News Analysis
Employment growth has been overestimated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) over the past few years, garnering the attention of a chorus of prominent individuals, from former President Donald Trump to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
As sizable revisions to previous months’ job data become more frequent, economic observers have presented various theories, such as poor data collection methods, to ascertain the reason behind this trend.
One of the causes might be the decline in response rates.
The federal statistics agency conducts a comprehensive approach to generating employment data every month.
The first is known as the Current Population Survey (CPS). Researchers contact approximately 60,000 households—by phone, video calls, emails, mail, and personal visits—to determine the employment status of individuals 15 and older….