Brian W Sloboda University of Maryland Global Campus and US Department of Labor   Washington, DC 20590 USA   brian.sloboda@faculty.umgc.edu     Biographical Sketch: Currently, I am an economist at the US Department of Labor. Before this, I was a pricing economist at USPS. I was also an economist in the US Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Prior to that, I was an economist in the US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.   Primary Research Focus: Regional Economics, Time Series Analysis, Labor Economics, and Economic Growth   JEL Areas: C1 : Econometric and Statistical Methods: General R : Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics