Research Guides: Finding Economic Data & Statistics: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is "responsible for measuring labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy" (citation). It is part of the Department of Labor.

Information on this page about data collected by the BLS includes

Employment & unemployment
Pay & benefits
Inflation & prices
Productivity
Consumer spending & time use

For a full list of what the BLS measures, use the Subject Area Categories link.

BLS Subject Area Categories

Public domain image via Wikimedia Commons.

Employment & Unemployment

The BLS's Current Population Survey (CPS) measures a number of labor force participation indicators.

Major indicators from CPS:

Employed Persons
Numbers of employed workers by status, demographics, occupation, industry, and other characteristics
Unemployment
Numbers of people without work but who are actively searching by demographics, length of unemployment, and other characteristics.
Not in Labor Force
Number of persons who are not working but are not actively searching for work by demographics, rationale for not being in labor force, and other characteristics.

Pay & Benefits

Major surveys:

National Compensation Survey
Measures employer costs for wages, salaries, and benefits.
Earnings from Current Population Survey (CPS)
Wage and salary earnings for employed people. Excludes the self-employed. Breakouts by demographic characteristics are available.
Employee Benefits Survey (EBS)
Measures worker access to benefits, what types of benefits are available, and worker participation in benefits programs.

Inflation & Prices

Inflation calculations:

Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Measures change over time a consumer pays for a collection of consumer goods. Used as an inflation measure.
Producer Price Index (PPI)
Measures change in selling prices of domestic producers.

Productivity

Labor Productivity and Costs
Comparison of goods and services produced to number of hours worked to produce them.
Multifactor Productivity (MFP)
Comparison of goods and services produced to all inputs (labor, capital, energy, materials, services) used to produce them.

Consumer Spending & Time Use

Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CE)
Two surveys that cover consumer spending on major and minor purchases. Data includes consumer demographics and income.
American Time Use Survey (ATUS)
Surveys the amount of time Americans spend at work, doing childcare, volunteering, socializing, and engaging in leisure activities.

Finding Economic Data & Statistics

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