Labor Market Information
Dates
September 17 – 28, 2012
Application deadline
August 17, 2012
Tuition
$3,800
Participants
This seminar is designed primarily for economists, statisticians, researchers, analysts, and managers working with labor market information. Participants should have an elementary knowledge of statistics and some experience in analyzing labor or social data.
Objectives
To develop participants' capability to produce and analyze labor market information by:
- Defining labor market information
- Discussing techniques for using data from administrative sources
- Presenting methodologies for designing and conducting household labor force surveys
- Presenting methodologies for designing and conducting surveys of establishments
- Developing skills in analyzing data on the characteristics of the labor force
- Combining data from a variety of sources to understand the labor market as a whole
Program content
Labor market information is essential for tracking and analyzing the economy of a country. National and local governments need labor market information to reduce unemployment, generate employment, or plan training programs to meet the needs of industry. It is also used in determining future workforce training needs, identifying the availability of labor, ascertaining prevailing wage rates, and exploring potential markets. Labor market information is valuable to local and regional planning agencies as well as industries and businesses looking for site locations, seeking ways of attracting and retaining skilled workers, or assessing the scope and size of potential markets. Labor unions finds this information useful for determining comparable wage and compensation levels, local working conditions, and training needs. Investors, educators, workers, and job seekers also benefit from timely and reliable labor market information to help them make sound decisions.
This seminar will show participants how to develop comprehensive labor market information.
Participants are encouraged to bring with them the following materials for use in discussions and workshops: 1) methodologies on how data related to the seminar topic are collected in their home countries; 2) questionnaires used in their countries for obtaining those data; and 3) sample publications of those data. Time will be reserved for participants to have appointments with staff of BLS and other organizations to discuss special problems.
A summary of the program follows:
Introduction to labor markets
- What they are and how they are defined
- Reasons for conducting labor market studies
- Sources of information
Components of labor market information
- Labor force demand and labor supply
- Business employment dynamics
- Employment by industry and occupation
- Local area unemployment
- Demographic characteristics of the employed and the unemployed
- Hours of work
- Employee wages, earnings, and benefits
- Labor productivity
Household labor force surveys and surveys of establishments
- Concepts
- Planning
- Sample selection
- Questionnaire design and collection methodology
- Estimation procedures
- Computer applications
Data analysis
- Descriptive analysis
- Analysis by sector, industry, and occupation
- Analysis by demographic characteristics of the labor force
- Graphical analysis and presentation of data
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Last modified: February 9, 2012
