Metro Quarterly Establishments, Employment & Earnings by Industry

.. data, tools and methods to analyze metro business  patterns and trends .. the most current and comprehensive measures of business activity by county, metro and higher level geography are provided by the Establishments, Employment & Earnings (EEE) database. Use the resources described here to analyze establishments, employment and wages by metro for the most recent quarter and over-the-year change — by quarter 2013 through 2015.  Updated quarterly, the 2016Q1 data become available September 7, 2016. See the related Web section for more details.

These metro by metro EEE datasets are  closely integrated with the metros Situation & Outlook reports. Click a CBSA code in the “Code” column in that table then select related section 6.6. to access/download quarterly data for a metro.

Where Does America Make Things?
The graphic below shows percent employment in the manufacturing sector (employment in the private manufacturing sector as a percent of total private sector employment by county). This view illustrates how the EEE data can be used to develop insights.  Click graphic for larger view providing more detail. Use the GIS tools to analyze similar patterns for any industry. Interpreting this map graphic and alternative data resources … join us in a Data Analytics Lab session where we discuss making and interpreting this map view and alternatives.

– view developed with ProximityOne CV XE GIS and related GIS project.

Two Key Data Resources
1) Use the interactive table in the Web section to example total establishments, employment and wages for any selected MSA and/or in comparison with other MSAs.

2) Download metro quarterly Establishments, Employment & Earnings (EEE) by type of business data. Click a quarterly download link in Section 6.6 for a selected metro (see above note) and download the full 6-digit NAICS detail data for any/all quarters starting with 2013Q1 (CSV structure). These files provide 6-digit NAICS type of business code detail and included columns for :
for the most recent quarter ..
• establishments
• 1st, 2nd, and 3rd month employment
• total wages and average weekly wages
• establishments location quotient
• 1st, 2nd, and 3rd month employment location quotient
• wages and average weekly wages location quotient
for over-the-year change (previous year, same quarter ..
• establishments
• 1st, 2nd, and 3rd month employment
• total wages and average weekly wages
• establishments location quotient
• 1st, 2nd, and 3rd month employment location quotient
• wages and average weekly wages location quotient

Using the Interactive Table
Updated quarterly, use the interactive table in the Web section to view, rank, compare individual metros with other metro. The following graphic shows metros ranked in descending order by 2015Q4 average weekly wages. Columns to the right show over-the-year (2014Q4-2015Q4 in this case) characteristics.

– click graphic for larger view.

Using the Downloaded Data
Access/download quarterly establishments, employment & earnings data by detailed NAICS category using theSituation & Outlook Metro Reports. Select a metro from the interactive table by click a link in the “Code” column. The S&O metro report opens in a new page. In the table of contents, select section 6.6. from the table of contents (Establishments, Employment & Earnings by Detailed Type of Business). See this example for the Chicago metro.  See the related Web section for more details on using the download data files. .

Location Quotients
Pre-computed location quotients are included in the downloadable files. Location quotients (LQ) are ratios (indicators) that measure the concentration of an industry within a specific area (metro in this case) to the concentration of that industry nationwide.

If an employment LQ is equal to 1, then the industry has the same share of its area employment as it does in the nation. An employment LQ greater than 1 indicates an industry with a greater share of the local area employment than is the case nationwide. For example, Las Vegas will have an LQ greater than 1 in the Leisure and Hospitality industry because this industry makes up a larger share of the Las Vegas employment total than it does for the nation as a whole.

Employment LQs are calculated by first, dividing local industry employment by the all industry total of local employment. Second, national industry employment is divided by the all industry total for the nation. Finally, the local ratio is divided by the national ratio.

LQs are provided in the downloadable file for:
a) the reference quarter for each of establishments, employment and wages, and
b) over-the-year change for each of establishments, employment and wages.

Location Quotients will be reviewed in more detail in an upcoming blog post.

