--- title: "QCEW county employment comparisons for staffing firms" description: "Compare county employment for staffing territory research. Read QCEW industry, ownership, period, and suppression before choosing accounts to investigate." canonical: "https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/qcew-staffing-territory-employment-comparisons" --- ## Site navigation - [Scale With Search](https://scalewithsearch.com/) - Services - Services - [AI systems](https://scalewithsearch.com/ai-systems) - [Site build](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#site-build) - [Whole website fix](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#whole-website-fix) - [Content library with SEO](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#content-library) - [Working session](https://scalewithsearch.com/audit) - Start here - [Send your brief](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#send-your-brief) - [Example scope](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#review-the-example-scope) - [Prices and terms](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#prices-and-terms) - Industries - Real estate - [Real estate agents and teams](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate) - [Platforms, ownership, and IDX](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-website-platforms-ownership-idx) - [Search, content, and AI](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-search-content-ai) - [Inquiries, campaigns, and handoffs](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-website-inquiries-campaigns-handoffs) - [Buyer, seller, and local pages](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-buyer-seller-local-resources) - [Rules, privacy, and trust](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-website-rules-privacy-trust) - Browse by business - [Trades and home services](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-trades) - [Health, wellness, and animal care](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-practices) - [Law, finance, and IT](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-professional) - [Marketing and SEO agencies](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-agencies) - [Shops and manufacturers](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-manufacturing) - [Restaurants, shops, studios, and nonprofits](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-local-services) - Chiropractic practices - [Chiropractic and wellness practices](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/chiropractic-and-wellness-practices) - [Chiropractic and physical therapy clinics](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/chiropractic-and-physical-therapy-clinics) - [All industries](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/) - Resources - Free tools - [AI readiness check](https://scalewithsearch.com/check) - [Free tools](https://scalewithsearch.com/tools/) - [Free Starter Kit](https://scalewithsearch.com/kit/business-memory-starter-kit.zip) - Guides - [AI-native library](https://scalewithsearch.com/ai-native) - [Industry intelligence](https://scalewithsearch.com/intelligence) - [Office job guides](https://scalewithsearch.com/guides/) - [Business memory](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/business-memory-for-ai-agents-guide) - [Agent governance](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/ai-agent-governance-guide-small-business) - [Migration and ownership](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/leaving-vendor-ai-memory-guide) - Articles - [All articles](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/) - [What changed](https://scalewithsearch.com/changes/) - About - Evidence - [Proof](https://scalewithsearch.com/proof) - Scale With Search - [About](https://scalewithsearch.com/about) - [How it works](https://scalewithsearch.com/how-it-works) # QCEW for staffing firms: compare county employment without counting vacancies A county employment table can help a staffing owner choose where to investigate employers. Start with a precise question: which comparable industry footprint deserves closer review within the firm's confirmed service area? The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) reports covered employment, establishments, and wages by industry and geography. Its county detail depends on disclosure restrictions. [BLS QCEW overview](https://www.bls.gov/cew/overview.htm). Use that evidence to frame account research. Keep the employer's actual hiring requirement in a separate record. A large employment figure does not establish how many assignments your agency could win. The [staffing office overview](/for/recruiting-and-staffing) covers preparation from accepted business records. The [staffing intelligence guide](/intelligence/recruiting-and-staffing) introduces public employer research. This guide focuses on selecting comparable county rows before making a territory decision. ## Define the thing each number counts An establishment is an economic unit, typically at one location. A firm can contain multiple establishments. QCEW employment counts filled jobs by workplace, including temporary and part-time jobs. Someone on multiple employers' payrolls can be counted by each employer. [BLS QCEW concepts](https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cew/concepts.htm). These