Recording-2025-03-04T18_14_24.531Z

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS)

• Beginning and Purpose

  • Launched in February 2002.

  • Aims to capture demand-side indicators for labor shortages.

  • Prior to JOLTS, no economic indicators tracked unfilled jobs in the U.S.

• Data Collection

  • Conducted through BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) data collection centers.

  • Samples approximately 21,000 establishments nationwide.

• Key Estimates

  • Provides estimates on job openings, hires, and separations (voluntary and involuntary).

  • Insight on labor market dynamics, labor demand, and turnover.

• Unemployment-to-Job Openings Ratio

  • Ratio = Number of unemployed workers/Number of job openings.

  • Below 1: Market favors job seekers; potential for higher wages due to less competition.

  • Above 1: Market favors employers; typically results in lower wages as more job openings become available with fewer unemployed individuals.

• Publication of State-Level Data

  • As of February 2019, data published on the state level for comprehensive insights.

Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS)

• Program Overview

  • A cooperative program between federal and state governments.

  • Focuses on local unemployment data using various inputs (CPS, CES, state UI data, American Community Survey).

• Utility of Data

  • Provides accurate local unemployment statistics essential for state policy-making.

  • Tracks unemployment at state, city, and metro levels (e.g., Santa Fe, Albuquerque).

• Current Unemployment Data

  • New Mexico's unemployment rate example: 4.4% (up by 0.4% from last year), compared to national rate of 4.1% (December release).

Occupational Employment and Wages (OEWS)

• Function

  • Sorts wages by occupation available nationally, by state, and by major metro areas.

• Mean vs. Median Wages

  • The reported wages are mean, which may vary significantly from the median.

  • Areas with blank space on the chart indicate insufficient data for wage estimates in those states (e.g., South Dakota, North Dakota).

• Importance for Job Seekers

  • Over 800 occupations covered; useful for salary negotiations by providing wage expectations based on location.

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)

• Overview

  • Publishes quarterly employment and wage counts from over 95% of U.S. jobs.

  • Data extended across county, metro, state, and national levels.

• Census vs. Survey

  • Census involves exhaustive data collection aiming for complete coverage, while surveys are sample-based.

  • QCEW utilizes unemployment insurance (UI) systems mandated for employers in many states since the 1930s, requiring accurate payroll reporting.

• Comprehensive Dataset

  • Covers detailed industry employment and wages nationwide, acts as a benchmark for adjusting unemployment rates.

  • Data lags due to quarterly nature versus monthly release of employment situation reports.

Navigating the BLS Website

• Accessing Employment Data

  • Users are encouraged to navigate using subjects for efficiency.

  • Data tools available for exploring datasets based on demographics and labor characteristics.

• Example Queries

  • Users can search by age groups, education levels, unemployment rates, earnings, etc.

  • Outputs include downloadable files for analysis or visualization (Excel files, graphs).

Conclusion

• Next Steps

  • Following the break, the discussion will shift to inflation.