This case study describes how EMSI (then CCbenefits) helped inform the Arkansas Career Pathways Initiative with regional labor market reports.

The Arkansas CPI is a groundbreaking program that helps high-risk, low-income adults gain entry into careers with opportunity for upward mobility. Graduates are filling in-demand jobs in regional growth industries while gaining independence from public assistance.

Read the case study (PDF): Informing Career Pathways in Arkansas (Case Study)

Read the full story here.

Burlington County College graduates can expect to make an additional $6 in earnings over 30 years for every dollar they invest in their education, according to a recent study released by the college.

The college graduates get jobs, pay taxes, and use their income to purchase things such as homes, college President Robert Messina said. In addition the college helps to reduce unemployment and crime rates, he said.

Because of that, the study found that the state and county get back $23.60 on every dollar they invest at the college.

With the advent of EMSI’s affordable, easy-to-use economic modeling tools, many more people are able to conduct economic impact analyses without an extensive background in economics. This document describes some of the basic pitfalls that more inexperienced researchers should avoid when conducting an economic impact study. The three primary pitfalls are:

1.  Expressing impacts in terms of sales rather than income
2. Ignoring the “with and without” principle (also known as the “Broken Window Principle”)
3. Failing to account for general equilibrium effects

Click here to view/download the full document (PDF): Economic Impact Analysis: Common Pitfalls

UPDATE: The data release has been rescheduled for March 24th.

The EMSI data team is pleased to announce that our regular biannual data update has been scheduled for March 17th 24th. Industry, occupation, demographic, indicators, and input-output data sets are being re-built using the latest information from our sources as well as our most sophisticated data integration process ever. Update highlights include: (1) Improved data unsuppression process to estimate ‘nondisclosed’ figures in government data; (2) Expanded use of states’ regional/local industry projections instead of simply state-level projections; (3) New county-level indicators covering home mortgages, social security beneficiaries, Census LEHD workforce indicators, and Census poverty estimates; and (4) updated Economic Impact input-output model data incorporating Census of Governments data and the latest industry matrices from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (2002 Benchmark and 2006 Annual).

We’re very excited about these improvements. If you have any questions, feel free to contact our Customer Solutions department.

In this whitepaper, EMSI explains the importance of  labor market analysis for businesses, site selectors, and economic development professionals. The paper covers types of key information needed and the challenges of local labor market research using public sources, and some basic features of EMSI’s Strategic Advantage web-based system that make it the top labor market analysis solution for many policy professionals, researchers, and consultants. An appendix reviews the most commonly used public data sources.

Read the full whitepaper (PDF):  Labor Market Analysis for Site Selection

Update: This whitepaper has been expanded — read the latest version.

The College Board’s National Commission on Community Colleges has released its final report, titled “Winning the Skills Race and Strengthening America’s Middle Class: An Action Agenda for Community Colleges.”

The report highlights the contributions of America’s community colleges and their potential for meeting key future challenges for our national economy, while at the same time bemoaning the fact that they are “the nation’s overlooked asset.”

It goes on to make some key recommendations, such as:

1. Federal reform legislation to modernize and reinvigorate colleges at a national level.
2. State and local reform efforts to improve funding and align K-20 systems.
3. College efforts to improve accountability metrics, degree production, and student access and success.

The Association of Community College Trustees, a long-time partner of EMSI/CCbenefits, has posted a statement applauding the report and reinforcing its conclusions.