The IAB Job Vacancy Survey: design and research potential

This article provides an overview of the IAB Job Vacancy Survey and its research potential. The IAB Job Vacancy Survey is a quarterly establishment survey covering the (un-)satisfied labor demand in Germany. This survey identifies the entire number of vacancies on the German labor market, including those vacancies that are not reported to the Federal Employment Agency. The main questionnaire obtains information about the number and structure of vacancies, future labor demand, the current economic situation and the expected development of participating establishments. In addition, the questionnaire collects information about the last new hiring and the last case of a failed recruitment process. Finally, the questionnaire enquires about employer attitudes and firms’ use of current labor market instruments. The Research Data Centre of the German Federal Employment Agency offers access to the data starting from the survey waves 2000 onwards.

Physician Assistants Employed by the Federal Government

Objective Physician assistants (PAs) are health professionals who have received advance medical training and are licensed to diagnose illness, develop and manage treatment plans, prescribe medications, and serve as principal health care provider. Although the U.S. federal government is the largest single employer of PAs, at the same time little is known about them across the wide array of diverse settings and agencies. The objective of this project was to determine the census of PAs in federal employment, their location, and personal characteristics. This included approximating the number of uniformed PAs. Taking stock of a unique labor force sets the stage for more granular analyses of how and where PAs are utilized and are deployed. Methods No one central database identifies all federally employed PAs. To undertake this project, three sources were examined. Data were derived from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. Uniformed PA numbers were the result of networking with senior chiefs in the military services and the U.S. Public Health Service. The data were collolated and summarized for comparison and discussion. Results As of 2018, approximately 5,200 PAs were dispersed in most branches and agencies of the government that provide health care services, including the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, Justice, and Homeland Security. Federally employed PAs are civil servants or hold a commission in the uniformed services (ie, Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Public Health Service). Most PAs are in clinical roles, although a few hundred are in management positions. Approximately 81% of civilian PAs have had less than 15 years of federal employment. Conclusion The diverse utilization and deployment of PAs validate the importance of the role they serve as medical professionals in the federal government. From 2008 to 2019, PA employment in the federal government grew by approximately 50% supporting the forecast that substantial national PA growth is on track.

The Research Data Centre of the German Federal Employment Agency at the Institute for Employment Research (RDC-IAB)

Background and data portfolioSince 2004, the Research Data Centre of the German Federal Employment Agency at the Institute for Employment Research (RDC-IAB) has been offering comprehensive individual data on employees, unemployed persons, job seekers and participants in active labour market policy programmes for scientific labour market research. For this purpose, data from employer notifications and from different administrative processes in the labour market administration are linked. These administrative data are also combined with survey data. In addition, linked employer-employee data allow simultaneous analyses of the supply and demand sides of the labour market. Data linkageThe data can be linked using unique identifiers, such as social insurance numbers, client numbers from local employment agencies, or establishment numbers. Since the foundation of the German Record Linkage Center (GRLC) in 2011, the RDC-IAB also applies methods for linking with non-unique and error-prone linkage identifiers like names, addresses and birth dates. Data accessGerman data protection law classifies the data offered by the RDC-IAB as highly sensitive and strictly regulates their use by external researchers. The RDC-IAB has therefore established various data access modes. Although data can be transferred directly to research institutions in anonymised form, this procedure is generally not effective for linked data, as the loss of information due to the necessary anonymisation would be too great. For this reason, the RDC-IAB focuses on the access modes on-site use and remote data execution. In cooperation with other data centres, RDC-IAB has therefore established on-site data access at currently 16 locations worldwide.

US shutdown effects will deepen

Significance For Trump, building “the wall” is an election pledge, but Democrats say it would be an “immorality” and ineffective. This disagreement triggered a partial government shutdown of nine federal departments and many agencies on December 21-22; some 800,000 federal workers are currently not being paid or soon will not be. Impacts Without a return to bipartisan law-making, more frequent shutdowns are possible as a negotiating tactic. More government shutdowns would undermine the desirability of taking on federal employment. Would-be federal contractors may need to diversify their market offerings and build reserves for future shutdowns.