Labor Market Information

​Labor Market Information (LMI) is a collection of different types of information on the current job market. It includes:

If you are helping employers with matters regarding their employees, LMI can be a great resource.

Why LMI Is Important

Knowledge of LMI helps employers make strategic, data-driven decisions about their business and industry. Its main purposes are that it:

For example, employers can use LMI to guide their decisions relating to upsizing or downsizing and setting pay rates and salaries for their positions. Employers can also use LMI to:

Several organizations with which you may want to check LMI include small business development centers, local chambers of commerce, economic development agencies, and your state labor market division.

Using LMI – Example

Here is an illustration showing how employers can use LMI to make decisions.

In this example, a large manufacturer with 500+ employees is permanently reducing its workforce by 60%. This includes centralizing all its administrative functions to a facility in another state. This reduction will displace many persons concentrated in the following jobs:

Employers who choose to work with these employees will need to decide whether they will re-employ, re-train, or give them a skills update. This is a key strategic decision point that depends on the exact situation.

Re-employment can be done when workers are laid off, but still have in-demand skills from other companies. Re-training is for situations where workers are laid off, making a career change, and need further training. Finally, a skills update is needed when the workers’ skills are outdated, and they need to update them to stay in their field.

Here are some examples of situations where each method comes into play.

A. Re-employment

A few machinery mechanics and several skilled welders are being laid off. Fortunately, they are in demand by other employers within the region. This demand is based on job listings as well as requests and concerns from local employers.

B. Re-training

The company’s team assemblers are being laid off or are at risk. Fortunately, a local firm is exploring opportunities in the energy efficiency improvement field. In this case, the assemblers would be available for this new company after some short-term training in basic solar panel fabrication.

C. Skills update

Several of the company’s accountants graduated several years ago. They have kept up with standard practices and regulations. However, their clients have been mentioning that they need to update their skills with modern accounting software.

Illinois workNet Resources

Illinois workNet provides materials to which employers can refer. These include: