User Preferences

INTRODUCTION

IMPLAN account settings and defaults can be altered using the Preferences menu located in your User Profile. From the IMPLAN dashboard, click on the User Profile icon in the upper right, and select Preferences from the dropdown menu. There are currently two options in Preferences, Default Settings and Notifications.

DEFAULT SETTINGS

Customize IMPLAN even further by adjusting the default settings for the Industry Set, Data Year, Dollar Year, Industry Aggregation Scheme, Household Sets, Occupational Data Year, and Occupational Aggregation Level used within projects. Changes to default settings are applicable throughout the entire application and are not on a per-project basis. 

INDUSTRY SET

The Industry Set preference indicates the set of IMPLAN Industries to use for an analysis. IMPLAN will automatically select the preferred Industry Set for any Project created in IMPLAN (unless otherwise specified by the user when creating a New Project). The system default for this Preference is the IMPLAN 546 U.S. based Industry Set, but this can be changed from the dropdown menu. 

For instance, if we select the 37 Industries (International) as our default from the dropdown menu, each subsequent project will start in the 37 Industry Set. Also note that changing the Industry Set Preference will automatically change all other default settings to be in accordance with the selected Industry Set.

DATA YEAR

Data Year is the year of the dataset utilized in an analysis. By selecting a Default Setting for the Data Year, IMPLAN will automatically select that Data Year when creating a new project. The user can always change the Data Year within a project by using the drop-down menu on the Regions screen or in the selected group on the Impact screen.

In addition to each of the annual datasets, a user can also select the System Default to be the Default Data Year. Selecting the System Default will allow IMPLAN to automatically set it to the most recent Data Year as it becomes available. 

DOLLAR YEAR

In IMPLAN, the Dollar Year is the year in which the dollars are represented on the screen. Dollar Year selections occur on both the Impacts and Results screens. IMPLAN uses them to determine the appropriate Deflator for adjusting to the selected Data Year. On the Impact screen, this is usually set to the same year in which the event occurred or is expected to occur. On the Results screen, Dollar Year is set to the year in which to report results.

By setting a default Dollar Year, IMPLAN will automatically display that Dollar Year selection in both the Impact and Results for every new project. These changes are not retroactive on Selected Groups in the Impacts screen from previous projects. The user can always change the Dollar Year within a new or previous Project by using the drop-down menu on each Group in the Impacts page.  

However, the Dollar Year on the Results screen is retroactive and will automatically display the Default Dollar Year Setting, even on previous projects. Use the Dollar Year filter on the Results page to change from the default setting.

IMPLAN allows a user to select any year between 1997-2060 as the default Dollar Year. In addition, a user can also select the Current Year to be their Default Dollar Year. Selecting the Current Year will allow IMPLAN to automatically change to the Dollar Year to match the current calendar year.

INDUSTRY AGGREGATION SCHEME

The Industry Aggregation Scheme default allows a user to specify the sectoring scheme that will be applied to their IMPLAN Projects (based on the Industry set Preference). If the Industry set default is set to the IMPLAN 546, then the IMPLAN 546 Industry Aggregation Scheme is the system default. This can be changed to any Aggregation Scheme that utilizes the IMPLAN 546 Industry set, including Custom Aggregation Schemes. For example, we could also utilize the NAICS 2-Digit Quick Aggregation Scheme as our Preference, making this the Industry Aggregation Scheme that follows us throughout our IMPLAN Project. 

OCCUPATION DATA YEAR

IMPLAN has added its Occupation by Industry data to the IMPLAN application. This dataset shows estimates of occupation employment, wages, hours, and core competencies which include knowledge, skills, abilities, education, work experience, and on-the-job training levels for each of the 823 individual occupations. The dataset is only available for the U.S. Regions and can be found under the Region Details or applied to Project Results. 

By selecting a Default Occupation Data Year, IMPLAN will automatically select that Occupation Data Year when creating a new project. This change is retroactive. When viewing a previous project, IMPLAN will display the Default Occupation Data Year in the Occupation tables. The user can always change the Occupation Data Year within a Project by using the Filter on the Regions Details and Results screens. 

In addition to each of the Occupational datasets, a user can also select the System Default. Selecting the System Default will allow IMPLAN to automatically set it to the most recent Data Year as it becomes available. 

OCCUPATION AGGREGATION LEVEL

Occupation data and results are going to be presented at the default level specified in the Occupation Aggregation Level. The data levels generally correspond to the BLS’s Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes. Major is the most aggregated, followed by Minor, Broad, and Detail. The system default for this preference is going to be 3-digit or the Minor level, but this can be changed to any Occupational Aggregation Levels 1-5. 

The SOC categorizes occupations into several levels of detail, including 800+ detailed occupations which comprise 400+ broad groups, ~100 minor groups, and 23 major groups. For example, the 2018 occupation data had the following occupation counts by level:

NOTIFICATIONS

The other User Preference available to specify is for notifications. Currently, the user has the ability to enable or disable email notifications for project sharing. Enabling these notifications means that the user will get an email letting them know that an IMPLAN Project has been shared with their account. Use the slider to enable or disable the notifications, then click Save.

RELATED ARTICLES

Selecting a Dollar Year & Data Year

Industry Aggregation

Written August 30, 2023