Tag: BLS

Federal Partners Panel: An Update from Agency Leaders

Dr. Mary Bohman, Acting Director and Deputy Director of the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Dr. William Beach, Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and Dr. Ron Jarmin, Acting Director of the U.S. Census Bureau, gathered at the 61^st Annual C2ER Conference and LMI Institute Forum’s Federal Partners Panel event to discuss the current work of their respective agencies, new innovations in data collection and dissemination, and the future of work and data-driven economic and workforce development.

Dr. Bohman, Dr. Beach, and Dr. Jarmin recognize the need for granular and timely data. Dr. Bohman stated that BEA is prioritizing the expansion of state and local data, high-quality statistics and data, and meeting user needs by providing disaggregated data, and additional product, geographic, and industry data. BEA is also phasing out data collection by mail and instead focusing on text and email survey response data collection methods, as well as purchasing data from private companies.

Dr. Jarmin, with the U.S. Census Bureau, also spoke to a need for innovative data collection methods. “I think all three agencies (U.S. Census Bureau, BEA, and BLS) are involved in new ways to look at new sources of data… [including] additional administrative data and private data sources,” said Dr. Jarmin. Other priorities at the U.S. Census Bureau include adding new content relating to changes in labor market and productivity and creating products that meet the needs of non-traditional data users.

“I hope everyone knows the future of our work is more granular, more frequent, and [involving the use of] new data sources,” Dr. Beach stated during the event. To that end, BLS, according to Dr. Beach, is focusing on new and innovative data collection methods, such as utilizing Unemployment Insurance (UI) data from states. Dr. Beach speculated there would likely be UI reform efforts at the state policy level or in Congress and perhaps some future opportunities for utilizing UI data in a collaborative effort between BLS and state government agencies.

Changes in Data Products by U.S. Census, BLS, and BEA

Pulse Surveys by the U.S. Census Bureau might not be a permanent product, says Dr. Jarmin, as the data collection is burdensome to users. But while the Pulse Surveys may be impractical in the long term, Dr. Jarmin stated the U.S. Census Bureau is committed to quickly designing and implementing novel and helpful surveys during times of emergency—as the agency did with the Pulse Surveys during the COVID-19 crisis. In other news, the U.S. Census Bureau will also begin collecting data on state marijuana tax revenue collected by states where marijuana is legalized.

For BLS, new data product updates include the release of monthly data from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), where users can find experimental estimates for all 50 states and the District of Columbia for the total nonfarm level job openings, hires, and separations. The first round of JOLTS monthly data was released in June of 2021. And finally, Dr. Bohman announced that BEA, for the first time, will release official statistics of real personal consumption expenditures beginning on December 14, 2021.

Overall, leadership from the U.S. Census Bureau, BLS, and BEA emphasized their commitment to finding innovative data collection and infrastructure methods to provide fast, specific, and disaggregated data to assist local and state applied workforce and economic development researchers.

June 16, 2021

The Impact of Certifications on Earnings across States and Occupations

This article is part of a series of reports on new estimates from the Labor Market Information Institute State Certification and Licenses Data Tables. Find previous blog posts in this series here.

For workers adapting to changing economic conditions, non-degree credentials can help with retraining and gaining new skill sets. But do these non-degree credentials also increase earnings? Very little information has been available regarding the relevant earnings outcomes (we know much more about earnings from degrees). Utilizing micro-data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), the LMI Institute aims to improve our understanding of the value of licenses and certifications for earnings potential.

This month, we look at the earnings of workers who have a certification but no license. Nationally, those with only a certification earn $363 or 44% more than those with neither a certification nor license.

Below we list the states with the greatest percent difference in earnings associated with a certification. The top two states are Maryland and Virginia, each with a difference of more than $700 in weekly median earnings for those with a certification only compared to those with no certification or license.

Top 10 States Weekly Median Earnings: Difference Between Those with a Certification Only and Those with Neither a Certification nor a License (Ranked by Percent Difference)
Rank	State	Percent Difference	Earnings Difference
1	Virginia	79%	$714
2	Maryland	76%	$731
3	Nebraska	76%	$572
4	West Virginia	72%	$520
5	Georgia	71%	$548
6	Arizona	70%	$554
7	Louisiana	65%	$486
8	New Mexico	65%	$456
9	Kentucky	64%	$460
10	Nevada	63%	$468

Results for all states are listed on our Tableau dashboard. The lowest earnings difference, in Indiana, was $224 — workers with a certification only earn only 29% more than those with neither certifications nor licenses. The lowest percent difference in earnings, in Ohio, was 28% — wages for workers with a certification only earned $226 more than their counterparts without a certification.

