Data Availability
Geographic Areas
Monthly and annual average labor force estimates are available for
approximately 7,300 unique geographic areas, including all States, metropolitan
statistical areas, metropolitan divisions, micropolitan areas, combined
statistical areas, small labor market areas, counties and
county equivalents, cities of 25,000 population or more, and all cities
and towns in New England. New England City and Town Area (NECTA) equivalents for
metropolitan areas, micropolitan areas, metropolitan divisions, and combined areas
are developed in the six New England States. Similar data are available for the nation as
a whole from the labor
force (LF) series.
Measures
For each area, the following estimates are presented by place of
residence:
- Total civilian labor force
- Total number of people employed
- Total number of people unemployed
- Unemployment rate
Length of Series
These series start in 1976 for census regions and divisions, all
States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Los Angeles-Long
Beach-Glendale metropolitan division, and New York City. Five modeled
areas have historical series dating back to 1983—Chicago-Joliet-Naperville,
IL metropolitan division, Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH metropolitan
statistical area, Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI metropolitan statistical
area, Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL metropolitan division, and
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA metropolitan division. These areas were
newly modeled in 2005, allowing for a longer series. Data for
virtually all other substate areas begin in 1990. For a small number of
areas impacted by changes in geographic definition after 1990, as well as
some cities that first exceeded the 25,000 threshold in the mid 1990s or later,
the data series begin after 1990. On the other hand, cities with
population that drops below 25,000 are generally retained.
Seasonal Adjustment
Data are provided on both a seasonally adjusted
and a not seasonally adjusted basis for census regions and divisions, States, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, New York City, Chicago-Joliet-Naperville,
IL metropolitan division, Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH metropolitan
statistical area, Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI metropolitan statistical
area, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale metropolitan division, Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall,
FL metropolitan division, and Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA metropolitan division.
Estimates for the remaining substate areas are not seasonally adjusted.
Current Population Survey Subnational Data
The LAUS program also provides annual average subnational data from the
Current Population Survey (CPS) similar to some of the national data in
the labor force
(LF) series. These data are provided on the employed and unemployed by
selected demographic and economic characteristics. The data are available
on an annual average basis for census regions and divisions, the 50 States
and the District of Columbia, 50 large metropolitan areas, and 17
central cities. A subset of these data is published in the annual
bulletin, "Geographic Profile of Employment and Unemployment." Employment
status of the civilian noninstitutional population by sex, age, race, and
Hispanic origin and employment by occupation are available for the States,
metropolitan areas, and cities from the Labstat GP series. (Labor force
levels have not been unavailable for metropolitan areas and cities since 1992
due to various technical issues.)
Last Modified Date: March 03,2010