econ 301 project

Labor Statistics  Employment and Unemployment

 BLS Employment Situation Summary  Household Survey

 “Official Rate” U3: (UE/LF)

 Omits “Part-Time” and “Discouraged Workers”

 Inferior indicator of month-to-month fluctuations (sampling error of 0.12%)

 Demographic and characteristic data on the population.

 Workers perspective

 Establishment Survey

 Superior indicator of month-to-month fluctuations.

 Wage, hours, and occupational data

 Employers perspective

Labor Statistics  Minimum Wage and Jobs

 Card & Krueger, 1995, telephone survey found a minimum wage increase did

not adversely impact jobs.

 Neumark & Wascher, payroll records, suggested the opposite.

 Overall concerns with research:  Wage vs. Compensation data

 Job vs. hourly employment data

 Effects on non minimum-wage workers (wage compression)

 Diminishing job growth vs. diminishing jobs.

 Inflation effects

 Unionization  BLS Union Survey

 Pre-1973 data came from direct union reports

 Biased upward by larger union to strengthen image.

 Biased downward by local unions to reduce dues.

 Post-1973 data comes from a BLS survey.

 In 1976 the questionnaire wording was changes from “union” to “union or employee

association similar to a union”, increasing union affiliation.

 BLS Strikes

 Compiled by the BLS based on newspaper, magazine, and government reports.

 Omits work stoppages less than 1000 workers

Labor Statistics

 Workplace Safety  BLS Workplace Safety

 Fishing and logging are the most dangerous occupations.

 In 2009 workplace injuries had dropped to the lowest level since recorded in

1992 (has increased slightly since).

 May be due to job losses in historically dangerous industries.