Economic Data

Greetings,
Every month a number of economists (and others) wait to hear the latest unemployment data and job creation numbers in the United States.  Typically, the data is released within the first few days of the month.  Today, those economic figures came out and unemployment is officially under 8 percent.  It's making a lot of headlines because unemployment is at its lowest level in about four years.  If you go to the government web site that supplies the data, you'll see that's only one portion of the data that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) complies.  They also put together regional, state, and city/MSA data.  These figures have considerable variation by location and it's worth checking out.  The BLS also puts out an Occupational Handbook which serves as an online guide for career outlooks.  While these other resources may not make big headlines, they're definitely worth checking out.  Until next time, catch me in the library.