On April 26, 2021, COPAFS signed onto a letter the Friends of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) wrote to send thanks for providing the BLS with increased funding in FY 2021 and to encourage a sustained investment in the agency by providing the Bureau with no less than $800 million in FY 2022.
The Honorable Rosa DeLauro
Chair, House Appropriations Subcommittee
on Labor, Health and Human Services,
Education, and Related Agencies
Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Tom Cole
Ranking Member, House Appropriations Subcommittee
on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Patty Murray
Chair, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee
on Labor, Health and Human Services,
Education, and Related Agencies
Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Roy Blunt
Ranking Member, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee
on Labor, Health and Human Services,
Education, and Related Agencies
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chair Murray, Chair DeLauro, Ranking Member Blunt, and Ranking Member Cole,
We, the undersigned members of the Friends of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) are writing to thank you for providing the BLS with increased funding in FY 2021 and to encourage you to sustain investment in the agency by providing the Bureau with no less than $800 million in FY 2022.
Thanks to your leadership, BLS has an additional $14 million in FY 2021 to modernize its data collection and dissemination capacities, improve its ongoing programs, and better understand the impact of the digital economy on our workforce. We hope that FY 2022 continues to reverse the agency’s diminishing purchasing power, which has fallen 13% since FY 2009.
The recent increase in funding is a positive step towards restoring BLS’s capacity to meet consequential national data needs. The requested allocation for FY 2022 represents a further significant increase that is necessary to fund critical initiatives at BLS and to strengthen ongoing data collection and modernization. Without these funds, BLS will be forced to curtail spending on its programs, which will delay modernizations and could endanger data quality or continuity.
Notably, we support an innovative investment to work with states and the Employment and Training Administration to upgrade the quality of state Unemployment Insurance (UI) worker wage and claims records and to grant BLS access to those state-owned administrative records, with permission to share data back to the states. Adding these assets to our statistical infrastructure would enable BLS and the states to produce far more granular, timely, and agile labor market information. Weekly UI claims releases could be transformed into authoritative measures of economic dynamics. And, unlike today, monthly measures of jobs created and destroyed could be identified by occupation, hourly earnings, demographics, and work location. This information would aid educators, investors, and policymakers’ efforts to track a multitude of labor market issues. For states, access to each other’s curated wage records is critical for program evaluation requirements under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, analysis of labor-sheds that cross state borders, and helping allocate funds to train workers for jobs most in demand. Implementation would also reduce costs to perform high-quality federal program evaluations, supporting evidence-based policymaking at the national level.
In addition, we support expanding BLS’s data modernization and data linkage activities by creating a BLS Data Science Center and a second Electronic Data Collection Facility. These two initiatives will go a long way toward lowering reporting burdens on employers, and making full use of all data collected (including UI records), such as providing insight into labor market inequities and the future of work.
The funds will also be used to begin new programs as well as strengthen and conduct more frequent collections for existing efforts. These initiatives include:
· Authorizing a new Survey of Employer-Provided Training, which will provide the first authoritative information since 1995 on the nature and extent to which employers train their workers, and which workers receive training of various kinds. This knowledge will inform decisions by employers, workers, national and state policymakers, and key stakeholders in the workforce development system.
· Redesigning the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX), which provides critical information on Americans’ spending patterns. The new CEX would have an expanded sample and allow more frequent updating of market baskets for inflation measures. This modernization would also take advantage of available consumer transaction information or ‘big data’ and technological advances in order to improve data quality and reduce burden on respondents. Two major consequences would be better, more granular measures of inflation and poverty.
· Enrolling a new, and overdue, survey cohort for the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. The two active cohorts currently contain respondents born between 1957-64 (NLSY79) and respondents born between 1980-84 (NLSY97). A new cohort is needed at this time in order to continue to provide insights over time for the next generation.
· Improving and enhancing the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). An increased sample size for JOLTS will enable state-level data and more detailed industry data to better understand high turnover and difficult-to-fill jobs, which will be especially helpful to governors, regional economic development organizations, local workforce development agencies, and other policymakers.
These improved programs will be especially informative as our country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and its profound impact on business dynamics and consumption patterns.
We urge that the recent increases in funding for BLS be the start of a sustained effort to take full advantage of advances in data collection and statistical methods that must be the basis for sound decisions about public and private sector investment. To produce the high-quality statistics required for a thriving, 21st century economy, BLS must be a 21st century data agency. It is critical that BLS has the funding to take full advantage of alternative sources of data and apply advanced statistical matching and modelling techniques. Such steps would greatly reduce respondent burden, provide higher frequency granular statistics, and improve coverage of the economy, especially at state and local levels. BLS also needs the agility to create one-time surveys of establishments on topics of emerging policy interest. The economic landscape can change very quickly, as the last twelve months attest. Businesses and policymakers need information on the current economic climate and that requires a 21st century approach to collecting and reporting data.
