Payday HCM publishes a monthly jobs report for the greater Albuquerque area. Here, we break down how we compile our report, including information on sample size, the size of the businesses included, and more.
Payday HCM Albuquerque Jobs Report: Full Methodology Breakdown
As a payroll service provider, we at Payday HCM have access to numerical data regarding the number of people employed at our clients’ businesses. For this report, we’ve narrowed our overall national client base to a smaller survey of 560 businesses located within the Albuquerque area.
Focusing our report on Albuquerque serves two purposes: it not only allows us to provide vital data to our local community, but also helps to narrow our sample size to around 560 businesses in the Albuquerque area (around ten percent of total businesses in Albuquerque), which provides a more statistically sound estimate of the job market locally as opposed to what would be too small of a sample size for a national jobs report.
Our numerical data is based on data from our clients’ payroll data as they either increase or decrease the number of employees on their payroll. While this data does not include any sensitive information regarding our clients or our clients’ employees, it does allow us to sort the data by ZIP code and industry, providing us with location and industry-specific information.
1. Data Source
Payday processes payroll for more than 500 businesses located in the greater Albuquerque area. For this report, we track the same panel of 560 employers each month, all of whom have five or more employees.
2. Panel Structure
Each business remains in the panel month-to-month. If a business closes, leaves the region, or discontinues payroll service, it may be replaced with a similar-sized business; such change is noted. Tracking the same group eliminates distortions caused by business migration.
3. Why 5 or More Employees?
Microbusinesses (1–4 employees) make up the majority of all business establishments and can distort trends due to volatility. The employers with 5+ employees account for the majority of payroll jobs in the region and provide a stable indicator of employment conditions.
4. Core Metric Used
For each business each month, we count the number of employees on payroll. We then compute the average number of employees per business for the 500-business panel. This average tells us whether staffing levels are increasing, decreasing, or staying stable.
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