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Archived News Release--Caution: information may be out of date.

LABOR DEPARTMENT EARMARKS ADDITIONAL $1.2 MILLION FOR STATES TO DEVELOP LABOR MARKET INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR THE NEW ECONOMY

Tues., March 21, 1995

For more information call: (202) 219-6871.

Illinois, Nevada and Maine have been granted $1.2 million by the U.S. Department of Labor to coordinate development of a labor market information system to meet the needs of workers and employers.

"As part of the effort to convert the unemployment system to a reemployment system, we must improve the quality and timeliness of information provided to our customers," said Secretary of Labor Robert B. Reich. "When individuals have the right information, they can make intelligent decisions about their careers and take control of their futures."

The grants announced today are for research, development and operation of America's Labor Market Information System, known as ALMIS. They are for:

• Developing models to help states make short-term industry and occupational projections Illinois will lead a consortium that is receiving $500,000 to review current short-term projection models and to modify them or create new ones. People seeking jobs need reasonable estimates of what jobs will be in demand over the next six months to three years so they can plan job searches or training efforts. Having high-quality short-term forecasts permits those individual choices to be made with good information.
• Developing models to help states make long-term industry and occupational projections and to use census data in the production of labor market information -- A consortium led by Nevada is receiving $500,000 to continue developing models and automated tools that will help states translate long-term industry and occupational projections into state- level and local area projections. The consortium will also develop automated tools to help state labor market analysts use census data more effectively in their work.
• Developing a database of employersMaine is leading a consortium that is receiving $200,000 to develop a database of employers which can then be made available to job seekers. The database will be linked with job search tools that identify growing industries.

A labor market information system offers both job-seekers and employers a wide variety of reliable information on job openings, job candidates, skill requirements, occupational trends, the quality and location of training programs and other labor market data. Previous grants were for:

• developing electronic talent/want-ad banks,
• using wage records in the unemployment insurance system as a tool for developing labor market information,
• developing a standard wage information program,
• creating an LMI Institute to train professionals and users.

The labor market information system is a critical to a reemployment system with nationwide one-stop career centers. In October 1994 grants were given to six states -- Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Texas and Wisconsin -- to implement their one-stop career center systems, while 19 other states received planning and development grants.

For 1995, three states -- Ohio, Indiana and Minnesota -- have already been named to receive one-stop career center implementation grants. The department expects to choose seven more states for such funding.

Descriptions of the consortia grants announced today are attached.

Lead State:

Maine

Contacts:

Raynold A. Fongemie, Director
Maine Department of Labor
Division of Economic Analysis and Research
P.O. Box 309
Augusta, Maine 04332

Overview:

In general, employer lists and employer profiles are commercial products which are not connected with the current labor market information structure. Although the need seems basic, a comprehensive database of employers is unavailable. The database of employers should, in time, be connected to local geographic information systems.

There are three specific tasks to be accomplished by the consortium: 1) determine the requirements of the various states and their employment operations for a database of employers, including what data elements are viewed as critical and what supplemental information is viewed as not critical but highly desirable; 2) through a request for information process, review existing commercial and government employer databases to determine if some or all of them meet the requirements of the states and at what cost; and 3) publish a report detailing the findings and, if appropriate, making recommendations for next steps.

Other Consortium

Members:

Candidates include: Alaska, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington.

Lead State:

Illinois

Contact:

Henry Jackson
Department of Employment Security
401 South State Street, Room 615
Chicago, Illinois 60605
(312) 793-2316

Overview:

People entering training programs of six months to two years need to have a reasonable sense of the occupations in demand when training is complete. Job training program operators, teachers and counselors also need to know how to advise those seeking a quick reentry into the labor market.

The consortium will review current state efforts to provide short-term forecasts of labor market demands. The consortium will also determine which of these efforts, if any, could serve as the basis for short-term forecasting models that all states could use. If few models are available from current state practice, the consortium will develop the models. The models may include analysis of recent hiring and turnover patterns, analysis of local economic trends coupled with relationships to likely staffing patterns, analysis of trends coupled with surveys or focus groups of human resource professionals, or such other models the consortium finds productive.

The consortium will develop the necessary training and support materials to help users work with the models it develops. The consortium will work with the LMI Institute in developing the materials and any related training.

Other Consortium

Members:

Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia

Lead State:

Nevada

Contact:

Zina Turney or Bob Murdock
Nevada Department of Employment, Training and
Rehabilitation
Employment Security Division
500 E. Third Street
Carson City, Nevada 89713
(702) 687-4550

Overview:

To be valuable to job-seekers and employers, labor market information must be both timely and local. The ability to produce high-quality information about the size, growth or decline and likely occupational composition of a local labor market is an essential service. The ability to produce long-term projections that have a high degree of consistency across the country and that are based on proven techniques is critical for the development of America's Labor Market Information System.

There is a need for substantial research into the ways that forecasts and projections are made, the development of tools to analyze data, the translation of national data into locally useful information and the integration of information from multiple sources. Tools for easy access to the large amount of data contained in the 1990 census will be critical to this effort as well. The current effort will build on the foundation of work already done as part of the Micro-Matrix Project in which states translate long-term national occupational projections by the Bureau of Labor Statistics into state-specific projections.

Other Consortium

Members:

Alaska, Florida, Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee, and Interstate Conference of Employment Security

Archived News Release--Caution: information may be out of date.