National Average for Regions of a Similar Size

Some Lightcast reports allow you to benchmark your region’s data against a national average for comparison. In order to ensure a meaningful, apples-to-apples comparison, these national averages are scaled down to account for the difference in workforce size between the nation and your selected region. To accomplish this, we follow a methodology that’s also used to produce location quotient calculations.

Taking job posting counts as an example, we first find the ratio of regional postings to national postings by dividing the number of all postings in your selected region over the timeframe you’ve selected by the number of all postings in the nation over the same timeframe. We then take that ratio and multiply it by the number of national postings for the specific occupation, skill, or company you’re focused on (based on the filters you have applied). The math is shown in the equation below: 

So, in this context, the “National Average” is the number of postings that we would expect to see in your region, for whatever occupation, skill, etc. you’re researching, based on the ratio of all postings in your region to all postings in the nation. This approach allows us to ignore the size of the labor market and obtain a more relevant benchmark for comparison.

This methodology applies to several reports including (but not limited to):

Occupation Overview

 

 

Report Builder (with Skills packets selected)

 

Economy overview