F.Y.I.: testing the informativeness of regional and local retail sales data
检验了美国商务部发布的区域和都市区零售销售数据在预测区域就业方面的有用性，发现这些数据能弥补样本量小和波动性大的局限，对地方经济分析有参考价值。
A large collection of published and unpublished retail sales estimates produced by the U.S. Department of Commerce provides potentially valuable current and historical estimates and industry detail for several regions of the country dating back to 1978. Analysts may find these data particularly useful as supplements to published data in monitoring retail spending in some states and metropolitan statistical areas. ; This article examines whether the breadth of detail the data offer can offset such limitations as small sample size and volatility. The author analyzes the information provided by augmenting published data with unpublished data for its usefulness in predicting regional employment. The research suggests that regional and metro retail sales data can aid researchers as well as others in the business of local economic analysis.