What is OnTheMap?

About OnTheMap

OnTheMap Version 3 is the third generation of OnTheMap, a web-based mapping and reporting application that shows where workers are employed and where they live. It also provides companion reports on age, earnings, industry distributions, and local workforce indicators.

The major enhancements of OnTheMap Version 3 include:

• 45 states available under the Local Employment Dynamics (LED) partnership;
• Addition of 2005 and 2006 data to 2002-2004 data already available in version 2;
• Cross-state patterns for all participating states in both Commute and Labor Shed Analyses, including the retrofitting of 2002-2004 data;
• Addition of Area Profile Map Overlays, which display work/home locations within the user's selection area;
• Ability to perform analyses on specific Labor Market segments (age, earnings, and industry), giving users the ability to control the locality and segment of the labor force displayed in map overlays and reports.
• Expansion of reports to include age, earnings, and industry profiles for Paired Area Analyses;
• An all-new interface with improved map navigation (including panning) and a simplified map overlay creation process that allows users greater flexibility and ease of use;
• Base map has been updated with TIGER 2006 geographies, an enhanced cartographic display with additional reference layers, and the addition of State Legislative Districts (Upper and Lower House), Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZ), School Districts (Unified/Elementary and Secondary), and Tribal Subdivisions as selectable layers (additional layers coming in version 3.1);
• Animation of points and thermals for up to three years of map overlay data.

OnTheMap provides an easy-to-use interface for creating, viewing, printing and downloading workforce related maps, profiles, and underlying data. Based on 2002-2006 LED worker origin and destination data and the Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI) profile data files, OnTheMap is a unique resource for mapping the travel patterns of workers and identifying small-area workforce characteristics.

Uses of OnTheMap

Use OnTheMap to get answers to these and other workforce, transportation, and economic development questions:

• Where do workers live who are employed in a particular geographic area?
• What are the workplace destinations for workers living in a particular community or neighborhood?
• How do specific employment areas compare in terms of worker origin patterns, worker ages, annual earnings, and industry-sector employment? How are these areas changing over time?
• How many jobs are located within five, ten, and twenty miles of a planned employment training center or transit stop?
• How many workers live along a transit corridor and work downtown or in some other area along the same corridor?
• How many potential customers/employees live or work near a potential site location?

New! OnTheMap Version 3 can now answer the following workforce, transportation, and economic development questions:

• Where do workers aged 30 and younger live who are employed in a particular geographic area?
• What are the age, earnings, and industry characteristics of workers who commute between two neighboring counties?
• How many jobs in the 'Goods Producing' industry grouping are located within five, ten, and twenty miles of a planned employment training center or transit stop?
• In a Workforce Investment Area, what are the age and earnings characteristics of workers employed in the 'Trade, Transportation, and Utilities' industry grouping?
• What percentage of high-income earners live and work within a certain city, versus those who commute to a rival city?

Data Sources of OnTheMap

The employment data used in this application are derived from payroll tax (Unemployment Insurance) payment records maintained by each state. The states assign employer locations, while workers' home locations are assigned by the Census Bureau using data from multiple Federal agencies. Age, earnings, and industry profiles are compiled by the Census Bureau from a state's records and are supplemented with other Census Bureau source data. Final compilations and confidentiality modeling are performed by the Census Bureau.

The Census Bureau and its state partners are committed to protecting the confidentiality and integrity of the underlying workforce and employment data files. Statistical techniques are employed by the Census Bureau to ensure that actual statistics are not shown if the numbers in a cell are small. Rather, the mapping displays and tabular reports show synthetic data that are statistically analogous to actual worker counts and locations but not exact.

Technically, the approach to avoid disclosure of individual information is to combine cell suppression methodology with statistical noise, controlling key measures to county employment levels as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Only Census Bureau employees or individuals who have Special Sworn Status are permitted to work with the raw data. Everyone who has access to U.S. Title 13 data must have an official security clearance based on a background check, including fingerprinting. The Census Bureau and state data custodians closely review all projects before release to avoid disclosure of confidential information.

