Technical Notes for NM Estimates:

The following is a summary of the OES Survey methodology the SESA’s follow. A more detailed methodology provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is available at the BLS OES web site Occupational Employment Statistics Home Page. Look under the documentation notation Technical Notes for OES Estimates.

Survey Definitions and Concepts

The OES program is a Federal-State cooperative agreement between the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and State Employment Security Agencies (SESA’s). BLS provides the procedures and technical support, draws the sample, produces the survey materials, and contracts with a central printer while the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions collects, compiles and disseminates the results. The OES wage survey is conducted in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. The OES Wage Survey is a semiannual mail survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments by industry and area. To reduce respondent burden, the collection is on a three-year survey cycle to ensure that establishments are surveyed at most once every three years. The survey samples over 3,400 establishments per year in New Mexico. Nationally, the OES program surveys approximately 400,000 establishments per year, taking three years to fully collect the national sample of 1.2 million establishments. Sampling is from a “universal” database of UI administrative tax records of employers. OES data is collected for two reference periods: November 12 and May 12. Collection is done in two panels. Panel one runs from November 12th of that year through June 10th of the following year and Panel two runs from May 12th through December 10th of same year. The estimates provided here are developed using the Estimates Delivery System provided by the North Carolina Employment Security Commission. The BLS also provides similar estimates at their BLS OES home website.