Selecting a weighted random sample in wage and hour analyses

Balance_à_tabac_1850In some wage and hour analyses a statistical random sample is needed to help address liability and damage issues.  A sample may be required in employer’s self audit, regulatory investigation, or lawsuit involving FLSA, overtime, and wage and hour issues, such as unpaid meal periods..
In some instances, a weighted sampling routine may be appropriate.  For instance, in this example.we are going to select a random sample of 100 employees for an employer’s self audit of its wage and hour practices. Time and payroll data for the sample of employees will be assembled by the employer for the selected individuals.
The sample contains four different types of employees that work at the company.  The goal is to have the employee sample be representative of the overall universe of employees at the company.
Roughly half of the employees in the sample are type I employees, 25% are type II, and 20% are type III employees. 5% are type IV employees.  The employer maintains the data for each type of employee in separate modules of its database and must access each type of employee separately
In this instance, some type of weighted sampling routine would be appropriate.  .For instance, the sample could be selected by first randomizing the employees of each type.  Then a weighted sample based on the proportion of each type of employee at the company can be selected.  For instance, 50 random employees of type I, 25 random employees of type II, 20 random employees of type III, and 5 random employees of type IV.

STEM jobs decreased in both CA and TX for the month of August

California experienced a dencrease of 1,184 innovation job openings from July 2014 to August 2014, a decrease of 1.62%. Texas experienced a decrease of 895 innovation job openings from July 2014 to August 2014, a decrease of 2.03%.

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

STEM logo

State Total_Openings Monthly_Change Yearly_Change
CA 71,821 -1.62% 32.78%
TX 43,210 -2.03% 32.61%

Source: BLS

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

3 out of 4 largest Texas MSAs see decrease in job openings for August

Three out of the four largest MSAs (metropolitan statistical areas) in Texas experienced a decrease in job openings for the month of August.

Dallas

Dallas experienced a decrease of 816 job openings from Jul 2014 to August 2014, a 0.90% decrease.

Date Total_Openings Monthly_Change Yearly_Change
Aug-14 89,770 -0.90% 27.29%
Jul-14 90,586 6.86% 28.67%
Jun-14 84,771 0.29% 15.23%
May-14 84,526 -5.64% 20.19%
Apr-14 89,581 23.25% 26.62%
Mar-14 72,682 2.48% -2.52%
Feb-14 70,922 -5.29% 1.27%
Jan-14 74,887 20.21% 12.54%
Dec-13 62,296 -4.16% -8.80%
Nov-13 65,003 -14.98% 17.30%
Oct-13 76,452 8.40% 26.29%
Sep-13 70,526 0.18% 0.12%

Austin

Austin experienced a decrease of 611 job openings from July 2014 to August 2014, a 1.57% decrease.

Date Total_Openings Monthly_Change Yearly_Change
Aug-14 38,327 -1.57% 28.78%
Jul-14 38,938 5.96% 28.50%
Jun-14 36,748 1.44% 15.98%
May-14 36,228 -4.59% 19.27%
Apr-14 37,971 22.48% 25.01%
Mar-14 31,001 1.83% -3.11%
Feb-14 30,443 -3.77% 0.38%
Jan-14 31,635 19.32% 9.52%
Dec-13 26,512 -4.77% -10.09%
Nov-13 27,840 -14.33% 15.78%
Oct-13 32,499 9.20% 25.10%
Sep-13 29,760 -1.79% -1.33%

Houston

Houston experienced a decrease of 1,493 job openings from July 2014 to August 2014, a 1.83% decrease.

Date Total_Openings Monthly_Change Yearly_Change
Aug-14 80,299 -1.83% 27.86%
Jul-14 81,792 8.29% 29.66%
Jun-14 75,527 -0.09% 14.68%
May-14 75,596 -5.17% 20.16%
Apr-14 79,716 20.94% 26.09%
Mar-14 65,912 3.59% -1.16%
Feb-14 63,626 -5.45% 2.27%
Jan-14 67,291 20.11% 12.98%
Dec-13 56,026 -3.63% -8.46%
Nov-13 58,138 -14.60% 16.91%
Oct-13 68,074 8.40% 25.92%
Sep-13 62,801 -0.44% 0.47%

San Antonio

San Antonio experienced an increase of 43 job openings from July 2014 to August 2014, a 0.12% increase.

