1. Using Labor Market Intelligence to Improve Workforce Outcomes Garden State Employment and Training Association Annual Meeting October 4, 2018
Thank you Nick for inviting me. And thank you to attendees for coming tonight.

2. Vision for the Office of Research and Information
Work hand in glove with the Office of Workforce Development
To become 100% user-centered: to have the products and services you need, when you need them, where you need them, and how you need them
Improve our stakeholders’ appreciation of the importance of LMI
Increase our stakeholders’ engagement with LMI
Increase our research and analytical capacity
Use cutting edge technologies in service of these goals

3. Overview of the New Jersey Labor Market
So, what do you need to know about the labor market?

4. Employment by Sector
There are approximately 3.6 million jobs in New Jersey
SOURCE | Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages 2017

5. Job Gains & Losses in New Jersey August 2017 to August 2018
Nearly all of the top sectors added the most jobs over the past year. Given their size, even the slightest bit of growth can generate large overall employment gains.
There is one noteworthy exception to this observation: retail trade
Over that same period greatest job losses occurred in retail. Remember this another top 5 sector and it accounts for 1 in 11 jobs in NYC.
It is pretty well known at this point that
Online stores gaining greater market share (especially amazon)
Less people shopping at brick and mortar stores to the detriment of local brick and mortar stores
Negative view of brick and mortal retail discouraging investors from lending to them; many brick and mortar stores are overloaded with debt. (source: Bloomberg News Nov 8, 2017:
SOURCE | NJLWD, Current Employment Statistics

6. Long-Term Industry Employment Projections 2016 to 2026
SOURCE | NJLWD, Long-Term Industry Employment Projections

7. Occupational Skills in Demand College Graduates
SOURCE | Burning Glass Technologies, Labor Insight: NJ past 12 months

8. Technology and Software Skills in Demand College Graduates
Source | Burning Glass Technologies, Labor Insight: NJ past 12 months

9. Occupational Skills in Demand Sub-Baccalaureate
SOURCE | Burning Glass Technologies, Labor Insight: NJ past 12 months

10. Technology and Software Skills in Demand Sub-Baccalaureate
SOURCE | Burning Glass Technologies, Labor Insight: NJ past 12 months

11. How do supply and demand match up in New Jersey?
This slide shows the distribution of….
It tells us that over half of the NYC LF has at least a bachelor’s degree
But that only 1/3 of NYC occupations typically require that much education
15% have more than a hs diploma but less than a bachelor’s while 9% of our jobs require that amount of education.
A whopping 59% of our jobs requires a high school diploma or less, while only 30% of our population has that degree of educational attainment.

12. LMI Across the Program Cycle.

13. Labor market information includes all quantitative or qualitative data and analysis related to employment and the workforce. Its goal is to help customers make informed plans, choices, and decisions for a variety of purposes, including business investment decision making, career planning and preparation, education and training offerings, job search opportunities, hiring, and public or private workforce investments.
James F. Woods and Christopher J. O’Leary, “Conceptual Framework for an Optimal Labour Market Information System,” W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, Technical Report No , December 2006.
State and regional economic development agencies increasingly look to state LMI agencies for customized data and analyses to help them understand aspects of the economy, such as structure, competitive strengths and weaknesses, and location of skilled labor for prospective employers.
State and local education and workforce development agencies seek data to help determine the effective allocation of scarce resources in the face of ever-changing labor markets, occupational structures, and required knowledge, skills, and abilities.
Economic and fiscal challenges are forcing state program agencies out of their traditional silos, resulting in more interagency partnerships involving workforce development, economic development, education, transportation, housing, environment, and/or health agencies. These interagency efforts often require new forms of labor market data to guide alternative ways of doing business
The second source of increased LMI data needs is participants in the labor market - students, workers, education and training organizations, and employers. In light of economic and technological disruption, uncertainty, and opportunity, the number and frequency of decisions that confront labor market participants have grown substantially.

14. What is labor market intelligence (cont’d.)?
Subjects
Types
Industries
Occupations
Labor force
Intersection of the above
Numbers
Words
People

16. Selecting the Sector Are there enough jobs? Openings?
Are they located nearby?
Are the jobs in the sector appropriate to my population?

22. Identifying and Matching the Participant
What are the educational requirements?
Does his/her experience match what’s in demand?
Are there any criminal justice bans on this occupation? Age restrictions?

23. What are the major job activities?

27. Preparing the Customer
Are there any unique conditions participants might find unpleasant?
What are the industry recognized credentials?
What other qualities do employers seek?
What does the job pay?
Where would I work?

29. What are the industry recognized credentials?

30. What are the industry recognized credentials?
SOURCE | Burning Glass Technologies, Labor Insight: NJ past 12 months

31. What other qualities are employers looking for?
SOURCE | Burning Glass Technologies, Labor Insight: NJ past 12 months

32. What does the job pay?
SOURCE | NJLWD, Occupational Employment Statistics, 2018

33. Where would I work?
SOURCE | Burning Glass Technologies, Labor Insight: NJ past 12 months

34. Engaging Employers
Demonstrate that you have done your homework and are knowledgeable about their industry
Have a more nuanced discussion from the start
Validate what you have learned with real employer experiences
Be wary: “The plural of anecdote isn’t data!”

36. Engaging Employers What is the industry outlook?
How competitive is the business?
What are the market drivers of success?
How do employers measure success?

41. What drives success and how is it measured?
Credit availability
Financial Markets
Tourism
Disposable income
Weather
RevPAR
Bed occupancy rate
Ticket sales
Mean wait time
COGS
Billable hours

42. What employer conversations could these “real-time” findings support?
Ninety percent of ads for an “entry-level” occupation require 3-5 years of experience
The occupation is employed in three different sectors.
The occupation has 10 equally popular titles in the labor market.
The number of online ads has increased twofold from 2016 to 2017.

43. Where to find these and other LWD Resources

45. Census Reporter

46. Census Reporter

47. Questions? Comments?

48. Lesley Hirsch Assistant Commissioner
Office of Research and Information
NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development
1 John Fitch Plaza, 5th floor
Trenton, NJ 08625