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Q. Can I import an Excel 2007 spreadsheet?
Q. How many years of data should I have?
Q. What is the best way to import my data?
Q. How do I backup my Short Term data?
Q. What are the major steps involved in running the Short Term System?

Q. Can I import an Excel 2007 spreadsheet?

Spreadsheets created in Excel 2007 can not be imported. You will need to save it in a version prior to 2007 and then import.

Q. How many years of data should I have?

You should have at least seven years of data. It is wise to create your data series with the longest time frame possible. The employment series must be monthly data. It is recommended to have all series begin and end at the same dates. If series begin at different times they must end at the same time period. Employment and indicators must also have the same ending dates.

Q. What is the best way to import my data?

Choose one of three file formats as given in C:\STIP\forecast\spreadsheets. These spreadsheets contain example data. Make a copy of the chosen spreadsheet and put in your data. Just use the spreadsheets for data values. Do not perform any calculations or add any graphs, etc. to the spreadsheets.

Use separate spreadsheets for your statewide data and for each sub-state area.

For statewide data, determine which detailed level and super-sector industries you want to project. You do not need to project every industry. You will create two spreadsheets. One spreadsheet will include the detailed level (3 or 4-digit NAICS) plus NAICS 000000, Total All Industries. The other spreadsheet will just include super-sector data.

Also in the statewide spreadsheets make sure the industry codes are consistent with what you have in the industry directory. In STIP see Data - Industry Directory Maintenance.

After the spreadsheets are completed, go to the Data menu in the STIP program. Under the Data menu choose Import Employment Series - Spreadsheet.

Import the detailed level data using the "detail industry" option in the Import Employment from Spreadsheet module.

The super-sector data will be imported twice. First import it using the "detail industry" option. Then import it using the "supersector" option. Importing super-sector data as "detail" is desirable in order to view the historical quarterly super-sectors with the projected values in the View Projections module, otherwise you will only see the projected values for super-sectors.

For sub-state data you must import the same industries as you did for statewide. In some states, some of these industries may have no employment in the sub-state area. In this case, to use the sub-state module you must include the industry but zero-fill employment levels.

Also, in the sub-state spreadsheets make sure the industry codes and sub-state area codes are consistent with what you have in the industry directory (in STIP see Data - Industry Directory Maintenance, Data - Geographic Area Type Maintenance, and Data - Geographic Area Maintenance).

Import separate spreadsheets for each area. In addition, for each area create separate spreadsheets for the detailed industries (make sure to include NAICS 000000) and the super-sectors. Follow the same import steps as listed above for the statewide data.

Q. How do I backup my Short Term data?

STIP contains data in two folders C:\STIP\common\data and C:\STIP\forecast\data. Each of these "data" folders can be copied in their entirety to a backup location. If a file becomes corrupt you can then copy both data folders back to their respective areas in STIP and continue on (from the date of the copy). Make sure you backup the data often so that you can restore the most current data (forecasts, employment updates, etc.). You can also retain different versions (different forecast periods) of the data by renaming the folders once you have copied them to the backup location, just remember if you are going to use those folders as the current working folders in STIP they must be named "data".

Q. What are the major steps involved in running the Short Term System?

The following are the major steps:

1. Review and define the area types using Geographic Area Type Maintenance.
2. Review and define the areas using Geographic Area Maintenance.
3. Review and define industries using Industry Directory Maintenance.
4. Review and define indicators using Indicator Directory Maintenance.
5. Set up the spreadsheets for historical employment and indicators series as defined in the directories.
6. Import the historical series data for industry employment and indicators.
7. Run Data Round Analysis to determine any problems associated with the imported data. Review the available industries, available indicators, and geographic information. Flags will be set for any problem areas in the Warning column.
8. Adjust data as needed and re-run Data Round Analysis.
9. Review the employment data in Preview Employment.
10. Review the indicators data in Preview Indicators.
11. Run Leading Index and select indicators to use for projecting.
12. Run Project Single Region and project the state industries. Select the models, analyze results, and save projections until all industries are completed. Make comments in the Notebook as needed.
13. If developing sub-state projections, import the sub-state data if not included in the same import file as the statewide data.
14. Run and save indicators for each sub-state area.
15. Run Project Multiple Regions.
16. Create output files as needed.
17. Run Local Analysis as needed.
18. Create Industry Control Totals (ICT) output file.