Contextualizing Real-Time and Traditional Labor Market Data

Contextualizing Real-Time

and Traditional

Labor Market Datawww2.economicmodeling.com/contextualizing-real-time-report

Speakers

Josh Wright

Director of Marketing

Matt Gaither

Training & Certification Manager

www2.economicmodeling.com/contextualizing-real-time-report

Topics

• Defining job posting

analytics (JPA) and LMI


Topics



• Practical ways to use

JPA and LMI in tandem


Topics





• Overrepresented and

underrepresented

occupations in postings


Topics






underrepresented


• EMSI’s approach


Topics




JPA & LMI in tandem


underrepresented


• EMSI’s approach


Why This Report?

• Job posting data is widely used


Why This Report?


• EMSI integrated JPA and LMI in Analyst

last summer


Why This Report?



last summer

• Recent reports have emphasized using

JPA and LMI in conjunction


Why This Report?



last summer

• Recent reports have emphasized using

JPA and LMI in conjunction

• But how?


Key Points

• JPA and traditional/structural LMI are

complementary


Key Points


complementary

• Each answers questions the other can’t


Key Points


complementary


• Data is ultimately a tool: need to know

what it’s good for, what it’s not good for


Key Points


complementary


• Data is ultimately a tool: need to know

what it’s good for, what it’s not good for

• Key link between JPA and LMI: hiring data


Data collected from public sources

used to describe trends and

projections for standardized

industries and occupations.

LMI is…(Labor Market Information)

Online ads from companies trying

to attract applicants

Job Postings

Data is Like a Map


Data is Like a Map


Data is Like a Map

Data is Like a Map


Data is Like a Map

Income by Census Tract

Data is Like a Map

Job Postings

• From companies trying to attract applicants

• A small sample of the potential labor force

LMI

• From companies filling in government forms

• Total labor force


Intentions vs. Actions

• JPA primarily measure intentions, and

only those of employers who advertise for

jobs online.





jobs online.

• LMI measures actions and tracks all

payroll employment.





jobs online.

• LMI measures actions and tracks all

payroll employment.

• This has several ramifications …


Ramifications

1. Postings aren’t simply a faster version of

LMI, though they can be a leading

indicator of job growth in some sectors.


Ramifications

1. Postings aren’t simply a faster version of

LMI, though they can be a leading

indicator of job growth in some sectors.

2. Postings data by itself can’t give you a

complete picture of the workforce.

Without context, it’s hard to distinguish

between substantive trends and noise.


LMI Isn’t Cure-All

Traditional LMI doesn’t provide all the

answers in isolation, either


LMI Strengths

• Thorough


LMI Strengths

• Thorough

• Standardized


LMI Strengths

• Thorough

• Standardized

• Lots of detail on set industries (NAICS)

and occupations (SOCs)


LMI Strengths

• Thorough

• Standardized

• Lots of detail on set industries (NAICS)

and occupations (SOCs)

• Insight for strategic decisions


LMI Weaknesses

• Not easy to collect and integrate


LMI Weaknesses


• Inconsistent focus


LMI Weaknesses



• Non-disclosed data


LMI Weaknesses




• Not necessarily timely


LMI Weaknesses





• Inflexible


LMI Weaknesses





• Inflexible

• Poor connections to businesses


JPA Strengths

• Leading indicator


JPA Strengths


• In-demand skills and credentials


JPA Strengths



• Valuable for “now” decisions

JPA Strengths




• Way go gauge employers’ effort

JPA Strengths




• Way go gauge employers’ effort

• Who’s hiring

JPA Weaknesses

• Limited in scope


JPA Weaknesses


• One posting doesn’t = one opening


JPA Weaknesses



• Biased towards high-skill fields


JPA Weaknesses




• Geographic differences


JPA Weaknesses





• Not a good measure of hiring demand


JPA Weaknesses





• Not a good measure of hiring demand

• Not the only businesses recruit


Importance of Hires

• Link between LMI and JPA

• By comparing hires to postings by occupation, we have information that’s greater than the sum of its parts


Applying JPA and LMI

• The report goes into applications for:

• Colleges and universities

• Workforce development

• Economic development

• Private sector


Workflow Example


Workflow Example

• Start with industry data and finish with

postings

• Look at Activities Related to Credit

Intermediation industry

• Phoenix MSA



From Industry to Occupation

…

• Personal financial advisors part of this

industry

• Make $28/hour

• Grown 32% since 2010


… to Job Postings

• Edward Jones posting more intensely

than other employers

• Certifications: Certified Financial Planner,

Series 6, etc.

• Skills: Finance, Investments, Marketing,

Business Development


Why Is Context Important?

• If we had just looked at postings, we

would have seen the skills and

certifications for personal financial

advisors.


Why Is Context Important?

• If we had just looked at postings, we

would have seen the skills and

certifications for personal financial

advisors

• Wouldn’t have known if it was an

important occupation, and what industries

it’s tied to


Representation in Postings

• Postings data comes from job

advertisements posted online.




advertisements posted online

• Means some occupations are naturally

going to be underrepresented (or

overrepresented) in postings




advertisements posted online

• Means some occupations are naturally

going to be underrepresented (or

overrepresented) in postings

• See this clearly when comparing postings

to hires


Job Postings


Job Postings


Underrepresented:

Welders in Houston


Overrepresented:

Web Developers in NYC MSA


Takeaways

• Professional, high ed. level occupations have better

representation in postings


Takeaways



• Middle- and lower-skill jobs are mostly (but not

always) absent from postings


Takeaways



• Middle- and lower-skill jobs are mostly absent from

postings

• EMSI’s postings & hires does the hard work


EMSI’s Approach

• Current, complete picture of local labor

markets

• Suppressions removed

• Self-employed added


EMSI’s Approach

• Current, complete picture of local labor

markets



• Bedrock LMI based on 90+ publically

available sources


EMSI’s Approach

• Current, complete picture of the labor

market



• Bedrock LMI based on 90+ publically

available sources

• Supplement with job posting analytics


EMSI’s Approach

• Current, complete picture of the labor market



• Bedrock LMI based on 90+ publically available sources

• Supplement with job posting analytics

• Link with hiring data


Questions?

Josh Wright

[email protected]

208-892-5596

Download the report:

www2.economicmodeling.com/c

ontextualizing-real-time-report

Data & Analytics

Contextualizing Real-Time and Traditional Labor Market Data