CES Benchmark

The March 2003 total nonfarm payroll employment estimate was revised downward by approximately 122,000 or 0.1 percent. Over the past decade, benchmark revisions have averaged 0.3 percent, with a range from 0.1 percent to 0.7 percent. The release date for the annual benchmark revisions was moved from June to February 2004 due to earlier availability of unemployment insurance (UI) data. Benchmark revisions are a standard part of the payroll survey estimation process. The benchmark adjustment represents a once-a-year re-anchoring, based on March data, of sample-based employment estimates to full population counts available through UI tax records filed by nearly all employers with State Employment Security agencies. See Benchmark Revision - Questions and Answers for further information.

Last Modified Date: February 6, 2004

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