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U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

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FedScope - Data Defnitions

About EHRI-SDM
 
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Accessions | Age | Agency | Average Length of Service | Average Salary | Disability Status | Education Level |

Employment | Ethnicity and Race Indicator | Gender | General Schedule and Equivalent Grade | Length of Service |

Location | Metropolitan Statistical Area | Occupation | Occupational Category | Pay Plan and Grade | Salary Level |

Separations | STEM Occupations | Supervisory Status | Type of Appointment | Veteran | Work Schedule | Work Status End of Data Definitions Nav Link Group

The Enterprise Human Resources Integration-Statistical Data Mart (EHRI-SDM) is the new data source for FedScope.  Use navigation links above for "brief definitions and data cube availability" for each data element.

For a more detailed description of EHRI-SDM data definitions and codes, see

[This script opens separate browser window to Guide to Personnel Data Standards; Alternate link to The Guide to Personnel Data Standards] The Guide to Data Standards.

"Data Definitions" and "About EHRI-SDM" in Adobe Acrobat PDF Format | Get Plug-In Adobe Icon - Link to Adobe Web Site (Acrobat Reader - Download)

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Before using our data, let us help with clarification.  Contact us at FedScope@opm.gov


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Data Definitions

 

Accessions

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Accessions"]

A personnel action resulting in the addition of an employee to an agency’s staff.  For the purposes of FedScope, restorations and returns to duty are excluded.  The following types of accessions are included:

  1. Transfers-In
    Movement of a single employee, or group of employees, from another agency with a break in service of 3 days or less.
  1. Individual Transfer
    Transfer-in of an individual employee.

  2. Mass Transfer
    Transfer-in of a group whose function was transferred to another agency.

IMPORTANT:
Employees in the following situations are counted as new hires rather than transfers-in:

  1. Employees who moved from an Excepted Service position.

  2. Employees who moved from one type of Federal service to another (e.g., left a Competitive Service position in one agency to take an Excepted or Senior Executive Service position at another agency).

As a result from (a) and (b) above, the transfer-in count in the accession cube will usually be lower than the transfer-out count in the separation cube.

  1. New Hires
    Appointment of an employee from outside of the Federal government; a transfer-in from an Excepted Service position or a transfer-in from one type of Federal service to another (e.g. left a Competitive Service position in one agency to take an Excepted or Senior Executive Service position at another agency).
  1. Competitive Service Appointment
    Appointment to a position that is governed by civil service law, but not a part of the Senior Executive Service.

  2. Excepted Service Appointment
    Appointment to a position that is not part of the Competitive Service or Senior Executive Service.  These positions are exempt by law, Executive order, and OPM regulation.

  3. Senior Executive Service
    Appointment to a managerial or supervisory position above the GS-15 level in which the employee performs executive functions.  These positions do not require Presidential or congressional approval.
To Top of Page

Age

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment", "Accessions", "Separations", "Employment Trend", "Diversity"]

An employee's age.  Age is displayed in five-year intervals, except for an initial interval of less than 20 years and a final interval of 65 years or more. To Top of Page


Agency

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment", "Accessions", "Separations", "Employment Trend", "Diversity"]

The employing organization.

Not all Federal agencies report to the Enterprise Human Resources Integration-Statistical Data Mart (EHRI-SDM), the data source for FedScope.  Please see About EHRI-SDM for information on agency coverage.

Agencies are summarized into four categories:

  1. Cabinet Level Departments
  2. Large Independent Agencies (1000 or more employees)
  3. Medium Independent Agencies (100 to 999 employees)
  4. Small Independent Agencies (less than 100 employees)

Data for specific agencies are obtained by drilling down within a category.

Note: Many Cabinet level and large independent agencies provide data below the agency level that can be accessed by drilling down within the agency. To Top of Page


Average Length of Service

[Measure - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment", "Accessions", "Separations", "Diversity"]

A measure representing the average number of years of Federal civilian employment and creditable military service.

Invalid values are excluded from the average.  A large number of invalid values could invalidate the average.  To obtain counts of invalid values, display the data using the Length of Service dimension (see Length of Service).

Please note: For the Diversity Cube, average length of service is suppressed for all tables/crosstabs depicting small cells (i.e. employment is less than 4).  Average Length of Service measure will appear as "NA" across all available dimensions when employment is "less than 4". To Top of Page


Average Salary

[Measure - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment", "Accessions", "Separations", "Employment Trend", "Diversity"]

A measure representing the average adjusted basic pay, an annualized rate of pay.  Adjusted basic pay is the sum of an employee’s rate of basic pay and any locality comparability payment and/or special pay adjustment for law enforcement officers.

