LMI Central
Labor market information to guide workforce planning & strategy.
About
LMI Central
This community is designed with you in mind.
We want to help you find and analyze the data you need to make data-driven decisions that can optimize your return on your workforce investments.
The Labor Market Information (LMI) Central community (or LMI Central, for short) is intended to be a leading source of information and collaboration on the wide array of resources and information products available to guide you in your data-driven decision-making. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) operates the site, but it includes data both from, and for, all of its workforce network partners.
The Regional Labor Market Context
All workforce activities and education programs operate within the context of a regional labor market.
Therefore, labor market information is critical in ensuring interventions are relevant to the labor market.
With that in mind, we realize that LMI is important to all types of data users - workforce professionals, system innovators, workforce analysts, labor market specialists, workforce board planners, career counselors, training providers, outreach and recruitment specialists, business services representatives, case managers, program directors, one-stop career center staff, and consumers alike.
Resources to Maintain Labor Market Relevance
On this site, you can keep abreast of new products, new tools, analysis techniques and training events. LMI Central also enables you to:
- Access an array of resources
- Find technical assistance and LMI training
- Locate data producers and LMI-related organizations
- Learn about datasets and electronic tools
- Check out current market research and analysis
- Learn about upcoming LMI events
- Stay current on labor market indicators.
Focus Areas
Welcome to the focus areas in LMI Central! All workforce and employment programs operate within the context of a regional labor market. Therefore, understanding labor force trends and dynamics is essential. We organized these topics to assist you with data-driven planning, analyzing data, and painting a fuller picture of the labor force in your regional economy. We will revise existing resources, and add new ones over time, so please visit LMI Central often for updates.
Here are the newest resources that we want to highlight for you, including recent data releases and updates from BLS, the Census Bureau, and other data producers.
To assist with career planning, here are data tools on academic and occupational skills and other career requirements, such as credentials, and competencies needed for job placement and career advancement.
- CareerOneStop Guide - How to Navigate the Suite of Career Tools
- The Competency Model Clearinghouse - Capturing Skill Sets in Industry Staffing Patterns
- State Certifications and Licenses Data
- Education and Training Data for Employment Projections
- O*NET Online - A Career Information Suite with Career Tools
Utilize these data sources to learn more about your community’s residents and the customers you serve. These resources will give you socioeconomic and demographic data on your populations.
- The Census Bureau's Mission to Help You Find and Explore Socioeconomic Data to Measure America
- Demographic and Economic Profiles from Survey Data Collected
- Demographic Narrative Profiles and Census Sources of Socioeconomic Data
- Labor Market Data Sources for Targeting Services to Special Populations
- State Demographers in the State Data Center Network - Providing You Population Trends and Analysis
Since all workforce programs operate within the context of a regional labor market, these data sources help to understand the economic forces and dynamics that impact your region’s prosperity.
- Business Formation Statistsics: How the Census Captures Firm Creations
- The Lower Living Standard Income Level and Data on Economically Disadvantaged Persons
- The Bureau of Economic Analysis - Bringing You Economic Data for Targeted Investments
- Economic Development Blueprint: Information to Support Community Planning
- Find the Newest Economic Data for Business and Strategic Planning
- Gross Domestic Product by Metropolitan Area and State
- Labor Surplus Areas Designated for Localities with High Unemployment Rates
- Poverty Guidelines and Thresholds - How the Census and HHS Measure Poverty Levels
Select any of these resources for more information about labor force trends, including unemployment, worker turnover, job losses or dislocations, and employment levels, etc.
- Dislocated Worker and Layoff Data - Finding and Understanding the Numbers
- Current Employment Statistics - Earnings and Industry Employment Monthly Estimates
- The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey - Capturing Hire and Separation Rates
- Labor Productivity Data - Measuring the Value of Workers to Businesses
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics - Capturing Data to Describe the World of Work
- Local Employment Dynamics: Using Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics Data
- State and Metropolitan Employment and Unemployment Data Monthly Releases
If you need to analyze demand occupations and select training or other workforce interventions in demand careers, employment projections help guide your decision-making.
- Employment Projections Portal - Planning for Your Future
- Ten-Year Employment Projections and the Occupational Outlook Handbook
- Projections Central - State Occupational Projections from the Projections Managing Partnership
- Projections Central - State Occupational Projections from the Projections Managing Partnership
Here are resources with data on industries and the occupations that make up their staffing patterns, which can help guide labor market analysis as well as career counseling or career pathway decisions.
- Annual Earnings and Compensation for Workers: Wage Trends over Time
- Skill Transferability in an Era of Rapid Job Transformation and Industry Restructuring
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics - Measuring Earnings and Employment Growth
- STEM Occupations - Data on Jobs Critical for Future Innovation
Do you want to learn more about LMI? Click on the resources below to access online tutorials, podcasts, webinars, and self-paced e-learning modules.
Are you a planner, or have you been asked to analyze labor market data? If you do not know where to start, or want additional ideas, here are some approaches, methods and typical data sources.
- Using Labor Market Information in Designing Service Delivery – A Program Example
- Workforce Data Sources for Program Planners and Career Counselors
- Labor Market Planning for Data-Driven Results and Outcomes that Change Labor Markets
- Guide to State and Local Workforce Data
- Fine-Tuning Your Targeting Process Using Labor Market Analysis and Informed Decision-Making
Here are resources to locate longitudinal databases tracking cohorts over time, systems for data integration, and producers of data that ensure data quality and system access.
- Important Data Producers and Labor Market Information Organizations for You to Know About
- Longitudinal Studies - Sharing Quality Data to Measure Long-Term Success
- Local Employment Dynamics: Using Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics Data
- Your State Labor Market Information Department - an Asset for Informed Decision-Making
Are you doing a study or conducting a survey? These resources and data producers can help you plan your work, provide you data, or share research methods you can replicate.
- Administrative Data Research: Impact Assessments that Show Labor Market Results
- The American Community Survey: Tips for Creating Your Own Economic and Demographic Profiles
- Key Workforce Information, Administrative and Research Data Sources for Evaluation
- Workforce Information Grants to States: Annual Labor Market Data Production and Dissemination
- Review of Alternative Methodologies for Employment and Training Research
- Alternative Sources of Quarterly Wage Data