Title Slide Breaking Local Stories with Economic Data
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Overberg Paul
Paul Overberg, a database editor at USA TODAY, !nds news in all kinds of data. He focuses on who the American people are and how they live -- their demographics. "at includes income in all of its many forms; the lack of income, or poverty; and jobs, the primary source of income for most people. "rough IRE/NICAR, he often helps local reporters learn about this kind of data. He also has worked as a science and health editor and as a local reporter and business editor.
[email protected] @poverberg
What we’ll cover Real news stories using BLS data on: • County employment, unemployment • Metro labor force, unemployment • Metro employment • Metro wage rates • State business dynamics • How to !nd each type of data • How to turn data → stories!
Photo by Flick user zesser
County unemployment
“Fairfax County’s jobless rate declined slightly from October to November … to 3.6% …” -- Vienna (VA) Sun Gazette, Jan. 17, 2013
• Start here: bls.gov/lau/home.htm • Click on highlighted link: “LAU tables and maps”
• County data: bls.gov/lau/laucntycur14.txt bls.gov/lau/home.htm
County unemployment
• If you have a spreadsheet, open the !le and !lter on “Adams County, CO”
County unemployment
• Ideas: Google image search for “county unemployment map”
County unemployment
Video: Excel as BLS dashboard How to collect regular BLS data updates without having to reformat, analyze and graph it each month
Review the video at: h"p://bit.ly/econdata13
Metro unemployment “"e Lubbock-area unemployment rate fell to 5.8 percent in August from 6.4 percent in July … because of notable losses in both jobs and the civilian labor force.” -- Sept. 21, 2012, Lubbock (Texas) Avalanche-Journal
h"p://lubbockonline.com/business/2012-‐09-‐21/local-‐unemployment-‐rate-‐falls-‐58-‐percent-‐sizeable-‐drop-‐workforce-‐jobs#.UUILNFe0J8E
http://bls.gov/lau/home.htm
Metro unemployment • Start here: bls.gov/lau/home.htm • Choose !rst link in highlighted section: “Unemployment rates for metro areas”
Metro unemployment • Direct links: Monthly: bls.gov/web/metro/laummtrk.htm Year-over-year: bls.gov/web/metro/laummtch.htm
Metro employment “ … the six-county Chattanooga region added 3,900 jobs in the most recent 12-month period …” -- Dave Flessner, Jan. 1, 2013, Chattanooga Times Free-Press
h"p://www.Lmesfreepress.com/news/2013/jan/01/rebound-‐cha"anooga-‐leads-‐state-‐job-‐growth/?print
Metro employment Start here: bls.gov/news.release/metro.toc.htm • Table 1: Labor force, unemployed • Table 3: Employed
bls.gov/news.release/metro.toc.htm
Metro employment Start here: bls.gov/news.release/metro.toc.htm • Table 1: Labor force, unemployed • Table 3: Employed
Local wages “… Miami-Dade !nishes in the middle of the pack. ... average weekly wage grew to $880 in the third quarter of 2011, a 3.3 percent gain ... .” -- Douglas Hanks, HispanicBusiness.com, May 11, 2012
h"p://www.hispanicbusiness.com/2012/5/11/wage_gains_not_matching_job_gains.htm
Local wages Start here: bls.gov/bls/blswage.htm • Choose second link of fourth section: “For 375 metropolitan areas …”
• Choose “D” for “District of Columbia,” then “Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV”
bls.gov/bls/blswage.htm
Local wages Use column sorting to see top-paying occupations.
Video: Location quotient A powerful tool to analyze your local economy
Review the video at: h"p://bit.ly/econdata13
Employment dynamics “… Colorado gained 128,595 private-sector jobs in last year’s fourth quarter from the previous quarter and lost 122,675 jobs, for a net gain of 5,920 jobs …” -- Mark Harden, Aug. 2, 2012, Denver Business Journal
h"p://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2012/08/02/colorado-‐gains-‐business-‐jobs-‐a-‐bit.html
Employment dynamics Start here: bls.gov/news.release/cewbd.toc.htm • Click on link for Table 6
http://bls.gov/news.release/cewbd.toc.htm
Employment dynamics
Employment dynamics To explore much deeper: onthemap.ces.census.gov
Questions? "anks for coming!
Source: The Washington Post
h"p:/bit.ly/econdata13
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