An employee's actual earnings may be more or less than the annualized rate because of factors such as overtime, shift differentials, less than full time work, or leave without pay.

Invalid salary values are excluded from the average.  A large number of invalid values could invalidate the average.  To obtain counts of invalid values, display the data using the Salary Level dimension (see Salary Level).

Please note: For the Diversity Cube, average salary is suppressed for all tables/crosstabs depicting small cells (i.e. employment is less than 4).  Average Salary measure will appear as "NA" across all available dimensions when employment is "less than 4". To Top of Page


Disability Status

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment", "Diversity", "Employment Trend", and "Diversity Trend"]

The physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities; the record of such impairment; or the perception of such impairment by others.

The following aggregate disability categories are available:

  • Disability

    • Targeted Disabilities or Serious Health Condition

    • Other Disabilities or Serious Health Condition

    • Unlisted Disability

    • Undisclosed Disability

  • No Disability

    • No Disability or Serious Health Condition

  • Disability Status Unknown

    • Disability Status Unknown

  • Unspecified

    • Unspecifited Disability Status

To Top of Page

Education Level

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment" and "Diversity"]

The extent of an employee's educational attainment from an accredited institution. To Top of Page


Employment

[Measure - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment", "Employment Trend", "Diversity"]

A measure representing the number of employees in pay status at the end of the quarter (or end of the pay period prior to the end of the quarter).

Please note: For the Diversity Cube, employment is suppressed for all tables/crosstabs depicting small cells (i.e. employment is less than 4).  Employment measure will appear as "NA" across all available dimensions when employment is "less than 4". To Top of Page


Ethnicity and Race Indicator

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube: "Diversity"]

An employee's ethnicity and race identification as defined by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).  

Ethnicity and Race Indicator (ERI) consists of one ethnicity category (Hispanic or Latino) and five race categories.  All applicable categories may be selected, and at least one category must be selected.

  1. Hispanic or Latino
    A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.

  2. American Indian or Alaska Native
    A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America, including Central America, and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.

  3. Asian
    A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.

  4. Black or African American
    A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.

  5. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
    A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.

  6. White
    A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
To Top of Page

Gender

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment", "Accessions", "Separations", "Employment Trend"]

An employee’s gender (male or female). To Top of Page


General Schedule & Equivalent Grade

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment", "Accessions", "Separations", "Employment Trend", "Diversity"]

The General Schedule grade for pay plans in the General Schedule and Equivalently Graded pay plans category (see Pay Plan and Grade).

General Schedule and Equivalent Grade is derived differently for the two groups that make up the General Schedule and Equivalently Graded (GSEG) pay plans category:

  1. Standard GSEG pay plans
    The General Schedule and Equivalent Grade is the actual grade of the pay plan.  That is because these pay plans use the General Schedule grade structure to classify jobs.

  2. Other GSEG pay plans
    The General Schedule and Equivalent Grade will probably be something other than the actual grade of the pay plan.  That is because these pay plans do not use the General Schedule grade structure to classify jobs.  The General Schedule and Equivalent Grade for these pay plans is derived from job analysis studies and/or algorithms that relate the grade and salary of other pay plans to the General Schedule and assign a General Schedule grade.
Note: Assigning General Schedule grades to these pay plans is done for statistical purposes only and is not intended for administrative use.

This dimension is not applicable to pay plans outside the General Schedule and Equivalent pay plan category.  Use the Pay Plan and Grade dimension (see Pay Plan and Grade) to generate grade distributions for specific pay plans. To Top of Page


Length of Service

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment", "Accessions", "Separations", "Diversity"]

The number of years of Federal civilian employment, creditable military service, and other service made creditable by specific legislation.  Length of service is grouped by five-year intervals, except for:

  1. the initial intervals of less than 1 year, 1-2 years, and 3-4 years and
  2. the final interval of 35 years or more.
To Top of Page

Location

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment", "Accessions", "Separations", "Employment Trend", "Diversity"]

The official duty station of an employee.  Locations in the United States are defined in terms of states and counties (or county equivalents).  Locations outside the United States are defined in terms of countries and U.S. territories.