With your support during these challenging times, BLS can continue to fully support evidence-based policymaking, smart program evaluation, rewarding career choices, and confident business investment. Thank you for your dedicated interest in this critical part of our national data infrastructure and for considering our views as you prepare the FY 2022 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill.
Sincerely,
Erica L. Groshen, Ph.D.
Chair, The Friends of BLS
Commissioner, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013-2017
Organizations
Aero Research & Analytics
American Economics Group, Inc.
American Statistical Association
AMT – The Association for Manufacturing Technology
Associated General Contractors of America
Association of Population Centers
Association of Public Data Users
Boston University
Center for Economic and Policy Research
Center for New York City Affairs
Clayton Economics
Consortium of Social Science Associations
Cornell University-ILR
Council for Community and Economic Research
Council of Professional Organizations on Federal Statistics (COPAFS)
Data Coalition Initiative
Economic Innovation Group
Forland Consulting
The Friends of BLS
Haver Analytics
Industry Studies Association
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Initiative for a Competitive Inner City
Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation, University of Minnesota
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
National Association for Business Economics
National Association of Home Builders
National Employment Law Project
National Multifamily Housing Council
National Retail Federation
National Urban League
National Venture Capital Association
NORC at the University of Chicago
Opportunity@Work
Population Association of America
SRR Consulting
StratoDem Analytics
The W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
The WorkPlace Inc.
Twin Cities Research Group
Visa, Inc
Individuals*
Katharine G. Abraham, BLS Commissioner, 1993-2001
William G. Barron Jr., Acting BLS Commissioner, 1991-1993
Richard Berner, Director of Office of Financial Research, Dept. of Treasury, 2013-2017
Ronald Bird, Chief Economist, Department of Labor, 2005-2009
Jason Furman, Chair, President’s Council of Economic Advisors, 2013-2017
John M. Galvin, Acting BLS Commissioner, 2012-2013
Keith Hall, BLS Commissioner, 2008-2012; CBO Director 2015-2019
Harry Joseph Holzer, Chief Economist, Department of Labor, 1999
Glenn Hubbard, Chair, President’s Council of Economic Advisors, 2001-2003
Jennifer Hunt, Chief Economist, Department of Labor, 2013-2014
Adriana Kugler, Chief Economist, Department of Labor, 2011-2012
Tony Martinez, Former Chief of Staff, Department of Labor Wage and Hour Administration
Lee Price, Chief Economist, House Appropriations Committee, 2011-2017
Philip L. Rones, Acting BLS Commissioner, 2006-2008
Robert J Shapiro, Former Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs
Patricia A. Shiu, Director, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs,
Department of Labor, 2009-2016
Dixie Sommers, Former BLS Associate Commissioner for Occupational Statistics and
Employment Projections
Kathleen Utgoff, BLS Commissioner, 2002-2006
Katherine Kersten Wallman, Chief Statistician of the U.S., 1992-2017
Spencer Wong, Former Chief of State of CA Labor Market Information Division
William Theodore Dickens, Northeastern University
Stephanie R Aaronson, Brookings Institution
Hassan Afrouzi, Columbia University
Joseph G. Altonji, Yale University
Brian J Asquith, W.E. Upjohn Institute
Orazio Attanasio, Yale University
David Autor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Research
Paul B Bennett, Former Deputy Director of Research, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Francine Blau, Cornell University
Barry Bosworth, Brookings Institution
Cindy Brittain, Kansas City Area Development Council
Erik Brynjolfsson, Stanford Digital Economy Lab, Stanford University
Stephen Burks, Professor of Economics & Management, University of Minnesota Morris
Gary T. Burtless, Brookings Institution
Anne M. Burton, Cornell University
Michael Buso, Former BLS Economist
Henggao Cai, Rutgers University
Samantha Campbell
Joseph Carson, Consultant
Alessandra Casella, Columbia University
Alberto Cavallo, Harvard University
Daniel Chupe-OHanlon, Austin Community College
Kevin Costa, NYC Dept. of Transportation
Elizabeth Crofoot, The Conference Board
David M Cutler, Harvard University
Sheldon Danziger, Russell Sage Foundation
Donald R. Davis, Department of Economics, Columbia University