While the CPS does not include data about what specific certifications are driving these results for states, we can look at whether certifications seem to increase earnings for people in some occupations more than in others. (Results below are national. Details by occupation and state are available to members through LMI Institute.)

Those with only a certification in sales and related occupations earn 57% more than those without a certification or license, $433 more per week on average. Among those who work in legal occupations, people with a certification earn 50% more than their counterparts without a certification, $552 more per week. In contrast, people working in healthcare support occupations earned only $56 more in median weekly earnings with a certification. Results for all occupations are listed on our Tableau dashboard.

Top 10 Occupations Difference Between Those with a Certification Only and Those with Neither a Certification nor a License (Ranked by Percent Difference)
Rank	Occupation	Percent Difference	Earnings Difference
1	Sales and related occupations	57%	$433
2	Legal occupations	50%	$552
3	Business and financial operations occupations	36%	$427
4	Construction and extraction occupations	35%	$276
5	Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	35%	$189
6	Personal care and service occupations	33%	$171
7	Management occupations	32%	$446
8	Production occupations	29%	$205
9	Food preparation and serving related occupations	27%	$132
10	Community and social services occupations	24%	$211

State Certifications and Licenses data allows the user to analyze earnings data with and without a certification or license, or with a certification only (no license) by state. The LMI Institute suppressed all data with less than 30 observations from its analysis. As a result, occupational earnings data for workers with a certification only are limited to just the largest states. It is important to note that these are only estimates and we have not tested the degree of correlation or statistical significance of the differences in certification attainment and wages. We hope these initial estimates will encourage further research.

The LMI Institute recently presented a webinar on “How LMI Institute State Certifications and Licenses Data Informs State-Level Research” to its members as part of the LMI Workforce Roundtable Series. This data can drive research into sub-population attainment of certifications and licenses and high-value credentials required for occupations or that substantially increase earnings. Watch this presentation to learn more about how your state can benefit from increase understanding of certification and license attainment and their associated earnings! See the Webinar HERE.

Use the data explorer below to see where your state ranks relative to the Nation and its Region in the difference in earnings for workers with and without a Certification (but no License). Select your state’s Region to explore how your Region’s occupations with the greatest difference between workers with and without a certification (but no license). Hover over the data for more details on certification attainment and earnings with and without a certification (but no license). [1]

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Current Population Survey collects information on the prevalence of certifications and licenses in the United States, published annually. Using this data, the Labor Market Information (LMI) Institute produced state-level estimates on the prevalence of certifications and licenses, including tables comparing certification and licensure by educational attainment across occupations, age, race and ethnicity, and gender.

[1] All data with less than 30 observations has been suppressed from the data. Observations for earnings are generally lower than for attainment and are generally lowest at lower levels of education.

September 2, 2020

How Trends in Certification Attainment and Associated Earnings vary by Race, Ethnicity, and Education

The above map shows the attainment rate for each state by selected population. Scroll over your state to see each state’s exact attainment rate and earnings associated with a certification or license, with a certification only or neither a certification nor license. Click on your state or select it in the dropdown menu to see how its earnings and attainment compare across race and with the United States. Use the dropdown menu to select the level of education you are interested in viewing. Contact the LMI Institute to learn how you can embed this visualization on your site.[1]

Among the US population aged 25 and older, the percentage of the population with a certification but no license (“certification only”) is similar across all racial and ethnic groups, with a marginally higher rate for White and Asian persons than Black or Hispanic persons.

Persons with higher levels of education are more likely to have a certification only than less educated persons regardless of race and/or ethnicity. Roughly 1% of all persons with only a high school diploma have a certification only, compared to 2.5% of all persons with an Associate’s degree and 2.5% of all persons with a Bachelor’s degree as their highest level of education.

Variation in certification only attainment by race is slightly more apparent at the Advanced Degree level (Master’s and Above), the level of education with the highest certification only attainment rate across race and/or ethnicities. 3.7% of Black or African American persons with an advanced degree have a certification only, while only 2.8% of White and Hispanic or LatinX persons with similar education have a certification only.

Despite similar rates of certification only attainment across race and/or ethnicity, including when analyzed by level of education, certification only attainment is not associated with equal returns to earnings across race and/or ethnicity.

