View source for Bureau of Labor Statistics

{{short description|US government agency}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}} {{Use American English|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox government agency
| logo            = Bureau of Labor Statistics logo.svg
| logo_width      = 200
| image           = Postal Square Building.jpg
| image_caption   = The [[Postal Square Building]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], headquarters of the Bureau of Labor Statistics
| formed          = {{start date and age|1884|6|27}}
| preceding1      = 
| jurisdiction    = [[Federal government of the United States]]
| headquarters    = [[Postal Square Building]]<br />[[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.
| employees       = 2,100<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/general/budget/2024/CBJ-2024-V3-01.pdf |title=FY 2024 Congressional Budget Justification |publisher=Bureau of Labor Statistics |access-date=November 21, 2023}}</ref>
| budget          = $655 million (2021)<ref name="bls-budget">{{cite web|url=https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/general/budget/2021/FY2021OperatingPlanAPT.pdf|title=BLS 2021 Operating Plan|publisher=[[US Department of Labor]]|access-date=2022-02-22|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211227151312/https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/general/budget/2021/FY2021OperatingPlanAPT.pdf|archive-date=2021-12-27}}</ref>
| chief1_name     = [[Erika McEntarfer]]
| chief1_position = Commissioner<ref name="bls-staff">{{cite web|url=https://www.bls.gov/bls/senior_staff/|title=Bureau of Labor Statistics: Senior Staff|publisher=Bureau of Labor Statistics|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223211552/https://www.bls.gov/bls/senior_staff/|archive-date=2017-02-23}}</ref>
| chief2_name     = William J. Wiatrowski
| chief2_position = Deputy Commissioner<ref name="bls-staff"/>
| chief3_name     = 
| chief3_position = 
| child1_agency   = 
| website         = {{URL|https://www.bls.gov|bls.gov}}
| footnotes       = 
}}

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 [[government of the United States|U.S. government]] in the broad field of [[labor economics|labor economics and statistics]] and serves as a principal agency of the [[Federal Statistical System of the United States|U.S. Federal Statistical System]]. The BLS collects, processes, analyzes, and disseminates essential statistical data to the American public, the [[United States Congress|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2001/05/art3full.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2013-12-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611033324/http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2001/05/art3full.pdf |archive-date=2014-06-11 }}</ref>

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]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/04/business/economy/unemployment-labor-department-data-politics.html|title=How Economic Data Is Kept Politics-Free|last=Cohen|first=Patricia|date=2016-11-03|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2017-02-23|issn=0362-4331|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170311130615/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/04/business/economy/unemployment-labor-department-data-politics.html|archive-date=2017-03-11}}</ref>

==History==
{{see also|United States labor law}}
The Bureau of Labor was established within the [[United States Department of the Interior|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.<ref>GB McKinney, ''Henry W. Blair's Campaign to Reform America: From the Civil War to the U.S'' (2012) 110-111</ref> 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 [[United States Department of Commerce and Labor|Department of Commerce and Labor]] by the Department of Commerce Act (32 Stat. 827) on February 14, 1903. Finally, it was transferred under the [[United States Department of Labor|Department of Labor]] in 1913 where it resides today.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/257.html|title=Records of the Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS]|date=2016-08-15|newspaper=National Archives|access-date=2017-02-23|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224052052/https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/257.html|archive-date=2017-02-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bls.gov/bls/history/home.htm|title=Overview : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics|website=www.bls.gov|language=en-us|access-date=2017-02-23|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223130902/https://www.bls.gov/bls/history/home.htm|archive-date=2017-02-23}}</ref> 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]],<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.bls.gov/bls/senior_staff/beach.htm |title = William W. Beach, Commissioner |website = U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics|date = April 16, 2019}}</ref> who was assumed office on March 28, 2019 <ref>[https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/president-donald-j-trump-announces-key-additions-administration-18/ President Donald J. Trump Announces Key Additions to his Administration], whitehouse.gov, 17 Oct 2017</ref><ref>[https://www.congress.gov/nomination/116th-congress/171 Nomination - William Beach — Department of Labor], 16 Jan 2019</ref> Beach was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 13, 2019.<ref>[https://www.congress.gov/nomination/116th-congress/171 William Beach's Senate Confirmation]</ref>