Date Total_Openings Monthly_Change Yearly_Change
Aug-14 36,207 0.12% 27.65%
Jul-14 36,164 6.00% 27.85%
Jun-14 34,117 0.26% 15.48%
May-14 34,029 -5.52% 20.28%
Apr-14 36,017 23.93% 26.62%
Mar-14 29,061 2.62% -2.85%
Feb-14 28,320 -5.47% 0.33%
Jan-14 29,958 21.97% 12.89%
Dec-13 24,561 -5.12% -8.66%
Nov-13 25,887 -14.61% 17.03%
Oct-13 30,316 6.88% 25.77%
Sep-13 28,365 0.28% 1.02%

Source: BLS

4 largest California MSAs see decrease in job openings for August

All 4 of the largest MSAs (metropolitan statistical areas) 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 394 job openings in August 2014, a -0.29% change from July 2014.

Month Total_Openings Percent_Monthly_Change Percent_Yearly_Change
Sep-13 107,881 0.16 26.93
Oct-13 116,232 7.74 26.93
Nov-13 99,534 -14.37 26.93
Dec-13 94,076 -5.48 26.93
Jan-14 113,912 21.09 26.93
Feb-14 108,563 -4.7 26.93
Mar-14 110,825 2.08 26.93
Apr-14 137,352 23.94 26.93
May-14 129,540 -5.69 26.93
Jun-14 129,782 0.19 26.93
Jul-14 137,333 5.82 26.93
Aug-14 136,939 -0.29 26.93

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont

The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont MSA experienced a decrease of 581 job openings in August 2014, a -0.83% change from July 2014.

Month Total_Openings Percent_Monthly_Change Percent_Yearly_Change
Sep-13 54,100 -0.73 27.93
Oct-13 58,926 8.92 27.93
Nov-13 50,552 -14.21 27.93
Dec-13 47,699 -5.64 27.93
Jan-14 57,523 20.59 27.93
Feb-14 55,345 -3.79 27.93
Mar-14 56,460 2.01 27.93
Apr-14 69,647 23.36 27.93
May-14 65,783 -5.55 27.93
Jun-14 66,213 0.65 27.93
Jul-14 69,790 5.4 27.93
Aug-14 69,209 -0.83 27.93

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario

The Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA experienced a decrease of 436 job openings in August 2014, a 0.83% change from July 2014.

Month Total_Openings Percent_Monthly_Change Percent_Yearly_Change
Sep-13 41,049 -0.3 26.49
Oct-13 43,869 6.87 26.49
Nov-13 37,771 -13.9 26.49
Dec-13 35,578 -5.81 26.49
Jan-14 42,940 20.69 26.49
Feb-14 40,977 -4.57 26.49
Mar-14 41,811 2.03 26.49
Apr-14 51,583 23.37 26.49
May-14 48,935 -5.13 26.49
Jun-14 49,141 0.42 26.49
Jul-14 52,360 6.55 26.49
Aug-14 51,924 -0.83 26.49

 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos

The San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos MSA experienced a decrease of 251 job openings in August 2014, a 0.51% change from July 2014.

Month Total_Openings Percent_Monthly_Change Percent_Yearly_Change
Sep-13 38,068 -1.18 28.74
Oct-13 41,147 8.09 28.74
Nov-13 35,358 -14.07 28.74
Dec-13 33,336 -5.72 28.74
Jan-14 40,242 20.72 28.74
Feb-14 38,895 -3.35 28.74
Mar-14 39,795 2.31 28.74
Apr-14 48,989 23.1 28.74
May-14 46,354 -5.38 28.74
Jun-14 46,681 0.71 28.74
Jul-14 49,258 5.52 28.74
Aug-14 49,007 -0.51 28.74

Source: BLS

Accounting for incremental costs in lost business profits analyses in commercial litigation

In business and commercial litigation, it is frequently alleged that the offending party’s actions resulted in a lost of business profit for the other party.  In some instances, the issue is that the offending party’s actions prevented the pursuit of a given business opportunity as opposed to the reduction of profits or revenue from existing business.  In other words, because of the offending party’s actions the business revenue and associated profit, simply did not happen.

For instance, a local check cashing company that was looking to expand into different areas of the city, was denied a business permit by the City.  The City explicitly stated that they were looking to limit the expansion of checking cashing and pay day loan companies within the City limits, so they denied the company’s business permit application.  The check cashing company sued the City and claimed a loss of business profits.

