Develop and disseminate essential state and local labor market information (LMI) for a range of customer groups: 1) job seekers 2) businesses employers 3) workforce and labor market intermediaries…

The Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES), doing business as Job Service, received a formula grant award of $384,443.00 from the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) under the Employment Service/Wagner-Peyser Funded Activities program (CFDA 17.207) for the period of July 1, 2025 through September 30, 2028. The primary deliverables under this award include developing and maintaining a comprehensive workforce information database, producing employment projections, generating statewide economic analysis reports, and ensuring adequate training for labor market information (LMI) staff. MDES will disseminate this essential labor market information to diverse customer groups including job seekers, employers, American Job Center staff, workforce development boards, policymakers, economic development entities, and other stakeholders across Mississippi.

The grant supports universal access employment services and labor market information products designed to facilitate rapid workforce reentry and employer-employee matching. Deliverables emphasize actionable data and resources that enable users to make informed decisions regarding employment, career development, education, and training aligned with high-demand and higher-wage job pathways. MDES has discretion in selecting topics and presentation formats for supplementary reports and analyses beyond the mandatory products, allowing customization to address state and local workforce needs and labor market conditions.

Purpose

The purpose of this grant is to develop and disseminate essential state and local labor market information (LMI) for a range of customer groups: 1) job seekers 2) businesses employers 3) workforce and labor market intermediaries such as employment, school, and career counselors, and case managers at american job centers, who help individuals find a job or make career decisions, or engage businesses seeking skilled workers 4) program and service planners at educational institutions and community-based organizations 5) policy makers, including state and local workforce development boards 6) partners, such as economic development entities and human resource professionals and 7) other customers, including recipients of workforce development grants, researchers, commercial data providers, and the media.

Activities

Grantees must populate and maintain a workforce information database, produce two types of public products (employment projections and a statewide economic analysis report), and ensure LMI staff are adequately trained. ETA also encourages grantees to produce other reports and data in addition to those required. Grantees have wide discretion in both the topics and presentation format. These reports should include accurate data, actionable information, and resources that enable data users to make informed decisions about the reemployment, work-based learning, training, and career pathways strategies that lead to rapid reemployment and worker advancement along a continuum of high-demand and higher wage jobs.

Expected outcomes

By performing these duties users of LMI will have sufficient information to make informed decisions regarding employment, careers, education, and training.

Intended beneficiaries

Job seekers, employers, staff in american job centers, state and local workforce boards, national state local policy makers, students, academic researchers, labor market analysts, and other users of LMI.

Subrecipient activities

A state may use wigs funding to work with a subrecipient to conduct a study or research an LMI topic when a state LMI office does not have sufficient staffing or knowledge to conduct the work themselves.