Agenda Date: 06/06/2017
Subject:
Title
An ordinance on second reading to approve an agreement granting access to the Colorado Quarterly Census of Employment Wages database
Body
|
Presented By: |
Denise Stephens, Economic Development Director |
POLICY QUESTION:
Does city council support approval of the ordinance to approve access to the Colorado Quarterly Census of Employment Wages database?
BACKGROUND:
The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) is a federal government program managed in Colorado by Colorado Department of Labor. The primary product of this data is the reporting and tabulation of the number of employees and wages for all establishments paying into unemployment insurance. Employment covered by these unemployment insurance programs represents about 97% of all wage and salary civilian employment in the country.
This data is commonly used by many governmental organizations to better understand employee counts, wages, industries, work/home locations, etc. It is a valuable resource in understating the business community and useful in economic analysis and planning.
QCEW data, in its most detailed form, requires confidentiality as it provides actual numbers of employees, and wages per establishment and to obtain it, requires the City to sign a license agreement with strict terms of confidentially. All summary data the City would produce would be approved by the Colorado Department of Labor so as not to violate privacy terms.
The City of Littleton can access to this valuable data (provided an agreement has been signed) and would like to purchase the information. The data will be processed by staff and summary level information will be provided to city staff, council, and the public. Information produced may include:
• The total number of establishments by industry
• Average wages by industry
• Total employee counts
• Total business counts
• Total number of employees who live and work in Littleton
• Total number of employees who live outside Littleton but work in the city
STAFF ANALYSIS:
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) is the most accurate and current employment and wage data available. The ability to access and aggregate the data will allow the Economic Development Department to better understand increased or decreased growth of jobs and wages.
OPTIONS/ALTERNATIVES:
N/A
FISCAL IMPACTS:
$230 per year from the General Fund
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval
PROPOSED MOTION:
Proposed Motion
I move to approve on second reading Ordinance 12-2017, to approve an agreement granting access to the Colorado Quarterly Census of Employment Wages database.