Name and/or Code Changes to Counties or County Equivalent Entities
In calendar year 2022, the State of Connecticut finalized its adoption of the State’s nine Councils of Governments (COGs) as its county-equivalent geographic unit. Connecticut’s 9 COGs have different geographic boundaries and FIPS Codes than the previous counties. More information about the changes, as well as a crosswalk between the counties and COGs, can be found on the Census Bureau’s webpage for Changes to Counties and County Equivalent Entities. While the demographic data from the U.S. Census Bureau incorporated the new COGs starting with their 2023 data, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Employment and Wages (CEW) data did not incorporate the new COGs until their 2024 data; therefore, the new COGs will be incorporated into IMPLAN data sets beginning with the 2024 IMPLAN data.
Name and/or Code Changes to Counties or County Equivalent Entities
New Method for Proprietor Employment Estimation
Starting with its 2023 data, released in the Spring of 2025, the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ (BEA) Regional Economic Accounts (REA) program no longer publishes any employment data. Because the BEA REA data served as our only source of proprietor counts, the loss of these employment data has necessitated new methods to estimate proprietor counts for all sectors. A detailed overview of our new approach to recreating this data can be found here.
Changes to the Handling of CEW Exclusions (Employment Only)
Because the Bureau of Labor Statistics’(BLS) Census of Employment and Wages (CEW) data have several important exclusions, it is necessary to either apply data-based, calculated adjustment factors to the CEW data or to turn entirely to other data sources for sectors where such exclusions are present in the CEW data. The deprecation of the BEA REA employment data (noted above) has necessitated several important changes to these two approaches to dealing with CEW exclusions:
- Regarding the calculated adjustment factors, we were previously able to calculate separate adjustment factors for employment vs. wages, with employment-based adjustment factors applied to CEW employment values and income-based adjustment factors applied to CEW wages values. Now that the BEA REA data do not contain any employment values, we now apply income-based adjustment factors to both CEW employment and CEW wages.
- For Federal Government Military employment, which is not covered by the CEW data and for which we previously relied on projected BEA REA values, we now use state-level employment figures from the Department of Defense distributed to counties using proprietary methods that incorporate several elements from the county-level BEA REA data.
- For all other Federal, State, and Local Government sectors, which have several exclusions in the CEW data, the largest of which is of elected officials, we used to distribute the projected BEA REA values for its more-aggregate government sectors (Federal Government Non-Military, State Government, and Local Government) among IMPLAN’s various government sectors using the CEW data, which implicitly distributed the missing employees among all IMPLAN government sectors. We now use the adjustment factor approach for all non-military IMPLAN government sectors, which has the advantage of being able to more accurately apply the adjustment factors to just those 3 sectors which the elected officials are excluded (namely, Federal Government Non-Military, State Government Other Services, and Local Government Other Services)
- For the Rail Transportation sector, for which we used to rely on the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) employment data only as first-estimates in cases where the BEA REA figure was non-disclosed, the RRB data now serve as our only source of employment data for this sector at all geographic levels.
No Longer Controlling Farm-Sector Employment Estimates to BEA REA Totals
Due to the deprecation of the BEA’s Regional Economic Accounts (REA) tables SA25, SA27, and CA25, we no longer have projected employment control totals for the aggregate “Farm” sector. The purpose of controlling these projected totals was to incorporate more-recent employment data to reduce the influence of farm commodity price changes on farm sector employment values. Fortunately, we have additional procedures in place to reduce the influence of farm commodity price changes on farm sector employment (see the 2023 IMPLAN Data Release Notes for more details). Additionally, because these values were IMPLAN-projected estimates (due to these BEA REA tables being lagged one year relative to the IMPLAN data year), they were not true control totals and their value as such should not be overstated.
Incorporation of 2022 Census of Agriculture for Zip Codes
Each year, IMPLAN uses farm counts by zip code from the latest Census of Agriculture to distribute county-level farm industry data to zip codes. This marks the first year in which we were able to use the zip code level farm counts from the 2022 Census of Agriculture. Prior IMPLAN zip code data used data from the 2017 census.
Improvements to Farm-Sector Employment, Wages, and Output
Because the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Census of Employment and Wages (CEW) data only cover roughly 90% of farm employment, our only use of the CEW data for farm sectors had been to get, in combination with BEA Benchmark I-O data, BEA Benchmark Year ratios of Wage and Salary Employment to Output and Employee Compensation per Wage and Salary Employment. Starting with the 2024 Data Year, we now also use the farm-sector CEW data as minima for IMPLAN farm-sector Wage and Salary Employment and Employee Compensation in cases where the CEW data are fully-disclosed for a given geography and farm sector.
Additionally, starting with the 2024 IMPLAN data, we now control all farm-sector output estimates to the “Farm Output” value from BEA NIPA Table 7.3.5 (Farm Sector Output, Gross Value Added, and Net Value Added).
Incorporation of 2022 Census of State and Local Government Finances
Every 5 years, the Census Bureau conducts the Census of Governments. In the intervening 4 years, the Census Bureau conducts the Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances. The Census provides the same data elements contained in the Annual Survey, but for all units of government rather than a sample subset (the Annual Survey contains roughly half the records as the Census). The 2022 Census of Government data were released in late 2024 and have been incorporated into the IMPLAN data beginning with the 2024 IMPLAN data. IMPLAN primarily uses these data as distributors for more aggregate but more recent data, as described in Government Institution Data Sources & Methods. However, we also report these data in the Data Library section of the IMPLAN application, as described in Tax Data in Data Library. The new Census and Annual Surveys incorporate several changes that impact multiple areas of public finance data, as summarized below and documented in more detail in this Census document.
Debt
Conduit debt that isn't backed by a government guarantee is no longer reported as a liability of the issuing government. Additionally, the category for "public debt for private purposes" has been merged into the total long-term debt category.
Assets
The publication of non-insurance trust cash and security holdings has been discontinued. This includes the elimination of sub-categories like offsets to debt, bond funds, and others. However, asset data for insurance trusts, such as public pension systems, will continue to be published.
Public Welfare
Several specific welfare program codes have been consolidated into a single public welfare category.
- “Vendor payments" are now included under "other current welfare expenditures".
- While data on cash assistance payments will still be collected, the breakdown by specific programs has been discontinued.
- The distinction between welfare institutions and general welfare will be maintained.
Other Notable Changes
- Social Insurance Trust Funds: Social insurance trust funds are now treated as if they are outside of general government operations.
- Capital Expenditures: The various categories for capital expenditures, such as construction and equipment, have been combined into a single category.
- Assistance and Subsidies: Welfare categories have been merged and are now tabulated under current expenditures. The veteran's subsidies category has been eliminated. These changes will likely lower subsidy totals for states and increase them for local governments.
- Intergovernmental Transactions: At the local level, the detailed breakdown of intergovernmental revenue and expenditures by function has been eliminated due to data collection difficulties. The detailed breakdown will be kept at the state level.
Changes in the Distribution of Transfers Data
As a result of the elimination of BEA REA tables CA35 and SA35, we now turn to alternate data to distribute the following transfers to states and counties:
- 7001 OPI paying Business Transfers: We now use a lagged ratio of Personal Current Transfer Receipts: Current transfer receipts of individuals from businesses from the last available iteration of CA35 data published by the BEA. This is then multiplied by the current Personal Current Transfer Receipts data for each data year to recalculate a value for Current transfer receipts of individuals from businesses for the current data year. This is then used as the transfer distributor.
- Federal Government Paying Households: We now use Income Maintenance Benefits (CA30 Line Code 0060) as our distributor.
- State and Local Government Paying Households: We now use Income Maintenance Benefits (CA30 Line Code 0060) as our distributor.
S-W Index Now Calculated using W&S Employment Only
The Shannon-Weaver Index of Diversity (S-W Index) can be calculated using any number of variables. Prior to the 2024 Data Year, IMPLAN calculated the S-W Index using Total Employment, which includes both Wage and Salary Employment and Proprietors. Because proprietor counts are based on the location of the proprietor’s residence, as opposed to the location of the business, including proprietors in the calculation of the S-W Index can lead to overstated levels of economic diversity in areas where a number of industries exist solely due to the presence of proprietors. Thus, starting with the 2024 IMPLAN data, the S-W Index is now calculated using wage and salary employment only.
Written October, 21, 2025