Featured Online Resource: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

When you think of the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), what type of statistics come to mind for you?

BLS may be best known for their unemployment statistics as well as economic statistics such as the Consumer Price Index.

Below are some of the types of information that can be found at the BLS website.  Some may surprise you!

Work-related:

• Labor force (employment/unemployment)
• Payroll
• Occupational employment, including the Occupational Outlook Handbook
• Benefits
• Wages
• Work stoppages
• Workplace injuries

Economic

• Prices paid on various goods  & services (Consumer Price Indexes (CPI))
• Selling prices on various goods & services (Producer Price Index (PPI))
• Spending habits (Consumer Expenditure Survey)
• Import/Export prices

Additional types of information:

• American Time Use Survey (ATUS)
• Inflation calculator
• A variety of publications
• A K-12 site for younger researchers
• Interactive maps
• Green Jobs
• Links to State labor market agencies and International statistical information agencies.

This is just a sampling of the types of information that BLS can provide for your research.  Please take a moment to browse their Subject Areas page to see all a list of categories that are available.

Every week, the Ort Library brings you a new and outstanding resource from the Web or from one of the library's databases. To get an archive of all FOR entries, click here. Also, you can suggest a website that provides well-organized access to useful info.

FOR for Dec. 13, 2010

Featured Online Resource

December 13, 2010





OECD Stat Extracts

Sources for U.S. statistics are plentiful and well-known. But here's a great, frequently-updated selection of international statistics. The OECD is the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development; the StatExtracts, part of the organization's i-library, pertain to many economic and commerce-oriented issues, but extend well beyond that, and can be considered an excellent source for all international-relations or foreign government questions.

Topics include:
Aid Activities
African Economic Outlook
Foreign, International Students Enrolled (by country)
Inland Waters by lakes
Monthly Statistics of International Trade
Purchasing Power Parities Statistics
Patents Statistics
Social Expenditure
Child Well-being

and many more. And, if you scroll to the bottom of the menu on the left, you come to the country profiles menu, which gives you a collection of stats for a particular country--the topics therein are nearly all the individual ones above in the menu, but not exactly.
To the largest extent, the data is for the thirty-four OECD member countries, but the menu on the left of the StatsExtracts page includes a "non-member economies" option, which is available throughout the OECD site.

With the StatisticsExtracts, you can work with the data to create spreadsheets, charts, etc. Choose from line charts, bar charts, pie graphs, and more.

The rest of the OECD's site is very useful, crammed full of original articles on competition, agriculture, education, on and on. Highly recommended!


Every week, the Ort Library brings you a new and outstanding resource from the Web or from one of the library's databases. To get an archive of all FOR entries, click here. Also, you can suggest a website that provides well-organized access to useful info.