Do We Still Really Need the Bureau of Labor Statistics?
It is time for the monthly story of the labor market to be told more clearly, and more reliably, through data from other sources.
The editor of RealClearMarkets, John Tamny, has a point. An important question to debate today should be: is the Bureau of Labor Statistics still relevant today?
While the August firing of BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, and the subsequent appointment of E.J. Antoni by President Trump have created quite a political stir, the discussion should focus on the use and importance of the BLS’ major product: the monthly jobs report which is eagerly awaited by the business community, the White House and the media.
As a key indicator, the BLS’ Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey has been known to move the stock market. However, since the CES is a survey, it is subject to sampling error. Often the initial headline number is released despite 30 to 40% of the businesses in the sample not having responded in a timely manner. This forces the BLS to “run” with what it has for the monthly release. Hence the variability of the original number.
Economic Dynamism
The Price of Stagnation: Britain’s Retreat from Dynamism
We face a basic issue: we do not let cities or communities grow or die.
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London and the Architecture of Creative Growth
Preserving London's creative dynamism will require humility from policymakers and a commitment to keeping the city liveable.
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The New Frontier of Capital: What SpaceX’s IPO Tells Us About American Capital Markets
The ultimate trajectory of SpaceX remains uncertain, a reflection of the inherent nature of progress at the frontier rather than a flaw in the system that produced it.
Chicago’s “Disappearing Middle Class” Can Be Found in Its Proliferating Upper Middle-Class Neighborhoods
The middle class has not been hollowed out; rather, the overall decline stems from the net movement of families upward into the upper-middle class.
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Is Economics a Failure?
Rather than ending with “economics is broken,” Alexander Rosenberg’s deliberately provocative book 'Blunt Instrument' argues that “economics is useful for a different reason than economists often say.” That is a serious and worthwhile thesis.
Locke, Meet Claude
The concern is not regulation per se. It is a regulation that outruns its justification by arriving before the evidence, foreclosing the technology before its benefits are understood, and insulating the powerful from competition that would otherwise discipline them. That is the pattern worth resisting.