	White	Black or African-American	Asian	Hispanic or LatinX
With a Certification Only (No License)	$959	$843	$1,154	$882
Neither a Certification nor License	$808	$660	$848	$699

White workers with a certification only had $142 or 17.8% more in median weekly earnings than non-credentialed, similar workers. The median weekly earnings of Asian workers with a certification only were $306 or 36.1% greater than for workers with neither a certification nor license. Black or African American workers earned $183 (27.7%) and Hispanic or LatinX workers earned $183 (26.2%) more with a certification only than their peers with neither a certification nor license.

	White	Black or African-American	Asian	Hispanic or LatinX
No High School Diploma	9.8%	11.6%	9.1%	28.6%
HS Diploma/GED or Equivalent	28.4%	33.1%	18.3%	31.0%
Some College, No Degree	15.9%	19.2%	8.6%	13.9%
Associate’s Degree	10.5%	10.4%	6.7%	8.1%
Bachelor’s Degree	22.5%	16.4%	32.6%	12.9%
Advanced Degree	13.0%	9.3%	24.7%	5.6%

Education plays a critical role in understanding these apparent differences by race in the returns to earnings from certification attainment. More educated workers are more likely to earn more, and are more likely to have a certification, while less educated workers are more likely to see a larger return to earnings from certification attainment. Black and Hispanic workers are less likely to have a degree than White or Asian workers, and differences in education levels by race could explain why Black and Hispanic workers have increased returns to earnings with a certification, and lower overall earnings, than White workers. With the recent publication of a fifth year of CPS data on certifications and licenses, the LMI Institute is creating five-year CPS estimates that will allow users to better understand the relationship between race, level of education, and the returns of certification attainment to earnings.

State Certifications and Licenses data allows the user to analyze earnings data with and without a certification or license, or with a certification only (no license) by state. The LMI Institute suppressed all data with less than 30 observations from its analysis, severely limiting the number of states for which earnings data for workers with a certification only is available by race and level of education. It is important to note that these are only estimates and we have not tested the degree of correlation or statistical significance of the differences in certification attainment and wages. We hope these initial estimates will encourage further research.

[1] All data with less than 30 observations has been suppressed from the data. Observations for earnings are generally lower than for attainment and are generally lowest at lower levels of education.

August 3, 2020

Why Certification-Attainment Matters for the US Workforce

The above figure shows the certification attainment rate for workers in the United States and a selected state by degree status. Select your state to see how its certification attainment rate compares with the United States. Contact the LMI Institute to learn how you can embed this visualization on your site.

This article is part of a series of reports on new estimates from the Labor Market Information Institute State Certification and Licenses Data Tables. Find previous blog posts in this series here.

While 24% of US full-time workers have a certification or license, less than 2.5% of US full-time workers have only a certification. Non-licensed workers in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia are more likely to have a certification than similar workers in the rest of the country. Across almost every state, non-licensed workers with a degree are more likely to attain certifications than non-licensed workers without a degree.

These certifications increase the median weekly earnings of non-licensed U.S. workers by $295 or 44% on average. Non-licensed workers without a degree earn $184 or 26% more with a certification.

The low attainment of certifications among various groups suggests that efforts to upskill or better recognize skills among these workers through certification could substantially increase their weekly earnings. Comparing non-licensed workers with and without a certification in the Information Technology and Financial Activities industries, we see a difference in median weekly earnings of more than $500. Shifting our view to look at occupations across all industries, we see that the differences in earnings for workers with and without a certification are greatest for workers in Management and Sales occupations—a difference of $410 and $403, respectively.

Non-licensed workers in non-White and Hispanic populations also greatly benefit from certification attainment in several states. In Illinois, non-licensed Black or African American and Hispanic/LatinX workers show an increase in median weekly earnings of more than $400 with a certification.

White and Asian non-licensed workers are slightly more likely to have a certification than Black or Hispanic workers, but those differences are small (within 0.5 percentage points). Only 2% of Black or African American and 1.5% of Hispanic/LatinX non-licensed workers have a certification. Across states, certification-only attainment rates vary more for non-white racial or ethnic workers than for white workers. Nearly 5% of Black or African American non-licensed workers in Missouri have a certification, in contrast with Mississippi, where 1.5% of Black or African American non-licensed workers have a certification.

It is important to note that these are only estimates and we have not tested the degree of correlation or statistical significance of the differences in certification attainment and wages. We hope these initial estimates will encourage further research.

