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Help & Tutorials

Foreign Labor Statistics

Welcome to the step-by-step guide on how to use the Foreign Labor Statistics one-screen query system

The Foreign Labor Statistics program publishes comparative statistical information on labor conditions and developments abroad. Comparisons are provided for productivity, gross domestic product, hourly compensation, and labor force and unemployment.

This tool lets users query the BLS databases for specific data series. For each survey and program, make a selection for each characteristic in the order listed. As you make your selection, the remaining characteristics will filter to show only choices where data are available. After choosing the series, click on "Add to selection." If you need more data series, repeat the steps of choosing the data series you need. After you've finished finding the data series you need, click on the "Get Data" button to retrieve the data, and an HTML table with data for the most recent 10 years will display . If you desire a different time period or format, you may modify the options on the data display page, or click on the "More Formatting Options" button for additional options on refining the data retrieval results. Note: Users may not retrieve more than 200 data series in one query.

1. Economic Group Search Box

Type all or part of a search string in the search text box. The contents of the box will filter to show only those options that contain the search string.

2. Select one or more Economic Group

Click on the Economic Group of interest to select. An Economic Group indicates a category of statistical measure. To select multiple options, hold the Ctrl/Command button, and click the desired options.

3. Economic Series Search Box

Type all or part of a search string in the search text box. The contents of the box will filter to show only those options that contain the search string.

4. Select one or more Economic Series

Click on the Economic Series of interest to select. The series indicates, for comparative consumer price index measures, whether alternative measures exist for a country and, if so, the type of index used to represent those measures. Only the choices available for selected Country are available. To select multiple options, hold the Ctrl/Command button, and click the desired options.

5. Country Search Box

Type all or part of a search string in the search text box. The contents of the box will filter to show only those options that contain the search string.

6. Select one or more Country

Click on the Country of interest to select. If the Countries by Group view is selected, the Countries where the selected Group is available appear in the window to the right. To select multiple options, hold the Ctrl/Command button, and click the desired options.

7. Industry Search Box

Type all or part of a search string in the search text box. The contents of the box will filter to show only those options that contain the search string.

8. Select one or more Industries

Click on the Industries of interest to select. BLS industry data are classified using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). To select multiple options, hold the Ctrl/Command button, and click the desired options.

9. Select Seasonal Adjustment

Seasonal adjustment is a statistical technique that attempts to measure and remove the influences of predictable seasonal patterns from time series data. Seasonally adjusted data contain this type of adjustment to enable comparisons of data across any point in time. Not seasonally data have no such adjustment.

10. Add To Selection

You must make a selection for each of the characteristics in the order listed. Once you have selected all of the characteristics, the "Add To Selection" button becomes active. Click the "Add To Selection" button to list the selected data series in the "Your Selections" box. You can return to the characteristics boxes and make new selections to request additional data series. Click the "Get Data" button to retrieve all the selected data series.

11. Get Data

You must make a selection for each of the characteristics in the order listed. Once you have selected all of the characteristics, the "Get Data" button becomes active. Click to retrieve the data.

 

Last Modified Date: February 20, 2018