U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Faces Data Collection Challenges Due to Staff Shortages

Odaily News For most of the past year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has faced staff shortages due to a federal hiring freeze, which has impacted the collection of price data, forcing the agency to rely more on less precise estimation methods to fill in some data gaps. In February of this year, when estimations were necessary, the Bureau of Labor Statistics used the so-called "different-cell imputation" method in 40% of cases, compared to just 9% a year ago. However, the situation may be easing: the Bureau of Labor Statistics has now posted job openings on its website to recruit positions responsible for collecting price data in multiple regions across the country. (Jin10)