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
ETA guide to state and local workforce data
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. The 2017 Q1 report reflects the 2017 NAICS revisions, described here: https://www.bls.gov/cew/naics2017.htm
How is this information used?
- To evaluate labor trends.
- To monitor major industry developments.
- To develop training programs.
Recent Excel files:
Additional reports are available for download in the report library.
2022 QCEW Report publication dates New
QCEW report | Release date |
3Q 2021 Preliminary 2Q 2021 Revised |
March 25, 2022 |
2021 Annual Averages Preliminary | June 30, 2022 |
1Q 2022 Preliminary 2021 Annual Averages Revised |
September 23, 2022 |
2Q 2022 Preliminary 1Q 2022 Revised |
December 23, 2022 |