Methodology (Is Anything Working?)

The Chicago Reporter calculated unemployment levels and the number of jobs by neighborhood by analyzing the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and Local Employment Dynamics databases. Both statistics were for 2008, the latest year for which the data were available. To figure out the number of people who received job placement services and training, the Reporter analyzed the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services data, which were broken down by wards. The numbers for Chicago’s 19 census regions, called PUMAs, were calculated by adding up figures for all wards that overlap each of these regions. The funding level for job placement programs in each PUMA was determined by looking up the location of all service providers that were supported by funds from the Workforce Investment Act and the Community Development Block Grant, as well as federal stimulus funds allocated to workforce development activities.