The LMI Institute recently presented a webinar on “How LMI Institute State Certifications and Licenses Data Informs State-Level Research” to its members as part of the LMI Workforce Roundtable Series. This data can drive research into sub-population attainment of certifications and licenses and high-value credentials required for occupations or that substantially increase earnings. Watch this presentation to learn more about how your state can benefit from increase understanding of certification and license attainment and their associated earnings! See the Webinar HERE.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Current Population Survey collects information on the prevalence of certifications and licenses in the United States, published annually. Using this data, the Labor Market Information (LMI) Institute produced state-level estimates on the prevalence of certifications and licenses, including tables comparing certification and licensure by educational attainment across occupations, age, race and ethnicity, and gender.

June 16, 2020
The Role of Certifications and Licenses in State Post-Secondary Attainment Goals

The above map shows state post-secondary attainment goals. Scroll over a state to see more information on its attainment goals.

This article is part of a series of reports on new estimates from the Labor Market Information Institute State Certification and Licenses Data Tables. Find previous blog posts in this series here.

Forty-two states have set goals for the attainment of post-secondary credentials, including degrees and certificates. This blogpost explores how these goals vary by state with special attention to whether and how states measure the attainment of professional credentials like certifications and licenses. [1]

Fifty States, Forty-Two Different Attainment Goals

State educational attainment goals are generally focused on increasing the overall level of education among state residents. States prioritize different types of credentials, including some and excluding others, and set goals for different sub-populations, focusing only on people in the workforce or setting specific goals for younger workers and new labor market entrants. States measure progress toward their goals in different ways as well, using different national and state databases to track educational attainment.

There are some similarities across states as well. Among the 42 states that have set goals, 31 measure attainment among the population ages 25 to 64, regardless of employment status.

Goals in three states measure the attainment of credentials only among the state’s workforce. Six states aim to increase the attainment of post-secondary credentials among their young adult population (ages 25-34). Minnesota and Washington set their attainment goals for working adults ages 25 to 44. Colorado and Pennsylvania aim to increase educational attainment among persons from traditionally underrepresented populations, reducing gaps in attainment among white and non-white populations.

Attainment goals also vary in their consideration of professional credentials. All 42 state attainment goals include the attainment of traditional degrees – including both associate’s and bachelor’s degrees. Six states only consider the attainment of degrees in their goal. Sixteen states additionally include certificates. The remaining 20 states track the attainment of any post-secondary credentials, including professional credentials like certifications and licenses and apprenticeship programs.

However, tracking the attainment of certificates and professional credentials can prove challenging for states. Federal datasets that collect information on persons’ level of education typically only collect data on degree types, and do not collect data on certificates or professional credentials. The next blogpost in this series will further explore available sources providing data on the attainment of professional credentials.

Measuring Attainment: Stories from Three States

Alabama, Iowa, and Washington all track the attainment of any post-secondary credential towards their higher education attainment goals. However, how these states track post-secondary credentials, and which post-secondary credentials each state tracks, varies.

Washington Student Achievement Council Educational Attainment Dashboard. Explore this dashboard at https://wsac.wa.gov/roadmap/attainment

The Washington Student Achievement Council set a 10-year goal in 2013 for 70% of Washington adults aged 25-44 to have a postsecondary credential by 2023. Washington’s plan to increase educational attainment in the state specifically calls on increased attainment of “postsecondary certificate[s], apprenticeship[s], or degree[s].”[2]Washington Student Achievement Council Educational Attainment Dashboard

Washington tracks attainment of degrees using 1-year American Community Survey estimates[3], and estimates the attainment of high-value certificates using data annually produced by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and Workforce (CEW) on behalf of the Lumina Stronger Nation Report.[4] The CEW derives state level estimates for certificate attainment from U.S. Census and IPEDS data.

Iowa Laborshed Survey Analysis – Educational Attainment Dashboard. Explore this dashboard at https://www.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/laborshed-studies

In 2016, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad set a goal for 70% of Iowa’s workforce to have “education or training beyond high school…including postsecondary degrees, certificates, and other high-quality credentials” by 2025.[5] Future Ready Iowa and Iowa Workforce Development track the attainment of postsecondary credentials using the state’s Laborshed Survey.[6] In addition to degree attainment, Iowa counts the attainment of “some education beyond high school, no degree obtained,” “vocational training,” and “trade certification” towards its attainment goal.

Alabama Works! Success Plus Educational Attainment Dashboard. Explore more at https://alabamaworks.com/successplus/

Alabama Works! set a goal for 60% of the state’s working age population to hold “some type of certificate, credential or degree of value” by 2025 in response to an executive order from Governor Kay Ivey in 2017. Alabama Works tracks the attainment of postsecondary credentials using data from the Current Population Survey. In addition to degree attainment, the Current Population Survey additionally tracks the attainment of certifications and licenses, of which Alabama specifically tracks the attainment of certifications and licenses that are required for an individual’s job.

