Overview of BLS Statistics by Geography

For most BLS programs, data are published at the national level and are used in a variety of ways by economists, policy makers, business people, and private citizens. Some of our programs also publish data for smaller geographic units so customers can focus on regional, state, or local trends.

For example, BLS publishes separate unemployment rates for the U.S., for Texas, and for San Antonio. We also have a national wage rate for registered nurses, as well as wage rates for registered nurses in California and Los Angeles.

BLS statistics with geographic detail:

State and Local Employment

The Current Employment Statistics (CES) program provides detailed industry data on employment, hours, and earnings of workers on nonfarm payrolls for all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and more than 270 metropolitan areas.

State and Local Unemployment Rates

The Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program produces monthly and annual employment, unemployment, and labor force data for geographic regions and divisions, States, counties, metropolitan areas, and many cities, by place of residence.

State and County Employment and Wages

The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program produces data for Census regions and divisions, States, counties, metropolitan areas, and many cities, by place of employment.

Geographic Profile

The Geographic Profile of Employment and Unemployment contains information from the Current Population Survey (CPS) for regions and divisions, 50 States and the District of Columbia, 50 large metropolitan areas, and 17 central cities.

Mass Layoffs

The Mass Layoff Statistics program provides data for the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Consumer Price Index

Consumer price indexes are available for four broad geographic regions, size of city distinctions, a region and city size-class cross classification, and 26 Metropolitan Statistical Areas.

Consumer Spending

The Consumer Expenditure Survey produces spending data by various demographic characteristics for the four geographic regions and selected Metropolitan Statistical Areas.

Safety and Health Statistics

Nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses data from the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses are produced for participating States.

The total number of fatal occupational injuries occurring each year are reported in the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). These data are available for major industry divisions and occupations by region, State, and Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area.

In addition to what is shown on the BLS home page under "Geography," the following information is available with geographic detail:

Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS)

The JOLTS program provides monthly data on job openings, hires, and separations.

Wages by Area and Occupation

Wage data are available by occupation for the Nation, regions, States, and many metropolitan areas. Wage data by area and occupation are derived from one of three surveys: the National Compensation Survey, the Occupational Employment Statistics Survey, or the Current Population Survey. See Wages by Area and Occupation to determine which information suits your needs.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics promises the people and businesses we collect data from that we will hold the information they give us in the strictest confidence. In order to keep that promise, our programs may not be able to publish data at all of the levels of geographic detail that some customers would like to see made available.

Last Modified Date: January 6, 2004

Phone: (202) 691-5200
Fax-on-demand: (202) 691-6325
Data questions: blsdata_staff@bls.gov
Technical (web) questions: webmaster@bls.gov
Other comments: feedback@bls.gov