Steven J Davis, University of Chicago
Dante DeAntonio, Moody’s Analytics
Thomas deWolf
Carlos Cassó Domínguez, Northeastern University
Jill Dupree, Northeastern University
Randall Eberts, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
Ceyhun Elgin, Columbia University Dept. of Economics
Diana Farrell, CNSTAT, NBER, WEF
Martin Fleming, The Productivity Institute
Marcia Flicker, Gabelli School of Business, Fordham University
Christopher Flinn, New York University
Peter Fox, Scoolidge Peters Russotti & Fox LLP
Hannah Furstenberg-Beckman
William Gale, Brookings Institution
Sharat Ganapati, Georgetown University
Frank Georges, Ph.D., Northeastern University
Donna K. Ginther, University of Kansas
Edward Glaeser, Harvard University
Matthieu Gomez, Columbia University
Wayne Gray, Clark University
Marcello Graziano, Southern Connecticut State University
Michael Grossman, City University of New York Graduate Center
Robert E Hall, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
John C, Ham, New York University
Maurine A Haver, Haver Analytics
Maria Heidkamp, Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Rutgers University
Judith K. Hellerstein, University of Maryland
Rebecca Hellerstein, MacroLabs
Juan Herreno, Columbia Business School
Brad Hershbein, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
Nicholas Horton, Ameherst College
V. Joseph Hotz, Duke University
Hilary W Hoynes, University of California, Berkeley
John Eric Humphries, Yale University
David Iaia
Sanford M. Jacoby, UCLA
Brad Jensen, Georgetown University
Chinhui Juhn, University of Houston
Arne Kildegaard, University of Minnesota
Jack Kleinhenz, Ph.D. CBE, Kleinhenz & Associates
Pete Klenow, Stanford University
James L Kopp
Douglas Kruse, Rutgers University
David Lan, Portland Cement Association
Jennifer La’O, Columbia University
Simon Lee, Columbia University
Jennifer LeFurgy, NAIOP, The Commercial Real Estate Development Association
Frank Levy (Professor Emeritus), Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Shelly Lundberg, University of California Santa Barbara
Lisa M. Lynch, Brandeis University
W Bentley Macleod, Columbia University
Steven R Malin, City University of New York
Catherine L. Mann, Citibank
Mindy Marks, Northeastern University
Thomas Masterson, Levy Economics Institute of Bard College
Rebecca Maynard, University of Pennsylvania
Patrick McGibbon, AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology
Ruth Milkman, UCLA
Daniel JB Mitchell, UCLA
Alicia Sasser Modestino, Northeastern University
Robert Moffitt, Johns Hopkins University
Giuseppe Moscarini, Yale University
Richard Murnane, Harvard University
Brendan O’Flaherty, Columbia University
Alexandre Olbrecht, Eastern Economic Association and Ramapo College of New Jersey
Colm O’Muircheartaigh, University of Chicago
Carol Lee Osler, Brandeis University
Dimitri Papadimitriou, Levy Economics Institute
Joel Perlmann, Levy Economics Institute of Bard College
Edmund Phelps, Columbia University
Gerald Porter, Northeastern University
Valerie Ramey, University of California San Diego
Michael Reich, University of California, Berkeley
Richard D. Rippe, Evercore ISI
Richard Roberts, Monmouth University
Emily Rosenbaum, Fordham University
Mark Rosin
Lyle Ryter, Sarona Company
Brenda Samaniego, U. of Callifornia — Santa Clara
Jose A Scheinkman, Columbia University
Stephanie Schmitt-Grohe, Columbia University
Robert Seamans, NYU Stern School of Business
Louise Sheiner, Brookings Institution
Madi Shields, Metro Atlanta Chamber
Tim Smeeding, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Aaron Sojourner, U Minnesota
Charles Steindel, Ramapo College of New Jersey
Michael L Sternad, A Point of View
Raymond Stone PhD, Rutgers University
Michael Strain, American Enterprise Institute
Adaryll Taylor, NYC Department of Transportation
Robert K. Triest, Department of Economics, Northeastern University
Kenneth Troske, University of Kentucky
Eric Verhoogen, Columbia University
Steve Viscelli, University of Pennsylvania
Jeff Vockrodt, Climate Jobs NY
Tao Wang, Johns Hopkins University
David E Weinstein, Columbia University
David Wessel, Brookings Institution
Brady T. West, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Jonathan Wright, Johns Hopkins University
Max Zarin
Christina Zausner
Seth Zimmerman, Yale University
*The institutional listing is only for identification purposes and does not imply the institution’s endorsement of the letter.
Download/Print a copy of the Friends of BLS FY22 Recommendation Letter.