In the Department of Labor's special tabulations of Census data on Limited
English proficient (LEP) populations, each tabulation is designed to match
the service area of a state or local Workforce Investment Area. LWIA
service areas were translated into Census geographical divisions such as
counties, cities, towns, Native American reservations and other units. Then
the results were encoded into a SAS computer program that enabled
Census to identify the people and households living in each service area
at the time of the 2000 Census.
Process: The original source for the LWIA definitions was a list of WIA
service areas compiled by the National Association of Counties (NACO).
A draft version of the definitions, based on the NACO data, was circulated
to Workforce Development staff in each state for review and comment in
July 2003. State staff suggested many changes and updates to the NACO
list, and those changes are reflected in these definitions. Census also ran
cross-checks to ensure that the entire population was covered in each state.
Time Value: For the most part, the definitions shown here reflect the LWIA
boundaries, names and LWIA numbers in effect in mid-2003. A few states
supplied additional feedback between September and November 2003.
How to use the Definition Worksheets
File Layout and Contents
This workbook 
file contains 52 worksheets, one for each state plus the
District of Columbia and the Navajo Nation multi-state service area.
You can access the worksheet for a state by clicking on the gray tabs at
the bottom of the screen. Use the < > arrows at the bottom left to scroll
through the list of states, which are identified by their abbreviations.
Each state worksheet contains all the LWIA definitions for the state. As shown
in the example below, the first two columns of the worksheet give the
LWIA
(WIASARD)
number and name of the LWIA. This information appears in the first
row of the definition. You can search for a particular LWIA by scrolling vertically
with the up and down arrows to the right, or the PageUp / PageDown keys.
Local Workforce Investment Area Geographical Equivalency Table
06 CALIFORNIA NACO Info |
|---|
LWIA
No. | LWIA Name | Oper-
ation | County Name | Place name |
GEO_ID | Sumlev | Geoname | State | County
/Place |
|---|
|
6185
|
Alameda
County
|
=
|
Alameda
|
|
05000US06001
|
050
|
Alameda County,
California
|
06
|
001
|
|
|
| subtract | Oakland(City) | 16000US0653000 | 160 | Oakland city, California | 06 | 53000 |
| 6265 | Anaheim(City) | = | | Anaheim(City) | 16000US0602000 | 160 | Anaheim city, California | 06 | 02000 |
|---|
| 6035 | Carson/
Lomita/
Torrance | add | | Carson | 16000US0611530 | 160 | Carson city, California | 06 | 11530 |
|---|
| | add | | Lomita | 16000US0642468 | 160 | Lomita city, California | 06 | 42468 |
|---|
| | add | | Torrance | 16000US0680000 | 160 | Torrance city, California | 06 | 80000 |
|---|
The third column,
Operation, shows how the various Census units were
combined to form the LIWA service area. Most LWIAs are formed by
adding together several counties or cities ('add'), while others have only
one unit (' = '). In a few cases, such as 'balance of county' LWIAs, one or
more geographical areas will be subtracted from a larger area.
Columns 4 and 5, County name and Place name, describe the geographical
units that make up the LWIA. Any unit that is not a county will be listed
in the Place column.
The final 5-6 columns with blue headings -- Geo_ID, Sumlev, Geoname, State,
County / Place, and in some states Cousub or County subdivision -- contain
the Census geographical codes that uniquely identify the various parts of the
service area. These codes were used in the SAS computer program that
produced the tabulations.
Viewing the tables on-screen
Use the arrow keys, PageUp/ PageDown keys, and scroll bars to move to
different parts of the worksheet. The Zoom feature in the top menu bar
(very much like Word's) allows you to reduce or enlarge the view.
You can also hold the table headings in view while you move around in the
worksheet. Position the cursor at the 'corner' of the top and left-hand labels
(for example, cell C6), and click on Window > Freeze panes in the top menu.
Which Tabulation Covers My County or Town?
- You can often use Excel's search capabilities to find the name of a
specific county or urban place within a state's worksheet. This can be helpful
if you do not know which LWIA service area a place belongs to, but want to find
the tabulation that covers its population.
After going to the correct State worksheet, position the cursor in the upper
left-hand cell. Then select Edit > Find in the Excel menu, and type in all or part
of the name. Click on Find Next on the right-hand side of the Find dialogue box,
and Excel will find the first cell that contains the name. After closing the
Find dialogue box, scroll to the left and up to find the LWIA that includes your
target place.
Helpful hint: LWIAs in most states are defined by counties rather than
places. If Excel can not find the specific place name you ask for, try the
name of the county where it is located.
- For large states with many LWIAs, you can use the same procedure
to find the name of a particular LWIA. Please note that recent name
changes will not be reflected in this file, and that an LWIA might be
known by different names.
