El Dorado County’s Economic Development Division has upgraded its subscription to the Buxton customer analytics database, which allows businesses in the county to access customer, demographic and economic data at no charge.

“With this upgrade in service, businesses in the area have even more access to better market information that can help their bottom line,” said Norma Santiago, chair of the Board of Supervisors. “The county is working to construct a better business climate for all of its businesses, and this is an important tool in our toolbox.”

An Experian company, Buxton compiles a variety of sales information to help businesses understand who their customers are, where their customers are located and each customer’s value. Through the program, the county can run an array of reports to help local businesses learn demographic information, sales leakage, drive-times and other data.

“Our economic development work will focus heavily on retention and expansion, on helping our local existing businesses thrive,” said Kim Kerr, the county’s assistant chief administrative officer. “We’re calling it economic ‘gardening,’ and any interested business owner can call to access this service.”

Through the county’s partnership with the Golden Sierra Job Training Agency, businesses also have access to economic and workforce data including labor pool information, wage data, education and training programs through a service called Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc. The service compiles labor market statistics from 90 public and private sources including state and federal data sources.

“With EMSI, a business can know if they are paying competitive wages, what skills are necessary for certain job types, if their business sector is growing or whether certain jobs are growing or declining,” Santiago said. “Between Buxton and EMSI there is a wealth of information available for El Dorado County businesses, and at no cost; we just want them to know this resource is available to them.”

Business owners interested in information from either service should contact the Chief Administrative Office, economic development division at 530-621-5595 or by email at economic.develoment@edcgov.us.