What is the UI universe count?
The Bureau’s UI universe count is a quarterly tabulation, from administrative records, of the number of employees covered by unemployment insurance (UI) laws. UI universe counts, available on a lagged basis, contain individual employer records for over 8 million establishments and cover nearly 97 percent of total nonfarm employment; they thus provide a benchmark for the sample-based estimates. For the small segment of the population not covered by UI, BLS develops employment benchmarks from several alternative sources.
