Economy
Earnings Per Employee
Description: Earnings per employee is a proxy for productivity for state and local areas. It is calculated by dividing earnings by total employment.
Earnings accounts for the majority of personal income; it includes wage and salary disbursements, proprietors’ income, and supplements to wages and salaries (employer contributions for employee pensions and insurance).
Total employment includes an estimate of the number of proprietors as well as wage and salary employment. Data collected from the Census of Employment and Wages (CEW) form the basis, with estimates of those workers not included in the CEW added.
Earnings per employee data are provided on Arizona Indicators since 1969 for the United States, Arizona, and the 15 Arizona counties. State and national data are reported quarterly four months after the end of a quarter, with revised annual data reported in September. County data are released annually 16 months after the end of a year. The figures are adjusted for inflation using the GDP implicit price deflator.
Data Sources: U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. Earnings per employee is calculated from earnings and total employment data available from Table CA4 http://www.bea.gov/regional/reis/default.cfm?catable=CA04. The GDP implicit price deflator is available from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis http://www.bea.gov/national/nipaweb/SelectTable.asp?Selected=Y (Table 1.1.9).
Comments on the Quality of the Data: Some of the inputs to the calculation of earnings by state and county are estimated. The employment figures are estimates. The primary source is the Census of Employment and Wages, but the BEA must estimate employment for those not counted in the census. No distinction is made between full-time and part-time employment.
