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Overview
The Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program is a Federal-State cooperative
effort in which monthly estimates of total employment and unemployment are prepared for
approximately 6,800 areas:
- Census regions and divisions
- States
- Metropolitan areas (primary metropolitan statistical areas and metropolitan statistical
areas)
- Nonmetropolitan labor market areas
- Counties and county equivalents
- Cities of 25,000 population or more
- Cities and towns in New England regardless of population
These estimates are key indicators of local economic conditions. The Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor is responsible for the concepts,
definitions, technical procedures, validation, and publication of the estimates that State
employment security agencies prepare under agreement with BLS.
A wide variety of customers use these estimates:
- Federal programs use the data for allocations to States and areas, as well as
eligibility determinations for assistance.
- State and local governments use the estimates for planning and budgetary purposes and to
determine the need for local employment and training services.
- Private industry, researchers, the media, and other individuals use the data to assess
localized labor market developments and make comparisons across areas.
The concepts and definitions underlying LAUS data come from the Current Population
Survey (CPS), the household survey that is the official measure of the labor force for the
nation. Annual average data for all States, the District of Columbia, New York City, and
the Los Angeles-Long Beach metropolitan area are derived directly from the CPS. Monthly
estimates for these areas are produced using estimating equations based on regression
techniques. These models combine current and historical data from the CPS, the Current
Employment Statistics (CES) program, and State unemployment insurance (UI) systems.
Estimates for substate labor market areas (other than the two areas mentioned above) are
produced through a building-block approach known as the "Handbook method." This
procedure also uses data from several sources, including the CPS, the CES program, State
UI systems, and the decennial census, to create estimates that are adjusted to the
statewide measures of employment and unemployment. Below the labor market area level,
estimates are prepared using disaggregation techniques based on inputs from the decennial
census, annual population estimates, and current UI data.
Last modified: October 16, 2001
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