All articles tagged with #bls
U.S. payrolls rose 115,000 in April and the unemployment rate held at 4.3%, signaling a resilient labor market even as energy prices stay elevated amid the U.S.–Iran conflict. Healthcare led gains, with transportation/warehousing and retail adding jobs, IT fell, and 4.9 million workers were employed part-time for economic reasons; wages rose 3.6% year over year.
U.S. union membership rose to 14.7 million in 2025 and 16.5 million workers were covered by union contracts—the highest since 2009—despite the Trump administration’s push to roll back bargaining for about 1 million federal workers; density climbed to 11.2%, and public approval for unions remains high (67–71%), signaling renewed organizing over years.
The December 2025 JOLTS release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows job openings easing to 6.5 million, while hires and total separations remain essentially unchanged at 5.3 million each. Quits are 3.2 million and layoffs/discharges 1.8 million, with the report covering the total nonfarm sector by industry and establishment size.
The January 2026 U.S. jobs report is postponed due to the federal government shutdown; the BLS says data collection is complete and the release will occur once funding resumes. The delay comes amid a funding stalemate over DHS/ICE, after 2025 saw only 584,000 jobs added versus 2 million in 2024.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has postponed the January 2026 Employment Situation release due to the partial government shutdown, with the release rescheduled when funding resumes. The delay comes as a busy data week would have culminated in the nonfarm payrolls report and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. Markets had expected about 55,000 new jobs and a 4.4% unemployment rate. The shutdown also threatens other data releases, and a resolution by Tuesday is hoped for by Speaker Mike Johnson as Congress negotiates funding for the government and DHS.
A Business Insider Discourse piece argues that a steady erosion of government-held economic data—driven by budget constraints, survey slowdowns, and a lengthy shutdown—could leave the Fed, businesses, and households making decisions with less reliable signals. Private data sources can’t fully substitute for core statistics like unemployment and inflation, risking delayed or miscalibrated policy, fewer hiring plans, and higher recession risk as trust in data declines.
The article claims that the November inflation rate was artificially manipulated by the BLS, allegedly by excluding housing inflation to present a more favorable number, raising concerns about the reliability of government economic statistics and their impact on the economy.
US employment data shows a mixed picture with a loss of 105,000 jobs in October and a gain of 64,000 in November, amid concerns over data accuracy due to the federal government shutdown and political interference, while the unemployment rate reached a four-year high of 4.6%.
The article discusses a significant outlier in the Owner's Equivalent of Rent (OER) component of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which heavily influenced inflation readings in September 2023. Due to an anomaly, OER's minimal increase of 0.13% significantly lowered the overall CPI, core CPI, and core services CPI figures, potentially underestimating true inflation levels. Without this outlier, inflation would have appeared much higher, especially in core services, which are heavily weighted by housing costs.
The Labor Department has recalled furloughed workers to compile critical inflation data amid a government shutdown, which has halted other releases and raised concerns about the impact on economic decision-making and data quality, especially given recent political tensions and staffing issues at the BLS.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has recalled staff to prepare the September consumer price index report, crucial for determining next year's Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, after a government shutdown delayed its release, potentially impacting the timing of the COLA announcement and the Federal Reserve's policy meeting.
The US government shutdown is hindering the Bureau of Labor Statistics' ability to produce key economic indicators like the CPI and employment data, leading to reliance on less reliable private sector estimates, which could impact economic understanding and decision-making.
Erika McEntarfer, former BLS commissioner, was unexpectedly fired after reporting weak jobs data, raising concerns about political influence on economic statistics and the independence of the BLS. Her dismissal followed her comments on revisions to employment figures, which President Trump claimed were manipulated, though experts say revisions are routine. McEntarfer criticized the move as a threat to economic stability and the integrity of official data.
Ex-BLS chief McEntarfer was surprised by her firing after Trump called jobs data 'rigged,' highlighting concerns about political interference in economic statistics and its potential negative impact on trust and economic stability.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has significantly overestimated U.S. employment figures over the past three years, with errors reaching nearly 3 million jobs, leading to misleading economic narratives and policy decisions. The flawed data has impacted public perception, political outcomes, and economic policies, highlighting the urgent need to reform and depoliticize the agency to restore trust and accuracy in labor statistics.