of output by worker per unit of hours worked.
 
See also - Consumer Price Index - Oregon Wage Information
Workforce - Consists of all people, age 16 and over, who are either employed or unemployed, including those on active military duty.
 
See also - Civilian Labor Force - Employed - Labor Force Participation Rate - Unemployed
Workforce Analysts - Oregon Employment Department staff strategically located throughout Oregon to assist employers, employer associations, planners, and other workforce development partners, in their labor market information needs. Their role is to make this information more accessible, understandable, and relevant to specific work force development needs of employers. They assist employers in conducting customized research in the areas of wages, occupations, and workplace strategies, frequently through the use of the Internet and other information technologies. They also assist employers with skill identification as a component of work force recruitment and retention.
 
See also - Oregon Labor Market Information System - Regional Economists
Workforce Information - Data available on a particular labor market, including geographic and industry employment and unemployment estimates, occupational employment projections and wage information, and industrial average hours and earnings data. Statistical research and analysis offices of State Employment Security Agencies often use this term as part of their titles.
 
See also - Oregon Labor Market Information System - Regional Economists - Workforce Analysts - Workforce Information
Workforce Investment Act - The WIA reforms Federal job training programs and creates a new comprehensive work force investment system. Streamlines services through the One-stop delivery system. Programs and providers will co-locate, coordinate, and integrate activities and information.