The Data on Unemployment Rates - Statistics Project Example

TREND AND DATA ANALYSIS Affiliation Selected Topic The website, I have selected for data and trend analysis is ‘Bureau of Labor Statistics’. The set of data, which I am going to analyze in this report, is ‘monthly unemployment rates of year 2008-2009’ for ten countries. Unemployment Rates Adjusted to U.S. Concepts, Ten Countries, Seasonally Adjusted Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics What trend(s) do you see in the data? Are they beneficial or detrimental to us as a global society? The data of unemployment rates has been collected on a civilian labor force basis. Since the data from ten countries has been collected therefore, to bring a level of consistency, the country specific data has been adjusted to U.S. concepts. For example, as mentioned under the above table on the website of the company, the lower age limit in U.S. is 16 years, whereas, it may vary from 15 to 16 years for other countries. The idea is that some adjustments have been made in the data. As long as trends in data are concerned, if I specifically talk about the attached table, it only gives the rates of unemployment for the last one and a half year. Both monthly and quarterly data has been given in the table. However, the resource website also gives other data sets such as employment indexes, employment rates etc. This data is very beneficial for us as a global society and there are various reasons for quoting this. The major reason is that the website itself is a reliable website and it is expected that data taken from it is authentic. People from all over the world can use this data without any issue of authenticity. However, authenticity of a website cannot guarantee authenticity of all published data. For example, in a report of U.S. abortion data, it was highlighted that national data on incidence of abortion come from CDC reports, which further gets data from state-generated information. Since, the state generated information on such issues is incomplete therefore, authenticity of data declines (Guttmacher , 1994). Secondly, although Bureau of Labor Statistics is the Labour department of the United States, however, the data of other countries is also available. This data is very useful to make comparisons, such as; this table can be used to compare unemployment rates of different economies. However, when a company publishes the data of other countries, then problems of methodologies arise. Although, in this data set, rates have been adjusted to US concepts however, according to Hughes and Perlman, disagreements always occur in statistical data because there is no correct way to calculate total unemployment and unemployment calculated from a single method cannot be used for all purposes, which creates limitations (Hughes & Perlman, 1984). Third, since this information is accessible only without any cost, therefore, researchers from any part of the world can use it to write research papers. For example, the recent global financial crisis is an important area of research for the researchers and macroeconomic data such as inflation; unemployment etc. is of their particular interest. Another benefit of this data set is that it can be immediately accessed online without any costs, which saves time. Moreover, the data is updated on regular basis and updated information can be accessed. It is important to note that statistical websites keep on increasing the reliability of their data by using modern tools and methodologies. For example, that estimation of payroll statistics of Bureau of Labor Statistics was greatly improved in 1980s (Krueger, 1996) and the monthly employment report became the important indicator of fed strategy, potential inflation and economic strength (Stevenson, 1996). Although statistical data is considered very useful as a whole, however, published data is often challenged because sometimes the data or its interpretations are proven erroneous (U.S. National Committee for CODATA, 1997). Nevertheless, this issue can be resolved by comparing data collected from different reliable websites. Furthermore, even if the published data has some limitations however, it can be used to draw on some general conclusions (Everhart, 1994). What are the implications of these data on the individual, societal, and/or global level? The macroeconomic indicators keep on changing and knowing them is important not only from academic point of view but for the analysis of economy as well. Bureau of Labour Statistics keeps on updating and revising this data to capture the intricacies of the changing environment and to ensure the reliability and accuracy of its data. Bureau of Labour Statistics does not only present preliminary data but data is also published after making revisions. At individual level, these data sets are very significant in various ways. Since individuals belong to different professions and areas therefore, they may need information for different purposes. A student may use this data to make important theoretical implications. A researcher may use this data as secondary data collected to support his arguments. The common public may use the data to analyze the current economic conditions. At societal level, government agencies, NGOs and other organizations use this data as a part of their strategic decision making process. Such organisations use data for different purposes like to analyze market areas, predict workforce growth potential and as a part of their processes. NGOs also design their aid programs by using such data sets. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development helps in developing environmental policies and the relevant collected data (authentic and well synthesized) increases the accountability of public authorities and other actors (OECD, 2005). Before the online presence of this data, such organizations used to contact government statistics bureaus to get information, which used to be very time consuming and costly. Some companies used to conduct surveys to collect such information. The presence of the websites like Bureau of Labour Statistics has enhanced the convenience of these organizations; however, surveys are still conducted to get local statistics. Moreover, the important state decisions such as monetary policies, fiscal policies are also made in consideration to these statistics. At global level, the importance of such statistics is further increased because data is used at a much bigger level. The world economies use this data to compare the economic conditions. For example, Germany can use this data to evaluate the unemployment rates in other countries such as the UK, U.S. If other economies show different trends relative to Germany, then important concerns may rise for Germany. The idea is that we are living in a global village where everything is linked. The mortgage crisis in the United States, has appeared as a global financial crisis, therefore, none of the economy can operate in isolation. Knowing what other economies are doing has become essential for world economies. Similarly, multinational companies can use such data to make important strategic decisions. For example, if unemployment rate in one economy is less than other one, it means finding a variety of skilled force will be a problem for the company. Although, decisions are not made based on single factor however, they are considered for making decisions. Various concerns have been raised by companies because they argue that when such data is taken from them, then it reveals their business strategies. Very recently, five bigger companies in Silicon Valley fought release of employment data against federal regulators (Trading Markets , 2010). What, if any, significance is there for the work you do? I am a registered nurse and it may seem that this data is of no value for me; however, this is not the actual case. Although this data does not have direct implications in my professional life, however, I frequently use such data to analyze the world economic conditions. Since I am in such a profession, where I have to deal with many people with diverse backgrounds, therefore, I try to keep myself updated. Moreover, I am a registered nurse and the rate of employment directly influence the job market and various opportunities open and close over time, therefore, I keep myself updated by using this data and other such data sets available on the websites. References Everhart, J. E. (1994). Digestive Diseases in the United States: Epidemiology and Impact. DIANE Publishing. Guttmacher . (1994, January ). The Limitations of U.S. Abortion Data . Retrieved March 2, 2010, from http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/ib14.html Hughes, J. J., & Perlman, R. (1984). The economics of unemployment: a comparative analysis of Britain and the United States. Cambridge University Press. Krueger, A. B. (1996, September ). DO MARKETS RESPOND MORE TO MORE RELIABLE LABOR MARKET DATA? A TEST OF MARKET RATIONALITY. Retrieved March 2, 2010, from NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH: http://www.nber.org/papers/w5769.pdf OECD. (2005). OECD environmental data: compendium 2004. OECD Publishing. Trading Markets . (2010, February 15). Five Silicon Valley companies fought release of employment data, and won. Retrieved March 2, 2010, from http://www.tradingmarkets.com/news/stock-alert/amat_hpq_five-silicon-valley-companies-fought-release-of-employment-data-and-won-777056.html U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics . (n.d.). Retrieved March 2, 2010, from http://www.bls.gov/fls/#lf U.S. National Committee for CODATA. Committee on Issues in the Transborder Flow of Scientific Data. (1997). Bits of power: issues in global access to scientific data. National Academies Press. Read More