BLS Data

Can Microlevel BLS data be used to study how and why employees are paid differently at US employers ?  This paper and the work ultimately looks to provide a method to use the Microlevel, i.e. individual level survey observations, to match dispersion measures like, the standard deviation, in big data BLS employment data. The first step for the researchers is to try and match the aggregate numbers to the micro numbers. 

The number of job openings in California decreased from 625,696 in August 2015 to 615,711 in September 2015. The median number of job searchers per job opening across all Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and occupations in California also decreased from 1.47 in August 2015 to 1.27 in September 2015.

 

Source: BLS

All 4 of the largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in California experienced a decrease in job openings for the month of August.

Los Angeles – Long Beach – Santa Ana

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana MSA experienced a decrease of 18,134 job openings in August 2015, a -10.4% change from July 2015.

Month	Total Openings	Percent Monthly Change
Sep-14	112,657	-17.73
Oct-14	121,598	7.94
Nov-14	108,123	-11.08
Dec-14	104,302	-3.53
Jan-15	140,013	34.24
Feb-15	137,967	-1.46
Mar-15	141,983	2.91
Apr-15	164,525	15.88
May-15	152,008	-7.61
Jun-15	148,658	-2.2
Jul-15	174,288	17.24
Aug-15	156,154	-10.4

 

San Francisco – Oakland – Freemont

The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont MSA experienced a decrease of 9,854 job openings in August 2015, a -10.95% change from July 2015.

Month	Total Openings	Percent Monthly Change
Sep-14	58,567	-15.38
Oct-14	63,065	7.68
Nov-14	56,940	-9.71
Dec-14	54,986	-3.43
Jan-15	72,089	31.11
Feb-15	70,884	-1.67
Mar-15	72,887	2.83
Apr-15	84,472	15.89
May-15	78,232	-7.39
Jun-15	77,039	-1.52
Jul-15	89,946	16.75
Aug-15	80,092	-10.95

Riverside – San Bernardino – Ontario

The Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA experienced a decrease of 6,442 job openings in August 2015, a -9.82% change from July 2015.

Month	Total Openings	Percent Monthly Change
Sep-14	40,018	-22.93
Oct-14	42,870	7.13
Nov-14	38,138	-11.04
Dec-14	37,377	-2
Jan-15	52,811	41.29
Feb-15	52,141	-1.27
Mar-15	53,849	3.27
Apr-15	62,004	15.15
May-15	57,837	-6.72
Jun-15	56,343	-2.58
Jul-15	65,608	16.44
Aug-15	59,166	-9.82

San Diego – Carlsbad – San Marcos

The San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos MSA experienced a decrease of 6,576 job openings in August 2015, a -10.7% change from July 2015.

Month	Total Openings	Percent Monthly Change
Sep-14	41,343	-15.64
Oct-14	44,408	7.41
Nov-14	39,956	-10.02
Dec-14	38,937	-2.55
Jan-15	49,272	26.54
Feb-15	48,492	-1.58
Mar-15	49,955	3.02
Apr-15	57,749	15.6
May-15	53,722	-6.97
Jun-15	52,803	-1.71
Jul-15	61,473	16.42
Aug-15	54,897	-10.7

 

Source: BLS

All four of the largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in Texas experienced a decrease in job openings from July 2015 to August 2015.

Dallas

Dallas experienced a decrease of 12,075 job openings from July 2015 to August 2015, a 10.54% decrease.

Date	Total Openings	Monthly Change	Yearly Change
Aug-15	102,497	-10.54%	43.49%
Jul-15	114,572	16.84%	27.63%
Jun-15	98,055	-1.64%	8.25%
May-15	99,685	-6.84%	17.59%
Apr-15	107,005	15.49%	26.59%
Mar-15	92,653	2.87%	3.43%
Feb-15	90,072	-1.85%	23.93%
Jan-15	91,770	38.18%	29.39%
Dec-14	66,413	-4.20%	-11.31%
Nov-14	69,326	-10.74%	11.28%
Oct-14	77,670	8.74%	19.49%
Sep-14	71,430	-20.43%	-6.57%

Austin

Austin experienced a decrease of 5,002 job openings from July 2015 to August 2015, a 10.34% decrease.

Date	Total Openings	Monthly Change	Yearly Change
Aug-15	43,395	-10.34%	34.13%
Jul-15	48,397	15.94%	26.28%
Jun-15	41,742	-1.41%	7.20%
May-15	42,340	-6.27%	15.22%
Apr-15	45,170	14.25%	24.68%
Mar-15	39,536	3.03%	4.12%
Feb-15	38,372	-1.78%	23.78%
Jan-15	39,066	26.19%	28.32%
Dec-14	30,957	-1.84%	-2.14%
Nov-14	31,539	-9.03%	18.96%
Oct-14	34,670	7.17%	24.53%
Sep-14	32,352	-15.59%	-0.45%

Houston

Houston experienced a decrease of 10,761 job openings from July 2015 to August 2015, a decrease of 10.58%.

