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6.2: Reporting on Labor - Bureau of Labor Statistics

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    287943
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    The BLS oversees collecting data and publishing reports on the employment situation in the U.S. The employment information comes from two sample surveys: The Current Population Survey (conducted by the Census Bureau and used by the BLS) and the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey (conducted by the BLS).

    These two surveys report on the activities of the two participants in the labor market: employees and employers.

    Labor Market Surveys

    Employee Data

    Employer Data

    The Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly household survey conducted by the Census Bureau, covers about 60,000 homes. The CPS provides a comprehensive body of information on the employment and unemployment experience of the Nation's population, classified by age, sex, race, and a variety of other characteristics.

    The Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey of payroll records covers over 300,000 businesses monthly and provides detailed industry data on employment, hours, and earnings of workers on nonfarm payrolls for the United States.

    Survey uses:

    • Comprehensive measure of national employment and unemployment
    • Primary source of data on employment status and characteristics of the labor force, emerging trends, and changes
    • Measure of potential labor supply.
    • Monitor of factors affecting changes in labor force participation of different population groups
    • Measure of wage rates and earnings trends for specific demographic groups

    Survey uses:

    • Indicator of the overall health of the economy (employment)
    • Measure of earnings trends and wage-push inflation (average hourly earnings)
    • Measure of short-term fluctuations in demand (average weekly hours)

    Indicators resulting from this survey:

    • Unemployment Rate*
    • Change in Unemployment Level
    • Change in Employment Level
    • Change in Civilian Labor Force Level*
    • Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate
    • Employment-Population Ratio

    Indicators resulting from this survey:

    • Change in Payroll Employment*
    • Change in Average Hourly Earnings*
    • Change in Average Weekly Hours*
    • Change in Manufacturing Average Weekly Hours
    • Change in Aggregate Hours Index
    • Change in Real Earnings

    * Indicators that will be emphasized in this lesson.

    Data from this survey that are inputs into other major economic indicators:

    • Personal Income (aggregate earnings).
    • Industrial Production (aggregate hours in manufacturing, mining, and public utilities).
    • Index of Leading Economic Indicators (average weekly hours in manufacturing).
    • Index of Coincident Indicators (employment)
    • Productivity measures (aggregate hours).

    Together these two surveys and their supporting indicators are used to assess the current state of the employment situation and the future health of the economy. Both surveys reflect employment status for the calendar week, which includes the 12th day of the month (this is called the survey reference week). The actual survey is conducted the following week. The resulting reports, collectively referred to as the employment situation or employment report, are issued during the first week following the reporting month. The employment report is the first major economic indicator of current economic trends each month. This early release is yet another reason why this indicator is so closely monitored by market participants.


    This page titled 6.2: Reporting on Labor - Bureau of Labor Statistics is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Martin Medeiros.