The LMI Insider – August 2025

LMI Insider
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August 2025
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Welcome to LMI Insider –

A Publication of the Labor Market Information Institute
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Features
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✨ We Want You on Our Team! ✨
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The LMI Institute is looking for passionate members to bring their ideas and energy to our committees. Whether you love shaping training, brainstorming new products, or helping us plan an amazing conference, there’s a spot for you!

Jump in, get involved, and make your mark—because the Institute is better with YOU on board. Contact Jennie Allison if you have any questions (jallison@crec.net).
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2025 PMP Summit Fast Approaching!
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In just over a month, the Projections Managing Partnership (PMP) Summit kicks off in Austin, Texas! Join us for cutting-edge sessions on:
  • Updates from national partners
  • Enhancements to Projections Suite and ULMITA
  • The role of AI in employment projections
  • Innovative state and local practices
  • Analyst roundtables and networking opportunities
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State LMI staff, don’t miss this chance to connect, learn, and share. Register now for in-person or virtual attendance (choose “Online Attendee” if streaming).

A limited hotel block is available until September 2, 2025 (or until sold out).

Questions? Contact Tucker Plumlee at tplumlee@crec.net.
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Federal Updates
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Changes to the Consumer Price Index
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is changing how it collects data for the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Starting in August, the BLS will replace the survey data collected for the CPI’s wireless telephone services index with secondary source data and index methods. They have released a paper and factsheet on these changes, both of which are linked below. BLS also suspended data collection in Lincoln, NE, Provo, UT, and Buffalo, NY in April and June. A notice on July 29th also stated that there will be roughly a 15% sample reduction (on average) across the other 72 areas where the BLS collects price data. The BLS has studied the impact of dropping Lincoln, Provo, and Buffalo, and found it will have minimal impact on the Urban CPI, they have not measured the impact of collection suspension on subnational and sub-aggregate item indexes. Finally, the rebasing of CPI Indexes has been delayed, with a new date yet to be determined.

As a follow-up to last month’s newsletter, at the time of distribution there has been no further education survey data released in the Digest of Education Statistics, or a more Complete Condition of Education Report.
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Upcoming Events, Trainings, and Webinars
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Data Insights Roundtable: California Workforce Supply and Demand Dashboard

August 26, 2025

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET
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2025 Projections Managing Partnership (PMP) Summit

September 24 – 26, 2025

Austin, TX
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LMI Institute and C2ER Conference

June 17 – 20, 2026

Memphis, Tennessee
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Insider View – Be in the Know
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Friends of the BLS Statement on E.J. Antoni Nomination for BLS Commissioner
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The Friends of the of the BLS released a statement on the nomination of E.J. Antoni to the position of BLS Commissioner on August 13th. The initial paragraph is quoted below:
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a world-class 141-year-old institution, is at a crucial crossroad. Stakeholders inside and outside of BLS recognize its long-standing need to modernize key statistical products to prevent erosion in quality. Compounding the problem, since January 2025, the Bureau has lost twenty percent of its staff, from novice to expert levels (including a third of its leaders), which has crippled its ability to sustain key statistical products and innovate for the future statistical needs of the US economy. In addition, the unwarranted dismissal of Dr. Erika McEntarfer, the 16th Commissioner of Labor Statistics, and the baseless characterization of BLS employment estimates as “fake” and “rigged” have undermined public trust in the Bureau’s integrity and the usefulness of its statistics.
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Data Insights Roundtable Reminder
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A quick reminder that on August 26th at 2pm ET we will hear from California’s Employment Development Department about their Workforce Supply and Demand Dashboard, recipient of the Best State LMI Focus or Collaboration on Access to Opportunity award at the 65th Annual C2ER + LMI Conference.

Join us to discover how this powerful tool was developed and hear directly from the team behind the dashboard to gain insights into the lessons learned along the way. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore a standout example of state-level LMI in action!
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Featured Reports and Tools
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Missouri
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ACT WorkKeys® assessments score test takers on the foundational skills necessary for success in the workplace, including applied math, “workplace documents,” and graphic literacy. Missouri’s Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC) has developed a dashboard that provides employment, growth, and wage data for all occupations, as well as the skill levels associated with each. This allows users to search and filter for occupations that fit their skill level and view data for their region in Missouri. These occupations also are given a ‘Career Grade’ based on average wages, annual openings, and current and projected employment.
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Utah
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If it has been a while since you visited Utah’s LMI landing page, visit it now! It has easy to navigate snapshots of Utah’s economy, starting with change in year-to-year change in non-farm jobs and employment. One very interesting report is their Construction/Sales page. It shows the number of dwelling unit permits issued each year, and the change in nonresidential construction values, change in total construction values, and annual change in gross taxable sales within the state. This data goes down to the county level so you can see what is happening in your region!
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Does your state have a projections dashboard?

Share it with us! We’d love to see it and feature it in the monthly LMI Insider.
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We welcome your feedback on this edition, and for content suggestions in future editions, of The LMI Insider. Please direct comments, questions, or for more information on the LMI Institute to Marty Romitti, CREC Senior Vice President, at mromitti@crec.net
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To subscribe to the C2ER/LMI Weekly Updates click here
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