The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a unit of the

United States Department of Labor The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unemp ...

. It is the principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics and serves as 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 The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

, 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. 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 The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). The office's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, while it also examines agency pro ...

History

Monthly Labor Review October 1969 Front Page

The Bureau of Labor was established within the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relatin ...

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 The United States Department of Commerce and Labor was a short-lived United States Cabinet, Cabinet department of the United States Government of the United States, government, which was concerned with fostering and supervising big business. It ...

by the Department of Commerce Act (32 Stat. 827) on February 14, 1903. Finally, it was transferred under the

Department of Labor A ministry of labour (''British English, UK''), or labor (''American English, US''), also known as a department of labour, or labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workfor ...

in 1913, where it resides today. Starting in 1992, BLS was headquartered in the

Postal Square Building The Postal Square Building, formerly the City Post Office, served as the main post office for the city of Washington, D.C., from the building's completion in 1914 to 1986. It now houses the National Postal Museum, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, ...

near

Washington Union Station Washington Union Station, known locally as Union Station, is a major train station, transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak's second-busiest station and North ...

. During 2024, BLS headquarters were moved to the Suitland Federal Center in

Suitland, Maryland Suitland is a suburb of Washington, D.C., approximately one mile (1.6 km) southeast of Washington, D.C. Suitland is a census designated place (CDP), as of the 2020 census, its population was 25,839. Prior to 2010, it was part of the Suitland ...

, into the same facility that houses the

Bureau of the Census The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

headquarters. Since 1915, the BLS has published the ''

Monthly Labor Review The ''Monthly Labor Review'' (''MLR'') is published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 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 o ...

'', 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 Erika McEntarfer, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate for the office on January 11, 2024.

Erica Groshen Erica Lynn Groshen (born August 6, 1954) is the former Commissioner of Labor Statistics and head of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the independent, principal fact-finding agency for the U.S. government in the broad fields of labor e ...

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.

Commissioners

Commissioners of Labor Statistics (1885 to present): Table notes:

Statistical reporting

Statistics published by the BLS fall into four main categories:

Prices

U.S. Consumer Price Index The United States Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a family of various consumer price index, consumer price indices published monthly by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The most commonly used indices are the CPI-U and the CPI-W ...

* Producer Price Index * U.S. Import and Export Price Indexes * Consumer Expenditure Survey

Employment and unemployment

Current Population Survey The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a monthly survey of about 60,000 U.S. households conducted by the United States Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS uses the data to publish reports early each month called the Em ...

(The "Household Survey") ** The American Time Use Survey * Current Employment Statistics (The "Establishment Survey") ** Payroll Employment ** JOLTS report - Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey **

Economic geography Economic geography is the subfield of human geography that studies economic activity and factors affecting it. It can also be considered a subfield or method in economics. Economic geography takes a variety of approaches to many different topi ...

** Salary Data * 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 and Wage Statistics, called OES until recently * Mass Layoff Statistics--discontinued in 2013

Compensation and working conditions

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

Productivity

Labor productivity Workforce productivity is the amount of goods and services that a group of workers produce in a given amount of time. It is one of several types of productivity that economists measure. Workforce productivity, often referred to as labor produc ...

, aggregate and by industry * Multifactor productivity * State labor productivity * 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.

Footnotes

External links

*
Records of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the National Archives (Record Group 257)

Bureau of Labor Statistics
in the

Federal Register The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the government gazette, official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every wee ...

Publications of the BLS
available on

FRASER Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal ...

Bulletins of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics
dating back to 1895
Local Area Unemployment Reports
{{Authority control 1884 establishments in the United States Federal Statistical System of the United States Massachusetts Avenue (Washington, D.C.) National statistical services Official statistics Unemployment in the United States