Bureau of Labor Statistics

Bureau of Labor Statistics in the United States

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is the principal fact-finding agency of
the Federal Government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics.

The Bureau is an independent national statistical agency that collects, processes,
analyzes, and disseminates essential statistical data to the American public,
Congress, other Federal agencies, State and local governments, businesses,
and labor. BLS also serves as a statistical resource to the Department
of Labor. Data are available relating to employment, unemployment, and
other characteristics of the labor force; consumer and producer prices, consumer
expenditures, and import and export prices; wages and employee bene?ts;
productivity and technological change; employment projections; occupational
illness and injuries; and international comparisons of labor statistics. Most
of the data are collected in surveys conducted by the Bureau, the Bureau of
the Census (on a contract basis), or on a cooperative basis with State agencies.

The Bureau strives to have its data 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, and impartiality in both subject matter and presentation.
The basic data are issued in monthly, quarterly, and annual news
releases; bulletins, reports, and special publications; and periodicals. Data
are also made available through an electronic news service, magnetic tape,
diskettes, and micro?che, as well as on the Internet at stats.bls.gov. Regional
offices issue additional reports and releases, usually presenting locality or
regional detail.

Veterans’ Employment and Training Service

The Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) is responsible for administering veterans’ employment and training programs and compliance activities that help veterans and servicemembers succeed in their civilian careers. VETS administers the Jobs for Veterans State Grant program, which provides grants to States to fund personnel dedicated to serving the employment needs of veterans.

VETS staff works closely with and provides technical assistance to State employment workforce agencies to ensure that veterans receive priority of service and gain meaningful employment. VETS also administers three competitive grants programs: the Veterans Workforce
Investment Program, the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program, and the Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program.

In addition, VETS prepares separating servicemembers for the civilian labor market through its Transition Assistance Program Employment Workshops. VETS has three distinct compliance programs: the Federal Contractor Program, Veterans’ Preference in Federal hiring and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). With respect to Federal contractors, VETS promulgates regulations and maintains oversight of the program by assisting contractors to comply with their af?rmative action and reporting obligations.

Although the Office of Personnel Management is responsible for administering and
interpreting statutes and regulations governing veterans’ preference in Federal
hiring, VETS investigates allegations that veterans’ preference rights have
been violated. In addition, VETS preserves servicemembers’ employment and reemployment rights through its administration and enforcement of the USERRA statute. VETS conducts thorough investigations of alleged violations and conducts an extensive USERRA outreach program.

Bureau Of Labor Statistics Legal Materials

The BLS compiles and publishes an amazing amount of useful economic and compensation-related information. Some of the most popular BLS products include the Consumer Price Index (which we usually call “inflation”) and the Occupational Handbook (which provides job descriptions and median compensation figures for hundreds of professions).
It seems that most BLS data is available on the BLS Web Site (http://stats.bls.gov), including the Occupational Handbook (www.bls.gov/oco/). If that doesn’t do it, call the BLS using the numbers on the Contact BLS page.

The Occupational Information Network, developed for the BLS by O*NET, describes various jobs and the people who do them (http://online.onetcenter.org). The Network replaces the Dictionary of Occupational Titles.

Bureau of Labor Statistics

In Legislation

Bureau of Labor Statistics in the U.S. Code: Title 29, Chapter 1, Subchapter I

The current, permanent, in-force federal laws regulating bureau of labor statistics are compiled in the United States Code under Title 29, Chapter 1, Subchapter I. It constitutes “prima facie” evidence of statutes relating to Labor (including bureau of labor statistics) of the United States. The reader can further narrow his/her legal research of the general topic (in this case, Labor Statistics and Statistics of the US Code, including bureau of labor statistics) by chapter and subchapter.

Resources

See Also

Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Producer Price Index
Economic Data and Statistics
Labor Statistics
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
United States Department of Labor

Further Reading


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