Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics was founded in 1884 to gather economic data about employment and labor in the United States. The Bureau was founded only after several decades of struggle by the labor movement to establish a permanent federal bureau of labor statistics. Although several states had bureaus of labor statistics, unions wanted a federal bureau to gather economic data on a nationwide basis, which they felt would help the labor movement by providing an accurate picture of employment in the United States for policymakers to consider.
In addition to unions, state commissioners of labor statistics bureaus also favored a federal bureau. For example, Carroll Davidson Wright, the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Bureau of Labor Statistics and the future first director of the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, testified before Congress in favor of a federal bureau. Politicians finally got on board to the idea of a federal bureau of labor statistics in the early 1880s. During the 1884 election, both Republicans and Democrats were actively courting labor votes, and thus both parties bowed to labor pressure by finally creating a federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bowing to political pressure, President Chester A. Arthur signed the law creating the Bureau of Labor Statistics on June 27, 1884.
Since its inception in 1884, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has become one of the U.S. government's major generators of data about the state of the U.S. economy. Now under the aegis of the U.S. Department of Labor, the Bureau of Labor Statistics measures inflation, consumer spending, wage levels, demographics of the labor force, and unemployment levels. Even though the Bureau of Labor Statistics was conceived of as an organization that would primarily benefit unions, it has grown into a scientific, neutral, and objective agency that benefits all Americans by providing accurate data on crucial indicators of the health of the U.S. economy.
OCP Resources
Listed in chronological order by publication datePublished Works by The Bureau of Labor Statistics
Analysis and index of all reports issued by bureaus of labor statistics in the United States prior to November 1, 1892, prepared under the direction of Carroll D. Wright, commissioner of labor, for the use of the U.S. Department of Labor. Washington: G.P.O., 1893.
Adams, N.C. Sugar prices, from refiner to consumer. Washington, D.C.: G.P.O., 1913.
Croxton, Fred. Union scale of wages and hours of labor. Washington: G.P.O., 1913.
Croxton, Fred. Wages and hours of labor in the boot and shoe and hosiery and knit goods industries, 1890 to 1912. Washington: G.P.O., 1913.
Croxton, Fred. Wages and hours of labor in the lumber, millwork, and furniture industries. 1890 to 1912. Washington: G.P.O., 1913.
Croxton, Fred. Wages and hours of labor in the cigar and clothing industries, 1911 and 1912. Washington: G.P.O., 1913.
Croxton, Fred. Wages and hours of labor in the cotton, woolen, and silk industries. 1890-1912. Washington: G.P.O., 1913.
Prohibition of night work of young persons. Washington: G.P.O., 1913.
Ten-hour maximum working-day for women and young persons. Washington: G.P.O., 1913.
Hanson, William. Dangers to workers from dusts and fumes and methods of protection. Washington: G.P.O., 1913.
Obenauer, Marie Louise. Employment of women in power laundries in Milwaukee: a study of working conditions and of the physical demands of the various laundry occupations. Washington: G.P.O., 1913.
Obenauer, Marie Louise. Hours, earnings, and duration of employment of wage-earning women in selected industries in the District of Columbia. Washington: G.P.O., 1913.
Obenauer, Marie Louise. Working hours of women in the pea canneries of Wisconsin. Washington: G.P.O., 1913.
Otey, Elizabeth. Employers' welfare work. Washington: G.P.O., 1913.
Retail prices: 1890 to February 1913. Washington: G.P.O., 1913.
Decisions of courts and opinions affecting labor. Washington: U.S. Dep. of Labor, 1913-1914.
Wages and hours of labor in the cotton, woolen and silk industries. Washington: U.S. Dep. of Labor, 1914-1916.
Bowen, Jesse Chester. Wheat and flour prices, from farmer to consumer. Washington: G.P.O., 1914.
Obenauer, Marie Louise. Hours, earnings, and conditions of labor of women in Indiana mercantile establishments and garment factories. Washington: G.P.O., 1914.
Price, George Moses. Administration of labor laws and factory inspection in certain European countries. Washington: G.P.O., 1914.
Stone, N.I. Wages and regularity of employment and standardization of piece rates in the dress and waist industry, New York City. Washington: G.P.O., 1914.
Union scale of wages and hours of labor. Washington: G.P.O., 1914.
Winslow, Charles. Industrial court of the cloak, suit, and skirt industry of New York City. Washington: G.P.O., 1914.
Winslow, Charles. Conciliation, arbitration, and sanitation in the dress and waist industry of New York City. Washington: G.P.O., 1914.
Obenauer, Marie Louise. Effect of minimum-wage determinations in Oregon. Washington: G.P.O., 1915.
Short-unit courses for wage earners and a factory school experiment. Washington: G.P.O., 1915.
Unemployment in New York City, New York. Washington: G.P.O., 1915.
Verrill, Charles. Minimum-wage legilsation in the United States and foreign countries. Washington: G.P.O., 1915.
Wages and hours of labor in the boot and shoe industry. 1907 to 1914. Washington: G.P.O., 1915.
Wages and hours of labor in the hosiery and underwear industry. 1907 to 1914. Washington: G.P.O., 1915.
Wages and regularity of employment in the cloak, suit, and skirt industry: with plans for apprenticeship for cutters and the education of workers in the industry. Washington: G.P.O., 1915.
Regularity of employment in the women's ready-to-wear garment industries. Washington: G.P.O., 1916.
The boot and shoe industry in Massachusetts as a vocation for women. Boston: Women's Educational and Industrial Union, 1915 [i.e. 1916].
Retail prices, 1907 to December 1915. Washington: G.P.O., 1916.
Summary of the Report on conditions of woman and child wage earners in the United States. Washington: G.P.O., 1916.
Unemployment among women in department and other retail stores in Boston. Washington: G.P.O., 1916.
Unemployment in the United States. Washington: G.P.O., 1916.
Winslow, Charles. Collective agreements in the men's clothing industry. Washington: G.P.O., 1916.
Employment of women and juveniles in Great Britain during the war: reprints of the memoranda of the British Munition Workers Committee. Washington: G.P.O., 1917.
Conyngton, Mary. Effect of workmen's compensation laws in diminishing the necessity of industrial employment of women and children. Washington: G.P.O., 1918.
Hamilton, Alice. Women in the lead industries. Washington: G.P.O., 1919.
Perry, Arthur. Preventable death in cotton manufacturing industry. Washington: G.P.O., 1919.
Proposed employment of women during war in the industries of Niagara Falls, N.Y. Washington: G.P.O., 1919.
Welfare work for employees in industrial establishments in the United States. Washington: G.P.O., 1919.
Wages and hours of labor in the boot and shoe industry. 1907 to 1920. Washington: G.P.O., 1921.
Bradford, Ernest. Industrial unemployment: a statistical study of its extent and causes. Washington: G.P.O., 1922.
Wages and hours of labor in the boot and shoe industry. 1910 to 1932. Washington: G.P.O., 1933.
Web Resources
The Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Jonathan Grossman, "The Origin of the U.S. Department of Labor," from The Monthly Labor Review (March 1973). The United States Department of Labor.
Grossman, Jonathan and Judson Maclaury. The Creation of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Monthly Labor Review (pre-1986). February 1975.