On average, economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and CNBC say the economy gained 205,000 payroll jobs in April, compared with 211,000 in March. According to Lehman Brothers, economists' estimates have, on average, missed the payrolls number by about 56,000 jobs over the past year. In an economy that employs roughly 135 million people, that is not a bad margin of error, especially after the huge misses economists posted a couple of years ago. ....The way things are going, says Brown Brothers Harriman portfolio strategist Richard Koss, economists will be forecasting the forecast of the jobs report soon. (Wall Street Journal)

While we're not quite as cynical, the web has ushered in a flood of data. Here are the things we look at regularly:

• Hudson Employment Index
• Monster Employment Index
•     - Monster Local Index
•     - Monster US Employment Index
•     - Monster Europe Employment Index
•     - Monster Canada Employment Index
• American Staffing Association (ASA)
•     - ASA Rebound (Economic Analysis of the Staffing Industry pdf)
•     - ASA Quarterly Trends In Staffing Industry
• US Conference Board (USCB)
•     - USCB Help Wanted Advertising Index
•     - USCB Global Business Cycle Indicators
•     - USCB CEO Confidence
• SHRM Rutgers Line
• White House (US) Employment Statistics Briefing Room
• US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
•     - BLS Occupational Employment Statistics
•     - BLS Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections
•     - BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
• US Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
•     - OPM Federal Employment Statistics
• US Census Department Logitudinal Household Employer Dynamics
• American Institute of Physics (AIP)
•     - AIP Education and Employment Data
• Global Manpower Employment Outlook (pdf)
• Global Manpower Talent Shortage Survey (pdf)
• US CareerInfoNet

The nuances of the changes in the labor force are, not surprisingly, virtually overlooked in the race to develop executive style single digit reporting accuracy. Digging through the details provides a clearer view.

The awkwardly titled US Census Department Longitudinal Household Employer Dynamics is a new attempt to see the realties of movement within small markets.

An immersion in the resources we've listed above will help you begin to see the kind of information you need in your own markets.

Today's Interbiznet Bugler is a global look at the ways in which brain drain is perceived in various countries.