The project is supported by the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) at the U.S. Department of Labor.

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Release Schedule and State Partners

03/31/2008 - Version 3 (Alpha) - Internal release, with updated user interface, application architecture, and design improvements. (Selected states and 2002-2004 data.)

06/02/2008 - Version 3 (Beta) - Improved points/thermals and selection tools, expanded Place Name Lookup, new points/thermals time-series animation, and improved Text Only tool (expanded set of states and 2002-2004 data.)

07/21/2008 - Beta testing of Version 3 closed in preparation for the full release of OnTheMap Version 3.0.

09/04/2008 - Version 3.0 - Addition of 2005 and 2006 data, 45 states available for analysis, origin and destination data improvements, expanded reporting and data output options (Labor Market Segments), updated cartography and base map vintage (TIGER 2006), and full cross-state analyses.

09/11/2008 - Version 3.1 - Activates Job and Private Primary Job types; enhances the dynamic text throughout in the Analysis, Results, and Report tabs, and corrects a bug in the reporting of Quarterly Workforce Indicator statistics.

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1. For satisfactory performance, please adhere to the following System Requirements:

• A computer with at least 1 GB RAM, a high performance graphics card, and a monitor with at least 1280x1024 resolution.
• Download access speed of at least 500Kb/s or high-speed broadband internet connection (e.g., DSL, Cable, T1 connection).
• An Internet browser such as Firefox version 1.0 or higher, Internet Explorer version 6.0 or higher, Netscape version 7.1 or higher, or their equivalent.
• Browser set to accept session cookies.
• Browser with JavaScript and style sheets enabled and "Popup Blocker" turned off.

2. Unlike in OnTheMap Version 2, Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI) appear in the report for an Area Profile Analysis, but only for work areas.

3. The QWI statistics generated in the Work Area Profile report are based on block-level values that are subject to item suppression. Counts of jobs and measures of average earnings that have been suppressed at the block-level in order to protect confidentiality do not contribute to estimates for the selected area. A full synthesis model to eliminate the need for item suppression is being developed for possible inclusion in a later version of OnTheMap.

4. OnTheMap Version 3 was developed in compliance with US Section 508 Accessibility Guidelines. This is a requirement of all Internet-based applications accessible through federal agency websites. The OnTheMap Version 3 text-based tool is accessible by selecting "Text-Only Mode" from the "Map or Text-Only:" drop-down box in the OnTheMap Version 3 entry page. Note: In the Text-Only tool, users may see references to base maps, maps overlays, as well as bracketed text. Please disregard these terms. Updated text will appear in a future release.

5. OnTheMap makes use of existing geographic data sources and definitions for all layers shown in the mapping application. In particular, the standard geographies are derived from the Census Bureau's TIGER/Line files. Additional information about TIGER geography may be found at http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/index.html. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (ETA) provides the definitions of workforce and economic development resources, such as the definitions of Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) Regions. LED collects the definitions of the Workforce Investment Board Areas from the partner states. For more information on individual layers, see the Table of Contacts for Geographic Sources.

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Significant bugs will be posted in this section as they are discovered and resolved. Users are encouraged to submit suspected bugs to CES.Local.Employment.Dynamics@census.gov with subject heading 'OnTheMap Version 3'. When submitting potential bugs, please include as much detail as possible including: web browser (and version), internet connection speed, description of suggestion/problem, steps taken leading to problem, etc. Additionally, please click the Link to Me button in the top right of the application's map viewer, and paste the resulting URL into the body of the email.

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Lookup terms and data definitions from the OnTheMap Version 3 application and its companion reports. The glossary is in two parts: terms and definitions from the reports and from the mapping application itself.

Mapping Terms
Report Terms

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View archived documentation of OnTheMap Version 2 here.

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