THE AREA SKILL SURVEY, THE BEST KNOWN AND LONGEST USED TECHNIQUE FOR FORECASTING LONG-RANGE OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS, HAS COME IN FOR SEVERE CRITICISM ON THE GROUNDS THAT IT IS TOO EXPENSIVE AND TIME-CONSUMING AND THAT MOST EMPLOYERS ARE NOT GOOD ECONOMISTS. A NEW TECHNIQUE IS DESCRIBED, THE EMPLOYMENT SERVICE UNFILLED JOB OPENINGS, OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK APPROACH. ITS ELEMENTS ARE THE UNFILLED JOB OPENINGS IN A LOCAL EMPLOYMENT OFFICE, IDENTIFICATION OF THOSE JOBS OPEN 30 DAYS OR MORE, AND THE ADDITION OF A NATIONAL FORECAST (OBTAINED FROM THE OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK) TEMPERED BY THE LOCAL ANALYST'S KNOWLEDGE AND SUPPLEMENTED BY A FEW ASSOCIATION VISITS. IT IS ESTIMATED THAT THE CONDUCT OF SUCH A SURVEY TO SATISFY VOCATIONAL EDUCATION, MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING ACT, AND OFFICE OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY NEEDS WOULD TAKE A SINGLE MANPOWER ECONOMIST AN AVERAGE OF NOT MORE THAN 6 WEEKS FOR A SURVEY IN A METROPOLITAN AREA. TOTAL COST TO THE EMPLOYMENT SERVICE FOR 150 AREAS, ALL AREAS TO BE COMPLETED IN 1 YEAR, WOULD BE UP TO $200,000. SKILL SURVEYS, NOW USED, MAY COST AS MUCH AS $100,000 FOR ONE LARGE CITY. THIS ARTICLE IS A REPRINT FROM EMPLOYMENT SERVICE REVIEW, JANUARY - FEBRUARY 1967. (PS)