Labor market information means many things to many people.  When people reference labor market trends, they may be talking about employment levels, unemployment rates, wages and earning, employment projections, and/or job losses.  Just as labor market information represents a broad spectrum of information, it may also represent a large geographic area, or a very small area.  Generally, when using labor market information to explore career opportunities and possibilities, it is appropriate to define the size (a geographic region) of the labor market in order for it to be a useful tool.

One tool that may be helpful to teachers is titled Using Labor Market Information in the Classroom. This document was published by the Iowa Workforce Development. Although it is an older publication, some of the suggestions are very useful. Using LMI in the classroom.pdf

The Wisconsin WORKnet website is an excellent “one stop” resource to find an array of labor market information. The deeper you explore each component of the website, the more useful you and your students will find the information. The DWD WorkNet Navigation Outline is a guide to navigating these web pages.  DWD WorkNet Outline.doc  Here’s the link to the DWD WorkNet website:http://worknet.wisconsin.gov/worknet/

More Sources for Labor Market Information -

National LMI Reports and Websites:

America's Career InfoNet: http://www.careerinfonet.org/ is a rich resource of labor market information.  It is sponsored by by the US Department of Labor.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is the national source for labor market data: http://www.bls.gov/

CareerOneStop http://www.careeronestop.org/ is sponsored by the US Department of Labor and offers tools and resources for job seekers, students, and businesses. 

Occupational Outlook Handbook is a national source for career information and features employment information as well as job characteristics. 

Website: http://www.bls.gov/oco/home.htm

O*NET is a great source for national and state labor market information.  It's also a great place to research careers! http://online.onetcenter.org/

US Census Bureau, the source for national, state, and regional demographic data http://www.census.gov/

State of Wisconsin LMI:

The local Chamber of Commerce can be an excellent source of labor market information http://www.wischamberfoundation.org/wcce/display.cfm?id=237

Forward Wisconsin provides state workforce and labor market information: http://www.forwardwi.com/

Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development/Office of Economic Advisors (OEA) is an excellent source of state, regional and local labor market information: http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/oea/default.htm

LMI Reference and Research Papers

The Wisconsin Forgotten Middle Skills Jobs is a report developed through the National Skills Coalition, Skills 2 Compete Initiative.