Analyzing Pennsylvania’s Employment Picture Scott Meckley Center for Workforce Information & Analysis

Objectives To discuss two different measures of employment produced by CWIA: –Current Employment Statistics (CES) –Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) What does this data measure? How is this data alike? How is it different? Where/when can this data be found? How is this data used? Who do I contact with questions about this data?

Nonfarm Jobs Data (CES) Current Employment Statistics (CES) is a monthly payroll survey of non-farm establishments used to estimate jobs Also referred to as “non-farm jobs” due to the fact that agricultural establishments are not counted Counts the number of JOBS (not workers) Bases count on LOCATION OF JOB (not residence of worker)

Nonfarm Jobs Data (CES) Monthly non-farm jobs estimates are produced for different areas: –United States (produced by Bureau of Labor Statistics) –States (PA data produced by BLS/CWIA) –Metropolitan Statistical Areas (14 in PA, produced by BLS/CWIA) CWIA also produces job estimates for the 37 PA counties not in MSAs* *source: UI claims based model

Nonfarm Jobs Data (CES) Monthly non-farm jobs estimates are produced for different industry detail: –Total Non-farm Jobs –Goods-producing and Service-providing totals –Sectors (manufacturing, retail trade, etc.) –Subsector detail for some industries Seasonal Adjustment – allows for comparison of different months –Statewide seasonally adjusted at sector level –MSAs seasonally adjusted for Total non-farm only

February Jobs (CES), Altoona MSA

February Seasonally Adjusted Jobs (CES)

Civilian Labor Force Data (LAUS) Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program estimates the number of persons working or available for work in a given area Consists of four primary measures –Civilian Labor Force –Employment –Unemployment –Unemployment Rate Employment a count of PERSONS (not jobs) Data based on where people LIVE (not where they work)

Civilian Labor Force Data (LAUS) Definitions of labor force components: –Employment – count of persons 16+ who were working –Unemployment – count of persons 16+ who were not working, while meeting each of the following criteria: Want to work Available to work Actively searching for work –Civilian Labor Force – count of available workers (employed plus unemployed) –Unemployment Rate – number of unemployed divided by number of available workers (labor force)

Civilian Labor Force Data (LAUS) Monthly civilian labor force estimates are produced for different areas: –United States –States –Metropolitan Statistical Areas –Counties –Selected Minor Civil Divisions (cities, townships, boroughs) –Workforce Investment Areas –Other groupings (Combined MSAs, Metro Divisions) Seasonal Adjustment done for all data elements –all areas seasonally adjusted except for Minor Civil Divisions

February Labor Force Stats (LAUS) Harrisburg-Carlisle MSA

LAUS vs. CES Employment LAUS Employment By place of residence Count of persons Calendar week of the 12th Includes unpaid absences No industry data CES Employment By place of work Count of jobs Pay period including the 12th Excludes unpaid absences Detailed industry data Both are released by PA on the same date

Uses for LAUS and CES data Considered a barometer of the overall economy Used in production of other statistical data (CES is an input for LAUS estimates) Used at federal, state, and local levels for planning and budgeting Indicate need for local employment and training Used by employers to make business decisions Used by job seekers, students for career decisions

PA LAUS and CES Release Dates

Accessing Electronic Press Releases Portal Monthly News Releases: rver.pt/community/monthly_news_relea ses/18850 CWIA Website:

Area Press Release To all media members, Updated press releases, containing area labor force and nonfarm jobs data, are now available on the Department of Labor & Industry's Web site. The press releases can be accessed by following the instructions below: 1. Click on to open the CWIA Monthly News Releases page on the Labor & Industry Web site At the bottom of the Monthly News Releases' left navigation bar, click on the "Log In" link. 3. Log into the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Enterprise Portal using the user ID and password that you registered on the Labor & Industry Portal Web site. This will grant you early access to the embargoed data, appearing immediately above last month's public data. If you experience any login problems, please contact us via at or by calling WF-DATA.

Contact Information Scott Meckley, Employment & Industry Manager –(717) Lauren Nimal, Employment & Industry Supervisor –(717)