The Independent Census Scientific Advisory Committee (I-CSAC) will hold its Fall 2026 meeting on Thursday, September 17, from 2:00–5:00 PM ET. To send a public comment, email CensusScientific@gmail.com with subject line: “I-CSAC Fall Meeting Public Comment”. Comments are due Sep 16 at noon ET.

The Friends of BLS is hosting a community mixer at Sudhouse DC on Sept 16 at 5PM. We hope any and all local members of the Friends will come join us! If you are not a member yet, come out and see what we are about! Membership is free and comes with a social appt. forms.gle/ZPG96YZq5CCz...

Friends of BLS Community Mixer - Sept 16

Friends of BLS is hosting an early‑evening community mixer on Wednesday, September 16, from 5–7 PM at Sudhouse DC (1340 U Street, NW). This casual gathering is an opportunity for our partners to conne...

forms.gle

BLS is hiring a Research Mathematical Statistician (GS-14). This is a unique opportunity to lead cutting-edge statistical research that directly impacts the integrity and quality of high-impact government data products. Application deadline: Aug 31. www.usajobs.gov/job/881505600

Research Mathematical Statistician

The Bureau of Labor Statistics measures labor market activity, working conditions, price changes, and productivity in the U.S. economy to support public and private decision making. The position is lo...

usajobs.gov

A 60-day FRN was recently published outlining a proposed field test for the SIPP in 2027. The field test would be in lieu of a national collection using the current questionnaires, systems, and processes. Comments are due by Oct 6. www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)

The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and continuing information collec...

federalregister.gov

Friends of BLS Statement on the Confirmation of Brett Matsumoto as Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. www.friendsofbls.org/updates/2026...

BLS is hiring a Research Assistant (GS-7). Closes on Aug 10. www.usajobs.gov/job/878859900

Research Assistant

The Bureau of Labor Statistics measures labor market activity, working conditions, price changes, and productivity in the U.S. economy to support public and private decision making. The position is lo...

usajobs.gov

COPAFS is pleased to welcome three new members to its Board of Directors: Mark Mather, Peggy Carr, and Rob Santos. These accomplished leaders bring a wealth of experience in federal statistics, data user concerns, and a deep knowledge of the federal statistical system. copafs.org/copafs-welco...

We have joined the Association of Population Centers, @apduorg.bsky.social, @copafs.bsky.social, and @icpsr.bsky.social for this statement on the Department of Commerce's new order on Disclosure Avoidance for Statistical Products buff.ly/kofjV6m

Statement on Commerce’s Disclosure Avoidance for Statistical Products

populationassociation.org

Joint Statement from @apduorg.bsky.social @popassocamerica.bsky.social @icpsr.bsky.social @copafs.bsky.social & APC on new Disclosure Avoidance Rules from Commerce. copafs.org/apc-apdu-cop...

Friends of BLS supports the bipartisan AI Data Act. "Artificial intelligence is transforming work in real time, and policymakers need reliable, timely data to understand what is changing, where, and why," says Friends of BLS Co-Chairs. www.friendsofbls.org/updates/2026...

The concern is that this affects EVERYTHING. RDC projects. Special tabs. Small area estimates. Public microdata. Block level 2030 census counts may not be possible. 2020 dp was annoying. This is scorched earth on *everything.*

Concerning news regarding using DP for federal statistics (AKA public data). Coarsening or suppression will be the new privacy safeguards of choice. This has implications well beyond the Commerce Dept.

Hansi Lo Wang (he/him)@hansilowang.bsky.social · 4mo ago

NEW: The Trump administration is banning one of the Census Bureau's main ways of protecting the confidentiality of people's responses to the #2030Census and other surveys — added statistical "noise," or data for fuzzing survey results www.commerce.gov/opog/disclos...

The Senate has scheduled the confirmation hearing for BLS Commissioner nominee, Brett Matsumoto, for Wednesday, June 10. www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...

US Senate to hold confirmation hearing for BLS commissioner nominee next week

The U.S. Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee ​will hold a confirmation hearing next Wednesday for Brett Matsumoto, the ‌White House's nominee to head the Labor Department's Bureau...

reuters.com

Great interview with former BLS Commissioner Bill Beach. He discusses a career in and around public service, the work at The Fiscal Lab on Capitol Hill, and the fiscal outlook of the United States. www.mercatus.org/macro-musing...

An important white paper has just been released which explores the deleterious effect the firing of the BLS Commissioner on Aug 1, 2025 had on the U.S. economy. Reliable statistics matter! @ericagroshen.bsky.social www.nber.org/papers/w35135

The Value of Reliable Statistics

Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...

nber.org

BLS engages expert panels regarding missing Consumer Expenditure data. The panels are open to the public and will be held virtually on May 7th (NABE) & May 8th (CNSTAT). www.bls.gov/bls/bls-enga...

