The BLS wage query system: a new tool to access wage data

The search for wage data can be daunting. Data are available for different job characteristics, such as occupation, industry, or geographic area; by demographics of the wage earner, such as race, sex, education, or age; and in a variety of forms, such as hourly wages, annual salaries, total employer payrolls, gross pay, or net pay. Beyond these variations, users of wage data may ask how wage is defined in the measure. Is it straight time or does it include overtime? Are other cash payments, such as commissions or year-end bonuses, included? Finally, how reliable are the data? Have they been subjected to the scrutiny of statistical methods? Do they include sufficient observations to support generalizations about wages in the marketplace? There is no panacea to simplify these complexities or to ensure appropriate application of available data. Users of wage data are advised to learn as much about their data source as possible—in particular, whether the data use the appropriate definition and meet the standard of quality required for their purpose. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a number of different wage measures. To enable data users to find hourly wage data more easily, BLS recently added a new feature to its Internet site—the wage query system. This interactive application allows users to request wage data from the National Compensation Survey (NCS) by certain characteristics. Once they have targeted the specific data, the results are returned almost instantly. The BLS wage query system: a new tool to access wage data