The Wage Record Interchange System (WRIS)—also referred to more recently as the State Wage Interchange System (SWIS)—are both federal tools for sharing wage data between states, but they differ in scope, management, and current use. These data-sharing systems allow U.S. states to exchange wage and employment records for individuals who have worked in more than one state.

WRIS

• Developed under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) to facilitate the exchange of wage data between participating states for performance measurement, training provider evaluation, and meeting reporting requirements for programs like WIA and the Wagner–Peyser Act.
• Primarily focused on workforce training and employment programs authorized under WIA and Wagner–Peyser.
• Originally funded and administered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) with a plan for states to self-fund later. ETA has since continued full funding for operation and administration.
• Predecessor system to SWIS and has been largely replaced by SWIS in current federal operations.

SWIS

• Created to modernize and expand the exchange of wage data between states for performance reporting under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), as well as for other permitted purposes under the SWIS Data Sharing Agreement.
• Broader than WRIS, covering multiple federal programs, including Department of Labor: Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth (Title I), Employment Service (Title III); Department of Education: Adult and Family Literacy Act (Title II), Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Title IV); Vocational Rehabilitation (Title IV). 
• Jointly managed by the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education, with all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico participating under the SWIS Agreement.
• Allows states to match program participant records with out-of-state employer wage records from the Unemployment Insurance program, enabling more accurate labor market outcome reporting.
• Current federal system replacing WRIS/WRISII; active and in use nationwide.

Because workforce and education programs are often administered at the state level, employment outcomes (such as wages and job placement) can be difficult to track when individuals cross state lines. WRIS/SWIS addresses this challenge by enabling participating states to securely share unemployment insurance (UI) wage records. These data are used to track employment outcomes for participants in education and workforce programs; support federal and state reporting requirements (e.g., under workforce legislation); and provide a more complete picture of labor market mobility across states

WRIS was originally developed to support interstate data exchange, and the term SWIS is increasingly used to reflect modernization and expanded state-level data system capabilities. While WRIS/SWIS improves the completeness of workforce outcome data, it remains primarily administrative and backward-looking (focused on recorded wages and employment); limited in capturing skills, credentials, or informal work; and dependent on state participation and data-sharing agreements.

In the learn-and-work ecosystem, WRIS/SWIS plays an important role in providing verified employment outcomes, particularly as individuals increasingly move across state lines for education and work.