distinctions change the sentence you can write beside a table. Say that the selected industry has a published establishment count. Do not relabel that count as independent companies, potential customers, or hiring managers. Likewise, describe employment as covered jobs for the selected month. Do not call it unique available workers. An existing job and an unfilled requisition answer different business questions. In the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), BLS counts qualifying unfilled positions on the month's last business day. The position must have work available, permit a start within thirty days, and involve active recruiting from outside the establishment. [BLS job-openings definition](https://www.bls.gov/jlt/jltdef.htm). JOLTS excludes positions to be filled by temporary-help agency employees from the client establishment's openings. BLS collects those staffing-firm positions separately. Its definitions reinforce why covered employment cannot become a staffing-assignment count. [JOLTS staffing exclusions](https://www.bls.gov/jlt/jltdef.htm). QCEW monthly employment refers to the pay period containing the month's twelfth day. Coverage follows unemployment-insurance programs, with exclusions described by BLS. [QCEW coverage and employment definition](https://www.bls.gov/cew/overview.htm). For your worksheet, keep four labels visible: establishments, firms, filled jobs, and vacancies. Enter only the measure the source supplies. Leave firm counts and vacancies unknown when the selected table does not supply them. Suppose a sales manager asks whether a county with more establishments has more buying organizations. Answer that the worksheet counts establishments. Establish the organization structure separately during account research. Do not infer a parent company relationship from the aggregate. ## Write the comparison rule before opening the table Describe the intended comparison in one sentence. For example: compare private-sector manufacturing employment in two fictional counties for the same quarter and month position. Then record the selection fields. The QCEW quarterly layout identifies area, ownership, industry, aggregation level, establishment-size class, year, quarter, and disclosure status. It separates establishment counts from three monthly employment fields. [BLS quarterly CSV layout](https://www.bls.gov/cew/additional-resources/open-data/csv-data-slices.htm). Use this proposed worksheet header: | Selection | What to write | | --- | --- | | Area | County name and its source area code | | Industry | Exact code, title, and classification version | | Ownership | Selected ownership category, such as private sector | | Aggregation | County-industry detail used in both rows | | Size | Same establishment-size selection in both rows | | Reference period | Year, quarter, and named employment month | | Source version | Download date and preliminary or final status | | Disclosure | Published or withheld for the specific measure | A matching industry label alone does not finish this check. A statewide row beside a county row changes geography. A total-ownership row beside a private-sector row changes coverage. Decide whether you are investigating staffing businesses or the industries your firm serves. An employment-services industry selection and a manufacturing selection describe different establishment activities. Name the research purpose before choosing either. For a manufacturing specialty, start with the target employer industry. For a study of staffing-sector presence, choose the relevant employment-services industry. Keep those two questions on separate sheets. ## Select the same month position and data version An employment column labeled month three refers to the third month of its quarter. Write the calendar month beside it. For the first quarter, that means March. Do not compare it with another county's quarterly average without explaining the changed measure. The [QCEW open-data guide](https://www.bls.gov/cew/additional-resources/open-data/home.htm) describes slices by area, industry, and establishment size. An area slice and an industry slice are access arrangements. They do not excuse mismatched selection fields. Keep both source files with your worksheet. Record when you obtained each one. If one row comes from an older export, reopen both counties using the same source version before comparing them. BLS distinguishes the County Employment and Wages news release from full downloadable data. The release is not updated; full quarterly data can be preliminary and revised. [QCEW presentation and revisions](https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cew/presentation.htm). That distinction matters when a colleague returns with a different number. Check the source product and download date first. Do not treat the discrepancy as evidence that either county suddenly changed. For a year-over-year comparison, select the same quarter in both years. Record classification or boundary differences before interpreting movement. If you cannot establish comparability, retain the observations separately and explain the unresolved difference. ## Work through a synthetic two-county sheet The following worksheet is entirely synthetic. Cedar County and Harbor County are fictional. Every number illustrates reading choices and represents no actual county. Both rows use private-sector