Labor force measures are based on the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years old and over. People with jobs are counted as employed. People who are jobless, looking for jobs, and available for work are regarded as unemployed, and people who are neither employed nor unemployed are considered not in the labor force. The unemployment rate represents the percentage of the labor force that is unemployed. Annual average data is published after benchmark revisions are made. Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS)

These tabulations are compiled from data provided in confidence by employers on their Unemployment Insurance Quarterly Contribution Returns. Publication of UI-covered employment and wage data for any industry level is withheld when necessary to protect the identity of cooperating employers. Totals at the aggregated industry levels include the suppressed nonpublishable data at the more detailed level. However, these totals cannot be used to reveal the suppressed data.

Employment data under the QCEW program represent the number of covered workers who worked during, or received pay for, the pay period including the 12th of the month. Excluded are members of the armed forces, the self-employed, student laborers, elected officials, proprietors, domestic workers, unpaid family workers, and railroad workers covered by the railroad unemployment insurance system. Wages represent total compensation paid during the calendar quarter, regardless of when services were performed. Included in wages are pay for vacation and other paid leave, bonuses, stock options, tips, the cash value of meals and lodging, and contributions to deferred compensation plans (such as 401(k) plans). Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages

In Connecticut, the OEWS survey is a semiannual mail survey of 3,500 establishments. The OEWS survey samples and contacts establishments in May and November of each year and, over three years, contacts approximately 21,000 establishments. The full three-year sample allows the production of estimates at fine levels of geographic, industrial, and occupational detail.

Since 1999, the OEWS survey has been using the Office of Management and Budget's occupational classification system, the Standard Occupational Classification system (SOC). The OEWS survey covers all full-time and part-time wage and salary workers in nonfarm industries. The survey Does not include the self-employed, owners and partners in unincorporated firms, household workers, or unpaid family workers. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)