[[Erica Groshen]] 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.<ref>[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ntquery/z?nomis:112PN0140400: Presidential Nominations, 112th Congress (011 - 2012), PN1404-112] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102205230/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ntquery/z?nomis:112PN0140400: |date=2016-01-02 }}, Library of Congress, thomas.loc.gov</ref><ref>[https://blogs.wsj.com/economics/tag/erica-groshen/ Senate Confirms Erica Groshen to Head Bureau of Labor Statistics] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904212538/https://blogs.wsj.com/economics/tag/erica-groshen/ |date=2017-09-04 }}, by Jeffrey Sparshott at ''Wall Street Journal'']</ref> William Wiatrowski, Deputy Commissioner of the BLS, served as Acting Commissioner until the next commissioner, William Beach was sworn in. Beach served until January 2024, at which time he was succeeded by Erika McEntarfer.

==Commissioners==

Commissioners of Labor Statistics (1885 to present):<ref>{{cite web|title=Past BLS Commissioners|url=https://www.bls.gov/bls/history/commissioners/home.htm|website=bls.gov}}</ref>

{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
|-
!Portrait
!Commissioner
!Took office
!Left office
|-
|[[File:Carroll D. Wright2.jpg|100px]]
|[[Carroll D. Wright]]
|January 1885
|January 1905
|-
|[[File:Charles Patrick Neill 1912.jpg|100px]]
|[[Charles P. Neill]]
|February 1905
|May 1913
|-
|[[File:Martin Augustine Knapp, William Lee Chambers, and George W. W. Hanger.jpg|100px]]
|[[George Wallace William Hanger|George Hanger]] (Acting)
|May 1913
|August 1913
|-
|[[File:Royal Meeker.jpg|100px]]
|[[Royal Meeker]]
|August 11, 1913
|June 1920
|-
|[[File:Ethelbert Stewart.png|100px]]
|[[Ethelbert Stewart]]
|June 1920
|June 1932
|-
|[[File:No image.svg|100px]]
|[[Charles E. Baldwin]] (Acting)
|July 1932
|July 1933
|-
|[[File:Isador Lubin.png|100px]]
|[[Isador Lubin]]
|July 1933
|January 1946
|-
|[[File:No image.svg|100px]]
|[[A. Ford Hinrichs]] (Acting)
|January 1946
|July 1946
|-
|[[File:ArynessJoyWickens1961.png|100px]]
|[[Aryness Joy Wickens]]
|July 1946
|August 1946
|-
|[[File:Ewan Clague.png|100px]]
|[[Ewan Clague]]
|August 1946
|September 1965
|-
|[[File:Arthur Ross.png|100px]]
|[[Arthur Ross (BLS Commissioner)|Arthur Ross]]
|October 1965
|July 1968
|-
|[[File:No image.svg|100px]]
|[[Ben Burdetsky]] (Acting)
|July 1968
|March 1969
|-
|[[File:Geoffrey Moore.png|100px]]
|[[Geoffrey H. Moore]]
|March 1969
|January 1973
|-
|[[File:No image.svg|100px]]
|[[Ben Burdetsky]] (Acting)
|January 1973
|July 1973
|-
|[[File:Julius Shiskin.png|100px]]
|[[Julius Shiskin]]
|July 1973
|October 1978
|-
|[[File:Janet Norwood Official BLS photo.jpg|100px]]
|[[Janet L. Norwood]]
|May 1979
|December 1991
|-
|[[File:No image.svg|100px]]
|[[William G. Barron Jr.]] (Acting)
|December 1991
|October 1993
|-
|[[File:Katharine abraham.png|100px]]
|[[Katharine Abraham]]
|October 1993
|October 2001
|-
|[[File:No image.svg|100px]]
|[[Lois Orr (BLS Commissioner)|Lois Orr]] (Acting)
|October 2001
|July 2002
|-
|[[File:Kathleen Utgoff Official BLS photo.jpg|100px]]
|[[Kathleen Utgoff]]
|July 2002
|July 2006
|-
|[[File:No image.svg|100px]]
|[[Philip Rones]] (Acting)
|July 2006
|January 2008
|-
|[[File:Cbo1.jpg|100px]]
|[[Keith Hall (economist)|Keith Hall]]
|January 2008
|January 2012
|-
|[[File:No image.svg|100px]]
|[[John M. (Jack) Galvin]] (Acting)
|January 2012
|January 2013
|-
|[[File:Erica Groshen.jpg|100px]]
|[[Erica Groshen]]
|January 29, 2013
|January 27, 2017
|-
|[[File:William_J._Wiatrowski.jpg|100px]]
|[[William J. Wiatrowski]] (Acting)
|January 2017
|March 2019
|-
|[[File:William Beach Official BLS photo.jpg|100px]]
|[[William Beach (economist)|William Beach]]
|March 13, 2019
|March 2023
|-
|[[File:William_J._Wiatrowski.jpg|100px]]
|[[William J. Wiatrowski]] (Acting)
|March 2023
|January 31, 2024
|-
|[[File:Erika McEntarfer, BLS Commissioner.jpg|100px]]
|[[Erika McEntarfer]] 
|January 31, 2024
|Present
|-
|}

