708 – Nonresponse and Propensity Scores
A New Approach for Collecting Data from Long-Term Nonrespondents in the Multiple Worksite Report
Kelly Quinn
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Emily Thomas
Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) is a federal/state cooperative program that publishes a count of monthly employment and total quarterly wages. The survey is reported quarterly by employers covering 98 percent of U.S. jobs. Estimates are available at the county, MSA, state and national levels by industry. The Multiple Worksite Report (MWR) asks most multi-location employers to provide employment and wage data for all of their establishments covered under one Unemployment Insurance (UI) account in a State. They are encouraged to report MWR data online through the MWR Web system, however those that do not report online are sent a paper form twice per quarter (an initial request, and a follow-up). There are two subsets of employers being targeted in the new approach: long-term non-respondents, and those that do not fill out the form but instead send in a print-out listing. In lieu of an initial mailing form, a one-page letter was sent out with web credentials to encourage these respondents to report on the web. This paper summarizes the procedures and response results associated with the Web Only Letter.