Protecting Online Privacy

BLS is strongly committed to maintaining the privacy of your personal information and the security of our computer systems. With respect to the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information, BLS makes every effort to comply with applicable federal law, including the Privacy Act of 1974, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Freedom of Information Act, and other legislation.

BLS does not collect personally identifying information about you when you visit our site unless you choose to provide such information. The information we receive depends on what you do when visiting our site.

If you respond to an online request for personal information

Generally, the information requested by BLS will be used to respond to your inquiry or to provide you with better service. When BLS requests this information, the reasons for collecting it and the intended use of the information are explained in a customized "Privacy Notice." This Privacy Notice will appear on the webpage collecting the information or be accessible through a link displayed immediately preceding the information request.

When you visit the BLS website, we collect and store the following information

• Internet Protocol (IP) address. A computer's IP address establishes its location on the Internet and allows other computers, such as those hosting bls.gov, to send it content and other information
• The Internet domain name of a computer accessing bls.gov through a domain, such as from a corporation ("xcompany.com") or university ("yourschool.edu")
• The date, time, and duration of a website visit
• The URL of a referring page if a visitor to bls.gov accesses the site through a link on a page not on bls.gov
• Information about the computer, such as the type and version of web browser (for example, Chrome, Firefox, Safari) operating system (for example, Unix, Mac OS, MS Windows), Java support (yes or no), Flash version, screen resolution (for example, 1280x800), and connection speed
• The specific pages a computer accesses when it requests information from bls.gov
• The amount of data (measured in number of bytes) transmitted from bls.gov to a computer
• Contents of the persistent tracking cookie (see Cookie Use Notice below)

This information is used to create summary statistics that allow us to count the number of visitors to the different sections of our site, identify what information is of most and least interest, determine technical design specifications, monitor system performance, and help us make our site more useful.

If you identify yourself by sending an email containing personal information

You may decide to send us personally identifying information, such as your mailing address, in an email message requesting information to be mailed to you. Information collected in this manner is used solely for responding to requests for information or records. We may forward your email to other government employees who are better able to help you. If you wish to file a request under the Freedom of Information Act, instructions are provided at: www.bls.gov/bls/blsfoia.htm.

If you link to other sites outside BLS

Our website has many links to other sites. When you link to these other sites, you are no longer on bls.gov and are subject to the privacy policy of the other site.

Email Filtering Notice

BLS uses an automated spam filtering system on all email messages entering the BLS network. This filtering process enhances the security of BLS systems and the professionalism of the workplace and enables the BLS staff to serve our customers better. On rare occasions, this filtering process may prevent us from receiving your email or may delay our response. If you do not receive a timely response to your message and suspect it was caught up in our filters, please contact us by telephone (202-691-5200) regarding your inquiry or use our online information request form found at: data.bls.gov/forms/opb.htm.

Cookie Use Notice

BLS employs "cookies" to provide better service to our customers. We do not use cookies to collect any personally identifying information from users or to track user activities beyond our website. This means that when you visit a page on bls.gov, the web browser on your computer may download and save a small file from bls.gov so that our website can recognize your specific browser when you use bls.gov in the future.

Cookies fall into two categories, based on the length of time they remain active:

• Session cookies last only as long as a web browser is open. Once the browser is closed, the data files on your computer are deleted.
• Persistent cookies last beyond a single session of browsing. These cookies allow a website to recognize a computer or user for a defined amount of time.

The BLS website uses the following web measurement and customization technologies, as directed by the Office of Management and Budget's Guidance for Online Use of Web Measurement and Customization Technologies (OMB M-10-22):

• Session cookies are used for technical purposes, such as remembering your time series selections from one page to another while using the BLS data query tools. Under the Office of Management and Budget's guidance, this qualifies as a Tier 1 use.
• Session cookies are used to track the number of pages you have viewed before showing you a customer satisfaction survey. Under the Office of Management and Budget's guidance, this qualifies as a Tier 1 use.
• Third-party session cookies are used by our partners including Google Analytics, SiteImprove etc.  Our partners do not receive personally identifying information through these cookies and do not combine, match, or cross-reference bls.gov information with any other information. Under the Office of Management and Budget's guidance, this qualifies as a Tier 1 use.
• Persistent cookies are used to recognize a computer that has previously visited bls.gov. The BLS website sets persistent cookies to assess which pages are popular, how often people visit the website, and other measures. These cookies do not collect personally identifying information. Under the Office of Management and Budget's guidance, this qualifies as a Tier 2 use.
• Some pages on the BLS website may include web content or functionality from third parties such as embedded videos hosted by non-BLS services.
• These third parties may use web measurement and customization technologies (such as cookies) in conjunction with the provision of this content or functionality. You should consult the privacy policies of these third parties for further information.

How you can control website measurement and customization technologies

Visitors can control aspects of website measurement and customization technologies used on bls.gov. Visitors who choose to disable these technologies will still have access to comparable information and services on bls.gov except for the data query tools, which require the use of session cookies.

You can choose not to accept cookies from any website, including bls.gov, by changing the settings of your browser. You also can delete cookies stored in your browser at any time. Instructions for setting your browser security can be found at www.usa.gov/optout_instructions.shtml.

Security

The BLS website is part of a federal computer system and is monitored to ensure it remains available to all users and to protect the integrity of the information contained in the system. By accessing this website, you consent to these monitoring activities.

Unauthorized attempts to defeat or circumvent security features, to use the system for purposes other than those for which it was intended, to deny service, to alter, damage, or destroy information, or otherwise to interfere with the system or its operation is prohibited. Evidence of such acts may be disclosed to law enforcement authorities and result in criminal prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986, the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act of 1996, and other applicable criminal laws.

BLS is committed to ensuring the security of the American public by protecting its information from unauthorized disclosure. Our Vulnerability Disclosure Policy provides guidelines on how security researchers should conduct vulnerability discoveries and how they should submit discovered vulnerabilities to BLS.

Automated retrieval program (robot) activity

The BLS is committed to providing data promptly and according to established schedules. Automated retrieval programs (commonly called "robots" or "bots") can cause delays and interfere with other customers' timely access to information. Therefore, excessive robot activity on BLS websites is prohibited.

BLS will block robots that access the website in any way that BLS considers excessive or malicious, including robots that attempt to access or download survey information multiple times per second with resulting degradation of service to others. BLS also reserves the right to block robots that do not contain information that can be used to contact the owner. Blocking may occur in real time.

NOTE: Robots using a specific IP address (for example, 146.142.xx.xx) instead of an official BLS URL (such as www.bls.gov or data.bls.gov) are at risk of not receiving data promptly at prescribed times.

 

Last Modified Date: May 5, 2023