Washington, D.C. - United States Representatives Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and a bipartisan group of legislators – including the co-chairs of the Congressional Women’s Caucus and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi – today sent a letter to the Bureau of Labor Statistics asking the agency to reconsider its recent decision to discontinue data collection on women workers in the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program.
The CES survey of payroll records provides detailed industry data on employment, hours and earnings of non-farm workers on a monthly basis. The payroll survey is considered the most reliable source for tracking changes in month-to-month employment and covers more than 300,000 businesses.
“The value of this data far outweighs the burden of providing it,” said Van Hollen. “No one questions the importance of minimizing needless respondent burden -- but eliminating vital information about women’s employment is the wrong thing to do.”
“I oppose the change proposed by the Department of Labor to discontinue data collection on the number of women in the Current Employment Statistics program,” said Representative DeLauro. “This is crucial information for policymakers and researchers regarding women's employment and unemployment on a month-to-month basis. Without this data, we would not have a complete picture of employment changes in our country.”
The text of the letter follows:
January 25, 2005
Commissioner Kathleen P. Utgoff
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Postal Square Building
2 Massachusetts Ave., NE
Washington, DC 20212-0001
Dear Commissioner Utgoff:
We are writing to express our concern about the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ recently announced decision to discontinue data collection on women workers in the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey after July 2005.
As you know, the CES survey of payroll records covers over 300,000 businesses and provides detailed industry data on employment, hours, and earnings of non-farm workers on a monthly basis. As such, it represents a critical, ongoing source of employment information for policymakers and researchers. With a gender breakdown, the payroll survey is capable of painting a reliable picture of where women are working across industries and business cycles. Without a gender breakdown, that picture becomes far more difficult to obtain.
In that regard, we do not believe the Current Population Survey (CPS) is an adequate substitute for the CES in this area. While the CPS is valuable for other types of information, its smaller sampling size produces a greater margin for error than the CES survey, as the Bureau itself has noted. Moreover, the CPS’ reliance on household interviews introduces the possibility of subjective reporting bias that does not exist with the payroll survey.
While we appreciate the Bureau’s interest in continuously evaluating and improving the data it collects, as well as reducing respondent burden, we believe the compilation of women worker data in the CES survey represents a critical component of the Bureau’s work. Therefore, we respectfully request that you reconsider this decision and continue publishing women worker information in the CES after July 2005.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
_________________ _________________
Chris Van Hollen Rosa L. DeLauro
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Shelley Moore Capito Louise Slaughter
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Nancy Pelosi Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Ginny Brown-Waite John Dingell
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
George Miller Steve Israel
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Maxine Waters Julia Carson
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Carolyn McCarthy Lynn C. Woolsey
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Tammy Baldwin Jerrold Nadler
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Anthony D. Weiner Dale E. Kildee
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Barbara Lee Neil Abercrombie
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Pete Stark Raul M. Grijalva
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Carolyn Maloney Juanita Millender-McDonald
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Grace F. Napolitano Eleanor Holmes Norton
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Hilda L. Solis Loretta Sanchez
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Debbie Wasserman Schultz Diane E. Watson
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Ellen O. Tauscher Jose E. Serrano
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Michael H. Michaud Linda T. Sanchez
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Steven R. Rothman Allyson Y. Schwartz
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Martin T. Meehan John W. Olver
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Eddie Bernice Johnson William D. Delahunt
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Lloyd Doggett Danny K. Davis
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Ben Chandler Susan Davis
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Janice D. Schakowsky Major R. Owens
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Timothy H. Bishop John F. Tierney
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Robert E. Andrews Sander M. Levin
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Dennis J. Kucinich Ron Kind
Member of Congress Member of Congress
________________ _________________
Rush D. Holt Sam Farr
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Barney Frank Ruben Hinojosa
Member of Congress Member of Congress
__________________ __________________
Gwen Moore Albert R. Wynn
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Brian Baird Nydia M. Velasquez
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________ _________________
Judy Biggert Lois Capps
Member of Congress Member of Congress