United States Department of Labor
This week BLS published Geographic Profile of Employment and Unemployment, 2012. This annual publication is a collection of tables that presents estimates for census regions and divisions, the 50 states and the District of Columbia, 54 large metropolitan areas, 22 metropolitan divisions, and 41 principal cities. Geographic Profile provides the most current source of information on the demographic and economic characteristics of the labor force in subnational areas, from the same survey as the official labor force estimates for the United States as a whole.
We also published two new editions of Beyond the Numbers this week. The first examines the reemergence of the United States as a global petroleum producer. In May 2013, domestic production of petroleum in the United States surpassed imports for the first time since January 1997. The fact that domestic production has outpaced imports is the culmination of trends that have been in motion for a number of years. Imports of petroleum have been declining over the last 7 years, while domestic production has undergone a significant revival. U.S. production has grown as a result of new technologies, such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, which have been used to extract petroleum and gas from shale deposits once viewed as unprofitable. Coinciding with the large increase in domestic petroleum production in the United States was a decline in the domestic consumption of petroleum. The amount of petroleum consumed in 2012 was the smallest since 1996.
The second edition of Beyond the Numbers published this week looks at the highlights of the 2013 Producer Price Index (PPI) user survey. Survey results reveal that PPI data users are satisfied with the quality of the data, the level of detail presented, and the customer service offered whenever they contact PPI staff. Although these results are very gratifying, we’re not resting on our laurels. The user survey provides important insights into how we might improve the PPI and where we should focus our efforts to expand and improve our measures, as funds and other resources permit.