In this instance, the new location, and any revenue and profit, did not happen so this would be an example of lost profits as opposed to reduced profits.  In this case, and similar ones, the calculation of lost profits requires, an analysis of the incremental cost associated with the revenue that would have been generated from the lost business opportunity,  Incremental costs are those costs that are associated with the services or products that would have been produced had the business opportunity taken place.

In this instance,incremental cost would include items such as additonal salaries, office supplies, rents, and fees that the new location would have incurred.  A number of items, such as advertising, would be classed as fixed overhead, since they were carried out at a higher organizational level and would not have been effected by the opening of the new location.  In determining what is incremental costs versus a fixed cost, the time frame of the damage analysis is frequently a a factor.

NY-NJ-PA MSA experienced the largest increase in job openings of all US MSAs for August

The New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island MSA (metropolitan statistical area) experienced the largest increase of job openings of all MSAs in the United States for the month of August with 386 new openings.

Month MSA Total_Openings New_Openings
Aug-14 New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA 197,135 386

Source: BLS

Waiters and Waitresses experienced the largest increase of job openings nationwide for August

Waiters and waitresses experienced the largest increase of new openings of all occupations in the US for the month of August with 2,951 new job openings.

waiter

Month Occupation Total_Openings New_Openings
Aug-14 waiters and waitresses 57,761 2,951

Source: BLS

Image Source: http://www.clipartpanda.com/categories/waiter-20clipart

Top 3 occupations with the most new job openings in California for August

The top three occupations with the most new job openings in California for the month of August were grounds maintenance workers with 3,366 new openings, cashiers with 3,643 new openings, and managers, all other with 3,687 new openings.

August 2014

Month Occupation Total_Openings New_Openings
Aug-14 Grounds maintenance workers 6,868 3,366
Aug-14 Cashiers 9,288 3,643
Aug-14 Managers, all other 9,939 3,687

Source: BLS

California and Texas both saw decrease in job openings in August 2014

California

California experienced a decrease of 3,814 job openings from July 2014 to August 2014, a 0.67% monthly decrease.

Month Total_Openings Monthly_Change Yearly_Change
Aug-14 566,834 -0.67% 27.78%
Jul-14 570,648 6.01% 27.68%
Jun-14 538,310 0.55% 16.09%
May-14 535,368 -5.24% 20.85%
Apr-14 565,001 23.20% 26.68%
Mar-14 458,591 2.14% -2.59%
Feb-14 448,997 -4.13% 0.79%
Jan-14 468,361 20.57% 11.64%
Dec-13 388,443 -5.47% -9.36%
Nov-13 410,918 -14.15% 16.93%
Oct-13 478,665 7.91% 24.94%
Sep-13 443,593 -0.75% 0.01%

Texas

Texas experienced a decrease of 4,548 job openings from July 2014 to August 2014, a 1.23% monthly decrease.

Month Total_Openings Monthly_Change Yearly_Change
Aug-14 364,236 -1.23% 27.59%
Jul-14 368,784 7.36% 28.75%
Jun-14 343,517 0.21% 14.99%
May-14 342,800 -5.20% 20.03%
Apr-14 361,597 22.06% 25.80%
Mar-14 296,241 3.08% -1.95%
Feb-14 287,386 -5.31% 1.30%
Jan-14 303,498 20.51% 12.47%
Dec-13 251,841 -4.38% -8.61%
Nov-13 263,377 -14.41% 16.67%
Oct-13 307,730 7.80% 25.44%
Sep-13 285,468 -0.34% 0.57%

Source: BLS

Working with large data sets: The new CMS medial records files

The new data files released by the CMS regarding the payments made to U.S. medical doctors by drug and medical device manufacturers contains a treasure trove of information.  However, the large size of the data will limit the use and the nuggets that can mined for some.

Using the statistical program STATA,  which is generally one of the fastest and most efficient ways to handle large data sets, required an allocation of 6G of RAM memory to just read in the program. STATA is efficient at handling large wage and hour, employment, and business data sets (like ones with many daily prices)

The table below shows what STATA required in terms of memory to be able to read the data:
Current memory allocation

current                                 memory usage
settable          value     description                 (1M = 1024k)
——————————————————————–
set maxvar         5000     max. variables allowed           1.947M
set memory         6144M    max. data space              6,144.000M
set matsize         400     max. RHS vars in models          1.254M
———–
6,147.201M