BLS engages expert panels regarding missing Consumer Expenditure data

BLS engages expert panels regarding missing Consumer Expenditure data

bls.gov

COPAFS is hiring an Outreach Specialist to support the Friends of BLS. Looking for an experienced advocate with knowledge of federal economic data and strong relationships with R/D Hill offices. See details at: copafs.org/friends-of-b...

The Friends of BLS released a one-page summary of their FY27 Budget Priorities today. The Friends urge Congress to provide no less than $754 million for BLS in FY 2027. tinyurl.com/4ujr5d6p

The Friends of BLS have released an explanation for the causes for the annual revisions of the BLS Jobs Numbers. www.friendsofbls.org/updates/2026...

The Friends of BLS have released a statement on the nomination of Brett Matsumoto for BLS Commissioner which outlines criteria useful in evaluation of any nominee for this position. www.friendsofbls.org/updates/2026...

Friends of BLS has 2 new statements 1. On @brettmatsumoto.bsky.social’s Nomination for @usbls.bsky.social Commissioner 2. Annual Revisions for BLS Jobs Numbers Expected To Be Downward: The Causes Explained Two former commishs, appointees of Pres. Obama & Trump, co-chair Friends of BLS. Detail ⬇️

The Trump Administration has nominated Brett Matsumoto as the next BLS Commissioner. He has been a research economist at BLS since 2015 in the Division of Price and Index Number Research and recently served on the CEA.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our webinar, The Day Federal Data Went Dark: A Year of Monitoring and Action. We are grateful to be in a community with so many amazing organizations. You can watch the recording to learn about more than a dozen efforts to monitor and safeguard federal data.

The Day Federal Data Went Dark: A Year of Monitoring and Action

January 31, 2025, is infamous as the day thousands of federal datasets and webpages went dark. While many of these resources have since been restored–often after being scrubbed of references to gender, DEI, and climate–they continue to face significant risks. In the webinar, we mark the one-year anniversary of this takedown to discuss the current state of federal data and recognize the immense amount of work that has been done to defend these public resources. Leaders from the data community will share insights on monitoring tools they have developed and the actions being taken to safeguard essential federal data. This webinar is cohosted by dataindex.us and the Association of Public Data Users. 0:00 Introduction 2:53 EssentialData.US x Federation of American Scientists 6:51 American Statistical Association 10:31 CDC Data Project 14:17 Friends of BLS 17:50 Public Environmental Data Partners 21:24 The Leadership Conference Education Fund 26:26 Movement Advancement Project 30:37 Population Association of America 35:05 Democracy 2025 40:42 Data Rescue Project 44:16 Population Reference Bureau 47:14 Association of Public Data Users 50:10 dataindex.us 55:19 Conclusion

tinyurl.com

NEW: The White House's Office of Management and Budget has a new chief statistician overseeing the Census Bureau & other federal statistical agencies, according to StatsPolicy.gov. Stuart Levenbach has replaced Mark Calabria, according to the website's "About Us" page statspolicy.gov/about/#members

Reducing max contact attempts to 2, would have dramatically reduced response to data collection efforts at Census.

Hansi Lo Wang (he/him)@hansilowang.bsky.social · 9mo ago

NEW: House Appropriations Committee's latest version of its Census Bureau funding bill no longer calls for altering #2030Census results used for divvying up congressional seats. The bill also no longer calls for taking away the bureau’s ability to “inquire” more than twice to get a survey response

New statement from Friends of BLS: "Some controversy...erupted on Dec. 30 following release of a highly informative Q&A that addressed how [BLS] estimated the Nov. 2025 CPI. We..find no reason to see the hand of politics anywhere in the Bureau’s CPI work..." www.friendsofbls.org/updates/2025...

Real GDP increased at an annual rate of 4.3 percent in the third quarter of 2025 (July, August, and September), according to the initial estimate released by BEA today. In the second quarter, real GDP increased 3.8 percent. www.bea.gov

The @asa-scipol.bsky.social will release "The Nation's Data at Risk: 2025 Report" tomorrow, Dec 10 at 7AM EST. The report will be available at the project website (link in comments). ASA will also host a webinar on the report tomorrow at 10AM EST. amstat.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: The Nation's Data at Risk: 2025 Report. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

Join the ASA "Federal Statistics Health" project team for their release of "The Nation's Data at Risk: 2025 Report"! The report updates the team's assessment of the health of the federal statistical a...

amstat.zoom.us

Hard disagree. The official BLS jobs numbers are still the most reliable data we have, and it's not close. And there's no way the Administration has (yet) fiddled with its data. I promise to let you know at the first whiff of interference.

Ron Filipkowski@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 10mo ago

The only reliable data we are going to get on this stuff now comes from the private sector. bsky.app/profile/atru...

Looking forward to participating in this Congressional Briefing on U.S. birth rates with @econmsk.bsky.social & @prbdata.bsky.social's Jennifer Sciubba next week, sponsored by @popassocamerica.bsky.social. If you're in the DC area, join us! RSVP here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...