Workforce Information You Can Use!

The Workforce Information Council helps guide the development and improvement of the nationwide workforce and labor market information system. This system provides information on labor market trends and conditions, job outlook and wages, skill requirements of jobs, and a wide variety of other information that helps customers make decisions about their businesses, careers, training, and job search.

At this web site you can find information about the Council and its activities, about the workforce information system and about how to access workforce and labor market information for your local area, state, or the nation.

Information about the workforce, labor market, and careers in your local area, state, and the nation can be located by going to the workforce information portal.

Update from the Workforce Information Council May 2008

Workforce Information Council Sets One & Five Year Priorities
Level of LMI Demand for Calendar Year 2007
Establishment of QCEW Data Sharing Work Group
New BLS Commissioner Addresses March Council Meeting
Changes in Workforce Information Council Membership

Workforce Information Council Sets One & Five Year Priorities

At the March 2008 Workforce Information Council meeting in Washington, DC, the State Representatives distributed a first pass at developing a list of one and five year workforce information priorities. The initial document was developed from input reflecting a state survey showing 19 state responses, Policy Council?s review, and feedback from the State Reps.

The Council discussed several changes to enhance the document and craft a living list of priorities which will shape the activities of the Council over the next five years. Comments ranged from gaining a better understanding of LMI customers to being more responsive and from discussion of support for budgets/role of WIC to other possible one year efforts/research needs.

The following is a summary of the amended document after incorporation and further review by the Council. To see the complete document click here.

WORKFORCE INFORMATION COUNCIL -- ONE- AND FIVE-YEAR PRIORITIES
Shared Priorities Based on Federal Members? Discussion of Initial Proposal from WIC State Representatives, Comments Incorporated on April 16, 2008

One-Year Priorities (Achievable during CY 2008)

1. Work collaboratively to advance the nation?s employment statistics system.
1. Constantly consult with customers; develop information, products, and analyses to meet their needs.
2. Raise the performance of the WIC.
3. Improve BLS-State relationships
4. Improve ETA-State relationships
5. Develop ways to help LMI Directors succeed
2. Protect and improve data integrity:
1. Restore OES sample.
2. CES MSA employment series.
3. consistent methodology alongside analyst flexibility for state and MSA CES estimation activities.
4. Improve and increase staff training.
3. Support the funding restoration in the President?s request for BLS for Fiscal year 2009.
4. Inform and contribute to the development of the FY2010 budget for the employment statistics system.
1. Pursue funding for needed data quality initiatives.
2. States will develop one or more proposals for BLS consideration.
3. Strive to develop at least one proposal jointly supported by the state and federal partners.
5. Improve the availability and relevance of state and local data; better communicate the degree to which this data is critical to policy-makers.

Five-Year Priorities (To be achieved during CY 2008-2012)

1. Work collaboratively to advance the nation?s employment statistics system.
1. Increase recognition of the importance of employment statistics and workforce information to the nation, the states, and local areas.
2. Better support LMI Directors.
3. Improve links with other entities that develop or might benefit from employment statistics, e.g., health care system, education system, corrections systems.
4. Seek alignment between BLS and ETA (Administration) priorities and State (communicated through Congress) priorities. Identify enhancements to federal-state programs that can be equally supported by federal and state workforce information entities.
5. Review and improve the BLS state budget process.
2. Data quality.
1. Improve the quality of state, and MSA CES estimates.
2. Develop and implement new CES and QCEW data processing systems.
3. Research and evaluate solutions to the volatility of LAUS estimates.
4. Improve quality and consistency of state projections process.
5. Implement data-sharing to improve the QCEW business list if enabled by change to Federal tax code.
6. Implement the 2010 SOC.
3. Improve the availability and relevance of state and local data.
1. Collaboratively and proactively develop definitions of alternative concepts (e.g., clusters, green jobs, etc.).
2. Expand availability of Business Employment Dynamics data to sub-state levels.
3. Develop a system that instantly provides data across state boundaries.
4. Increase OES data availability for sub-state areas. Assure funding for and improve EDS, especially in light of OES-NCS integration.
5. Implement the OES Strategic Plan.
4. Introduce "study groups" on new or unsolved technical and programmatic challenges and opportunities or to nurture and expand upon approaches that have already been developed. These may include:
1. Program analysis and performance measurement of the workforce system,
2. Wage records analysis and enhancing wage records, e.g., with demographics or occupation
3. Vacancy surveys
4. Benefits surveys
5. Integration of BLS and other data series into customer-focused packages.
6. Formalization of projections as a fed-state cooperative program.
7. Development of annual reports on new and emerging occupations.
8. Expansion of demographic labor force data available from LAUS.

