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Comparing Data Sources

There are 4 key differences between Your Economy Time Series (YTS) data and frequently cited government sources.

  • Time Series v. Snapshot - YTS tracks the same establishments every year. The government sources are based on surveys that are typically non-longitudinal “snapshots” with different participation rates by period and do not relate to changes in a previous or later period.

  • Jobs v. Employment - The term “Jobs” is used in YTS to include all people engaged in the operations of the establishment, whether they are on official payroll filings or are non-payroll workers (owners, partners, self-employed, etc.). The term "Employment" is used by government sources to indicate a full time employee or FTE (paid and employed on average at least 30 hours of service per week).

  • Employer v. Non-employer - YTS includes all establishments in all industries (even sole proprietors) whereas the government data sources often exclude farms, nonprofits, government offices and establishments with fewer than 3 employees.

  • Verified v. Registered - YTS focuses on establishments that are “in-business,”- they are or intend to be conducting commercial activities (Verified). By contrast, businesses that are created for the purpose of housing financial, real estate, and tax reporting entities, or are suspected of never conducting commercial activities, are not included in YTS.
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