Important features of these data …
• Tabulated for all counties, metros, states and the U.S.
• Tabulated for detailed types of business (6-digit NAICS).
• Tabulated quarterly and annually, the data enable time-series modeling.
• Employer-based administratively collected data; not estimates.
• Short lag (5 months) between reporting date and date of data accessibility
– data for first quarter 2016 (2016Q1) are available mid-September 2016.

Join me in a Data Analytics Lab session to discuss more details about accessing and using wide-ranging demographic-economic data and data analytics. Learn more about using these data for areas and applications of interest.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

Navigating the U.S. Federal Statistical System

.. an overview of the Federal statistical system and how to access data  .. the U.S. Federal Statistical System offers a vast array of diverse data resources that are useful in wide-ranging planning and analytical applications. Many of these data resources, such as census block level demographics from the decennial census, are unique in scope and content; in many cases there are no alternative data resources.

But there are issues/challenges for the data user to navigate the Federal Statistical System. Examples … the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases total employment data by county quarterly and monthly through multiple programs. The data values differ, for methodological reasons, but the net result can be confusion. The Census Bureau releases total employment data from many statistical programs by county both annually and more frequently. Where are these alternative total employment data and how can they be accessed? How do these various measures differ and which data are right for my situation? This section provides basic statistical program information. Subsequent updates will provide more detail.

This section provides an overview of the U.S. Federal Statistical System (FSS) and information that can help stakeholders navigate access to selected types of data produced by the FSS. While the FSS is focused on agencies that collect, develop and make available statistical data, there is a broader set of data and resources that relate to accessing and using these data. As technology and related data analytics resources have evolved, access to and use of these data is closely associated with the development of geographic data by Federal statistical and other agencies and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

The FSS is a decentralized set of agencies that collect, develop and make available statistical and geographic data. The OMB Office of Statistical Programs and Standards (SPS) provides a FSS coordinative role. The SPS establishes statistical policies and standards, identifies priorities for improving programs, evaluates statistical agency budgets, reviews and approves Federal agency information collections involving statistical methods, and coordinates U.S. participation in international statistical activities.

While the FSS spans more than 100 agencies, the 13 “principal statistical agencies” have statistical work as their principal mission. Excluding funding for the decennial census ($919.3 million requested for the Decennial Census for FY 2016), approximately 38 percent ($2,486.9 million of the $6,486.6 million total proposed for FY 2016 President’s budget request) of overall funding for Federal statistical activities (of the Executive Branch) provides resources for these 13 agencies. The principal statistical agencies include:
• Census Bureau (Commerce)
• Bureau of Economic Analysis (Commerce)
• Bureau of Justice Statistics (Justice)
• Bureau of Labor Statistics (Labor)
• Bureau of Transportation Statistics (Transportation)
• Economic Research Service (Agriculture)
• Energy Information Administration (Energy)
• National Agricultural Statistics Service (Agriculture)
• National Center for Education Statistics (Education)
• National Center for Health Statistics (CDC/HHS)
• National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics NSF/Independent
• Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics — SSA/Independent
• Statistics of Income (IRS)

The remaining 62 percent of the FY 2016 budget involves more than 100 programs that conduct statistical activities in conjunction with another program mission. These statistical programs are components within a Federal department or other agency. They include a broad set of centers, institutes, and organizations in addition to the 13 principal statistical agencies.

There are also Federal agencies whose statistical activities are not part of the Executive Branch. These agencies include the Congressional Budget Office, which develops and applies projection models for the budgetary impact of current and proposed Federal programs; the Federal Reserve Board, which compiles the widely used Flow of Funds report and other statistical series and periodically conducts the Survey of Consumer Finances; and the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which uses statistical data in evaluations of government programs.

Guide to Navigating the Federal Statistical System
The following graphic is a snapshot of the Guide to Navigating the Federal Statistical System. See http://proximityone.com/fss.htm to access the entire guide.

– click graphic for larger view.

