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Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a unit of the United States Department of Labor. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics and serves as a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System. The BLS collects, processes, analyzes, and disseminates essential statistical data to the American public, the U.S. Congress, other Federal agencies, State and local governments, business, and labor representatives. The BLS also serves as a statistical resource to the United States Department of Labor, and conducts research measuring the income levels families need to maintain a satisfactory quality of life.

BLS data must satisfy a number of criteria, including relevance to current social and economic issues, timeliness in reflecting today's rapidly changing economic conditions, accuracy and consistently high statistical quality, impartiality in both subject matter and presentation, and accessibility to all. To avoid the appearance of partiality, the dates of major data releases are scheduled more than a year in advance, in coordination with the Office of Management and Budget.

History

The Bureau of Labor was established within the Department of the Interior on June 27, 1884, to collect information about employment and labor. Its creation under the Bureau of Labor Act (23 Stat. 60) stemmed from the findings of U.S. Senator Henry W. Blair's "Labor and Capital Hearings", which examined labor issues and working conditions in the U.S. Statistician Carroll D. Wright became the first U.S. Commissioner of Labor in 1885, a position he held until 1905. The Bureau's placement within the federal government structure changed three times in the first 29 years following its formation. It was made an independent (sub-Cabinet) department by the Department of Labor Act (25 Stat. 182) on June 13, 1888. The Bureau was then incorporated into the Department of Commerce and Labor by the Department of Commerce Act (32 Stat. 827) on February 14, 1903. Finally, it was transferred under the Department of Labor in 1913 where it resides today. The BLS is now headquartered in the Postal Square Building near the United States Capitol and Washington Union Station.

Since 1915, the BLS has published the Monthly Labor Review, a journal focused on the data and methodologies of labor statistics.

The BLS is headed by a commissioner who serves a four-year term from the date he or she takes office. The most recent Commissioner of Labor Statistics is William W. Beach, who was assumed office on March 28, 2019 Dr. William Beach was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 13, 2019. William Beach's Senate Confirmation.

Erica Groshen, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 2, 2013 and sworn in as the 14th Commissioner of Labor Statistics on January 29, 2013, for a term that ended on January 27, 2017. William Wiatrowski, Deputy Commissioner of the BLS, served as Acting Commissioner until the next commissioner, William Beach was sworn in. William Beach served until January 2024, at which time he was succeeded by Erika McEntarfer.

Commissioners

Commissioners of Labor Statistics (1885 to present):

Statistical reporting

Statistics published by the BLS fall into four main categories:

Prices

U.S. Consumer Price Index
Producer Price Index
U.S. Import and Export Price Indices
Consumer Expenditure Survey

Employment and unemployment

Current Population Survey (The "Household Survey")
- The American Time Use Survey
Current Employment Statistics (The "Establishment Survey")
- Payroll Employment
- JOLTS report - Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey
- Economic geography
- Salary Data
Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS)
- List of U.S. states by unemployment rate
Current Employment Statistics State and Area program
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS)
The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)
The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) program
Ten year occupational employment projections
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, called OES until recently
Mass Layoff Statistics--discontinued in 2013

Compensation and working conditions

National Compensation Survey
- Employment Cost Index
Workplace Injury and Fatality Statistics

Productivity

Labor productivity, aggregate and by industry
Multifactor productivity
State labor productivity
Work Stoppage data

Statistical regions

Data produced by the BLS is often categorized into groups of states known as Census Regions. There are four Census Regions, which are further categorized by Census Division as follows:

Northeast Region

New England Division: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
Middle Atlantic Division: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

South Region

South Atlantic Division: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.
East South Central Division: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
West South Central Division: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Midwest Region

East North Central Division: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
West North Central Division: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

West Region

Mountain Division: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.
Pacific Division: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.

Footnotes

External links

Official website
Records of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the National Archives (Record Group 257)
Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Federal Register
Publications of the BLS available on FRASER
Bulletins of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, dating back to 1895
Local Area Unemployment Reports

Text submitted to CC-BY-SA license. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics by Wikipedia (Historical)