Covered Employment (QCEW)

The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) is a federal/state cooperative program that measures employment and wages in industries covered by unemployment insurance. Data are available by industry and county. 

What is the data source?

We collect information about monthly employment, total wages and taxable wages from quarterly unemployment tax forms filed by employers. We also conduct quarterly surveys of employers who have more than one worksite in the state. 

For more data and maps at the state and national level, see the following links:

Bureau of Labor Statistics CEW Tool     

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Glossary

How often is the data updated?

Quarterly. Data are released four times a year, about seven months after the end of each quarter. In addition to quarterly data, we publish annual information. More information on NAICS can be found at North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) at BLS : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

How is this information used?

• To evaluate labor trends.
• To monitor major industry developments.
• To develop training programs.

  
Recent Excel files:

• 2023 Q3 preliminary
• 2023 Q2 revised
• 2023 Q1 revised
• 2022 annual averages, revised
• 2021 annual averages, revised  
• 2020 annual averages, revised  
• 2019 annual averages, revised 

Additional reports are available for download in the report library.