Building Data Skills for Workforce Impact:
Inside the Enhancing Labor Market Insights with Jobs Data Training Program
What do job postings reveal about the evolving labor market and how can those insights be used to shape workforce programs and policies?
The Enhancing Labor Market Insights with Jobs Data Applied Data Analytics Training Program, co-led by the National Labor Exchange (NLx) Research Hub and the Coleridge Initiative, equipped more than 50 participants from 25 organizations across 18 states with the skills they needed to examine those questions.
Advancing Data Literacy to Support Evidence-Based Decision-Making
The Enhancing Labor Market Insights with Jobs Data program began with four weeks of training in basic coding concepts and use of the Administrative Data Research Facility (ADRF)–Coleridge Initiative’s secure cloud environment for working with restricted-use data. In the 12 weeks that followed, participants learned about exploratory data analysis, record linkages, contextualizing employment demand, labor market projects, and other key topics.
From Knowledge to Action: Collaborative Research Projects
With access to NLx job posting data from 2015 onward, participants applied their skills through collaborative research projects that explored eight key labor market questions. Learn more about the team projects below:
- Team Mississippi and Tennessee: How do employers adjust hiring requirements in response to worker shortages?
- Team New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ohio: How can job ads be used to measure labor demand across the economy?
- Team Maryland and Virginia: Which employers are driving growth in the rapidly expanding cybersecurity market and what does the demand for labor look like?
- Team Missouri and Wisconsin: How is the labor market being reshaped by the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools?
- Team Colorado, Illinois, and Kentucky: How do layoffs correlate with trends in job postings?
- Team California and Washington: What are the most common requirements for occupations with low-barriers-to-entry and how do they differ for emerging occupations?
- Team New York and Texas: How does labor demand line up with local labor supply across major metros?
About the NLx Research Hub:
The NLx Research Hub is a data community and go-to source for high-quality, transparent job postings data collected through the NLx, providing labor demand access as a public good. Interested in joining future projects or accessing NLx data? Visit NLxResearchHub.org or contact NLxResearchHub@naswa.org.
This article was originally published by the Coleridge Initiative.
