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Concurrent with the release of the June 2020 preliminary state and metropolitan statistical area (MSA) estimates, BLS published diffusion indexes of total nonfarm employment over 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month time spans, first at the statewide level for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, then as an aggregate of 388 MSAs on a seasonally adjusted basis. Diffusion indexes may be useful in understanding state and local variation of employment changes. For example, an unusually low reading for the index during a period of job gains would indicate that they are concentrated in a few areas, perhaps signaling a geographic shift in the economy. Conversely, if the index is reading unusually high during a period of job loss, the losses may be concentrated in certain states or areas, as might happen following a natural disaster or other localized event.
See https://www.bls.gov/sae/research/experimental-series/ces-experimental-diffusion-index-data-series-for-states-and-metropolitan-statistical-areas.htm for technical information on the diffusion indexes. Users can retrieve these indexes from the database available at https://www.bls.gov/sae/data/. These series begin in January 1991.
The eight new series and how to understand the Series ID are as follows:
SMS00000000000000021
SMS00000000000000022
SMS00000000000000023
SMS00000000000000024
SMS99999990000000021
SMS99999990000000022
SMS99999990000000023
SMS99999990000000024
Positions | Value | Field Name |
---|---|---|
1-3 | SMS | Prefix (all diffusion indexes are calculated using seasonally adjusted data) |
4-5 | 00 or 99 | State Code ("00" for All States indexes and "99" for All MSAs indexes) |
6-10 | 00000 or 99999 | Area Code ("00000" for All States indexes and "99999" for All MSAs indexes) |
11-18 | 00000000 | Series Code (all diffusion indexes are calculated using total nonfarm data) |
19-20 | 21, 22, 23, or 24 | Datatype ("21" for 1-month span, "22" for 3-month span, "23" for 6-month span, "24" for 12-month span) |
Last Modified Date: July 17, 2020