Join me in a Data Analytics Lab session to discuss more details about accessing and using wide-ranging demographic-economic data and data analytics. Learn more about using these data for areas and applications of interest.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn

User Group Notes Updated

.. new ProximityOne User Group notes were posted today, June 28, 2016.  See updates at http://proximityone.com/usergroup_notes.htm.

Join the no fee ProximityOne User Group … connect with like-minded folks interested in developing, integrating and using decision-making information. The User Group provides software, data access and application support privileges only available to members.

.. see more information. Join in.

Population by Age, Gender & Race/Origin 2010-2015

.. tools to examine characteristics and patterns of U.S. & state population by age, gender & race/origin, 2010-2015 annually .. access individual state and area profiles.

What are the 10 states with the largest Hispanic population? How is Hispanic population distributed by age in the U.S. or any particular state? In which states does the Hispanic population comprise more than half of the total population? And by age? Get answers to these types of questions using data access and analytical tools described in this section.

Using the Interactive Table
The following graphic illustrates use of the interactive table. Tools are used to select only 2015 and show only the total and Hispanic columns, then rank in descending order on Hispanic population. It is easy to see which states have the largest Hispanic population and in relation to the total population.

Tip of the Iceberg
It’s not just about Hispanic and total population; perform similar queries/analyses by gender and for each of the five major race groups. These data are based on the latest Census Bureau 2015 model-based population estimates released in June 2016. The data options are not limited to the 2015 data; annual revised data for 2010 through 2015 are included. Find out about the size and trends for specific age groups of interest.

More about the Interactive Table
Use the interactive table to perform other types of queries/analyses described above. Click a link in the table to view an extended profile for each area. The profiles are developed using the Regional Demographic-Economic Modeling System (RDEMS). When a profile is opened (new web page), analyze these population by age by gender by race/origin in context of related wide-ranging, multi-sourced data. Access the profiles for drill-down geography including counties and other areas.

Use the RDEMS current estimates (2016) and annual 5-year projections (to 2021) to examine this same scope of subject matter to the county level.

The interactive table includes a row for the U.S. and each state. Column structure and content are described below the table.
• Click the “link” (column 3) to view the RDEMS POP1 profile.
• See about more operations and usage notes below table.

Viewing Extended Profile for an Area
Clicking the link for Arizona, as illustrated above, shows the full “POP1” table/profile for Arizona. Clicking the link is equivalent to clicking this link: http://proximityone.com/rdems/1/rdems04000pop1.htm.
  • click the above link now to view the full profile.
  • California profile
  • Texas profile
  • Access any state using the interactive table

Join me in a Data Analytics Lab session to discuss more details about accessing and using wide-ranging demographic-economic data and data analytics. Learn more about using these data for areas and applications of interest.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

State Demographic-Economic Briefing Notes

.. with the ever increasing availability of demographic and economic data, it can be difficult to access key up-to-date data for the U.S. and individual states, metros and counties … among other geography.

Here we look at the “tip of the iceberg” — intentionally. This section provides links to access State Demographic-Economic Briefing Notes. A summary of selected key demographic-economic measures and trends for each state are presented in comparison with the U.S. Use the Briefing Notes to facilitate briefings to others, collaboration and to obtain a snapshot of current and trending conditions. These data are mostly taken from the more detailed tables available as links at the bottom of each Briefing Notes section.

The Briefing Notes have been developed using the Regional Demographic-Economic Modeling System (RDEMS). The Briefing Notes sections and related detailed tables update frequently.

The per capita real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimates, new this past week from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, for 2010 and 2015 were added today. See how this comprehensive measure of economic well-being is trending and compares to the U.S. overall in states of interest.

Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi

Join me in a Data Analytics Lab session to discuss more details about accessing and using wide-ranging demographic-economic data and data analytics. Learn more about using these data for areas and applications of interest.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

America’s Million+ Population Cities: Chicago

.. there are 10 U.S. cities having population of 1 million or more … Chicago is ranked 3rd among all U.S. cities based on 2015 population.  The population of Chicago, IL changed from 2,695,605 in 2010 to 2,720,546 in 2015 (24,941 or 0.9%). The population of the U.S. overall changed from 308,758,105 in 2010 to 321,418,820 in 2015 (12,660,715 or 4.1%). Examine population characteristics and trends of the city of Chicago in context of other cities and counties using the interactive table.