Read more about the data sources mentioned in this article in our February 2020 blog post on certifications and licenses.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Current Population Survey collects information on the prevalence of certifications and licenses in the United States, published annually. Using this data, the Labor Market Information (LMI) Institute produced state-level estimates on the prevalence of certifications and licenses, including tables comparing certification and licensure by educational attainment across occupations, age, race and ethnicity, and gender.

[1] All data on state attainment goals provided by the Lumina Foundation and aggregated by HCM Strategists, unless otherwise noted. http://strongernation.luminafoundation.org/report/2019/media/Attainment_Goal_state%20rundown_021519.pdf

[2] https://wsac.wa.gov/the-2013-roadmap

[3] https://wsac.wa.gov/roadmap/attainment

[4] http://strongernation.luminafoundation.org/report/2019/#page/sources

[5] https://governor.iowa.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Executive%20Order%2088.pdf

[6] https://www.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/laborshed-studies

January 13, 2020

Trends in Certification and License Attainment and Earnings by Education Level

The above figure shows the attainment rate and difference in median weekly earnings between workers with and without a certification or license by education level.

This article is part of a series of reports on new estimates from the Labor Market Information Institute State Certification and Licenses Data Tables. Find previous blog posts in this series here.

The attainment of certifications and licenses, and their associated earnings, varies by education level. U.S. workers with a degree attain certifications and licenses at a higher rate than workers without a degree. However, workers with less than a degree had the largest and most consistent boost in earnings relative to their non-credentialed counterparts. Workers without a degree earned at least $95 more with a certification or license in every state.

Key Definitions and Methods

The attainment rate is the percentage of the population with a certification or license

To find the attainment rate for various sub-populations, we divide the number of people in the sub-population with a certification or license by the total number of people in the sub-population.

The difference in earnings is found by subtracting the earnings of people without a certification or license from the earnings of people with a certification or license

Attainment by Education Level

Thirty percent of full-time workers with a degree and 11 percent of full-time workers without a degree have a certification or license in the United States.

When examined by level of education, the attainment rate continues to vary by state. The percent of workers with a degree and a certification or license varies from 37.1% in Wyoming to 23.8% in the District of Columbia. The percent of workers without a degree and a certification or license varies from 16.4% in Alaska to 7.8% in South Carolina. Attainment rates of certifications and licenses are high in Wyoming and Alaska regardless of education level. 35.8% of Alaskans with a degree have a certification or license, the 4^th highest rate among states for workers with a degree. 14.3% of Wyomingites without a degree have a certification or license, also the 4^th highest among states for workers without a degree.

The above figure shows the attainment rate by education level. The attainment rate is the percentage of the population with a certification or license.

Earnings by Education Level

While we might expect the increase in earnings associated with the attainment of certifications or licenses to accelerate with higher levels of education, workers without a degree had the largest difference in earnings between workers with and without a certification or license. In fact, workers with a degree earned less with a certification or license than their non-credentialed counterparts in two states, Washington and Oklahoma.

Full-time workers with a degree had $1,229 in median weekly earnings with a certification or license, $68 more than similar workers without a certification or license.

Earnings for workers with a degree and a certification or license also vary by state. Workers with a degree in Mississippi had the lowest median weekly earnings with a certification or license of any state, $974, although these workers earned $85 more than similar, non-credentialed workers. In the District of Columbia, workers with a degree and a certification or license had $1,823 in median weekly earnings, the most of any state. These workers earned $294 more than similar workers without a certification or license. Workers with a degree and a certification or license also earned $200 more than their non-credentialed counterparts in Hawaii ($241), Nevada ($221), and New York ($209).

However, workers with a degree earned less with a certification or license than without in Washington and Oklahoma. Workers with a degree in Washington earned $1,379, or $7 less, with a certification or license, and workers with a degree in Oklahoma earned $1,024, or $12 less, with a certification or license, relative to workers without a certification or license in each respective state.

The above figure shows median weekly earnings with and without a certification or license by education level. Earnings without a certification or license are in orange, earnings with a certification or license are in blue.

While U.S. workers without a degree only had $796 in median weekly earnings with a certification or license, these earnings were $104 or 15% more than those of similar workers without a certification or license.

