What Is Labor Report First Look? A Guide to the Atlanta Fed’s Jobs Data Visualization Tool

Here's a guide to the Labor Report First Look tool, which provides a "first look" at data and visuals for the Bureau of Labor Statistics employment breakdown.

What is the Labor Report First Look tool?

The Labor Report First Look tool allows users to interact with the Employment Situation Summary from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in a clear, visual way. You can see the latest employment data in terms of payroll employment, household surveys, demographic unemployment, and demographic participation.

How does the Labor Report First Look work, and why is it useful?

Essentially, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta takes data collected in the BLS' Employment Situation Summary and creates graphs to make the data easier to understand and digest. Those who are curious about the state of the economy in terms of employment and jobs can see trends and changes over time.

How do you interpret the Fed's Labor Report First Look?

You can find four tabs on the tool's page: payroll survey, household survey, demographic unemployment, and demographic participation.

The payroll survey tab provides data tables and graphs on earnings and employment across industries (jobs added or lost), while the household survey displays labor force participation, unemployment, and employment data based on the information provided by households. The latter two tabs focus on demographics—gender, age, education level, etc.—and conveys the data in terms of unemployment rates and labor force participation rates.

What is unemployment like in my area? What is the unemployment rate?

While the Labor First Look focuses on national-level data, you can use it as a benchmark to compare your local unemployment rate and see how local rates stack up against broader US trends. Find out more about your local unemployment rate by visiting the Bureau of Labor Statistics' interactive map.

How is the unemployment rate calculated?

Calculate the unemployment rate by dividing the number of unemployed people in a given area by the total labor force, which includes employed and unemployed individuals. Then multiply the result by 100 to turn this value into a percentage.

The Labor Report First Look tool lists several unemployment rates to help users understand the broader American employment situation, such as unemployment rates by race and ethnicity, gender, and those of underutilized workers (could be part-time, short-term unemployed, etc.).

What does the Federal Reserve do for jobs?

Promoting maximum employment is part of the Fed's dual mandate. Through monetary policy tools like interest-rate policy, the Fed influences business conditions that affect hiring decisions and employment levels.

Additionally, collecting data and providing the public with tools and visualizations, like the Labor Report First Look tool, help create a more informed body of information about jobs and employment fluctuations.

Where can I find the Labor Report First Look and learn more about the data tool?

You can learn more about US employment data and explore the interactive graphs on the Atlanta Fed's website or with the EconomyNow app.