Chicago is a principal city of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area (CBSA 16980). This section reviews selected geographic, demographic and economic characteristics of the city of Chicago and tools to analyze these data.

Chicago City in Regional Context
Chicago city is shown as green-fill semi-transparent area.

… view developed using the CV XE GIS software.
… click map for larger view.

• Chicago Urbanized Area (orange fill pattern below city layer)
.. about urbanized areas

Examining Characteristics, Patterns and Trends of Chicago
View extended demographic-economic characteristics of Chicago in this table. Compare attributes of the city for 2012, 2014 and change. Annual demographic-economic estimates are available for all geographies for areas of 65,000 population or more from the American Community Survey (ACS).

Regional Demographic-Economic System & Cook County, IL
View Cook County tables from RDEMS. Click links below to view demographic-economic characteristics of the county.
POP1 Population & Components of Change
POP2 Population by Age
HSG1 Housing Units & New Residential Construction
DEM1 Demographic-Economic Profile
LF1 Labor Force
LF2 Labor Force
EST1 Establishments, Employment, Earnings
CA4 Personal Income and Employment by Major Component
CA5 Personal Income by Major Component and Earnings by Industry
CA6 Compensation of Employees by Industry
CA25 Employment by Industry
CA30 Economic Profile
CA35 Current Transfer Receipts
CA45 Farm Income & Expenses

Comparing Chicago Annual Total Population to Other Areas
Use the interactive table in the related section to view, rank, query and compare annual population estimates for states, cities, counties and sub-county areas of interest.

View, Rank, Compare Chioago with any/all Other Cities
Use these tables based on ACS 2014 5-year estimates to view Chicago in context with other cities.
… General Demographics
… Social Characteristics
… Economic Characteristics
… Housing Characteristics

Join me in a Data Analytics Lab session to discuss more details about accessing and using wide-ranging demographic-economic data and data analytics. Learn more about using these data for areas and applications of interest.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

State and Regional Decision-Making Information

Organized on a state-by-state basis, use tools and geographic, demographic and economic data resources in these sections to facilitate planning and analysis. Updated frequently, these sections provide a unique means to access to multi-sourced data to develop insights into patterns, characteristics and trends on wide-ranging issues. Bookmark the related main Web page; keep up-to-date.

Using these Resources
Knowing “where we are” and “how things have changed” are key factors in knowing about the where, when and how of future change — and how that change might impact you. There are many sources of this knowledge. Often the required data do not knit together in an ideal manner. Key data are available for different types of geography, become available at different points in time and are often not the perfect subject matter. These sections provide access to relevant data and a means to consume the data more effectively than might otherwise be possible. Use these data, tools and resources in combination with other data to perform wide-ranging data analytics. See examples.

Select a State/Area

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas

Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina

North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Topics for each State — with drill-down to census block
• Visual pattern analysis tools … using GIS resources
• Digital Map Database
• Situation & Outlook
• Metropolitan Areas
• Congressional Districts
• Counties
• Cities/Places
• Census Tracts
• ZIP Code Areas
• K-12 Education, Schools & School Districts
• Block Groups
• Census Blocks

Join me in a Data Analytics Lab session to discuss more details about accessing and using wide-ranging demographic-economic data and data analytics. Learn more about using these data for areas and applications of interest.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

Tools to Analyze the Local Area Employment Situation

.. December 2015; updated monthly … current, monthly data on the employment situation are essential to assess recent trends. The only historical source of these data for all metropolitan areas, counties and sub-county areas is the Bureau of Labor Statistics (about these data). The civilian labor force, employment, unemployment and unemployment rate are estimated monthly with only a two month lag between the reference date and the data access date (e.g., February 2016 data are available in April 2016). Historical monthly seasonally adjusted and non-adjusted time-series data are available. Use tools and resources provided/described in this section to access and analyze these Local Area Employment Situation (LAES) data. See related Web page with interactive ranking table.