Level of LMI Demand for Calendar Year 2007

The Workforce Information Council (WIC) annually conducts a survey of state workforce information departments to gauge who and how state/local labor market information is used. As you can imagine, this tally is quite a task because of the variety of state systems and the media used to deliver such information.

In calendar year 2007, labor market web sites had over 85 million visitor sessions. The most heavily used types of websites or pages were LMI delivery system and agency home pages with over 48 million visitor sessions. Following close behind was Career & Occupational Information sites/pages with over 31 million visitor sessions.

There are many types of publications sent to labor market users on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. These reports are sometimes sent electronically via email, posted on LMI web sites, and in some cases printed to reach non-computer based users. A wide range of topics are the subject of these publications ? ranging from economic snapshots, to unemployment rate reviews or from industry evaluations to occupational projections. In 2007, career and job search information publications were the mist widely distributed type of report with more than 8.1 million copies distributed. Next in popularity were the 4.6 million economic data/indicators which were published in hard or electronic versions.

State labor market information offices conducted more than 2,400 customer training sessions that helped over 88,100 participants learn about the resources available and how to use them. The most popular sessions were labor market overviews of available data and career information resources.

Thousands more were served via other LMI activities during the past calendar year. Over 248,000 customers received information in response to phone, e-mail, or fax requests with the state LMI offices. Over 180,000 customers were served by labor market information provided at job or career fairs across the nation. Finally, more than 62,000 customers received e-mail alerts about new data, publications, and services available. Click here to access the full Level of Demand 2007 Report.

Establishment of QCEW Data Sharing Work Group

The Workforce Information Council has established a Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages (QCEW) Data Sharing Work Group. Jack Galvin of BLS and Graham Slater of Oregon are the co-chairs of this Work Group. The mission of the QCEW Data Sharing Group is to recommend how the policies and procedures of the Fed-State QCEW program would need to be changed to allow for Census Bureau (and possibly Federal Tax Information, or FTI) data, which can only be used for statistical purposes, to be brought into the program to supplement the data collected under the BLS-State cooperative agreement, which can used by States for nonstatistical purposes.

Members in addition to the co-chairs are - BLS: Rick Clayton; John Filmyer; Pat Getz; Jay Mousa; & Dixie Sommers; and States: Kathie Hughes/FL; Rena Kottcamp/MA; Rebecca Rust/FL; & Roger Therrien/CT. The Group had their first meeting on March 17-18, 2008 in Washington, DC, relating to proposed use of Census/Federal Tax Information in the BLS Business List. This is the second attempt to have federal legislation for having Census/IRS share these data.

Three scenarios were discussed with best possible, middle, and worse case possibilities of data sharing. The WIC members discussed impact of this data sharing approach with the states on UI programs and whether some info may already be coming back to the states from federal sources (related to taxing functions). BLS will keep the WIC apprised of action at the federal level. The Work Group will not meet again until such legislation is passed by Congress (which is unknown of the timing now).

New BLS Commissioner Hall Addresses March Council Meeting

Dr. Keith Hall was confirmed earlier this year to be the new BLS Commissioner. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Hall served as Chief Economist at the Council of Economic Advisors, has been nominated to be. He also was formerly the Chief Economist at the Department of Commerce.

1. Big focus - maintain the quality. Recover from the ongoing budget cuts. BLS will not continue to make adjustments that cut quality but rather will eliminate data outputs or programs if funding is inadequate in future appropriations.
2. BLScode mission - non-partisan, high-quality data, and tell the public about it. He agreed that states play a major role in getting the data to customers.
3. Would appreciate ideas on how BLS can keep states sufficiently involved and informed that they can do the analysis of data, can be prepared to answer questions from local customers.
4. Idea of working collaboratively on things beyond basic data collection and methodology - customer service, clusters, etc.

The WIC expressed support in assisting the Bureau to achieve mutual goals and objectives for the nationwide workforce information system. The Bureau was also complimented for adding information to the BLS web site explaining the impact of FY 2008 budget cuts to data availability and quality. The Commissioner acknowledged the deterioration of bits and pieces of the BLS data quality with the recent cuts and perhaps the next time around a “line in the sand” is drawn where the better route with cuts may be complete series or programs as opposed to a piecemeal approach.

Change in Workforce Information Council (WIC) Membership

James Moore from New Jersey and Region 2 has resigned his position on the Council. He will be leaving for a one year deployment for the Reserves. A replacement has not been elected as of yet from that region.

Effective January 1, 2008, Jay Mousa of the Chicago Regional Office of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has joined the Council. He replaces Janet Rankin of the Atlanta Regional BLS Office.