How are statewide unemployment rates developed?
A. Statewide employment and unemployment rates are developed through statistical modeling techniques rather than through direct sampling of households (as is done for the entire nation). The labor force models remove sampling error from the monthly CPS household survey to produce “true” labor force estimates, including the unemployment rate. Total non-agricultural employment and unemployment insurance claims inputs are used to adjust for seasonal and cyclical patterns in the labor force not fully captured in the CPS. Monthly statewide employment and unemployment estimates are controlled to national CPS employment and unemployment levels. These adjustments ensure that the sum-of-states equals the nation and large changes in the national economy are captured statewide estimates.
