As reported by Data Axle's Database Content Group Reference Solutions, location employment represents the number of employees at that location of the business. Volunteers are only included when there are no paid employees. The database carries two separate employment number fields: Location and Corporate. Location employment is available on 98% of the businesses and is largely obtained through telephone verification.
Reported versus Modeled Values
When an employment number cannot be verified through the telephone interview process, a model is applied to estimate the employment size. Approximately 47% of businesses carry a modeled employment number rather than a verified number. The model uses a multi-step approach, with over 8 million telephone verified employment figures as the cornerstone, to create the most accurate estimated employment information possible.
The model considers records that are part of a chain or corporate family and compares that to actual data for similar locations in similar geographies. For records that are not part of chain or corporate family, the model profiles actual data for records with the same 6-digit, then 4-digit SIC assignments within similar geographies. The model also takes into account the number of SIC’s assigned per business, as businesses serving multiple industries tend to have more employees than businesses with just one line of business or SIC. Professional records, such as doctors, dentists, and lawyers, have their own modeling rules because of their unique structure. Yet, the same modeling principles and similar techniques are applied.
Accuracy
To ensure accuracy, employment information is verified through the telephone interview process and compared to modeled information each month. Data Axle’s employment model is 95% accurate within 2 employee size ranges and 100% accurate within 3 employee size ranges.
Monthly audits are performed to validate location employment numbers focusing on locations with 500+ employees. Businesses with 10,000+ employees and certain industries, such as churches, restaurants, and associations, are re-validated.
Employee Size Distribution
Data Axle maintains a true employee count, even when the value is applied through a model. Additionally, an employee size code is assigned:
Certain industries are not eligible to possess a location employee size count. These include Automated Teller Machines, Coin Counting/Sorting Kiosks, Propane Tank Kiosks, Video Rental Kiosks, and Unclassified Businesses (SIC 999977).
Corporate Employee Size
Corporate employee size is only available on records in the Data Axle database that are coded as corporate parents or subsidiary headquarters (approximately 25,000 businesses). The corporate employment number represents the company wide number of employees for that parent or subsidiary headquarters. Such locations are also eligible to have a location employee size assigned reflecting the number of employees specific to that location.
All of these corporate employment figures are actual numbers from telephone interviews, annual reports, newspapers and periodicals. Infogroup does not model or sum corporate employment.
According to Data Axle, an estimate of annual location sales volume is available on the majority of the records that have a location employment figure. Because verifiable sales volume figures are virtually impossible to obtain from private businesses, Data Axle has developed, and continually improves, a model that estimates the sales volume for the company. The model’s primary source is the U.S. Department of Commerce data on sales per employee for each 6-digit NAICS code. Data Axle then leverages data from the Data Axle database including the number of employees at the location, industry codes (4-digit SIC and 6-digit NAICS), and the state the business resides in to calculate the estimated sales volume. The model is refreshed every five years following release of the U.S. Economic Census results.
Corporate sales volume is only available on records in the Data Axle Historical US Business database that are coded as parents or subsidiary headquarters. About 20,000 records carry this data. The corporate sales volume figures are actual numbers compiled from annual reports, newspapers, and periodicals. Data Axle does not model or sum the corporate sales volume figures.
