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Activity Number:
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117
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Type:
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Contributed
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Date/Time:
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Monday, August 7, 2006 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
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Sponsor:
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Section on Government Statistics
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| Abstract - #306591 |
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Title:
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Measuring Employment and Wages in the Aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
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Author(s):
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Linda Unger*+ and Richard Clayton
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Companies:
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Bureau of Labor Statistics and Bureau of Labor Statistics
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Address:
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2 Massachusettes Ave., NE, Washington, DC, 20212,
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Keywords:
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imputation ; estimation ; economic shocks ; GIS ; FEMA ; hurricane
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Abstract:
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Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused vast damage to the Gulf Coast and New Orleans posing difficult measurement issues and opportunities to understand the scope of the damage and assist those planning the recovery. BLS applied its Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages to this challenge. First, the geocoded list of all businesses was linked to FEMA GIS damage areas to profile potential damage when no other current measures existed. The utility and accuracy of the FEMA damage zones for economic determinations are explored. Also, this paper describes special treatments and changes to imputation addressing the special situations caused by large population shifts and damage to business and infrastructure. Lastly, the QCEW business register provides monthly employment and wages through December 2005, thus profiling "before and after" for this early stage of the recovery.
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