In contrast to workers with a degree, workers without a degree earned at least $95 more with a certification or license in every state. Workers without a degree in Colorado had $1,010 in median weekly earnings with a certification or license, $251 more than similar workers without a certification or license. Colorado workers without a degree had the largest difference in earnings between workers with and without a certification or license of any state. Workers without a degree also earned $200 more than their non-credentialed counterparts in Hawaii ($237), Alaska ($214), and Arizona ($203). Workers without a degree in Alaska had median weekly earnings of $1,022 with a certification or license, the most of any state.

Workers without a degree in Florida had the lowest median weekly earnings with a certification or license of any state, $740. These workers only earned $95 more than similar workers without a certification or license. Workers without a degree with a certification or license only earned less than $100 more than their non-credentialed counterparts in Arkansas ($98), Missouri ($97), Ohio ($96), Vermont ($95), Nebraska ($95), Florida ($95).

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Current Population Survey collects information on the prevalence of certifications and licenses in the United States, published annually. Using this data, the Labor Market Information (LMI) Institute produced state-level estimates on the prevalence of certifications and licenses, including tables comparing certification and licensure by educational attainment across occupations, age, race and ethnicity, and gender.

December 6, 2019

Data Advocacy Update

2017 has brought a great deal of change to Washington, with a new Administration and Congress. With so many new faces and political developments, it can be hard to keep up. There are a few important developments that you need to pay attention to.

The “skinny budget” proposed by the Trump Administration contains a series of substantial cuts to federal statistical agencies. This budget provides $1.5 billion, an increase of more than $100 million, for the U.S. Census Bureau to continue preparations for the 2020 Decennial Census. This additional funding prioritizes fundamental investments in information technology and field infrastructure, which would allow the bureau to more effectively administer the 2020 Decennial Census. However, the Census Bureau will require significant increases in its budget to prepare for and administer the rapidly approaching Census.

The proposed budget consolidates the mission, policy support, and administrative functions of the Economics and Statistics Administration within the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the Department of Commerce’s Office of the Secretary. It will also reduce funding for USDA’s statistical capabilities, while maintaining core Departmental analytical functions, such as the funding necessary to complete the Census of Agriculture.

Keep in mind that Congress has the power of the purse and that the drastic cuts proposed by the President are only proposals. A full budget will emerge later in the spring with more details, and this is when the real decisions will be made about the FY 2018 budget. It is increasingly likely that the FY 2017 budget will be a continuing resolution, effectively extending funding at current levels until the end of the fiscal year.

There are also important decisions to be made regarding leadership for the Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Census Bureau Director John Thompson’s five-year term expires at the end of 2017, while Bill Wiatrowski is serving as Acting Commissioner of the BLS following the end of former Commissioner Erica Groshen’s term. It is important that President Trump appoint quality leaders who understand the importance of these agencies.

There are several other legislative priorities to consider with regard to federal statistics. While there is less support for making the American Community Survey voluntary, which would dramatically reduce response rates, there are other concerning developments. The Local Zoning Decisions Protection Act of 2017, introduced by Rep. Paul Gosar (R., Ariz.) and Sen. Mike Lee (R., Utah), could limit data available for Department of Housing and Urban Development geospatial data. There are concerns that the Census could become politicized by the inclusion of questions of immigration status in the survey.

C2ER is working hard to ensure that these valuable data resources are protected and supported in Congress. We will continue to monitor these developments and educate policymakers about the critical importance of federal statistics to C2ER members.

March 23, 2017
C2ER Attends SelectUSA Summer Forum

C2ER staffer Wen Sun attended the SelectUSA Summer Forum held in Washington, DC on June 17^th, where Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker unveiled the newly designed Access Costs Everywhere (ACE) framework, one of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC)’s tools to assist manufacturers and other businesses investing in the United States. Secretary Pritzker also discussed the Department’s investments in a wide array of other initiatives, including the newly launched U.S. Cluster Mapping tool. (more…)

July 2, 2014
Public data making the rounds in the media
As the appropriations process gears up on Capitol Hill, government officials, advocates, and journalists are making the case for preserving public data.
- U.S. Census Director John H. Thompson wrote a guest blog entry for ESA, Measuring our economy—200 years and still counting. (more…)
April 3, 2014
C2ER calling on Congress to restore, modernize BLS budget

C2ER has learned that the Senate and House are developing appropriations proposals that must ready in the next few weeks. To that end, C2ER will be coordinating outreach to both committees, as well as to key individual members of each, calling on the House and Senate to increase the total Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) budget request to $631.4 million.

This would include the following proposals: (more…)

March 20, 2014