==Statistical reporting==
Statistics published by the BLS fall into four main categories:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bls.gov/bls/proghome.htm |title=Subject Area Categories : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics |access-date=2017-02-23 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223130858/https://www.bls.gov/bls/proghome.htm |archive-date=2017-02-23 }}</ref>

=== Prices ===
* [[U.S. Consumer Price Index]]
* [[Producer Price Index]]
* [[U.S. Import and Export Price Indices]]
* [[Consumer Expenditure Survey]]

=== Employment and unemployment ===
[[File:US Unemployment measures.svg|thumb|Unemployment measurements by the BLS from 1950 to 2010]]
[[File:Job seekers ratio.webp|thumb|300px|Job seekers ratio in the [[JOLTS report]]
{{legend|#0714FF|Cold job market}}
{{legend|#2A9B00|Balanced job market}}
{{legend|#BA3117|Hot job market}}
]]

* [[Current Population Survey]] (The "Household Survey")
 The [[American Time Use Survey]]<ref>{{cite web  |url=https://www.bls.gov/tus/  |title=American Time Use Survey  |publisher=Bureau of Labor Statistics  |url-status=live  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223130145/https://www.bls.gov/tus/  |archive-date=2017-02-23  }}</ref>
* Current Employment Statistics<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bls.gov/ces/ |title=Current Employment Statistics |publisher=Bureau of Labor Statistics |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223190145/https://www.bls.gov/ces/ |archive-date=2017-02-23 }}</ref> (The "Establishment Survey")
 [[Unemployment#United States Bureau of Labor statistics|Payroll Employment]]
 [[JOLTS report]] - Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey
 [[Economic geography]]
 [[Salary|Salary Data]]
* Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bls.gov/lau/ |title=Local Area Unemployment Statistics |publisher=Bureau of Labor Statistics |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908215735/https://www.bls.gov/lau/ |archive-date=2017-09-08 }}</ref>
 [[List of U.S. states by unemployment rate]]
* Current Employment Statistics State and Area program<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bls.gov/sae/ |title=Employment, Hours, and Earnings from the Current Employment Statistics survey (State & Metro Area) Home Page |publisher=Bls.gov |date=2012-05-30 |access-date=2012-06-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120615165944/http://www.bls.gov/sae/ |archive-date=2012-06-15 }}</ref>
* The [[Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey]] (JOLTS)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bls.gov/jlt/ |title=Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey Home Page |publisher=Bls.gov |access-date=2012-06-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616201002/http://www.bls.gov/jlt/ |archive-date=2012-06-16 }}</ref>
* The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bls.gov/qcew/ |title=Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages |publisher=Bls.gov |date=2012-03-28 |access-date=2012-06-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120610154515/http://www.bls.gov/qcew/ |archive-date=2012-06-10 }}</ref>
* The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) program<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bls.gov/bed/ |title=Business Employment Dynamics Home Page |publisher=Bls.gov |date=2012-05-01 |access-date=2012-06-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015114659/http://www.bls.gov/bed/ |archive-date=2012-10-15 }}</ref>
* [[Ten year occupational employment projections]]
* [[Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics]], called OES until recently
* [[Mass Layoff Statistics--discontinued in 2013]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bls.gov/mls/ |title=Mass Layoff Statistics Home Page |publisher=Bls.gov |date=2012-05-16 |access-date=2017-02-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223125904/https://www.bls.gov/mls/ |archive-date=2017-02-23 }}</ref>

