Running the BLS Numbers on Jobs

What does the unemployment rate really mean? Does it suggest our economy is slowly growing, stuck in neutral, or in fact slipping back into recession? Do the monthly numbers on total jobs created and the unemployment rate tell the full economic story? In order to examine the results of the economic policies pursued since the Great Recession of 2008 effectively, it is critical to understand what the employment numbers mean and what information lies behind them.

Please join Mercatus scholar Keith Hall, former Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, for an overview of the employment numbers, which will feature the following issues:

• What data indicates whether the economy is improving or getting worse? 
• How to recognize employment data “spin” and how to debunk it. 
• What are the metrics that are frequently forgotten but are essential to evaluating the health of the labor market? 
• What are the true costs of unemployment? 
• What does the big picture say about employment and unemployment in the United States and what does it mean for the economy? 

Space is limited. Please RSVP today to reserve a seat. 

This event is free and open to all congressional and federal agency staff. This event is not open to the general public. Food will be provided. Due to space constraints, please no interns. Questions? Please contact Erin Connolly, Events Associate, at econnol4@gmu.edu or (703) 993-9913.