Metropolitan Area Implementation Plans for the Fed-State Programs

Metropolitan area data are developed and published by each of the four Federal-State programs, Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), Current Employment Statistics (CES), Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), and Occupational Employment Statistics (OES). The following sections summarize the positions and plans for each program in regard to implementation of the 2000-based metropolitan area definitions for the programs:

• Overall Implementation Plans
• New England Geography
• Historical Revision to Series
• Metropolitan Areas
• Metropolitan Divisions
• Micropolitan Areas
• Combined Areas
• Interstate Metropolitan Areas
• Special Areas
• Differences of Note

The OMB bulletin states that the area definitions take effect immediately and agencies should use the most recent definitions in publishing data.

• The CES and LAUS programs plan to implement the 2000 area designations with estimates for January 2005. Workload considerations rule out earlier implementation. The implementation by the LAUS program will occur as part of the LAUS Redesign.
• The QCEW program will use the 2000-based area definitions as the official series with data for the first quarter of 2004. (QCEW data on the 2000 area designations will be published by BLS each quarter as a research series beginning with the release of 2002 data in September 2003.)
• The timing for OES implementation is dependent on modifying the sample design for the new area definitions. OES expects to release occupational employment and wage rate estimates based on the new metropolitan area definitions in spring of 2006 based on reference data for 2005. If implemented with the 2004 sample, then data for 2004 using the 2000 area designations can be issued in the second half of 2005. Otherwise, the first OES release of new areas would be data for 2005 issued in the first half of 2006.

In New England, the city or town is the relevant geopolitical unit, not the county. Historically, the CES, LAUS, and OES programs have used city- and town-based metropolitan areas for estimation and publication, while the QCEW program has used county-based areas. In the development of the 2000-based standards, the Bureau went on record strongly supporting the continuation of city- and town-based areas in New England. While OMB cited the county-based areas as the primary ones, city- and town-based areas are identified as a valid second system. The New England States continue to press for the use of city- and town-based designations in labor market programs.

• The CES, LAUS, and OES programs will be using the city- and town-based metropolitan areas for New England States.
• The QCEW program will continue to publish New England metropolitan area data based on counties. County-based areas are larger and will allow the program to publish greater industry detail at the metropolitan area level. External customers such as BEA require county-based areas. Disclosure issues (cases where withheld data may be discernible through simple calculations of other released data) preclude publishing data for both county- and city- and town-based areas. City- and town-based data will continue to be available from the QCEW program’s State LMI agency partners.

• The CES program will carry the 2000-based area designations back to 1990 through reconstruction from QCEW historical micro data files, a technique similar to that used for NAICS historical reconstruction.
• The LAUS program will carry the 2000-based area designations back to 1990 through county/city adjustment rather than reestimation.
• The QCEW and OES programs will not revise series. The QCEW program metropolitan area history will be limited because of disclosure issues.

• All programs except OES will develop estimates and publish data for all OMB-identified metropolitan areas.
• QCEW will publish metropolitan area data at all levels of industry detail, from the six-digit NAICS level to the total all industries, all ownership level.
• OES will publish estimates for metropolitan areas except where those areas are comprised of metropolitan divisions. In those cases, OES will publish data for the divisions. OES will consider the possibility of publishing for metropolitan areas in all cases, but only if secondary disclosure issues can be resolved.

Metropolitan divisions are significant sub-divisions of the largest metropolitan areas.

• The CES program will develop independent estimates for the metropolitan divisions, and develop metropolitan area estimates by aggregation. All metropolitan divisions will be able to be published with the possible exception of Boston, where most of the city- and town-based divisions are small.
• The LAUS program will develop independent estimates for the metropolitan divisions, and develop metropolitan area estimates by aggregation. Publication of Boston’s metropolitan divisions is not yet determined because of their small size.
• The OES program will publish estimates for metropolitan divisions.
• The QCEW program will not publish metropolitan divisions because of disclosure issues. Because of disclosure issues, can publish detailed data at either the metropolitan area level or the metropolitan division level, but not both. Following the OMB directive that metropolitan divisions are not to be compared with metropolitan areas, QCEW will publish detail at the metropolitan area level to support metropolitan area level comparisons.

• The LAUS program will develop estimates for micropolitan areas and publish them.
• The QCEW program will publish the all industry, all ownership totals for micropolitan areas. Disclosure issues prevent the publication of detailed micropolitan area data.
• The CES program will not develop estimates for micropolitan areas. In the OES program, micropolitan areas may be designated as some of the four balance-of-State special estimating areas.

Combined areas are combinations of metropolitan areas and/or micropolitan areas.

• The QCEW program will publish the all industry, all ownership totals for combined areas.
• The LAUS program will publish combined area estimates.
• The CES program will not develop combined area estimates.
• The OES program will not develop combined area estimates.

• The CES program will develop estimates and publish data on entire interstate metropolitan areas.
• The LAUS program will develop estimates and publish data on all interstate metropolitan areas, as well as intrastate parts.
• The QCEW program will publish fully detailed data on all interstate metropolitan areas.
• The OES program develops estimates from data for each intrastate portion of an interstate area, but publishes estimates for interstate areas. Some State Labor Market Information offices have expressed interest in publishing the State portion of interstate areas. BLS can do this only if secondary disclosure issues can be resolved.

Currently, the CES program develops and publishes estimates for a number of areas referred to as special areas. An example is the Washington Metropolitan Area, where estimates are developed and published for the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia, and Suburban Maryland. In the LAUS program, the five-borough area, New York City, is a special area.

• The CES program has not yet determined whether existing special area estimates will be developed.
• Assuming a CES estimate for New York City, the LAUS program will develop and publish City estimates.
• The OES program allows States to designate up to four special areas in the non-metropolitan portion of the State.
• The QCEW program will not develop data for special areas.

• The use of city- and town-based New England areas by the CES, LAUS, and OES programs versus county based areas in QCEW. (QCEW data will be available for city- and town-based areas in the New England State agencies.)
• The impact on customers of a five-month period ending in early 2005 when different area definitions will be in use in the LMI programs: 2000-based area designations used by the QCEW program beginning in October 2004, 1990-based area designation used by the CES and LAUS programs until February 2005, and 1990-based designations used by OES until mid-late 2005 at the earliest.

Last Modified Date: August 31, 2004