Chapter 4.
Measurement of Unemployment in States and Local Areas

Uses and Limitations
Estimates of unemployment and the unemployment rate are used by Federal agencies to determine the eligibility of an area for benefits in various Federal programs. These include the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP), the Public Works Program (PWP), the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), and Labor Surplus Area designation. Under most programs, unemployment data are used to determine the distribution of funds to be allocated to each eligible area. In the case of the Labor Surplus Area designations, the data are used in the determination of area eligibility for benefits.

The annual CPS estimates used to benchmark statewide labor force estimates are based on probability samples of households and are subject to both sampling and nonsampling errors. (See Limitations in chapter 1 for a discussion of errors in the CPS.)

Approximate error measures for annual average estimates of major labor force characteristics for State and sub-State areas are estimated and published in Geographic Profile of Employment and Unemployment. Standard error estimates are developed from generalized variance functions which use CPS data for the areas and independently developed parameters. As with all sampling errors produced for CPS State and area data, a number of assumptions are required; as a result, the sampling errors calculated using generalized variance functions should be used with caution.

Estimates not directly derived from sample surveys are subject to errors resulting from the estimation processes used as well as the limitations of the data sources used. The error structure associated with these estimates is complex, and information on the magnitude of the overall errors is not available.

Data products. Data from the LAUS program are made available to users in a variety of ways. Labor force and unemployment data are published monthly for all States and selected metropolitan areas in a news release entitled State and Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment and in the Bureau's periodical Employment and Earnings. Estimates of labor force, employment, and unemployment for all States, metropolitan areas, labor market areas, counties, cities with a population of 25,000 or more, and other areas used in the administration of various Federal economic assistance programs are provided in Unemployment in States and Local Areas, which is available monthly in microfiche form by subscription from the U.S. Government Printing Office. The order number for a subscription is 029-001-81003-2.

Annual average employment status data are provided each year in a press release entitled State and Regional Unemployment, Annual Averages, which is typically issued in the spring. It presents data on the population, civilian labor force, employed, unemployed, and unemployment rate for regions, divisions, and States. Annual average information for States and selected metropolitan areas is also published each spring in Employment and Earnings.

The annual publication, Geographic Profile of Employment and Unemployment, provides annual average data for census regions and divisions, the 50 States and the District of Columbia, 50 large metropolitan areas, and 17 central cities. Data are provided on the employed and unemployed by selected demographic and economic characteristics.

Current and historical data from the LAUS program are also available on-line via LABSTAT, the Bureau's public database. (Access via anonymous FTP is ftp://ftp.bls.gov; via World Wide Web, http://www.bls.gov.) Additional information about the LAUS program, including frequently asked questions, contacts, and technical references are on-line via the LAUS home page (http://www.bls.gov/lau/).

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