manufacturing, NAICS 31-33, all establishment sizes, and first-quarter 2026. Employment columns represent January, February, and March. Both use county-sector detail and one fictional preliminary vintage, saved on 2026.10.28. | Fictional county | Establishments | January jobs | February jobs | March jobs | Employment disclosure | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Cedar County | 120 | 4,800 | 4,900 | 5,000 | Published | | Harbor County | 80 | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | N: not disclosed | In this exercise, the establishment counts are published. Harbor's employment cells are withheld. The table uses the BLS quarterly layout's N disclosure label to illustrate nondisclosure. [Quarterly disclosure field](https://www.bls.gov/cew/additional-resources/open-data/csv-data-slices.htm). The first useful observation concerns establishments: Cedar has 40 more in this synthetic selection. The second concerns what remains unknown: Harbor's employment cannot support a numerical comparison. Do not rank Cedar above Harbor on March employment. Harbor's value is missing for disclosure reasons, not measured as zero. A spreadsheet that sorts unknown values below numbers would produce a misleading business conclusion. Do not divide Cedar's 5,000 jobs by Harbor's 80 establishments. Those figures come from different counties. Even within Cedar, jobs per establishment would describe the selected aggregate, not a typical account's expected requisition. The difference between Cedar's January and March entries is 200 covered jobs in the example. It does not identify 200 openings, hires, people seeking work, or agency assignments. Write the arithmetic and interpretation separately. ## Keep suppression visible when it interrupts a decision BLS withholds employment and wage data when publication could expose identifiable employer information. Broader totals can include information withheld from detailed tables. [QCEW confidentiality explanation](https://www.bls.gov/cew/overview.htm). Your working copy should retain an explicit unknown value and its reason. Keep any imported placeholder separate from a published measurement. Do not convert an unreadable or withheld cell into a business fact. If employment is essential, consider a broader published industry grouping. Apply the same grouping to both counties. Explain that the broader comparison answers a less specific question. If county detail is essential, compare another published measure while naming the missing employment evidence. For the synthetic worksheet, establishment counts remain usable within their stated limits. That does not make them a substitute vacancy measure. Do not reconstruct Harbor's suppressed values by subtracting neighboring cells from a total. The owner's territory choice does not require identifying a confidential employer contribution. Keep the limitation visible and choose another supported question. A useful review note could read: "Establishment comparison available. County employment comparison unresolved because Harbor employment is withheld. Review service fit before selecting account research." ## Add your firm's confirmed delivery constraints Now add a separate business section beneath the public table. Use confirmed service coverage, accepted specialties, and assignment history your firm controls. These records supply operating context; they do not repair missing QCEW cells. Continue the fictional example. Suppose your agency has confirmed Cedar coverage for daytime production assignments. Harbor coverage remains unreviewed because your office has not confirmed its supervision arrangements. That difference can justify investigating Cedar first even while Harbor employment remains unknown. State the reason accurately: Cedar matches a confirmed delivery capability. Do not say the public data proves Cedar has more available work. Record the evidence behind the choice. Name the service-area decision, its date, and the manager responsible for it. Summarize prior assignments at the business level without copying candidate details into the research worksheet. Assignment history also needs a period. A past successful placement is evidence about that assignment. It does not establish current permission to serve another location or the employer's present needs. Use a short decision table with three outcomes: investigate, hold, or outside current coverage. Give each outcome a written reason. Keep market observations separate from your firm's decision so another manager can challenge either one. ## Turn the table into employer questions Choose a small, reviewable account-research question. For Cedar, the next question might concern which manufacturing activities match your accepted specialty. The aggregate does not identify employers by name, so employer identification requires separate sources. Prepare questions about worksite, role duties, shift, expected timing, and whether outside staffing is under consideration. Keep every answer unconfirmed until the employer or an authorized business record supplies it. Avoid a script that says the county's employment growth proves the employer needs people. Your research establishes regional context. The employer establishes its own requirement. At the next territory review, compare the earlier decision with what the account team learned. Preserve corrections to industry