This document provides guidance on finding local economic stories using data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). It outlines the types of local economic statistics available on the BEA website, such as GDP and income statistics for states, counties and metro areas. The document walks through examples of how journalists have used BEA data to identify interesting trends and statistics to build news stories. It also provides instructions for accessing BEA's interactive database to find specific data points.

1. Mining
BEA
Economic
Data
to
Break
Local
Stories
Thomas Dail and Jeannine Aversa
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
April 4, 2013

2. Where
to
Begin?
§ You
might
have
a
hunch
about
something
that
is
happening
in
your
local
economy.
Or,
you
are
on
the
hunt
for
a
compelling
data
point
to
build
a
story
around.
§ Either
way,
if
you
are
willing
to
take
the
=me
to
analyze
BEA’s
interac=ve
database
of
local
economic
sta=s=cs,
the
odds
are
good
that
you
will
come
away
with
an
enterprising
story.
www.bea.gov
2

3. Our
Story
§ Before
we
dig
in,
we
want
to
tell
you
a
liBle
about
ourselves.
fr
§ I’m
Jeannine
Aversa,
I’m
chief
of
public
affairs
and
outreach
at
the
BEA.
Before
I
joined
the
bureau
in
September
2011,
I
worked
as
a
journalist
for
nearly
30
years.
For
more
than
a
decade,
I
was
The
Associated
Press’
chief
economics
writer,
covering
the
Federal
Reserve,
the
Treasury
Department,
the
IMF,
World
Bank
and
of
course
–
all
the
major
economic
indicators!
www.bea.gov

4. Our
Story
§ I’m
Tom
Dail,
and
I’m
a
public
affairs
specialist
at
the
BEA.
I
bring
a
dozen
years
worth
of
experience
in
newspaper
repor=ng
and
in
public
rela=ons.
Before
joining
the
bureau,
I
covered
poli=cs
and
business
for
Freedom
Communica=ons
in
North
Carolina
www.bea.gov

5. Today’s
Goals
§ We
will
walk
you
through
the
types
of
local
economic
sta=s=cs
BEA
has
available
on
its
public
website
and
their
importance.
§ We
will
dissect
several
news
stories
using
BEA
sta=s=cs
and
tell
you
how
to
find
them.
§ We
will
ask
you
to
mine
BEA’s
database
for
specific
data
points.
www.bea.gov

6. Where
to
Begin?
§ From
BEA’s
public
website
(www.bea.gov),
you
can
access
a
treasure
trove
of
local
economic
sta=s=cs
by
using
our
interac=ve
database.
§ Want
to
find
out
how
fast
your
local
economy
is
growing?
The
forces
suppor=ng
growth
or
restraining
it?
You’ll
want
to
analyze
Gross
Domes=c
Product
sta=s=cs
that
BEA
produces
by
state
or
metro
area.
www.bea.gov
6

7. Where
to
Begin?
§ Want
to
find
out
how
much
people
in
your
state,
county
or
metro
area
earn?
Which
industries
are
paying
more
or
less?
§ How
much
is
paid
in
Social
Security,
Medicare,
unemployment
insurance
and
other
government
benefits?
§
Then
you’ll
want
to
troll
through
our
income
sta=s=cs
by
state,
county
or
metro
area.
www.bea.gov
7

8. Where
to
Begin?
§ By
analyzing
BEA’s
local
economic
data,
you’ll
be
able
to
spot
trends
and
gather
historical
context.
You
might
unearth
data
points
that
run
counter
to
“conven=onal
wisdom”
–
useful
in
producing
a
myth-­‐bus=ng
story.
§ Before
you
dive
into
BEA’s
database,
you
probably
will
want
to
take
=me
to
scan
the
local
economic
reports
we
produce.
www.bea.gov
8

9. Where
to
Begin?
A
sampling
of
our
published
reports:
§ GDP
by
Metro
Area.
Sta=s=cs
for
2011.
Released
Feb.
22
§ State
Quarterly
Personal
Income.
Final
quarter
of
2012.
March
27
release
date.
Quarterly
sta=s=cs
for
2013
released
June
28,
Sept.
30
and
Dec.
19.
www.bea.gov

10. Where
to
Begin?
A
sampling
of
our
published
reports:
§ GDP
by
State.
Sta=s=cs
for
2012.
June
6,
release
date.
§ Local
Area
Personal
Income.
Sta=s=cs
for
2012.
Nov.
21
release
date.
www.bea.gov

11. Anatomy
of
a
Story
§ “Bad
Luck
and
Hard
Times
on
the
Menu
at
a
Bus
Terminal
in
West
Virginia,”
The
New
York
Times,
May
11,
2011.
§ Uses
BEA
data
to
unearth
this
sta=s=c:
manufacturing
jobs
fell
by
nearly
40
percent
in
West
Virginia
since
1990.
§ Built
story
around
this
data
point
by
examining
the
ripple
effect
of
those
job
losses
on
the
West
Virginia
town
of
Weirton.
www.bea.gov

12. Finding
the
Data
§ We’re
going
to
walk
you
through
how
to
find
these
data
point.
(Live
demo
takes
place
here,
accompanied
by
handout
of
instruc=ons.)
§ Now
it’s
your
turn.
Exercise
1.
Find
the
rate
of
growth
or
decline
in
manufacturing
jobs
located
in
the
Louisville
metro
area
from
2001
to
2011.
www.bea.gov

