Employment Security economist lands prestigious award - September 23, 2009

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Media contact: Sheryl Hutchison, Communications Director, 360-902-9289

OLYMPIA - Dr. Greg Weeks of the state Employment Security Department is this year’s winner of a national award for excellence in the field of labor-market information.

Weeks directs Employment Security’s Labor Market & Economic Analysis branch, which collects, analyzes and distributes labor-market data for Washington state. He also serves on the labor-market information committee of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA), which sponsors the annual award.

The Vladimir Chavrid Memorial Award is given to those who have made a “sustained and significant contribution to the operation and understanding of labor market information.” 

NASWA is honoring Weeks for his success in tailoring data to the needs of customers, which include jobseekers, the Employment Security and WorkSource staff who serves these customers, agency leaders, state legislators and the federal Department of Labor. Weeks’ staff also was the first in the nation to produce a state-level, scientifically rigorous survey of green jobs that was used as the basis for similar studies in other states.

“Having access to top-notch, usable information about the economy and the labor market is crucial to a lot of people,” said Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee.  “Job seekers use it to navigate a complex and changing labor market, businesses use it to make hiring and investment choices, and policy-makers use it to make decisions that affect the entire state.

“Greg and his staff work hard to fulfill these needs,” she said.

Under Weeks’ direction, LMEA has won nine NASWA awards in the past nine years for labor-market reports and tools.

The award was presented today at NASWA’s national conference in New York.