Final answer:
The characteristic of data warehousing that applies to a database containing employee salary data is being subject-oriented, which focuses on the analysis of data for decision-making related to human resources.
Step-by-step explanation:
When referring to a database containing employee salary data that is maintained and updated, one characteristic of data warehousing that applies is subject-oriented. This means that the database is designed to focus on modeling and analysis of data for decision-making. Data warehousing involves collecting and managing data from varied sources to provide meaningful business insights. It is typically subject-oriented, non-volatile, integrated, and time-variant. Since employee salary data is specific to the human resources aspect of a business, it demonstrates the subject-orientation of the data warehouse by reflecting the integration of all salary-related data, irrespective of its source, and is used to analyze salary trends, compensation strategies, and payroll management over time.