With the release of data for January 2005, the Bureau of Labor Statistics introduced several changes to the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program's methodology for substate areas. Subsequently, BLS has discovered an error affecting one of the employment inputs to the substate estimation process. This error affects previously published estimated levels of the size of the labor force for all metropolitan areas for January and February 2005, as well as the March labor force figures issued in this release in tables 1 and 2. Levels of unemployment are not affected, and there is little or no effect on unemployment rates. Over-the-year changes in labor force levels and unemployment rates also would be little affected. (Nonfarm payroll employment estimates, such as those contained in tables 3 and 4 of this release, are not impacted by the error, nor are the LAUS data for census regions, divisions, states, and substate modeled areas published in the monthly BLS Regional and State release.)
BLS is in the process of correcting the erroneous input, as well as reviewing other employment inputs to the substate estimation process. BLS intends to issue corrected January-March 2005 data coincident with the publication of the next Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release, scheduled for June 1. The size of the error on the labor force will vary by metropolitan area, but is not expected to exceed 3 percent in any case.
BLS also had announced plans to issue revised metropolitan area historical data from 2000 through 2004 to incorporate the methodological changes. The first release of revised historical data, for 2004, was scheduled for April 28, but, due to the error described above, will be postponed until June 1. Data for 2000 also will be made available on that date. Revised data for the years 2001 through 2003 will be issued at later dates.
For more information please call the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program at 202-691-6392.
Additional information on Corrections to LAUS data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
