Background Information
Data Sources
Although the report aims to use the best and most recent data available, data sets will present different issues. Data will have exclusions, have delays in availability, and may be incomplete. Here is an overview of data sources, notes, and identified potential inaccuracies.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Source for unemployment rates, and data by industry including establishments, employment, and wages. Data for private and public establishments were combined. Data does not include proprietors, unincorporated self-employed, and some agricultural employment. BLS suppresses data where it would identify individual businesses. Non-seasonally adjusted data was used. The BLS is also the source of unemployment rates, with the most recent data from June 2020.
U.S. Census Data
The Census is the source for resident population data (population, income, and commute, education, race, occupation) as well as establishments by size. One year estimates were used for population data, with the most recent available year being 2018. Statistics of US Businesses (SUSB) was used for establishment data, the most recent available data is from 2017.
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
The BEA is the source for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data. Real GDP was used, which presents data adjusted to account for inflation, using 2012 as a base year. The GDP data provides estimates of the value of goods and services produced in an area. Raw GDP for states and the nation is presented in millions, county and MSA data is presented in thousands. All data was adjusted for the report. The most recent available data is from 2018.
Chester County Data
Building permits and assessment data were cross referenced and combined to compile residential and non-residential construction and sales data. Additional outreach to municipalities, site visits, and aerial image review was completed to ascertain status of construction projects. Estimated year of construction was used for non-residential projects built prior to 2019 where annual aerial photography was unavailable. Residential and non-residential construction data is updated annually, with the most recent data year being 2019.
CoStar
Real estate data (rent and vacancy rates) were collected using CoStar data. CoStar uses calls, property canvasing, and photographs to gather data. Due to the large number of properties, data may not be fully up to date or exhaustive. Data is updated continuously.
ArcGIS
Business Analyst Data on individual establishments including location, name, and employment size was taken from ArcGIS Business Analyst. The ArcGIS data is drawn from Infogroup, which uses business sources, directories, and direct contact for information. The data is updated quarterly, with the most recent data availability being January 2020. Infogroup data estimates employment and sales data based on comparables where data is unavailable. The business list is not exhaustive of all establishments. As the data is drawn from different sources, and businesses will report data differently, data display varies. Individual locations of larger entities may list employment for the local location, or full entity. Data often lists multiple establishments under the same enterprise separately, which may cause inaccuracies in the largest employers' data.