Unemployment Rate by Metro
The following graphic shows the unemployment rate by metro.
— view created using CV XE GIS and associated LAES GIS Project

The LAES data and this section are updated monthly. The LAES data, and their their extension, are part of the ProximityOne Situation & Outlook database and information system. ProximityOne extends the LAES data in several ways including monthly update projections of the employment situation one year ahead.

Use the interactive table in the related Web page to view, sort, compare employment situation characteristics by Core-Based Statistical Area (CBSA) — metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas.

Analyze Labor Market Characteristics in Context of Other Data
The Metropolitan Area Situation & Outlook Reports provide a labor market characteristics monthly time-series table. Select a metro using this interactive table. Examine the labor market data in context with wide-ranging related demographic-economic data.

Visual Pattern and GeoSpatial Analysis
Use the CV XE GIS software and LAES GIS project to create thematic pattern maps and integrate the employment situation data with other data. ProximityOne User Group members may install the LAES GIS Project at no fee and prepare thematic pattern maps like the one shown above and below. The map shown below shows the unemployment rate for each CBSA for a year earlier than the above map. Compare the maps and see how patterns have changed.

— view created using CV XE GIS and associated LAES GIS Project

Using the LAES GIS Project
Use the LAES GIS Project to develop maps, such as those shown above, and perform geospatial analysis operations. The LAES GIS Project updates monthly as new data become available. The CBSA layer/shapefile includes monthly civilian labor force, employment, unemployment and unemployment rate estimates for each month from January 2014 through the most recent estimate month (e.g., the December 2015 release includes monthly data from January 2014 through October 2015). Steps to develop custom thematic pattern maps are summarized below (requires Windows computer with Internet connection)
1. Install the ProximityOne CV XE GIS
… run the CV XE GIS installer
… take all defaults during installation
2. Download the LAES GIS project fileset
… requires ProximityOne User Group ID (join now, no fee)
… unzip LAES GIS project files to local folder c:\laes
3. Open the c:\laes\laes1.gis project
… after completing the above steps, click File>Open>Dialog
… open the file named c:\laes\laes1.gis
4. Done. The start-up view is shown at top of this section.

Join me in a Data Analytics Lab session to discuss accessing, integrating and using these data with other data that relate to your situation.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

Establishments, Employment & Earnings Trends: 2015Q1

.. county & metro Establishment, Employment & Earnings (EEE) monthly-quarterly-annual time series by detailed type of business .. financial sector employment in Manhattan (New York County, NY) led the nation in average weekly wages at $8,932 during the first quarter 2015.  Use the interactive table to examine characteristics of establishments (number, employment, earnings) for counties and metros by type of business of interest. See the related Web section for more detail.  Follow that section for quarterly and interim data establishments by sector updates and use of tools to analyze patterns and trends.

The most current and comprehensive measures of business activity by county, metro and higher level geography are provided by the Establishments, Employment & Earnings (EEE) database. Use the interactive table to view, rank, query, compare data on establishments, employment and wages by county, metro and state for high level industries. Subscribers to the ProximityOne Data Service (PDS) database can use the more detailed (6-digit NAICS coverage) with data structured for time-series analysis supported with modeling and data analytics tools.

Where Does America Make Things?
The graphic below shows percent employment in the manufacturing sector (employment in the private manufacturing sector as a percent of total private sector employment January 2015 by county). Click graphic for larger view providing more detail. Use the GIS tools to analyze similar patterns for any industry. Interpreting this map graphic and alternative data resources … join us in a Data Analytics Lab session where we discuss making and interpreting this map view and alternatives.

– view developed with ProximityOne CV XE GIS and related GIS project.

