The ABCs of LMI

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The ABCs of LMI
Labor Market Information
Workforce Information
Employment Statistics
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• LMI has been around a while
• 1869 first state bureau of labor statistics
  established in Massachusetts
• 1884 Bureau of Labor created in Department of
  Interior
• 1916 first national employment data created
• 1949 all states involved in federal/state LMI
  system

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• Funding
• Most from BLS through annual cooperative
  agreements (contracts) with states
• ETA provides funding through annual Workforce
  Information Grants
• States may generate other funding through WIA,
  special contracts, etc.

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• Concepts
• Employed
• Worked at least 1 hour for pay
• During the week including the 12th
• Unemployed
• No job attachment
• Available for and actively seeking work
• Can be experienced or new or re-entrant
• Labor force
• Employed Unemployed
• 16 years or older
• Civilian, noninstitutionalized

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• Concepts
• Discouraged Workers
• Not employed but not seeking work
• Generally on long-term layoff with no immediate
  prospects
• Underemployed
• No generally accepted definition or count
• Basically anyone working below their skill level
• May be underemployed by choice

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• Concepts
• Jobs
• Workers
• Is data counting jobs or workers?

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• Concepts
• Place of work
• Place of residence
• Is data based on where people work or where they
  live?

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• Coding Systems
• Geography Federal Information Processing System
  (FIPS)
• Industry North American Industrial
  Classification System (NAICS)
• Occupation Standard Occupational Code (SOC)

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• FIPS
• Codes for states, counties, MSAs and cities/towns
• Typically begins with state code followed by
  codes for sub-state areas
• Example St Louis
• 29-Missouri
• 510-St Louis

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• NAICS
• For classifying businesses based on what they do
• Hierarchical 6-digit system
• 1st 2 digits represent sector (there are 20
  sectors)
• 3rd digit represents subsector
• 4th digit represents industry group
• 5th digit represents NAICS industry
• 6th digit represents national industry (rarely
  used)
• May also see references to supersectors (there
  are 11) where some sectors are combined (e.g.
  trade, transportation and utilities leisure and
  hospitality)

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• NAICS
• Example Auto Manufacturing
• 33-manufacturing
• 336-transportation equipment manufacturing
• 3361-motor vehicle manufacturing
• 33611-auto light duty motor vehicle
  manufacturing
• 336111-auto manufacturing, for US industries)

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• SOC
• For classifying workers based on what they do
• Also hierarchical 6-digit system
• 820 detailed codes
• 1st 2 digits represent major group (there are 23
  major groups)
• 3rd digit represents minor group (96 of those)
• 4th and 5th digits represent broad occupations
  (449 of those)
• 6th digit represents specific occupation

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• SOC
• Example Family general practitioners
• 29-healthcare practitioners technical
  occupations
• 29-1-health diagnosing treating practitioners
• 29-106-physicians surgeons
• 29-1062-family general practitioners)

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• More on classification systems
• Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP)
  classifies education training programs
• Military Occupation Code (MOC) classifies
  military jobs
• Crosswalks linking various occupation-related
  codes can be found in ONET

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• LMI from BLS
• Quarterly Census of Employment Wages (QCEW)
• Current Employment Statistics (CES)
• Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS)
• Occupational Employment Statistics (OES)
• Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS)

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• QCEW
• Data comes from quarterly UI contribution reports
  filed by employers
• Covers around 97 of all employment
• Provides employment wages to county level with
  industry detail
• Available data affected by BLS nondisclosure
  rules
• Serves as benchmark for CES revisions and basis
  for CES and OES surveys
• EQUI data comes from QCEW (may be input for WID)
• NAICS codes for businesses come from the Annual
  Refiling Survey done by QCEW staff
• Not timely not available until around 6 months
  after quarters end
• Counts jobs at place of work

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• CES
• Measures monthly employment by industry for
  states and MSAs (not counties)
• Based on monthly survey of sample of businesses
  (over 400,000 nationally)
• Includes some workers not counted in QCEW
  (commission salespersons, elected appointed
  govt officials, teachers in summer months who
  are on 12-month contracts)
• QCEW provides basis for sample and annual
  benchmark revisions
• Previous month revised with release of latest
  months data
• Data revised annually based on QCEW
• Counts jobs at place of work

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• LAUS
• Monthly estimates labor force, employment,
  unemployment and unemployment rate
• Data for states, MSAs, counties and labor market
  areas
• Counts workers at place of residence
• State data comes from regression model, local
  data apportioned from state data using handbook
  methodology national data comes directly from
  Current Population Survey
• State data based on UI claims, CES employment and
  states CPS sample
• Includes agricultural workers, self-employed and
  some others not counted in CES or QCEW
• Data revised annually in benchmark process

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• OES
• Provides employment wage estimates for
  occupations for states and sub-state areas
• Based on employer survey (1.2 million nationally)
  using QCEW
• Surveys done twice each year (annual sample
  broken into 2 pieces)
• Estimates done annually
• Entire economy covered in 3-year cycle
• Therefore each years estimates based on 3-year
  average of data
• Data is not revised
• Basis for staffing patterns in IOMATRIX

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• MLS
• Tracks serious layoffs closings
• Standard is 50 or more UI claims, but states can
  set lower trigger

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Want to know more about BLS programs? See BLS
Handbook of Methods at www.bls.gov/opub/hom
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• Employment Projections
• National projections from BLS every 2 years
• States produce state and area projections
• Required by ETA (through Workforce Information
  Grant)
• Short- and long-term projections done (2 years
  and 10 years out)
• System developed and supported by state
  groupProjections Managing Partnership
• Key inputs into projections are QCEW (historical
  industry employment) and OES data (staffing
  patterns)

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• Other data sources
• Census decennial Census data, American Community
  Survey, Local Employment Dynamics
• Education National Center for Education
  Statistics, state and local sources
• Income Bureau of Economic Analysis, American
  Community Survey
• Employer Database
• Special surveys job vacancies, benefits, etc.
• Private sources

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Joe Ward SC Department of Commerce 803-737-3834 jw
ard_at_sccommerce.com