About the Monthly Labor Force Estimates (LAUS)
Under a Federal-State cooperative program between the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and each state, the BLS develops the concepts, definitions, and technical procedures used in the preparation of local area unemployment statistics (LAUS). According to BLS, monthly labor force estimates are prepared by state agencies across the nation for 6,700 geographic areas. These estimates incorporate results from the monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) conducted by the Census Bureau, but also include information from the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program (those who are currently collecting UI benefits and those who have exhausted their benefits) for the state estimates.
Features
Build and name your own custom region (and save cookie to your hard drive)
Geographic coverage
U.S., states, Indiana: metro areas, regions and counties
Frequency
Monthly, with annual averages
Timespan
1989 - forward
Revisions
Each month a preliminary figure for the most current month is released, but it is important to note that the previous month is also revised and re-released. For example, if preliminary April figures were released today, the final (revised) March data would also be released. So-called "benchmark" corrections also occur each year, when sub-state estimates are revised to incorporate any changes in the inputs, such as revisions in claims data. These revised sub-state estimates are then re-adjusted to sum to the revised (benchmarked) state estimates of employment and unemployment.
Variables
Labor force, employed, unemployed, unemployment rate
Data set characteristics
Residenced-based, key economic indicator, not seasonally adjusted data.
Data sources
Indiana Department of Workforce Development (IDWD): Indiana counties & MSAs (rounded data), Bureau of Labor Statistics: U.S. and 50 states (unrounded data)