Email Solicitation for the Multiple Worksite Report (MWR) During the Pandemic

• Activity Number: 167 - Data Mining and Econometrics
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Tuesday, August 10, 2021 : 10:00 AM to 11:50 AM
• Sponsor: Business and Economic Statistics Section
• Author(s): Kelly Quinn* and Emily Thomas
• Companies: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and US Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Keywords: pandemic; data collection; electronic reporting; establishment; solicitation; emails

Abstract

The Bureau of Labor Statistics asks employers to provide quarterly employment and wage data for establishments covered under one Unemployment Insurance (UI) account in a state, through the Multiple Worksite Report (MWR). Respondents are encouraged to report MWR data online, however those that do not report online are sent a paper form.

In early 2020 the pandemic began affecting respondents’ ability to receive and fill out paper forms, and also affecting the BLS QCEW program offices’ ability to process forms in person. In light of the changes to in-office staffing, a new means of online MWR solicitation was needed.

The QCEW program has used UI Tax collected email addresses for solicitation for the Annual Refiling Survey (ARS) for the past 3 years. The program accelerated plans for OMB approval to solicit MWR employment and wage data using the same means as the ARS UI tax emails. Using these UI tax collected email addresses provides flexibility to MWR respondents by reaching out to them via normal printed solicitations, but also the new capability of reaching out via email. This presentation will summarize the procedures and results of using UI Tax emails for MWR solicitation.