Which U.S. government agency is the principal source of labor market statistics, including the unemployment rate?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is the U.S. government agency that serves as the principal source of labor-market statistics, including the unemployment rate.

The unemployment rate comes primarily from the monthly Current Population Survey, a household survey conducted by the Census Bureau for BLS. It estimates how many people are employed, unemployed, or outside the labor force. BLS then analyzes and publishes the results in The Employment Situation report.

BLS also produces payroll employment, wage, hours, job-openings, workplace-safety, productivity, and occupational data. A common mix-up is crediting the Census Bureau alone: Census conducts the household interviews, but BLS is responsible for the labor-statistics program and official publication. The Federal Reserve uses these figures for economic policy but does not produce the primary unemployment-rate series.