Locations are summarized into three categories:

  1. United States
  2. U.S. Territories
  3. Foreign Countries

Detailed data are obtained by drilling down within a category.  From the United States category, you can drill down to specific states.  Note: U.S. counties are excluded starting in March 2004.  From the U.S. Territories and Foreign Countries categories, you can drill down to specific territories and countries.

For security purposes, FedScope does not provide detailed location information for the:

  • Federal Bureau of Investigation (Justice Department)
  • Drug Enforcement Agency (Justice Department)
  • Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (Treasury/Treasury and Justice Department beginning in 2003)
  • Secret Service (Treasury/Homeland Security Department beginning in 2003); or
  • Bureau of the Mint (Treasury Department)

Employees of these agencies that work in the Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area (see Metropolitan Statistical Area), which includes parts of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, are all reported as working in the District of Columbia (under the United States category).  Other employees are reported as "Suppressed" (a separate value under the United States category).  As a result, FedScope overstates employment for the District of Columbia and understates employment for all states, territories, and foreign countries.

Note:  The Employment Trend cube uses a dimension name Area in place of Location and is restricted to "Inside DC Metropolitan Area", "Outside DC Metropolitan Area", and "Unspecified". To Top of Page


Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment", "Accessions", "Separations"]

Note: MSA dimension is excluded starting in March 2004.

The geographic area of an employee's official duty station, where the geographic area consists of a city and the surrounding counties (or portions of counties) that are economically and socially linked to that city, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Metropolitan statistical areas are grouped by name, plus a Not-an-MSA group.  Data for a specific MSA are obtained by drilling down within the group.

For security purposes, FedScope does not provide detailed location information for the:

  • Federal Bureau of Investigation (Justice Department)
  • Drug Enforcement Agency (Justice Department)
  • Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (Treasury/Treasury and Justice Department beginning in 2003)
  • Secret Service (Treasury/Homeland Security Department beginning in 2003); or
  • Bureau of the Mint (Treasury Department)

Employees of these agencies that work in the Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes parts of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, are reported as such.  Other employees are reported as "Suppressed" (a value under the Not-an-MSA category).  As a result, FedScope understates employment for all MSAs other than the Washington, DC-MD-VA-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. To Top of Page


Occupation

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment", "Accessions", "Separations", "Employment Trend", "Diversity"]

An employee's occupation as defined by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Occupations are categorized by white collar and blue collar. Within these categories, occupations are further summarized by occupation families (i.e., the first two characters of the occupation code that identifies groups of related occupations). Data for specific occupations are obtained by drilling down within a category and family. To Top of Page


Occupational Category

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment", "Accessions", "Separations", "Employment Trend", "Diversity"]

Occupational categories are defined by the educational requirements of the occupation and the subject matter and level of difficulty or responsibility of the work.  For a description of the occupational categories, see

[This script opens separate browser window to Guide to Personnel Data Standards; Alternate link to The Guide to Personnel Data Standards] The Guide to Data Standards To Top of Page


Pay Plan & Grade

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment", "Accessions", "Separations", "Employment Trend", "Diversity"]

The pay system and, where applicable, the grade used to determine an employee's basic pay rate.  Grade denotes a hierarchical position in a pay plan and is sometimes referred to as level, class, rank, or pay band.

Note: Senior Executive Service level, which is normally considered to be more of a step than a grade, is treated as a grade in FedScope.

Pay Plans are summarized into three categories that are each broken down into two additional categories:

  1. General Schedule and Equivalently Graded (GSEG) Pay Plans
    1. Standard GSEG
      These pay plans use the General Schedule grade structure to classify jobs.

    2. Other GSEG
      These pay plans do not use the General Schedule grade structure but their grades can be mapped to General Schedule grades (see General Schedule and Equivalent Grade).

  2. Prevailing Rate Pay Plans (Blue Collar)
    1. Federal Wage System
      These pay plans are covered by the Federal Wage System (FWS).  The FWS covers most blue collar employees, who are paid at rates prevailing in the localities where they work.

    2. Other Blue Collar
      These pay plans are prevailing rate but outside the FWS.

  3. Other White Collar Pay Plans
    1. Governmentwide or Multi-Agency
      These other pay plans are used by more than one agency.

    2. Single Agency
      These other pay plans are used by only one agency.

Data for specific pay plans are obtained by drilling down within a category.  Data for specific grades are obtained by drilling down within a pay plan.

