U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
What does the Bureau of Labor Statistics do?
The BLS is the federal government’s principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. economy. It measures employment, wages, prices, productivity, and other indicators through nationwide surveys and statistical programs. The bureau’s mission is to provide reliable, objective data for policymakers, businesses, and the public.What are the top BLS reports?
Some of the BLS’s most closely watched releases include the Employment Situation (monthly jobs report), U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI), U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI), and Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). These reports track everything from job growth to inflation and are key inputs for Federal Reserve policy, labor negotiations, and business planning.How is BLS data used in the real world?
BLS data influences interest rate decisions by the Federal Reserve, cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security recipients, wage negotiations in labor contracts, and business hiring plans. It also informs legislation, economic forecasts, and even rent adjustments in cities that tie leases to inflation.The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is the federal government’s main source for labor market and economic data. It operates under the Department of Labor but maintains independence in its data collection and reporting. From the unemployment rate to the inflation numbers the Federal Reserve watches closely, the BLS produces many of the statistics that set the tone for economic policy, market moves, and everyday business decisions.
History of the BLS
Congress created the BLS in 1884, when the U.S. economy was shifting from agriculture to industry and lawmakers wanted reliable information on wages and working conditions. Initially housed in the Department of the Interior, the bureau moved to the Department of Labor when it was formed in 1913. Over the decades, the BLS expanded its scope to include price indexes, productivity measures, and long-term job projections.
Top BLS reports and data sets
The BLS produces data used in hundreds of government, business, and media reports, but a few of its regular releases receive the most attention from analysts and the financial press.
The monthly jobs report and the many unemployment rates
The BLS’s Employment Situation (commonly referred to as the monthly jobs report)—released on the first Friday of each month at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time—consists of two surveys:
- The establishment survey counts jobs from employer payroll records. It’s used to track job growth, hours worked, average earnings, and other industry trends.
- The household survey interviews households to measure employment, unemployment, and labor force participation.
The headline unemployment rate—known as U-3—counts unemployed workers actively seeking work. A broader measure, U-6, also includes discouraged workers who’ve stopped looking and part-timers who want full-time jobs. U-6 is always higher and shows more of the labor market’s slack. Learn more about U-3, U-6, and the other “U-rates.”
- Employment Situation (monthly jobs report). Combines two surveys—one from business establishments (the nonfarm payroll survey) and one from households (see sidebar).
- Consumer Price Index (CPI). Measures how prices change for a basket of goods and services typically purchased by urban consumers. A key measure of inflation.
- Producer Price Index (PPI). Tracks what domestic producers receive for their goods and services, giving an early read on inflation pressures.
- Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). Counts job vacancies, hiring, and separations to show how dynamic (or stagnant) the labor market is.
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Provides detailed employment and wage estimates for hundreds of job categories.
- Employment projections. Offers 10-year forecasts for industries and occupations, often used by job seekers, educators, and policymakers.
- Productivity measures. Calculates how efficiently labor and capital are used to produce goods and services, by industry and for the economy as a whole.
How the BLS functions (and why it matters)
BLS surveys are built for statistical accuracy, not quick takes. The payroll survey reaches over 120,000 businesses and government agencies each month. The household survey samples about 60,000 households nationwide. Price indexes are derived from tens of thousands of price checks at stores, service providers, and rental units.
CPI vs. PPI — same inflation story, different angle
- The U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of what buyers pay. It tracks price changes for a basket of goods and services purchased by households. Official releases are often seasonally adjusted to smooth out predictable price swings, such as holiday airfare spikes or winter heating costs.
- The U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) is a measure of what producers receive. It measures average selling prices at earlier stages of production.
The PPI can signal inflation trends before they show up in the CPI. But both measures—plus other reports such as the GDP price deflator and personal consumption expenditures (PCE)—are closely watched by the Federal Reserve, businesses, and markets.
The BLS Handbook of Methods, a public document, spells out the agency’s methodology, detailing everything from sampling design to seasonal adjustments to how data revisions work. Surveys are released on a fixed schedule—often the first week of the month—so that everyone, from policymakers to the general public, receives them at the same time.
BLS data drives decisions well beyond the walls of government. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) uses it to guide interest rates. Businesses use it to plan hiring and set pay scales. Investors watch it for signs of economic growth or inflation. For households, the numbers can affect everything from mortgage rates to wage negotiations and cost-of-living clauses in contracts.
Criticism and challenges
Since its founding in 1884, the BLS has built a reputation for independence, producing data without regard to political agendas. That neutrality is not just a point of pride—it’s essential to the economy’s functioning. Many government programs and private contracts are tied directly to BLS measures, making accuracy and impartiality critical. For example, annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for Social Security benefits are based on the CPI-U, a BLS price index. An inflated or understated reading could directly impact the incomes of millions of retirees.
How the BLS protects its independence
The BLS is a principal federal statistical agency, bound by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directives to produce data that is objective, transparent, and professionally sound. Safeguards include:
- Fixed release times set months in advance, with only a brief pre-release embargo for authorized officials.
- Public methodology in the BLS Handbook of Methods, detailing every major survey and index.
- Leadership continuity through a Senate-confirmed Commissioner serving a fixed four-year term, supported by a nonpartisan career staff of economists and statisticians; however, the president has the power to remove commissioners, and changes in leadership have occurred.
Although no safeguard is absolute, these measures are designed to protect the credibility of the numbers across administrations.
Inflation statistics themselves rely on technical tools such as seasonal adjustments, which strip out predictable price swings, and hedonic quality adjustments, which account for changes in a product’s features or performance. These methods are easy to misinterpret, yet they’re vital for keeping the numbers comparable over time. Federal Reserve interest rate decisions, collective bargaining agreements, and even rent increases in some cities also hinge on BLS statistics.
Still, the bureau operates under constant pressure. Budget constraints can slow updates to survey methods or technology, and high-profile releases inevitably attract political scrutiny. Data revisions sometimes spark suspicion, even though they are part of the BLS’s long-standing commitment to refining estimates as more complete information becomes available.
The bottom line
The BLS is the scoreboard for the U.S. economy. Its reports tell us how many workers are employed, how much they’re earning, what things cost, and how productive the nation is. The numbers aren’t predictions—they’re measurements—but those measurements shape decisions that affect everyone.