Salary –
A fixed compensation for
services paid on a regular basis, generally on a weekly, monthly, or
annual basis.
Sample –
A sample is a subset of a statistical population selected for the purpose of making generalized statements about the whole.
Sampling Error – An error arising from the fact that the sample used does not correspond closely enough to the population from which it is selected. As the size of a sample increases, the likelihood of sampling error decreases. Sampling error differs from other kinds of statistical errors in that it occurs at random and is unbiased. Non–sampling error, on the other hand, is error that can be attributed to mistakes in data collection or tabulation or analysis, etc.
Seasonal Adjustment – A statistical procedure that removes the month–to–month seasonal effects from a data series. Over the course of a year, the levels of employment and unemployment undergo sharp fluctuations due to such seasonal developments as changes in weather, the planting and harvesting of crops, major holidays, and the opening and closing of schools. Since these seasonal events follow a more or less regular pattern each year, their influence on statistical trends can be eliminated by adjusting the statistics from month to month. The adjusted figures provide a more useful tool with which to analyze changes in economic activity.
[See also -
Seasonal Unemployment,
Unemployment Rate]
Seasonal Industry –
An industry in which activity is affected by regularly recurring weather changes, holidays, vacations, etc. The construction industry is typically characterized as seasonal.
Seasonal Unemployment
–
Unemployment associated with the rather 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.
Self–Employed Worker – An individual who works more or less regularly, but usually does so in his/her own home or office. This person is not listed on any establishment’s payroll. The self–employed include many truck drivers, professionals (doctors, lawyers, dentists, architects, consultants) and others who work on a free–lance, assignment basis.
Separation
–
Employment terminations caused by
quits, layoffs, or other reasons such as death, retirement, permanent
disability, or transfer.
Series Break – An interruption in a time series caused either by a change in definition or in methodology that makes it improper to compare data from after the change with data from before the change.
Service Occupations, Service Industries, & Service Producing Industries –
Three terms often used interchangeably and incorrectly. Each has
a separate and distinct meaning:
¨
Service Occupations
refers to the category of jobs
performed in and around private household; serving individuals in
institutions and in commercial and other establishments; and
protecting the public against crime, fire, accidents, and acts of
war. All industries employ workers in service classifications.
¨
Service Industries
refers to establishments in that
division of the industrial structure that renders a wide variety of
services to individuals and business establishments. These
industries, which employ workers in a wide variety of white collar,
blue collar, and service occupations, represent just one segment of
the much larger group of service–producing industries.
¨
Service–Producing Industries:
In order to assist in the evaluation of underlying economic trends, it
is an accepted practice to consider that the economy consists of two
major parts: the goods–producing sector (manufacturing, mining and
construction) and the service–producing sector. The latter includes
transportation, communication, utilities; trade; finance, insurance,
real estate; the service industries; and government. Accordingly, it
is a multi–industry group that is characterized by highly complex
occupational staffing patterns. In terms of white collar, blue collar
and service occupational or job classifications, the latter is the
smallest group employed.
Shift
Differential –
An
additional percentage added to the regular hourly rate for workers on
other than regular shifts, i.e., swing or graveyard shift workers.
Shift/Share Analysis –
A technique to analyze the local economic base using the amount of
change in a local economy which is attributable to the changes in the
larger area of which it is a part; the industrial mix of the area; and
the regional or local share.
Standard Deviation –
A measure of dispersion around the mean value of a population. Frequently denoted by sigma. It is the square root of the variance.
Standard Hours –
The workweek for which employees receive regular straight–time
salaries (exclusive of paid overtime at regular and/or premium rates
of pay).
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) –
An industry classification system underlying all establishment-based
Federal economic statistics classified by industry. The SIC
defines 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.
This was replaced by NAICS.
[See also -
North
American Industry Classification System or NAICS)]
Standard
Occupational Classification (SOC) – This
system will be used by all Federal statistical agencies to classify
workers into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting,
calculating, or disseminating data. All workers are classified into
one of over 820 occupations according to their occupational
definition. To facilitate classification, occupations are combined to
form 23 major groups, 96 minor groups, and 449 broad occupations.
Each broad occupation includes detailed occupation(s) requiring
similar job duties, skills, education, or experience.
[See also -
Occupational
Employment Statistics (OES)]
State Employment Security Agency (SESA) –
A generic name for the State agency usually responsible for three activities:
1. The unemployment insurance (UI) program—UI tax collection, administration, and determination and payment of unemployment benefits.
2. The employment or job service program—an exchange for workers seeking work and employers seeking workers.
3. Labor market information —collection, analysis, and publication of information on workers and jobs.
Statistically Valid
–
Data that include accurate collection and sampling methods and
period of reference, using generally accepted statistical methods.
Statistics – The data on economic variables; also the techniques of analyzing, interpreting, and presenting data.
Strike –
A work stoppage by employees acting together in an attempt to bring pressure on management to give in to their demands concerning wages, working conditions, union recognition, or some other issue.
Structural Unemployment –
Long–term joblessness that results from changes in the kinds of workers needed by the economy, either by skill obsolescence, competition from foreign imports, or lack of training for the skills local employers require.
Supply (& Demand)
– See "Labor
Supply" and "Labor
Demand"
Survey –
The process used to collect data for the analysis of some aspect of a group or area.
Alphabetical Glossary
Listing
Glossary
References
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