Note:  The Employment Trend cube uses the dimension name Pay Plan.  Grade is omitted from this dimension in the Employment Trend cubes. To Top of Page


Salary Level

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment", "Accessions", "Separations", "Diversity"]

An employee’s adjusted basic pay, which is an annualized rate of pay.  Adjusted basic pay is the sum of an employee’s rate of basic pay plus any locality comparability payment and/or special pay adjustment for law enforcement officers.  Salaries are grouped by $10,000 intervals, except for an initial interval of less than $20,000 and a final interval of $180,000 or more.

An employee's actual earnings may be more or less than the annualized rate because of factors such as overtime, shift differentials, less than full time work, or leave without pay. To Top of Page


Separations

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Separations"]

A personnel action resulting in the loss of an employee from an agency's staff.  For the purposes of FedScope, furloughs, suspensions, leave without pay, and placement in nonpay status for seasonal employees are excluded.  The following types of separations are included.

  1. Transfers-Out
    Movement of a single employee, or group of employees, to another agency with a break in service of 3 days or less.
  1. Individual Transfer
    Transfer-out of an individual employee.

  2. Mass Transfer
    Transfer-out of a group whose function was moved to another agency.
  1. Separations from Federal Civil Service
  1. Quits
    Voluntary resignation by an employee, abandoning one's position, joining the military, or failing to return from military furlough.  Quits also include separations by the agency if an employee declines a new position or relocation.

  2. Retirements
    Separation entitling employee to immediate annuity.
  • Voluntary
    Employee meets minimum age and service requirements for optional retirement.

  • Early Out
    Employee does not meet the minimum age and service requirements for optional retirement, but meets reduced age and service requirements for early retirement.

  • Disability
    Employee is found to be disabled and meets the service requirement for disability retirement.

  • Other
    Employee is involuntarily separated and meets age and service requirements for discontinued service retirement, or employee attains age requiring mandatory retirement.
  1. Reductions-in-Force (RIF)
    Employee separation resulting from lack of work or funds, abolition of position or agency, or personnel ceiling restrictions.  Employees who resign after receipt of a RIF notice are included in this number.

  2. Termination or Removal
  • Termination or Removal (Discipline/Performance)
    Employee removal based on misconduct, delinquency, suitability, unsatisfactory performance, or failure to qualify for conversion to a career appointment.  Includes those who resign upon receiving notice of action based on performance or misconduct.

  • Termination (Expired Appointment/Other)
    Termination of a nonpermanent employee due to expiration of appointment, work, or funds.  This category includes terminations for some re-employed annuitants and Excepted Service employees.
  1. Death
    Employee loss of life.

  2. Other Separations
    Separations not classified in one of the categories above.
To Top of Page

STEM Occupations

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment" and "Diversity"]

Listing of occupations grouped into the following four occupational series:

  1. Science

  2. Technology

  3. Engineering

  4. Mathematics

To Top of Page

Supervisory Status

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment" and "Diversity"]

The nature of managerial, supervisory, or non-supervisory responsibility assigned to an employee's position. To Top of Page


Type of Appointment

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment", "Accessions", "Separations", "Employment Trend", "Diversity"]

An employee's appointment in terms of permanence and competitiveness.

Appointments are summarized into two categories:

  1. Permanent
  2. Non-permanent

Data for specific types of appointments,

  • competitive
  • excepted and
  • senior executive service

are obtained by drilling down within a category.

To Top of Page

Veteran

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment", "Diversity", Employment Trend", and "Diversity Trend"]

The following aggregate veteran categories are available:

  • Veteran

    • Annuitant Indicator (Retired)

    • Creditable Military Service

    • Veteran Preference

    • Veteran Status

    • Veterans Employment Opportunity Act of 1998 Appointment (VEOA)

    • Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA)

    • 30% or more Disabled Veteran Appointment

  • Non-Veteran

    • Non-Veteran

  • Exempt

    • Exempt

To Top of Page

Work Schedule

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment", "Accessions", "Separations", "Employment Trend", "Diversity"]

The time basis on which an employee is scheduled to work.

Work schedules are summarized into two categories:

  1. Full-time
  2. Not Full-time

Data for specific work schedules are obtained by drilling down within a category.

To Top of Page

Work Status

[Dimension - available in the following Data Cube(s): "Employment", "Employment Trend", and "Diversity"]

A combination of Type of Appointment and Work Schedule dimensions.  The Work Status dimension is limited to "Non-Seasonal Full Time Permanent" and "Other Employees".To Top of Page


About EHRI-SDM

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