Contents
II. Contents
A. Data sources

The sources of data vary by type and by level of geographical region. With varying frequencies which depend on availability, published data from numerous secondary sources are assembled for all seven geographical region levels. Within each of the seventeen (17) Labor Force Analysis Regions, approximately 400 households were polled by telephone and 150 to 250 organizations responded to a survey mailed to nearly all employers. Primary data from these surveys administered by CBER are also included. In addition, CBER leases the econometric model developed by Regional Economic Modeling, Inc. (REMI) to make projections for Maine and nine sub-regions. These historical and projected REMI estimates are updated annually and are included in this database.

The source(s) for each individual data item, which are available in the database, can be partitioned into four (4) groupings:
 
1. Published data
Published data come from the following sources:
 
Bureau of Census Center for Business and Economic Research
Dentistryonline Website Labor Force Analysis Employer Survey
Labor Force Analysis Household Survey Maine Bureau of Banking
Maine Department of Education Maine Department of Labor
Maine Department of Marine Resources Maine Department of Public Safety
Maine Department of Taxation Maine Department of Transportation
Maine Public Utilities Commission Maine State Planning Office
Mainearts Website National Climatic Data Center
Office of the Federal Register Regional Economic Modeling, Inc. (REMI)
REMI 2001 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
U.S. Department of Commerce U.S. Department of Education
U.S. Department of Treasury U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Yellowpages Website
 
2. LFA Project
The majority of these data items are comprised of summarized primary data assembled in an exhaustive statewide collection process as part of the Labor Force Analysis Project. Within each of the seventeen (17) LFA regions, approximately 400 households were polled by telephone and 150-250 responses were received from a survey mailed to the majority of the employers in Maine. These data items are presented in the form of frequencies and crosstabulations.

The Waterville and Presque Isle-Caribou LMAs both served as LFA Regions in the pilot study to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a full-scale, state-wide project. The prototype versions of the household and employer survey instruments, which were developed and field tested in these pilot-study regions, are not identical to the more refined instruments used in the remaining fifteen (15) LFA Regions. This means that some of these field data are not identical in form across all 17 LFA Regions. This variance exists for 12 subcategories in the Waterville and Presque Isle-Caribou LFA Regions and for 4 subcategories in the complementary 15 LFA Regions.

 
3. Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Supplement
Prior to the birth of the Maine Comprehensive Economic Development Database, the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Supplement was prepared annually in hard-copy form as a planning and analysis aid for the five Economic Development Districts in Maine: Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments (AVCOG), Eastern Maine Development Corporation (EMDC), Kennebec Valley Council of Governments (KVCOG), Northern Maine Development Commission (NMDC), and Southern Maine Economic Development District (SMEDD). As a stand-alone, hard-copy document, the CEDS Supplement is now extinct. However, the data on which it was based are still updated annually for inclusion in this database in a much more flexible and useful form.

The Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) has compiled these historical data from a variety of in-house, federal, state, local, and private-agency sources. One special feature of the CEDS segment of the database is that it presents a comprehensive set of projections made using the Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI) econometric model. Since updated REMI projections generally become available after year end, these data will continue to be updated each spring.

CEDS tables are denoted by a red * asterisk in the database.
 
4. Regional Economic Modeling, Inc. (REMI) econometric model
The REMI (Regional Economic Modeling, Inc.) econometric model, which is leased by CBER, allows for projection-making for the State of Maine and nine (9) subregions which consist of one, two, or three counties each. Thus, the REMI model does not support projection making at the county level for all sixteen (16) counties. The nine (9) REMI subregions, which can be grouped into larger aggregates, are presented below with the associated Economic Development District specified in parentheses:
  1. Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford (AVCOG)
  2. Hancock and Washington (EMDC)
  3. Penobscot and Piscataquis (EMDC)
  4. Knox and Waldo (EMDC)
  5. Kennebec and Somerset (KVCOG)
  6. Aroostook (NMDC)
  7. Cumberland (SMEDD)
  8. York (SMEDD)
  9. Lincoln and Sagadahoc (not part of an EDD)
REMI projections and historical estimates are updated annually each spring.