selection, geography, and service assumptions. Useful research includes a documented decision to stop. The [business-memory guide](/articles/business-memory-for-ai-agents-guide) explains why reusable source records matter. Keep this worksheet's selection rule and interpretation beside its saved sources, rather than only in a conversation. For occupational pay context, continue with [OEWS wage percentiles before a staffing rate discussion](/articles/oews-wage-percentiles-staffing-rate-context). An industry employment table cannot supply that occupational wage distribution. ## Decide what would change the territory choice Before approving the next research period, name one fact that could reverse the choice. In the fictional example, confirmed Harbor service coverage could justify revisiting its accounts. A corrected industry selection could also change which comparison belongs in the brief. Set a review date and an owner for each unresolved question. Keep an unanswered question open rather than repeating the same unsupported conclusion next month. If a manager chooses a county despite incomplete employment evidence, record the business reason in plain language. A territory review is useful when another account manager can reconstruct the choice. That requires source selections, known gaps, and the firm's decision together. A colored county ranking without those details cannot explain why the firm committed its attention there. ## Source note and next step BLS QCEW overview, concepts, open-data documentation, quarterly layout, presentation guidance, and JOLTS definitions were reopened on 2026.10.28. The QCEW overview displayed a 2026.01.28 modification date; the open-data guide displayed 2026.01.14. This guide uses definitions and synthetic examples, not a current county data release. Record the actual release status when preparing your firm's comparison. The proposed worksheet is an editorial method for account research. It does not select candidates, establish hiring demand, or authorize contact with an employer. For a written scope with Scale With Search, describe the territory decision and the records your reviewer can use. Keep commercial scope at [work and engagement terms](/work). Continue the website review: [AI-native staffing: the first functions to build](/articles/ai-native-staffing-first-functions); [OEWS wage percentiles: read pay context before preparing a staffing rate discussion](/articles/oews-wage-percentiles-staffing-rate-context); [Staffing application forms: help candidates finish](/articles/staffing-agency-application-form-errors); [Confidential job postings on a staffing agency website](/articles/staffing-agency-confidential-job-postings); [Staffing agency employer pages: turn requests into briefs](/articles/staffing-agency-employer-landing-page); [Expired staffing jobs: fix the website closure process](/articles/staffing-agency-expired-job-website-cleanup); [Staffing job alerts: define what candidates subscribe to](/articles/staffing-agency-job-alert-signup-page); [Staffing jobs missing from Google: inspect the detail page](/articles/staffing-agency-job-pages-google-discovery); [Staffing job salary fields: match the employer source](/articles/staffing-agency-job-salary-website-fields); [Local SEO for staffing agencies: match the office](/articles/staffing-agency-local-office-seo); [Recruitment scam warnings on staffing agency websites](/articles/staffing-agency-recruitment-scam-warning-page); [Remote staffing jobs: align locations and Google markup](/articles/staffing-agency-remote-job-location-markup); [Recruitment guarantees: explain the website conditions](/articles/staffing-agency-replacement-guarantee-page); [Recruiting and staffing AI rules: data, approvals, and spend](/articles/staffing-ai-rules-data-approvals-spend). [recruiting and staffing agencies](/for/recruiting-and-staffing): website and search resources. ## Related: recruiting and staffing agencies - [Staffing application forms: help candidates finish](/articles/staffing-agency-application-form-errors) - [Confidential job postings on a staffing agency website](/articles/staffing-agency-confidential-job-postings) - [Staffing agency employer pages: turn requests into briefs](/articles/staffing-agency-employer-landing-page) ---- ```text .|########||. .|########||. .|########||. |##||. .||##|. |##||. .||##|. |##||. .||##|. |#|. .|#|. |#|. .|#|. |#|. .|#|. |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#. .#| .#. .#| .#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| .# ||#########| #| .# ||#########| #| .# ||#########| #| .#. |######||######|. .#. .#. |######||######|. .#. .#. |######||######|. .#. #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# # .||####|###########################|. # # .||####|###########################|. # # .||####|###########################|. # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || #. .######|#|#########| .# #. .######|#|#########| .# #. .######|#|#########| .# .#. |#####||||#####| .#. .#. |#####||||#####| .#. .#. |#####||||#####| .#. |# ||########|| #. |# ||########|| #. |# ||########|| #. |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#. |#. .#. |#. .#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. |##||. .||##| |##||. .||##| |##||. .||##| .||########||. .||########||. .||########||. 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