1. What is the purpose of this survey?
2. Is this survey mandatory?
3. Why did I receive this survey?
4. How do I get taken off of your mailing list?
5. I do not have any paid employees. Should I complete the survey?
6. We are not a government. Should I complete the survey?
7. We are a non-profit organization. Should I complete the survey?
8. The name of our government is incorrect. How do I get it changed?
9. Some of my employees work in more than one function. How do I report these employees?
10. Why doesn’t my password from a previous year work?
11. When is the Survey of Public Employment & Payroll due?
12. How do I request a time extension?
13. How do I confirm my survey submission?
14. Is there a fine if I do not complete this survey?
15. Where can I obtain a paper copy of the survey?
16. Does this survey provide data on Federal Government employees and payroll?
    

This survey provides the only source of government employment and payroll data. Government employment represents 15% of the total workforce and the data we collect are often requested by other governments, researchers, and reporters. Amongst the many uses, these data are used to do comparisons of salaries between governments, aid in developing policy for state and local governments, and contribute to the government component of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The survey is endorsed by many national associations including:

• The National School Boards Association
• The National Association of Counties
• The National League of Cities
• The National Association of Towns and Townships

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This is a voluntary survey. However, our report is the only source of nationwide, comprehensive information on state and local government employment and payroll. This survey is authorized by Title 13, United States Code (U.S.C.), Sections 161 and 182. Also, the U.S. Congress, federal agencies, state, and other local governments, educational and research organizations, and the general public use the results of our data collection.

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If you have received the Survey of Public Employment & Payroll, we have determined your entity is part of the 50 state governments or one of the approximately 90,000 local governments in the United States. Every five years (years ending in ‘2’ and ‘7’) we conduct a census, in which we attempt to collect employment data from all governments in the country. For the four years between our censuses, we collect data from a sample of governments.

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We cannot remove you from our mailing list as your government was selected to represent governments with certain characteristics in the United States.

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Yes. If your entity does not have any paid employees please make note of this on the survey when submitting. Although you have no paid employees, providing this information is still an essential component in our data and is a completed response for your government.

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If you have received notification to complete the Survey of Public Employment & Payroll it is because your agency is in scope of our definition of a government. We define a government to be “an organized entity which, in addition to having governmental character, has sufficient discretion in the management of its own affairs to distinguish it as separate from the administrative structure of any other governmental unit.”

If you believe your agency does not fall within the scope of our definition of a government, please contact a member of the Public Employment and Payroll team.

For further details on the definition and characteristics of a government entity for Census Bureau reporting, refer to the Government Finance and Employment Classification Manual.

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If you have received notification to complete the Survey of Public Employment & Payroll it is because your agency is in scope of our definition of a government. We define a government to be “an organized entity which, in addition to having governmental character, has sufficient discretion in the management of its own affairs to distinguish it as separate from the administrative structure of any other governmental unit.”

If you believe your agency does not fall within the scope of our definition of a government, please contact a member of the Public Employment and Payroll team.

For further details on the definition and characteristics of a government entity for Census Bureau reporting, refer to the Government Finance and Employment Classification Manual.

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To ensure the name of your government is properly corrected and recorded in our database, return a completed copy of the survey indicating the correction or contact a member of the Public Employment and Payroll team.

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If some employees complete tasks that fall under more than one function available for reporting on the survey, please include the employees at the function in which the majority of their workload is spent. If the employees spend an equal share of time at different functions, place the employee and their payroll information at only one function and indicate the other functions the employee completes in the remarks section. If you have any questions or continued difficulties placing employees at the appropriate function, contact a member of the Public Employment and Payroll team.

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Starting with the 2021 survey year, the Survey of Public Employment & Payroll  has moved to the Census Bureau’s Respondent Portal for survey reporting. For security purposes, a unique one-time-use authorization code has been mailed to you for the current survey year. To begin, go to https://portal.census.gov, create an account or sign in with your existing account. When creating your Respondent Portal account, you will be prompted to create your own password for continuing access. Once your account is created, please use the authorization code to initialize your access to the survey through your Respondent Portal account by clicking on the “Add Authentication Code” button under “My Surveys.” Enter and submit your unique 12-digit code. If you have difficulty finding your authorization code, or if you are having trouble signing in to the Respondent Portal, please contact a member of the Public Employment & Payroll team.

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The due date for the current Survey of Public Employment & Payroll is located on our Questionnaires page. If you would like to request a time extension for completing the survey, see FAQ #12.

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To request a time extension for completing the survey, please sign in to your Respondent Portal account and access your survey by using your one-time-use authorization code if you have not already done so. Choose “Options” and select “Request Extension.” Choose an available date in the calendar for the Extended Due Date and select “Submit Request.” A confirmation message will appear on your screen, and your survey will now display the original survey due date along with the extended date granted.

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When you submitted your data through the web application, you received a Submission Confirmation screen that you were able to print. If you did not see this screen, then you have not submitted your data. If you have already submitted your survey for the current year, this should be reflected on your Respondent Portal account in 1-2 business days. Additionally, you can still access the survey from your Respondent Portal account where you can confirm your submission and download a PDF copy of your response.

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Participation in this important survey is voluntary. However, it is very important that we have your cooperation to ensure the quality of our data.

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The U.S. Census Bureau has streamlined operations to conserve taxpayer time and money as we measure our nation's economy through surveys such as the Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. This includes moving from paper-based data collection to online-based data collection operations. If you need a worksheet to compile your data before reporting online, sign in to the Respondent Portal and access your survey by using your one-time-use authorization code if you have not already done so. Choose “Report Now” and “Continue” to proceed to the main menu of the reporting tool. Select the PDF icon next to "Would you like a blank PDF of the worksheet?" on the main menu page. If you have any problems reporting online, you can contact a member of the Survey of Public Employment & Payroll team.

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Data related to Federal Government employees and payroll were published until and including 2014. Data users who are interested in data on Federal Government employees should contact the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) or visit OPM.gov. 

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