H1-B visas in California from 2006-2012

Here we show the total number of approved, H1-B visas for employers within the state of California between the years of 2006 to 2012. H1-B data were gathered from the U.S. Department of Labor.In addition, occupation codes were obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in order to differentiate STEM occupations from others. Finally, I include the yearly average of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Below are some visualizations attached to this data that are fully interactive both spatially and temporally.

View of California H1-B by Zip Code

Below I show the total number of H1-B visas (dark blue) on top of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA, gray) for each fiscal year from 2006-2012. What we can see immediately is that the trends seen in the total number of H1-B visas is perfectly mirrored in that of the DJIA, affirming that H1-Bs are a good proxy for determining economic health. I also show for each fiscal year, the top employers in California in terms of the number of approved H1-B workers they employ. This allows us to track the conomic health of these companies over a temporal range of six years.

View of California H1-B by City

Below is a view of the same dataset, but organized by top cities employing these H1-B workers. While the map is centered on the Bay Area, it is fully expandable to encompass all of California. I show both an equal area map that tracks which cities employ the most people as a function of time, but also how many workers in each area are employed in a STEM field, as defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.