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Local Projections

**Dorrer, J., Milfort, M., & Kelley, J. (2012, Spring). Credentials that Work: Innovations in labor-market information. Communities & Banking, 23(2), 22–23. Available at http://www.bostonfed.org/commdev  /c&b/2012/spring/credentials-that-work.htm

Storrs, F. (2012, March 4).Where the Massachusetts jobs are right now. The Boston Globe Magazine. Available at http://articles.boston.com/2012-03-04/magazine/31118676_1_job-title-online-job-postings-project-management

Jobs for the Future. (2011). Unit 2: Understanding your local labor market: Durham, North Carolina. Boston, MA: Author. Not available online. 

Jobs for the Future. (2012). Cook County analysis. Boston, MA: Author. Not available online.

Credentials that Work, an initiative at Jobs for the Future, uses real-time labor market information from online job postings to align investments in education and training with the needs of the regional economy. The first piece provides an overview of Credentials that Work. The three subsequent pieces provide examples of specific labor market data that result from their analyses, including data on  1) high-demand positions, certifications, and skills in Massachusetts; 2) the most common occupations requiring less than a bachelor’s degree with at least median wage in Durham, North Carolina; and 3) projections for “green jobs”  in Cook County, Illinois. 

Employment Development Department, State of California. (n.d.). Labor market information by region: Fresno County, Los Angeles County, and Santa Clara County. Sacramento, CA: Author. Available at this link.

The state of California provides labor market data and key economic indicators for all California counties. The information included here is drawn from this dataset, comparing labor markets for three counties—Fresno County, Los Angeles County, and Santa Clara County. This document provides the unemployment rate and labor force size, employment by industry, occupations with the fastest job growth and highest wages, and top training providers for each county. 

Bay Area Council Economic Institute. (2010, April). Recession and recovery: An economic reset (pp. 3, 13, 24, & 27).  San Francisco, CA: Author. Available at http://www.bayareaeconomy.org/media/files/pdf/BayAreaEconomicProfile2010_2.pdf

These figures, drawn from a larger report on economic trends and indicators for the Bay Area, provide several snapshots of labor market conditions in the area. First, comparing the Bay Area’s economy to economies across the nation and the world, the report ranks the Bay Area 25th in the world among national economies. Looking at the number of local jobs lost and gained across industries from 2008 to 2009 in the area, the report shows that the region has experienced a higher unemployment rate than seen in peer cities and has lost jobs across nearly all industries except manufacturing, often at a higher rate than seen in the nation overall. Finally, the authors show that the region has a higher share of innovative jobs, including product development and early stage manufacturing, and is losing fewer manufacturing jobs than the U.S. overall.

Levy, S., et al. (2011, October). Building on our assets: Economic development & job creation in the East Bay. Oakland, CA: East Bay Economic Development Alliance. Available at http://www.eastbayeda.org/ebeda-assets/reports/2013/Econ%20Report_Building_on_Our_Assets_Report_2011.pdf

This report provides an overview of the East Bay’s regional economy, including opportunities and challenges for future growth. The authors describe the region’s assets, which include a highly diversified labor force and growing innovation sectors, and highlight sectors that are driving the region’s economy, such as employment growth in professional, scientific and technical services (PSTS), success in advanced manufacturing, and concentrated employment in 12 interrelated industries. In order to meet future challenges, the authors argue that the East Bay must invest in its core economic assets, such as preparing an advanced manufacturing workforce and scaling up proven work-based learning models like Linked Learning.

**This document is considered a priority reading.