The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly "employment situation" report consists of two surveys: a household survey used to determine the unemployment rate and an establishment (payroll) survey used to measure job creation, wages, and other labor-market indicators.
November 19, 2025
high
methodological
Describes the components and purposes of the BLS monthly jobs report.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' household survey, which is used to calculate the unemployment rate, cannot be conducted retrospectively.
November 19, 2025
high
methodological
Describes a limitation of the BLS household survey regarding retrospective data collection.
Payroll data collected through the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' establishment survey can be collected retrospectively from firms.
November 19, 2025
high
methodological
Describes the retrospective collection capability of the BLS establishment (payroll) survey.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly jobs report provides data on hiring, layoffs, and the unemployment rate for the reported month.
November 14, 2025
high
definition
Describes the typical contents of the monthly jobs report produced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Social Security Administration uses consumer price data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as a key part of the formula to calculate annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for Social Security benefits.
October 24, 2025
high
institutional
Relationship between BLS consumer price data and the calculation of Social Security COLA.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that consumer prices rose 3.0% year-over-year in September 2025.
September 30, 2025
high
temporal
Year-over-year consumer price inflation as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for September 2025.
The U.S. consumer price index (CPI) rose 3.0% year-over-year in September 2025, up from 2.9% year-over-year in August 2025.
September 01, 2025
high
temporal
Monthly headline inflation as measured by the CPI, showing year-over-year change and comparison to the prior month.
U.S. gasoline prices rose 4.1% month-over-month in September 2025.
September 01, 2025
high
temporal
Gasoline is a major volatile component of the CPI and can materially affect short-term headline inflation movements.