United States Department of Labor
BLS released the February 2014 Employment Situation report this morning. Read my statement about the report.
This week, President Obama presented to Congress his fiscal year 2015 budget request. The 2015 President’s Budget proposes $610.1 million in funding for BLS for the fiscal year that begins on October 1, 2014. This request is an increase of $17.9 million over the funding we have received in fiscal year 2014. At this proposed funding level, no further reductions to BLS programs would be required. I’m also excited that the 2015 budget request includes resources for two new initiatives that, if funded, will enable BLS to fill two serious data gaps. The new initiatives include the addition of an annual supplement to the Current Population Survey to collect information relevant to labor force trends, including data on contingent work and alternative work arrangements, and workplace flexibility and work-family balance issues. The other initiative will modify the Consumer Expenditure Survey to support the U.S. Census Bureau in its development of a supplemental statistical poverty measure to complement the standard measure the Census Bureau has been producing since the 1960s. You can read more about the proposed budget for BLS.