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| James Stinchcomb

California Wildfires and Day-to-Day Job Impacts

Last year, we posted a blog examining the effects of Hurricane Harvey on job postings and, by extension, employment. Below, we take the same approach to look at the impacts of a different natural disaster prevalent in late 2017 and early this year: the wildfires in California. Specifically, we are focusing on the Tubbs Fire, which affected parts of Napa, Sonoma, and Lake counties in Northern California during October 2017; and the Thomas Fire, which affected Ventura and Santa Barbara counties in Southern California in December 2017.

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| Greg Chmura

Occupational Separations: Components and Applications

For many years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) used replacement rates to measure occupational demand due to individuals leaving their occupation. When the BLS switched from replacement rates to separation rates, it was quite a shock for many of us. On average, these rates measuring this type of labor demand more than quadrupled!

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| Patrick Clapp

Hurricane Recovery Assistance in Hendry County, Florida

At first glance, Hendry County's statistics show an area with significant challenges. Every mention of the County in the news is immediately followed with the unemployment rate - 6.5% in December 2017, the highest in the state of Florida by a full percentage point. The population is just above 38,000, with 26.3% below the poverty level and 37.5% without a high school diploma. Although the local economy is dependent on crop and animal production, especially citrus and sugar cane, the County has no fresh food markets. To make matters worse, Hurricane Irma last year hit the County hard.

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| Chris Chmura

Economic Impact: Certain occupations dependent on R&D show an impressive relationship between innovation and growth

Businesses and nations that spend more on research and development grow at a faster pace, according to many studies. More than half of all R&D expenses on average are attributable to labor, according to an analysis of countries that belong to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.