The U.S. Census Bureau, in partnership with agencies in 29 states, announced today a new service on its Web site providing up-to-date statistical information on the job climate in states and local areas. The new program, a resource for job-seekers and employers, is called Local Employment Dynamics (LED).

     The following quarterly work force indicators are now available on the Internet at <http://lehd.dsd.census.gov/led/01/index.html> for 19 of the 29 states:

     The work force indicators also are available by industry at the state and local levels, by age group and sex. The new page also has some historical information.

     “Helping businesses locate where workers are helps put the right people to work in the right jobs,” said Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon. “This tool also will show job-seekers which industries are growing so they can plan their futures.”

     The partner states with indicators online are:

     The Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration provides funding for the online indicators. More states will be added to the LED partnership in the coming year.

     Because the statistics come from a variety of sources, including state administrative records and basic demographic information, they are not directly comparable with statistics from household-based surveys such as the decennial census long form, the American Community Survey and the Current Population Survey. Industries are organized under the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system.

     The LED program soon will move from the SIC system to the North American Industry Classification System. As in all estimation processes, the results are subject to errors, such as those arising from data processing or incomplete records. The Census Bureau uses a variety of procedures to minimize such errors and the impact of such errors.

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