Date	Total Openings	Monthly Change	Yearly Change
Aug-15	90,902	-10.58%	42.04%
Jul-15	101,663	15.95%	26.61%
Jun-15	87,680	-1.05%	7.20%
May-15	88,612	-6.05%	17.32%
Apr-15	94,317	14.01%	24.76%
Mar-15	82,726	3.76%	3.78%
Feb-15	79,730	-2.12%	20.96%
Jan-15	81,454	35.88%	28.02%
Dec-14	59,945	-3.04%	-10.92%
Nov-14	61,824	-11.15%	10.35%
Oct-14	69,582	8.73%	19.68%
Sep-14	63,998	-20.30%	-5.99%

San Antonio

San Antonio has experienced a decrease of 4,229 job openings from July 2015 to August 2015, a decrease of 9.5%.

Date	Total Openings	Monthly Change	Yearly Change
Aug-15	40,261	-9.50%	39.77%
Jul-15	44,490	16.80%	22.88%
Jun-15	38,089	-2.36%	5.32%
May-15	39,009	-7.10%	14.34%
Apr-15	41,990	15.00%	23.40%
Mar-15	36,512	2.73%	1.38%
Feb-15	35,543	-1.08%	22.30%
Jan-15	35,932	34.70%	26.88%
Dec-14	26,676	-3.61%	-10.95%
Nov-14	27,676	-11.80%	12.69%
Oct-14	31,377	8.93%	21.21%
Sep-14	28,805	-20.44%	-4.98%

 

Source: BLS

The number of job openings in Texas for “petroleum engineers” and “geological and petroleum technicians” decreased from 635 in August 2015 to 653 in September 2015, while the searcher-to-job opening ratio decreased from 1.23 to 0.96 in the same span.

 

 

The number of job openings in Texas for “derrick operators” and “roustabouts” increased from 171 in August 2015 to 173 in September 2015, while the searcher-to-job opening ratio increased from 5.96 to 6.50 in the same span.

 

Source: BLS

Image source: http://wonderfulengineering.com/what-is-petroleum-engineering/

California experienced an increase of 198 innovation job openings from August 2015 to September 2015, an increase of 0.72%. Texas experienced an increase of 96 innovation job openings from August 2015 to September 2015, an increase of 0.65%.

 

State	Total Openings	Monthly Change	Yearly Change
CA	27,692	0.72%	7.85%
TX	14,906	0.65%	9.86%

Innovation jobs definition: http://www.employstats.com/blog/2014/09/26/1233/

Source: BLS

Image source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2013/09/23/symposium-innovation-ecosystems-jobs-wea.html

In this post, we look at the weekly overtime (OT) hours typically worked by food service managers. Many of the employees that work in these jobs are not exempt from FLSA overtime pay and earn 1.5 times pay for hours worked over 40 in a given week. The tabulations below are based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) survey data. The BLS job title groups are insightful, generally containing more specific job titles with similar knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA), but can be more broad than a particular company’s job title listing. Also, some companies may have the job title listed here as exempt from FLSA or state OT due to their specific job assignments. The BLS does not make a distinction as to if the job title is exempt or non-exempt from OT.

Occupational Group Title	Percent of OT Workers	Average Hours of OT	1 out of every 4 (25%) OT workers works at least:
Food Service Managers	47.14%	16.59 hours	60 hours

U.S. BLS data indicates that approximately 47.14% of food service managers work overtime hours in a given week.  On average, these workers that have FLSA overtime work approximately 16.59 hours a week in OT. The average regular or straight time pay rate of these workers in the U.S. is approximately $18.57 an hour.  The average FLSA OT rate, not including supplemental pay such as non-discretionary bonus pay, is $27.85 an hour.

Source: BLS (CPS March)

In this post, we look at the weekly overtime (OT) hours typically worked by telemarketers. Many of the employees that work in these jobs are not exempt from FLSA overtime pay and earn 1.5 times pay for hours worked over 40 in a given week. The tabulations below are based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) survey data. The BLS job title groups are insightful, generally containing more specific job titles with similar knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA), but can be more broad than a particular company’s job title listing. Also, some companies may have the job title listed here as exempt from FLSA or state OT due to their specific job assignments. The BLS does not make a distinction as to if the job title is exempt or non-exempt from OT.

Occupational Group Title	Percent of OT Workers	Average Hours of OT	1 out of every 4 (25%) OT workers works at least:
Telemarketers	21.43%	11.67 hours	60 hours

U.S. BLS data indicates that approximately 21.43% of telemarketers work overtime hours in a given week.  On average, these workers that have FLSA overtime work approximately 11.67 hours a week in OT. The average regular or straight time pay rate of these workers in the U.S. is approximately $8.48 an hour.  The average FLSA OT rate, not including supplemental pay such as non-discretionary bonus pay, is $12.72 an hour.

Source: BLS (CPS March)

The number of job openings in Texas for STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) jobs increased from 48,441 in June to 56,433 in July 2015. The searcher-to-job opening ratio decreased from 1.73 to 1.67 in the same span.

Our definition of STEM jobs: http://www.employstats.com/blog/2014/09/19/growing-national-interest-in-stem-fields-has-focused-our-research/

Source: BLS

Image source: http://projecttomorrowblog.blogspot.com/2013/11/i-am-scientist.html

The top three occupations with the most new job openings in Texas for the month of July were Driver/Sales Workers and Truck Drivers with 1,084 new openings, Managers with 1,061 new openings, and Cashiers with 1,145 new openings.

July 2015

Occupation	Total Openings	New Openings
Driver/Sales Workers and Truck Drivers	7,552	1,084
Managers	7,951	1,061
Cashiers	7,149	1,145

Source: BLS