Which U.S. government agency publishes the monthly unemployment rate?

The U.S. government agency that publishes the monthly unemployment rate is the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, releases the unemployment rate as part of its monthly Employment Situation report. The headline rate is calculated from the Current Population Survey, a household survey of roughly 60,000 households conducted jointly by the BLS and the Census Bureau.

The Census Bureau helps collect and process the survey data, but the BLS is the Labor Department agency responsible for analyzing the labor-market information and publishing the official unemployment measures. The monthly report also includes payroll employment data from a separate survey of establishments.

Another common mix-up involves the Federal Reserve. The Fed closely watches unemployment and uses labor-market conditions when setting monetary policy, but it does not publish the official monthly unemployment rate. The BLS also publishes alternative measures of labor underutilization, including broader rates that count discouraged and marginally attached workers.