PLEASE NOTE: Since the publication of this e-Newsletter, data for December 2011 have been revised. See the current issue of the LMI e-Newsletter.

View the current month's press releases and data tables by geography online. This page also has links to historical data.

New educational attainment data from the Census Bureau is available on the Department of Finance website. The economic tables cover California, counties, and places with a population of at least 65,000 for 2010, and down to places of at least 20,000 persons for 2008-2010. The table also includes earnings by educational group. Among possible uses of the data are to encourage people to stay in school or to go back to school, and to aid economic developers in attracting new businesses that need workers with a given educational level. A few findings from the data include:

	•	About 30 percent of California’s population 25 years old or older in 2010 had a bachelor’s degree or higher.
	•	Four out of five such Californians had at least a high school diploma or equivalent in 2010.
	•	Nearly 11 percent of Californians 25 years old or older had less than a ninth grade education.

Education Pays in California: 2010

EDUCATIONAL LEVEL	MEDIAN EARNINGS IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS
Less Than High School Graduate	$17,937
High School Graduate, Equivalency	$27,122
Some College or Associate's Degree	$35,735
Bachelor's Degree	$52,248
Graduate or Professional Degree	$74,423

Additional information about, and data from, the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey is available at http://www.census.gov/acs/www/.

A report, "Women in the Labor Force: A Databook", released in December 2011 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics sheds lights on "notable changes in women's labor force activities." A few highlights from the report include:

	•	The labor force participation rate for women with children less than 18 years of age is 71.3 percent.
	•	Of this group, women with children ages 6 to 17 are more likely to take part in the labor force (77.2 percent participation rate as of March 2010).
	•	Women's education levels, as well as earnings, have increased substantially in the past four decades. In 1970, only 11 percent of women age 25 to 64 held college degrees. In 2010, 36 percent of women in the same age group held a college degree. In 2009, working married women contributed 37 percent of their families' take-home pay, up 10 percent from 1970.

To access the report click on the following link:http://www.bls.gov/cps/wlf-databook2011.htm.

The Occupational Information Network (O*NET) system provides job seekers and human resource professionals with information for exploring occupations. In December 2011, the O*NET Resource Center announced it had updated its Tools and Technology database at http://www.onetcenter.org/whatsnew.html. This feature links machines, equipment, tools, software systems, and information technology to the O*NET occupations that may use them. Users can find occupations utilizing a keyword search for a specific tool or technology on the O*NET OnLine website at http://www.onetonline.org/search/.

Nationwide online job advertisements were up slightly in December compared to November levels. California had a slight increase in job advertisements from November to December 2011 of 12,500 job advertisements. Nationally there were about three unemployed individuals for every job advertisement compared to about five unemployed individuals for every job advertisement in California. The supply and demand rates varied between the regions with most having a higher supply and demand rate than the nation. However, the Bay Area supply and demand rate was lower than the nation indicating improving labor market conditions.

All regions in California saw an increase in job advertisements from December 2010 to December 2011.

For more regional and statewide data, view this month's publication in the Economy section of the LaborMarketInfo website.

LMID recently updated and published the following Occupational Guides:

	•	Skin Care Specialists
	•	Cashiers

Locate these updated guides by accessing the California Occupational Guides link under the "Featured LMI Publications" section on the LaborMarketInfo website at www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov.