Census Data Field Guide for Transportation Applications (2025)
Chapter: 5 Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics
CHAPTER 5
Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics
The LEHD program, developed by the U.S. Census Bureau, is an employment-based framework that represents the universe of worker-employer interactions covered by state Unemployment Insurance (UI) system reporting requirements. The primary input data sources for the LEHD are the enhanced Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) microdata files obtained from participating Local Employment Dynamics states. “NCHRP 08-36, Task 098: Improving Employment Data for Transportation Planning” is a key study on this subject, and it has been summarized and quoted in this chapter extensively (Spear 2011).
The LEHD program produces data products and tools that provide information on jobs, workers, and economic conditions at finer levels of geography (i.e., subcounty) than are typically available in other public use data. Two key products of interest to transportation planners are the OnTheMap (OTM) mapping tool and database and the Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI) database (Spear 2011).
“NCHRP 08-36, Task 098: Improving Employment Data for Transportation Planning” describes OTM and the QWI as follows (Spear 2011):
OnTheMap (OTM) is a web-based mapping and reporting application that shows where workers are employed, where they live, and the number of jobs between the two. It also provides information on the worker demographics and employer industry and ownership type. LEHD-OTM provides an easy-to-use interface for creating, viewing, printing, and downloading workforce-related maps, profiles, and underlying data.
Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI) provides a set of economic indicators that provide information on employment, job creation, wages, and worker turnover at different levels of geography (e.g., state, county, MSA), by industry and ownership type, as well as by gender and age of workers. While some QWI attributes are comparable to those in the QCEW, the QWI contains additional data on worker characteristics not available in the QCEW.
LEHD data sources are discussed in “NCHRP 08-36, Task 098: Improving Employment Data for Transportation Planning” (Spear 2011):
The LEHD Program integrates data on employers and individual workers who are linked by the quarterly wage records of workers submitted by employers covered under each stateʼs Unemployment Insurance (UI) system. The workerʼs Social Security Number (SSN) and the employerʼs State Employer Identification Number (SEIN) allow the Census Bureau to link each worker to an employer and provide connections to additional information in other databases. Employer information, such as workplace locations, monthly employment, and quarterly wages, is obtained from the enhanced Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) microdata files, which are also used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Each employer record includes the SEIN and, for multi-site employers, a unique unit identifier for each separate workplace establishment (SEINUNIT).
Individual worker information is sourced from the Statistical Administrative Records System (StARS), a centralized repository developed and maintained by the Census Bureau to support its various demographic and economic statistical programs. The Census Bureau compiles administrative record databases from other federal and state agencies, including the Social Security Administration (SSA), Department of Labor (DOL), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Medicare, Indian Health Services (IHS), and the
Selective Service System (SSS). These databases can be linked through the SSN, which the Census Bureau replaces with a protected identification key (PIK) to remove personal identifiers and create aggregated demographic records that improve the quality and usefulness of its statistical reports and data.
Figure 5.1 shows the data creation process.
“NCHRP 08-36, Task 098: Improving Employment Data for Transportation Planning” describes LEHD data access and use as follows (Spear 2011):
The raw data files are structured as CSV records and can be downloaded as zipped files grouped by state. Within each state directory, the data are organized into three groups and the Census block is the smallest geography for the LEHD. The NCHRP 08-36 report quoted earlier in this section describes data access and use as follows:
- RAC – Residence Area Characteristics data show the number and characteristics of workers summarized by their place of residence. Data items include the total number of workers and the number of workers by earnings (3 categories), by age (3 categories), by industry type (20 NAICS sectors), by ethnicity (2 categories), by race (6 categories) and by education (4 categories).
- WAC – Workplace Area Characteristics data summarize the number and characteristics of workers by their place of work. Data items include the total number of workers and the number of workers by earnings (3 categories), by age (3 categories), by industry type (20 NAICS sectors), by ethnicity (2 categories), by race (6 categories) and by education (4 categories).
- OD – Origin-Destination data show the number and summary characteristics of workers who reside in one Census Block and work in another Census Block (including the same Census Block). Data items include the total number of jobs, number of workers (or jobs) for the O-D pair, workers by earnings (3 categories), workers by age (3 categories), and jobs by industry (3 categories).
The LEHD data exclude the following employment characteristics:
- Self-employed and sole proprietors
- Civilian employees of the U.S. Department of Defense and armed forces/railroad workers
- Employment exempt from UI laws
The LEHD data have been used to develop the sampling plan for a region, develop a sampling plan for commuter flows, and develop employment estimates when other data sources are not available. The lack of trip characteristics implies that the LEHD is not a substitute for the ACTS. Instead, the LEHD is a good source of data on work locations and the distribution of home-to-work flows.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau n.d.-d.
Long Description.
The chart explains the LEHD data creation process by linking data from two main sources. The circle on the left represents the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, labeled QCEW. It includes employer and establishment data, such as single or multi-unit firms, geography, industry, and ownership. From QCEW, firm age and size go into Business Dynamics Statistics, labeled BDS. A federal employer identification number connects these data. The circle on the right represents Unemployment Insurance Earnings Records. It contains employer-worker links in most states, or establishment-worker links in Minnesota only. It includes earnings and job history. These records are linked by a UI account number, called SEIN. APIK, which is an encoded social security number, connects this data to census, surveys, and other administrative records that provide demographics and place of residence. Together, these linked datasets form the foundation for LEHD data.