The EEE quarterly data are based on employer reported data and provide EEE characteristics by detailed type of business collected and tabulated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Derived from reports submitted by every employer subject to unemployment insurance (UI) laws, the data cover 9.5 million employers and 136.2 million full- and part-time workers.

Important features of these data …
• Tabulated for all counties, metros, states and the U.S.
• Tabulated for detailed types of business (6-digit NAICS).
• Tabulated quarterly and annually, the data enable time-series modeling.
• Employer-based administratively collected data; not estimates.
• Short lag (5 months) between reporting date and date of data accessibility
– data for second quarter 2015 (2015Q2) are available mid-December 2015.
Limitations of these data.

Use these data to examine how a detailed type of business is changing in a county or metro … or how that type of business in one county/metro compares to another county or metro. Answer questions like how much of the healthcare sector in a particular metro is comprised by offices of physicians. Or, are the number of establishments in a business sector growing or declining? How are the characteristics of establishments in one metro changing relative to another metro?

Establishments, Employment, Earnings — Interactive Table
The following graphic illustrate use of the interactive table to examine characteristics of construction industry for California by county. The rows/counties are ranked on the rightnost column AWW15Q1 (average weekly wages, 1st quarter 2015) in descending order. It is easy to see that California was led by San Francisco county with $1,661 AWW reflecting activity of 1,564 establishments and January employment of 16,850. Click graphic for larger view.

Updates
These data update quarterly. The next update includes data for 2015Q2 and becomes available December 17, 2015 (set reminder).

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

World Statistics Day & Statisticians

Official statistics help decision makers develop informed policies that impact millions of people. Improved data sources, sound statistical methods, new technologies and strengthened statistical systems enable better decisions that eventually result in better lives for all of us. World Statistics Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2010 to recognize the importance of statistics in shaping our societies. October 20, 2015 marks the day around the world in over 100 countries.

More than 200 countries have national statistical agencies. Most countries have a central statistical agency. The Federal statistical system of the U.S. is highly decentralized and includes more than 120 agencies. This structure works well for the U.S. aside from certain redundancies and issues regarding public data access and use. See more about Navigating the Federal Statistical System.

Locations of America’s Largest Businesses
Statisticians collect and tabulate data about people, businesses and other entities that then enable the development of visual analysis of these data such as shown in the following graphic. This graphic shows locations of America’s largest businesses. Actuaries, economists, epidemiologists — wide-ranging occupations — develop statistical data often blurring the roles and functions between occupations.

— view created using CV XE GIS and associated GIS Project
— click graphic for larger showing details.

Statisticians in the U.S.
Statisticians use statistical methods to collect and analyze data and help solve real-world problems in business, engineering, the sciences, or other fields. Statisticians are a part of the fast growing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) workforce. Occupationally, statisticians are classified as part of the “Mathematical Science Occupations”, a part of the “Computer and Mathematical Occupations” group. The typical level of education that most workers need to enter this occupation is a Master’s degree.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates there are 26,970 statisticians (Occupational Employment Statistics-OES) in the U.S. with median annual wages $79,990 (May 2014). 4,190 of these statisticians are in the U.S. government Federal Executive Branch. Among metropolitan areas, the Washington, DC metro (metropolitan division) has more than twice the employment level of any other metro.

Based on data from the OES, states with the highest statistician employment levels include Maryland (2,910), California (2,680), Massachusetts (2,310), Pennsylvania (1,990) and New York (1,280). Using a base of 27,600 employment in 2012, BLS projects this occupation will grow to 35,000 (27%) by 2022. Probably low.

The OES is an establishment-based survey. The Census Bureau conducts the American Community Survey (ACS), a household survey, that also produces annual estimates of statisticians. The ACS 2014 estimated number of statisticians is 32,115 (full-time, year-round civilian employed population 16 years and over) with a median income of $83,461. The Census Bureau does not produce occupational projections.

Many statisticians remain heavily engaged in the field of statistics and data analytics through their careers but become identified in managerial and multi-occupational activities as their career advances.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data.