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ical 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. Starting in 1992, BLS was headquartered in the Postal Square Building near Washington Union Station. During 2024, BLS headquarters were moved to the Suitland Federal Center in Suitland, Maryland, into the same facility that houses the Bureau of the Census headquarters.
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 of office.
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. 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.
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, businesses, 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.
Current Employment Statistics (CES)
This program produces detailed industry estimates of nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings of workers on payrolls. CES National Estimates (CES-N) produces data for the nation, and CES State and Metro Area (CES-SA) produces estimates for all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and about 450 metropolitan areas and divisions. Each month, CES surveys approximately 121,000 businesses and government agencies, representing approximately 631,000 individual worksites, drawn from a sampling frame of unemployment insurance tax accounts. Both programs use the same sample and collection methods. Participation in the survey is voluntary under federal law, but it is mandatory in California, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, and Puerto Rico. The South Carolina requirement applies to firms with more than 20 employees. The businesses report data on employment, hours, and earnings for all paid workers from their payroll records. The data is collected for the pay period that includes the 12th of the month (regardless of its length), via a form sent to workplaces, by telephone, and online (but not by email, for security reasons).
For its monthly estimation, the CES-N program uses a matched sample concept and weighted sample data to produce employment, hours, and earnings estimates. Regarding its reliability, the CES survey, like other sample surveys, is subject to two types of error: sampling and nonsampling error. The magnitude of sampling error, or variance, is directly related to the size of the sample and the percentage of universe coverage achieved by the sample. The CES sample covers over one-third of total universe employment, yielding a very small variance for the total nonfarm estimates.