Frequently Asked Questions
Background:
Q. What is the ADP Small Business Report?
Q. How large are the payrolls used to develop the ADP Small Business Report?
Q. Why was the ADP Small Business Report developed?
Q. What is unique about the ADP Small Business Report compared with other estimates?
Q. How often is the ADP Small Business Report released?
Using the ADP Small Business Report:
Q. What information is provided in the ADP ADP Small Business Report?
Q. How do I interpret the information in the ADP Small Business Report?
Q. What is industries make up the goods-producing sector in the ADP Small Business Report?
Q. What is industries make up the service-providing sector in the ADP Small Business Report?
Privacy and Security:
Q. Is any client or personally-identifiable data used to develop the ADP Small Business Report?
Q. Who else is involved with the development of the ADP Small Business Report, and do they have access to this data?
Q. What are the credentials of ADP's business partner, Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC, and what assurances do I have that they will keep this data safe?
Background:
Q. What is the ADP Small Business Report?
A. The ADP Small Business Report is a monthly estimate of private, nonfarm employment among small companies in the United States. It is based on data from the ADP National Employment Report, a measure of overall employment derived from ADP's exceptionally large payroll base.
Q. How large are the payrolls used to develop the ADP Small Business Report?
A. The payrolls used to develop the ADP Small Business Report represent companies with 1 to 49 employees.
Q. Why was the ADP Small Business Report developed?
A. The ADP Small Business Report was developed to help the small business community better understand labor conditions that may affect small business. With roughly 400,000 small business clients, ADP has an unrivaled perspective about employment conditions throughout the small business community.
Q. What is unique about the ADP Small Business Report compared with other estimates?
A. The ADP Small Business Report is unique in that it is based on live, aggregated, anonymous data from ADP's exceptionally large base of small business payrolls. In addition, this data has been analyzed with rigorous statistical methodology by one of the most respected econometric firms in the United States, Macroeconomic Advisers. Other forecasts and estimates use much smaller payroll samples and/or surveys, job postings, and other sources.
Q. How often is the ADP Small Business Report released?
A. The ADP Small Business Report is released monthly. Please see www.smallbusinessreport.adp.com for the next scheduled release date. The release dates usually fall on Thursday, one day before the release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Employment Situation Report.
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Using the ADP Small Business Report::
Q. What information is provided in the ADP Small Business Report?
A. The ADP Small Business Report provides a forecast for total private, nonfarm employment among small businesses in the United States. It further divides this information into goods-producing and service-providing subcategories. Each month's report lists information for the current month and the five prior months.
Q. How do I interpret the information in the ADP Small Business Report?
A. The key forecast of total private, nonfarm employment is represented as both a monthly employment level and a monthly change in employment.
- The employment level represents the total number of private, nonfarm small business jobs in the U.S. economy at a common point in time each month.
- The change in monthly employment represents the increase or decrease in employment between these common points in time in two consecutive months.
You can observe trends in employment by simply comparing each month's change. Further detail on the construction and interpretation of the ADP Small Business Report are available in the ADP National Employment Report'sMethodology.
Q. What is industries make up the goods-producing sector in the ADP Small Business Report?
A. The goods-producing sector, as defined by the ADP Small Business Report, includes the following industries:
- Mining
- Construction
- Manufacturing
Q. What is industries make up the service-providing sector in the ADP Small Business Report?
A. The service-providing sector, as defined by the ADP Small Business Report, includes the following industries:
- Retail trade
- Professional services
- Business services
- Education and health services
- Leisure and hospitality
You can observe trends in employment by simply comparing each month's change. Further detail on the construction and interpretation of the ADP Small Business Report are available in the ADP National Employment Report'sMethodology.
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Privacy and Security:
Q. Is any client or personally-identifiable data used to develop the ADP Small Business Report?
A. No confidential client data is used in the development of the ADP Small Business Report. The regional and industry data used in the ADP Small Business Report is aggregated and anonymous, and consequently, no information on individual ADP clients can be identified. ADP never shares client or personally-identifiable information to any third party in connection with the ADP Small Business Report.
Q. Who else is involved with the development of the ADP Small Business Report, and do they have access to this data?
A. Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC, a well-known and highly respected econometric consulting firm, worked with ADP to develop the ADP Small Business Report, and is expected to continue to play an active and ongoing role in the ADP Small Business Report for the foreseeable future. This firm will have access to ADP's data, but only with company identities masked/redacted, utilizing data aggregated to levels that make the identities of companies undeterminable.
Q. What are the credentials of ADP's business partner, Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC, and what assurances do I have that they will keep this data safe?
A. Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC is one of the premier macroeconomic forecasting firms in the United States. Its forecasts and models are used throughout the U.S. government and by many of the nation's leading financial and non-financial firms. Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC worked hand in hand with ADP to build the secure processes that protect ADP's client data. Joel Prakken is chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC. Laurence Meyer is Vice Chairman and Director of Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC, and served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve from June 20, 1996 until January 31, 2002. For more information about Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC, please visit their Web site or see Macroeconomic Advisers economists' profiles.
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