The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that is charged with collecting, processing, analyzing, and disseminating essential statistical data about business, finance, employment, and the economy. Other government agencies and many organizations in the private and public sectors heavily rely upon BLS to provide reliable data that is both sweeping in its scope and timely. Its parent organization, the DOL, counts on the BLS to serve as its statistical resource, as does the rest of the federal executive branch, Congress, academic researchers, subnational governmental bodies, private [Page 70]business, labor interests, and ultimately the American public.

BLS has adopted as part of its mission the continual effort to remain relevant to contemporary social and economic issues. It strives ...