Finding Local Economic Stories in Census Data
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Paul Overberg presents "Finding Local Economic Stories in Census Data" as part of a free webinar hosted by the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism. Check out additional material from the webinar at the following link: http://businessjournalism.org/2012/08/27/finding-local-economic-stories-in-census-data-self-guided-training/. For more information about free training for business journalists, please visit businessjournalism.org.
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Finding Local Economic Stories in Census Data
- 1. Finding Local Economic Stories in Census Data Paul Overberg, USA Today database editor
- 2. What we’ll cover: Ø What are County Business Patterns data? Ø Where are the data from; what do they cover (and what don’t they cover)? Ø What are some recent stories using County Business Patterns data? Ø What are other tools and tips for using the data?
- 3. County Business Patterns Ø Who: Local businesses Ø What: Firms, employees, payroll (by industry) Ø When: Yearly. 2010 data released June 2012 Ø Where: Every county (plus Photo by Flickr user stevedepolo metros, ZIPs) Ø Why: Track changes in local economy
- 4. Some pluses Ø Reach: almost every county, metro/micro Ø Persistence: data back to 1964 Ø Scope: rare source of data on “non-employer” firms (free- lancers, sole proprietors, etc.)
- 5. Some minuses Ø Deliberate noise: Details sometimes withheld/ clouded to prevent ID of a firm Ø Speed: Yearly only, 18 months after year ends Ø Absent: farms, Postal Service, governments Photo by Flickr user cwwycoff1
- 6. Best uses Ø Broad look at recent change
- 7. Best uses Ø Long-term, 350,000 Morris County, NJ, 1998-2010 18,000 specific local trend 17,500 Employees Firms 300,000 17,000 16,500 Employees Firms 250,000 16,000 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010
- 8. Best uses Ø Local composition analysis/comparison
- 9. Best uses Ø Smart background/context “Nearly 110 plants have closed in metropolitan Memphis since 1999, wiping out almost 1 in 3 industrial jobs and about $1 billion in annual factory pay . … “Throughout the nation, 5 million industrial jobs and 50,300 plants vanished … including 14 paper and cardboard plants in metro Memphis, according to the … County Business Patterns reports. ” – Memphis Commercial-Appeal, Oct. 2, 2011
- 10. Best uses Ø Smart background/context “The number of furniture stores in Cape May County has held steady … but they are working with fewer employees, according to … County Business Patterns. “There were nine furniture stores … in 2005, with 104 people on their payrolls. … In 2009 … there were 10 … with 56 paid employees.” – The Press (Atlantic City, NJ), March 6, 2012
- 11. Best uses Ø Smart background/context “About a week before Mother's Day … a Google advertisement for George's Flowers in Roanoke read: ‘Real Local Roanoke Florist’. … “The ad, placed by floral shop owner George Clements, is one way he's pushing back against Internet and telephone-order flower service companies . … “… retail floral shops decreased 31 percent over a decade … according to …the U.S. Census Bureau's County Business Patterns.” – The Roanoke Times, May 13, 2012
- 12. Website: Simple but useful www.census.gov/econ/cbp/index.html
- 13. Questions?