A question of bias in the US unemployment numbers

Abstract

During the recently US presidential election, questions were raised about bias in the widely published unemployment numbers released each month by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This article will examine the BLS unemployment data for any outward sign of prejudice or systematic bias. This pragmatic look at the numbers should help build confidence that there is neither systematic nor purposeful bias in the numbers.

Keywords:

• unemployment
• CPS
• bias
• CES

JEL Classification:

• C12
• H83
• J60

Notes

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