Boston, MA — May 25, 2012 — The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is exhibiting at the New England Employee Benefits Council’s (NEEBC) Benefits Fair and Trade Show in Norwood, Massachusetts. The exhibit will be held June 6th at the Four Points by Sheraton hotel. Staff will be on hand at Table 37 to explain the data that BLS produces and demonstrate how that data can be used by Human Resource professionals.
Most of the data featured at the exhibit come from the National Compensation Survey (NCS) and the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program. The NCS produces data on employment cost trends as well as the incidence, provisions, and cost of employer provided benefits. The OES provides data on occupational employment and wages. Additional data, especially for the state of Massachusetts, will also be available. All BLS data are available online and free of charge.
As part of the exhibit, BLS staff will show users how to access data online from the BLS website. Survey respondents—those invaluable Human Resource professionals that provide the data for BLS surveys—are encouraged to stop by the booth to discuss the reporting process and see the results of their efforts. Deborah Brown, BLS Regional Commissioner for the New England Region, noted: “We look forward to returning to the NEEBC Benefits Fair again this year. The Benefits Fair gives us an opportunity to meet new data users as well as learn from veteran users how we can better address their data needs.”
All visitors to the booth will receive a copy of “Zooming in on Compensation Data — A guide to BLS data for Human Resources Professionals”. Those not attending the conference can request a copy of this booklet by sending an email request to HRGuide {at} bls {dot} gov.
About the Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor is the principal federal agency responsible for measuring labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy. Its mission is to collect, analyze, and disseminate essential economic information to support public and private decision-making. As an independent statistical agency, BLS serves its diverse user communities by providing products and services that are objective, timely, accurate, and relevant.
About BLS Information Offices
BLS has eight regional information offices located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. BLS staff from these offices are available to assist data users in finding and understanding the data they need. The Information Offices may be contacted via email, telephone, or in person.
About the National Compensation Survey
The National Compensation Survey is an on-going comprehensive employer-based survey of approximately 11,000 establishments conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. NCS is an umbrella program that produces data on several topics including benefits, wages, and compensation cost trends. One of its outputs—the Employment Cost Index (ECI)—is a principal federal economic indicator. The ECI measures the percent change in the cost of wages and benefits. Another output is the Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC). The ECEC provides costs for wages and individual benefits on a cost per hour worked basis.
About the Occupational Employment Statistics Program
The Occupational Employment Statistics program is an on-going, comprehensive employer-based survey of approximately 1.2 million establishments collected over a 3-year period. The OES survey is a Federal-State cooperative program between BLS and State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS provides the procedures and technical support, draws the sample, and produces the survey materials, while the SWAs collect the data. OES provides employment and wage estimates for over 800 occupations by State, Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area, as well as by detailed industry and ownership (private industry, local government, state government, and federal government) at the National level.