=== Compensation and working conditions ===
* [[National Compensation Survey]]
 [[Employment Cost Index]]
* [[Workplace Injury and Fatality Statistics]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bls.gov/iif/ |title=Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities |publisher=Bls.gov |access-date=2012-06-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626042756/http://www.bls.gov/iif/ |archive-date=2012-06-26 }}</ref>[[File:Number of workers involved in strikes, US Bureau of Labor Statistics.svg|thumb|[[Striking US workers by year|Workers involved in strikes by year]], ''US Bureau of Labor Statistics''|398x398px]]

=== Productivity ===
* [[Labor productivity]], aggregate and by industry<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bls.gov/bls/productivity.htm |title=Overview of BLS Productivity Statistics |publisher=Bls.gov |access-date=2012-06-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120625155059/http://www.bls.gov/bls/productivity.htm |archive-date=2012-06-25 }}</ref>
* [[Multifactor productivity]]
* [[State labor productivity]]
* [[Striking US workers by year|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.

==See also==
<!--PLEASE MAINTAIN THE SERIES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER.-->
* [[Alternative employment arrangements]]
* [[Bureau of Economic Analysis]]
* [[Career Guide to Industries]]
* [[Data.gov]]
* [[Economic reports]]
* [[Index of Leading Indicators]]
* [[Job Creation Index]]
* [[Monthly Labor Review]]
* [[National Income and Product Accounts]]
* [[Occupational Outlook Handbook]]
* [[U.S. Census Bureau]]
* [[USAFacts]]

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* Joseph P. Goldberg and William T. Moye, [https://archive.org/details/TheFirst100YearsOfTheBureauOfLaborStatistics ''The First 100 Years of the Bureau of Labor Statistics'']. Bulletin No. 2235. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1985.
* William J. Wiatrowski, [https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2009/06/art1full.pdf "BLS at 125: Using historic principles to track the 21st-century economy"]. ''Monthly Labor Review'', June 2009, pp.&nbsp;3–25.

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* {{Official website|1=http://www.bls.gov/}}
* [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/584 Records of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the National Archives (Record Group 257)]
* [https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/labor-statistics-bureau Bureau of Labor Statistics] in the [[Federal Register]]
* [https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/author/7 Publications of the BLS] available on [[FRASER]]
* [https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/series/1486 Bulletins of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics], dating back to 1895
* [http://AnyStats.com Local Area Unemployment Reports]

{{DOL agencies}}
{{US Statistical Agencies}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Bureau of Labor Statistics| ]]
[[Category:1884 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Federal Statistical System of the United States]]
[[Category:Massachusetts Avenue (Washington, D.C.)]]
[[Category:National statistical services]]
[[Category:Official statistics]]
[[Category:Statistical organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:Unemployment in the United States]]