Payroll Employment at the Weekly Frequency
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 113,
May 2023
(pp. 145-50)
Abstract
Nontraditional data can provide critical economic insights in real time. We document the development of weekly employment indexes based on microdata from the payroll processor ADP. These data have provided insights into labor market developments in the fast-moving pandemic environment of recent years, as well as in more quiescent periods. We describe processes for weighting and benchmarking, seasonally adjusting weekly data, and ultimately combining the signals from ADP and official data. Finally, we show how the weekly employment indexes have fared during the pandemic jobs recovery, focusing on revisions to official data for the second half of 2021.Citation
Cajner, Tomaz, Leland D. Crane, Ryan A. Decker, Adrian Hamins-Puertolas, and Christopher Kurz. 2023. "Payroll Employment at the Weekly Frequency." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 113: 145-50. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20231052Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- C81 Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access
- E24 Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
- J21 Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
- J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
- M51 Personnel Economics: Firm Employment Decisions; Promotions
- M52 Personnel Economics: Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects