United States Bureau of Labor Statistics

The BLS traces its origins to 1884 when Congress created a Bureau of Labor within the Department of the Interior, later becoming an independent department in 1888 and finally a permanent bureau in the Department of Labor in 1913.¹ Its mission is to serve as the principal fact-finding agency, providing objective data to inform public policy and private decision-making. Over the decades, the BLS has expanded from basic wage surveys to a comprehensive statistical system covering employment, unemployment, prices, productivity, and workplace injuries. The agency's work is guided by strict principles of objectivity, confidentiality, and scientific rigor, ensuring that its statistics are trusted by economists, policymakers, and the public.

The BLS operates several flagship programs. The Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey provides monthly payroll employment figures, while the Current Population Survey (CPS), conducted jointly with the Census Bureau, yields the unemployment rate.² The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures inflation at the consumer level, and the Producer Price Index (PPI) tracks wholesale prices. The agency also publishes the Employment Cost Index, productivity measures, and the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. Additionally, the BLS compiles the National Compensation Survey and the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, which inform workplace safety regulations. These products are released on a strict schedule, with data revisions handled transparently.

The BLS employs rigorous statistical methodologies, including probability sampling, weighting, and seasonal adjustment, to ensure accuracy and reliability. Data are collected through surveys of households and businesses, administrative records, and direct measurement. The agency adheres to the Office of Management and Budget's statistical standards and undergoes external reviews by the Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Committee. Revisions are common and are disclosed to users. The BLS also maintains a strong commitment to confidentiality, protecting respondent data under federal law. Its methods are documented in technical papers and handbooks, allowing replication and scrutiny by independent researchers.

Beyond headline statistics, the BLS produces niche data such as the American Time Use Survey, which details how Americans spend their days, and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), a key indicator of labor demand. The agency also tracks workplace fatalities through the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, and its International Labor Comparisons program provides cross-country data. A lesser-known fact: the BLS once published a monthly periodical called the Monthly Labor Review, which has featured seminal economic research since 1915. The BLS also operates a network of regional offices and maintains a public microdata archive used extensively by social scientists. Its data have been cited in Nobel Prize-winning economic research, underscoring its foundational role in empirical economics.

Consumer Price Index

A measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services.

Current Population Survey

A monthly survey of households conducted by the Census Bureau for the BLS, providing data on employment and unemployment.

Seasonal adjustment

A statistical technique that removes the effects of seasonal calendar influences on data series.