# 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 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, 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.

## 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. 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, who was assumed office on March 28, 2019 Beach was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 13, 2019.
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.

## Commissioners

Commissioners of Labor Statistics (1885 to present):
| Commissioner | Took office | Left office |
| Carroll D. Wright | January 1885 | January 1905 |
| Charles P. Neill | February 1905 | May 1913 |
| George Hanger (Acting) | May 1913 | August 1913 |
| Royal Meeker | August 11, 1913 | June 1920 |
| Ethelbert Stewart | June 1920 | June 1932 |
| Charles E. Baldwin (Acting) | July 1932 | July 1933 |
| Isador Lubin | July 1933 | January 1946 |
| A. Ford Hinrichs (Acting) | January 1946 | July 1946 |
| Aryness Joy Wickens | July 1946 | August 1946 |
| Ewan Clague | August 1946 | September 1965 |
| Arthur Ross | October 1965 | July 1968 |
| Ben Burdetsky (Acting) | July 1968 | March 1969 |
| Geoffrey H. Moore | March 1969 | January 1973 |
| Ben Burdetsky (Acting) | January 1973 | July 1973 |
| Julius Shiskin | July 1973 | October 1978 |
| Janet L. Norwood | May 1979 | December 1991 |
| William G. Barron Jr. (Acting) | December 1991 | October 1993 |
| Katharine Abraham | October 1993 | October 2001 |
| Lois Orr (Acting) | October 2001 | July 2002 |
| Kathleen Utgoff | July 2002 | July 2006 |
| Philip Rones (Acting) | July 2006 | January 2008 |
| Keith Hall | January 2008 | January 2012 |
| John M. (Jack) Galvin (Acting) | January 2012 | January 2013 |
| Erica Groshen | January 29, 2013 | January 27, 2017 |
| William J. Wiatrowski (Acting) | January 2017 | March 2019 |
| William Beach | March 13, 2019 | March 2023 |
| William J. Wiatrowski (Acting) | March 2023 | January 31, 2024 |
| Erika McEntarfer | January 31, 2024 | Present |

## Statistical reporting

Statistics published by the BLS fall into four main categories:

### Prices

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

### Employment and unemployment

* Current Population Survey (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
** 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 StatisticsWorkers involved in strikes by year, US Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Productivity

* Labor productivity, 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.