by William L. Seyfried

This study utilizes a quantifiable measure - 'Beta analysis' - to examine the volatility and growth rate of sectoral employment trends relative to overall employment trends; and to investigate the hypothesis of whether these patterns are similar in various regions of the country relative to those of the nation. The study covers major sectors of the economy for the period commencing with the start of the recovery from the last recession. The empirical results reveal that Beta analysis is a simple and useful statistical tool for analyzing employment trends.