Bureau of Labor Statistics

Bureau of Labor Statistics
Agency overview
Formed	1884
Jurisdiction	Federal government of the United States
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Employees	2,500
Agency executive	John M. Galvin, (Acting) Commissioner
Website
www.dol.gov/bls

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. The BLS is a governmental statistical agency that 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 Department of Labor.

The 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, and impartiality in both subject matter and presentation. 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 in the Department of the Interior by the Bureau of Labor Act (23 Stat. 60), June 27, 1884, to collect information about employment and labor. It became an independent (sub-Cabinet) department by the Department of Labor Act (25 Stat. 182), June 13, 1888. It was incorporated, as the Bureau of Labor, into the Department of Commerce and Labor by the Department of Commerce Act (32 Stat. 827), February 14, 1903. Finally, it was transferred to 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 Union Station. The current Acting Commissioner of the BLS is John M. Galvin.

Statistical reporting

Surveys, Indices, and Statistics produced by the BLS fall into 4 main categories:

Prices

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

Employment and Unemployment

Unemployment measurements by the BLS from 1950 - 2010

• Current Population Survey (The "Household Survey")
  • The American Time Use Survey
• Current Employment Statistics (The "Establishment Survey")
  • Payroll Employment
• 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 Statistics (OES)
• Mass Layoff Survey

Compensation and Working Conditions

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

Productivity

• Productivity

Statistical Regions

Data produced by the BLS is often categorized into groups of states known as Census Regions. There are 4 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.

See also

• National Income and Product Accounts
• Economic reports
• Index of Leading Indicators
• U.S. Census Bureau
• Bureau of Economic Analysis
• Career Guide to Industries
• Occupational Outlook Handbook
• Monthly Labor Review

Publications

• Compensation and Working Conditions
• Occupational Outlook Quarterly
• Economic News Releases
• Issues in Labor Statistics

Further reading

• Joseph P. Goldberg and William T. Moye, The First 100 Years of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bulletin No. 2235. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1985.

External links

• Official website
• News related to Bureau of Labor Statistics at Wikinews
• Labor Statistics Bureau Meeting Notices and Rule Changes from The Federal Register RSS Feed