13. Anatomy
of
a
Story
§ “Trade-­‐linked
service
jobs
help
lead
El
Paso
income
gains”
§ El
Paso
Times,
Sept.
5,
2012
www.bea.gov

14. Anatomy
of
a
Story
§ Reporter
used
BEA
data
as
the
basis
for
the
story
but
fleshed
it
out
by
talking
to
local
experts.
§ El
Paso's
per-­‐capita
income
grew
4
percent
per
year
from
2001
through
2010
while
na=onal
per-­‐capita
income
grew
2.8
percent.
§ Growth
was
aBributed
to
finance,
real
estate
and
management
=ed
to
cross-­‐border
trade
and
manufacturing
growth
in
Mexico.
www.bea.gov

15. Finding
the
Data
§ We’re
going
to
walk
you
through
how
to
find
these
data
points.
(Live
demo
takes
place
here,
accompanied
by
handout
of
instruc=ons.)
§ Now
it’s
your
turn.
Exercise
2.
Per
capita
personal
income
growth
for
the
El
Paso
metro
area
2001-­‐2010.
Find
the
increase
in
employment
in
finance,
real
estate,
and
professional
services
over
that
=me.
www.bea.gov

16. Anatomy
of
a
Story
§ “Wealth
Rises
in
America’s
Heartland”
USA
Today,
Nov.
27,
2012.
§ Here’s
an
example
of
how
reporters
can
analyze
BEA’s
local
economic
data
to
produce
a
na=onal
story.
www.bea.gov

17. Anatomy
of
a
Story
§ USA
Today
analyzed
BEA’s
per-­‐capita
personal-­‐income
data
for
metro
areas
and
for
coun=es.
(Note:
USA
Today
adjusted
BEA’s
figures
for
infla=on.)
§
Bridgeport-­‐Stamford,
Conn.,
metro
area
had
income
of
$78,504
per
person
in
2011,
the
most
affluent
place
in
the
country
in
the
past
decade,
USA
Today
reported.
www.bea.gov

18. Finding
the
Data
§ We’re
going
to
walk
you
through
how
to
find
these
data
points.
(Live
demo
takes
place
here,
accompanied
by
handout
of
instruc=ons.
§ Now
it’s
your
turn.
Exercise
3.
Find
per-­‐capita
personal
income
for
all
metro
areas.
Rank
them.
Where
does
Louisville
stand?
www.bea.gov

19. Anatomy
of
a
Story
§ Houston
tops
list
for
fastest
growth
§ Houston
Chronicle,
February
22,
2013
§ Based
on
the
metro
GDP
report
released
in
late
February,
the
author
spoke
to
a
local
expert
to
dig
into
the
details
of
the
local
story.
§ Infla=on-­‐adjusted
gross
domes=c
product
for
Houston-­‐Sugar
Land-­‐Baytown
increased
3.7
percent
in
2011.
www.bea.gov

20. Finding
the
Data
§ We’re
going
to
walk
you
through
how
to
find
these
data
points.
(Live
demo
takes
place
here,
accompanied
by
handout
of
instruc=ons.)
§ Now
it’s
your
turn.
Exercise
4.
Find
overall
real
GDP
for
the
Houston
metro
area
in
2011.
Find
Houston-­‐metro
real
GDP
growth
for
construc=on.
www.bea.gov

21. Anatomy
of
a
Story
§ “A
Tricky
Science,”
Durango
Herald,
Oct.
7,
2012
§ “The
USA
Pro
Cycling
Challenge
brought
world
media
to
Durango
as
well
as
thousands
of
spectators.
But
it’s
unclear
how
much
special
events
such
as
the
bicycle
race
help
the
economy.”
–
Durango
Herald
www.bea.gov
2

22. Anatomy
of
a
Story
§ Reporter
dissects
a
regional
economic-­‐impact
study.
Turns
to
BEA’s
User
Guide
on
“RIMS
II”
Regional
Input-­‐Output
Mul=pliers
to
help
analyze
and
truth
squad
a
study.
§ User
Guide
can
be
found
at
hBp://bea.gov/regional/rims/index.cfm
www.bea.gov

23. Helpful
Videos
to
Find
Local
Data
§ You
can
find
links
to
two
videos
on
how
to
find
more
local
BEA
data
at
hBp://bit.ly/econdata13.
§ How
to
find
employee
compensa=on
by
industry
for
a
given
county
§ How
to
find
gross
domes=c
product
(total
goods
and
services
produced)
per
capita
in
a
metro
area
www.bea.gov

24. Where
to
Find
Us
§ BEA’s
Media
Line:
202-­‐606-­‐2649
§ Jeannine
Aversa,
chief
of
public
affairs
and
outreach.
Jeannine.Aversa@bea.gov.
202-­‐606-­‐9327
§ Thomas
Dail,
public
affairs
specialist.
Thomas.Dail@bea.gov.
202-­‐606-­‐9209
§ h"p:/bit.ly/econdata13
for
workshop
slides,
videos,
handouts
www.bea.gov