Workforce Element Definitions

Employee Output

Labor Productivity is real (inflation-adjusted) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per labor hour. GDP is the value of goods and services attributed to businesses because of their labor and capital investments and how they organize these resources. Labor productivity depends on capital intensity, labor composition, and Total Factor Productivity.

1. Capital Investments – Increasing the output of employees in organizations in the county by investing in intellectual property and equipment. Software and research and development are the primary components of intellectual property. Equipment primarily comprises communication equipment and computers but also includes vehicles and other items. An increase in output is converted to an equivalent number of new employees.

2. Labor Composition – Increasing the output of employees in the county by improving the mix of employees in organizations. Employees can increase output by having better knowledge, skills, education, and experience. Gender also affects output through occupational selections, discrimination, and in other ways. An increase in output is converted to an equivalent number of new employees. 

3. Process Improvements (Total Factor Productivity) - Total Factor Productivity (TFP) is the productivity improvement that results from the combination of labor and capital. Specifically, how effective labor and capital are organized to generate output. Improvements in organizational structure, management systems, and work arrangements lead to increases in TFP. Economies of scale, the degree of alignment and coordination (internally and with suppliers), the degree of capital and labor utilization, the amount of technology adoption, and resource reallocation all affect TFP. Changes to how goods and services are created and delivered can improve TFP by enhancing product and service attributes and reducing non-value-adding activities (waste) within processes. An increase in output is converted to an equivalent number of new employees.

 

​​Retention

1. Employee retention: Employed individuals in a county that separate from their place of employment due to quitting (voluntary separation) and discharges with cause (involuntary separation). Annual estimate.

2. Layoffs: Employees in a county who are involuntarily separated from their places of employment due to conditions outside the employees’ control. Annual estimate.

3. Out-migration: Employed individuals who permanently move from a specific county to a different county in the state, another state, or another country. Annual estimate.​

 

Not in the Labor Force

1. Students 14-15 years old: Individuals in this age group who live in the county, are enrolled in a regular school, and are not in the labor force. A regular school may advance a person toward a high school diploma or a college, university, or professional degree. Individuals enrolled in trade schools, on-the-job training, or correspondence study who are not granted credits toward promotion in a regular school are not included. 

2. Non-students 16-19 years old: Individuals in this age group who live in the county, are not enrolled in a regular school or credit-granting program, and are not in the labor force. Individuals enrolled in trade schools, on-the-job training, or correspondence study who are not granted credits toward promotion in a regular school are included. 

3. Students 16-19 years old: Individuals in this age group who live in the county, are enrolled in a regular school, and are not in the labor force. A regular school may advance a person toward a high school diploma or a college, university, or professional degree. Individuals enrolled in trade schools, on-the-job training, or correspondence study who are not granted credits toward promotion in a regular school are not included. 

4. Females 20-54 years old: Women in this age group living in the county and not in the labor force.

5. Males 20-54 years old: Men in this age group living in the county and not in the labor force.

6. Individuals 55-74 years old: Individuals in this age group living in the county and not in the labor force. 

7. Females with children less than six years old: Women living in the county, not in the labor force, and with children under the age of six. Children are sons, daughters, stepchildren, or adopted children living in the household.

8. Foreign born – naturalized citizen: Individuals who are living in the county, not in the labor force, not a U.S. citizen at birth, and granted U.S. citizenship after meeting the requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act.

9. Foreign born – not a U.S. citizen: Individuals who are living in the county, not in the labor force, not a U.S. citizen at birth, and either a lawful permanent resident (green card holder), a temporary resident (such as a student), a humanitarian migrant (such as a refugee), or an unauthorized migrant.

10. Individuals with a disability: Individuals living in the county, not in the labor force, and with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of their major life activities, have a record of such impairments, or are regarded as having such impairments.

11. Individuals experiencing homelessness: Individuals living in the county, not in the labor force, and either a) lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, b) will imminently lose their primary nighttime residence, or c) are fleeing/attempting to flee domestic violence and have no other residence.

12. Individuals with income below the poverty level: Individuals who spent at least 27 weeks in the labor force but whose income still fell below the official poverty level. The Census Bureau defines the poverty threshold based on income, family size, and more.

13. Individuals without a College Degree: Individuals who are living in the county, are not in the labor force, and do not have an Associate, Bachelor, Master, or Doctoral degree.  

