Say What? Putting Statistics, Terms and Acronyms in Context
By Scott Gessis, Labor Market Analyst II, ELMI Bureau

Week in and week out, we use many different terms and statistics in performing our jobs or conversing with others. If we aren't careful to define our terms or put statistics in context, it can cause great confusion. For example, if someone asks for the number of claims for 1999, that should generate clarifying questions. Do you want initial or continued claims? By fiscal, calendar or benefit year? Do you want to include or exclude interstate claims?

In the Employment Security arena, it's common to ask for the level of employment. Once again, we need to ask questions. Do you want seasonally adjusted or not seasonally adjusted employment? Depending on the survey involved, you can get quite varying levels too:

• New Hampshire "covered" employment for 1998 (employees covered by Unemployment Insurance), was 575,846.
• In the same year, the Household Survey used in the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program indicated an average level of 632,560.
• And the 1998 Establishment Survey (also called the payroll survey) used in the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program had a benchmark level of 589,000 for non-farm employment.

The household survey is resident-based while the CES program counts employment for establishments inside the state. [Note: It's possible for these 1998 figures to be revised further.]

Acronyms can cause a problem when they have various meanings. CES can stand for Current Employment Statistics, used to estimate employment, or it can be Consumer Expenditure Survey, used for the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

• Speaking of CPI, there are variations there also. CPI-U represents the index for all urban consumers and is the most commonly used index for escalation of taxes, wages, etc. Then there is the CPI-W, the CPI for urban wage earners and clerical workers.
• DOT can stand for Dictionary of Occupational Titles or Department of Transportation.
• ETA can mean "estimated time of arrival," relating to travel planning, or it may mean the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration.
• WIC: Women, Infants and Children (supplemental nutrition program) or Workforce Information Council, under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.

Acronyms can cause confusion too, because of not just their meaning but their similarity. Again referring to the acronyms from the Act noted above, there are four terms that begin with "W": WIA or Workforce Investment Act; WIC or Workforce Information Council; WIB or Workforce Investment Board; and WOC or Workforce Opportunity Council. WIA refers to the Act itself. The WIC is composed of state Labor Market Information (LMI) directors and federal agency administrators and is responsible for crafting the WIA employment statistics system. The WIB is a national term for the board that helps develop a state's workforce investment plan. The WOC is New Hampshire's statewide WIB.

We need to keep terms, acronyms and statistics in perspective to avoid confusion. If one is specific in asking about a term, then he or she will have the best information for making proper decisions.