14. Individuals recently incarcerated: Individuals who are living in the county, are not in the labor force, were formerly confined in a jail or prison, and on parole. Annual estimate. [1]

15. Latinos: Individuals who are living in the county, not in the labor force, and of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.

16. Part-time employees: Individuals who are living in the county, are not in the labor force, and may accept part-time employment.

17. Unemployed: Individuals who are living in the county, not employed, and looking for a job. More specifically, they are 1) not employed, 2) are available for work (except for temporary illness), and either 3a) they made at least one specific, active effort to find a job during the prior four-week period or 3b) they were temporarily laid off and are expecting to be recalled back to their job. Note - unemployed individuals are technically considered in the labor force since they are actively seeking employment.

18. Veterans: Individuals who are living in the county, are not in the labor force, and served in the active military, naval, air, or space service, and were not dishonorably discharged.

19. Volunteers: Individuals who are living in the county that might work for an organization without compensation beyond expenses. As such, they are not considered part of the labor force. [2]​​

 

Employed Elsewhere​

1. In-commuters: Individuals living outside of the county but commuting into the county to work.

2. Out-commuters: Individuals living in the county but commuting outside of the county to work.

3. Remote workers: Individuals who perform their job duties at a primary work location that is different from their organization’s place of business, which is located in the county. [3]

4. In-state migration: Individuals living and employed in a different county in the state and who moved into the county for employment. Annual estimate.

5. Out-of-state migration: Individuals living and employed in a different state and who moved into the county for employment. Annual estimate.

6. International migration: Individuals living and employed in a different country and who moved into the county for employment. Annual estimate. [4]

7. Refugees: Individuals living and employed outside of the U.S., are of special humanitarian concern to the U.S., demonstrate they were persecuted or fear persecution, are admissible to the U.S., and moved into the county for employment. Annual estimate.

8. Contract/ temp workers: Individuals who do work for hire for a specific project or a set timeframe. They may be referred to as gig workers or freelancers. Individuals may be self-employed or work for a temp agency.

9. Part-time to full-time employees: Individuals living in the county, employed in part-time jobs, and who may be able to transition to full-time employment.

10. Poaching: Typically, poaching refers to hiring a competitor's employees who have a unique skill needed by the poaching company. With increased labor shortages, the term is becoming synonymous with targeting lower-skilled employees. In this work we define poaching as the hiring of employed individuals who are not actively looking for a different job.

11. Second-job Employees: Individuals with a full-time job who take on a second, part-time job. Also referred to as moonlighting. The second job could be for a different employer or in a personal business (self-employed). The job may be ongoing or for a short period of time. [5]   

12. Self-employed Individuals: Sole proprietors or independent contractors, either incorporated or unincorporated. This work examines the subset of self-employed individuals with no employees and who do not have a second job at another organization. [6]​​

 

Future Employees​

1. Apprenticeships: Graduates from apprenticeship programs registered with the Department of Labor. An apprenticeship program is a formal relationship between a worker and sponsor that combines on-the-job training and occupation-specific technical instruction in which the worker learns the occupation's practical and theoretical aspects. Annual estimate.

2. Internships: Individuals completing an internship or residency, a formal training period during which the individuals work under the supervision of experienced workers in a professional setting. Annual estimate.

3. Youth Programs (enrolled in select programs): Individuals 5-18 years old living in the county enrolled in 4-H, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, or FIRST LEGO League. The majority are likely not employed.

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NOTE: Most of these definitions are edited versions of Bureau of Labor Statistics descriptions (https://www.bls.gov). Some have been more narrowly defined by the types of individuals included in the Workforce Vector. For example, the number of individuals with a disability who are not in the labor force. Some definitions refer to the total population of a group of individuals, while others refer to the annual change in the population.

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Footnotes

[1] Contracting with a state’s prison system for work performed by incarcerated individuals is not included.

[2] This definition of volunteers does not include ‘invisible’ or ‘direct’ volunteers, which are those helping others but not through a volunteer organization.

[3] Remote work differs from telecommuting in that it often is beyond a reasonable commute distance and typically has minimal requirements to be on-site. Hybrid work is not included in this definition of remote work.

[4] Non-citizens in the country on work visas are not included. Undocumented individuals may not be captured in the data.

[5] Individuals who hold two or more part-time jobs are not included.

[6] Unincorporated self-employed companies make up about two-thirds of all self-employed companies. Over 85% of these have no employees. Slightly over half of incorporated self-employed companies have no employees.