Keith Hall
- Distinguished Visiting Fellow
Keith Hall is a distinguished visiting fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Previously, Hall served as the the Director of the Congressional Budget Office and as Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Before joining Mercatus, Hall was a professor at Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy. From 2015-2019, Hall served as the Director of CBO. Prior to that role, Hall served as Chief Economist of the US International Trade Commission, and as a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center. From 2008 to 2012 he served as the 13th Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). In this role, he headed the principal fact-finding agency in the federal government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics. The BLS is an independent national statistical agency that collects, processes, analyzes, and disseminates essential statistical data to the American public, the US Congress, other federal agencies, state and local governments, business, and labor.
Hall’s research interests include labor markets, labor market policy, and economic data.
From 2005 to 2008, Hall served as chief economist for the White House Council of Economic Advisers, where he analyzed a broad range of fiscal, regulatory, and macroeconomic policies and directed a team that monitored the state of the economy and developed economic forecasts. Before that, he was chief economist for the US Department of Commerce, where he provided technical advice regarding the scope, emphasis, and state of the economic and statistical activities of the US Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. He also served as a special advisor to the Secretary of Commerce and regularly conducted and supervised research projects on a wide range of economic and policy issues. Hall also spent 10 years at the US International Trade Commission, where, among other responsibilities, he conducted and led independent studies related to international trade and trade policy. He has been a full-time faculty member in the economics departments at the universities of Arkansas and Missouri and has published a number of papers on international trade and international trade policy.
Hall received his BA from the University of Virginia and his MS and PhD in economics from Purdue University.
Latest Work
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Washington Has Forgotten How To Stabilize an Economy | Newsweek
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | TV Appearance TV Appearance
US Debt Ceiling Concerns Grow | BBC News
- | Podcast Appearance Podcast Appearance
Does the Fed Have a Monopoly on ‘Fed’-Ing? | Best New Ideas in Money
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | TV Appearance TV Appearance
Federal Budget & Government Spending | C-SPAN
- | Announcements Announcements
Former BLS Commissioner Joins the Mercatus Center
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Keith Hall Reacts to the August Jobs Report
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Keith Hall Ahead of the September Jobs Report
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Federal Testimonies Federal Testimonies
Dreams Deferred: Young Workers and Recent Graduates in the US Economy
Latest Work
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Washington Has Forgotten How To Stabilize an Economy | Newsweek
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | TV Appearance TV Appearance
US Debt Ceiling Concerns Grow | BBC News
- | Podcast Appearance Podcast Appearance
Does the Fed Have a Monopoly on ‘Fed’-Ing? | Best New Ideas in Money
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | TV Appearance TV Appearance
Federal Budget & Government Spending | C-SPAN
- | Announcements Announcements
Former BLS Commissioner Joins the Mercatus Center
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Keith Hall Reacts to the August Jobs Report
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Keith Hall Ahead of the September Jobs Report
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Federal Testimonies Federal Testimonies
Dreams Deferred: Young Workers and Recent Graduates in the US Economy
Latest Work
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Working Papers Working Papers
The Employment Costs of Regulation
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Data Visualizations Data Visualizations
The Elusive Recovery
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Data Visualizations Data Visualizations
Shrinking Labor Force Participation Responsible for Most of the Drop in the Unemployment Rate
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Data Visualizations Data Visualizations
The Real Picture of Job Market Recovery
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Data Visualizations Data Visualizations
Third-Quarter Increase in GDP Growth Came From the Biggest Increase in Government Spending in Over Two Years
- | Data Visualizations Data Visualizations
State-Level Job Loss Since the Start of the Recession
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Data Visualizations Data Visualizations
Update: The Single Most Accurate Indicator of Labor Market Health
Latest Work
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | TV Appearance TV Appearance
Federal Budget & Government Spending | C-SPAN
Latest Work
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Labor Market Still Struggling Despite Positive November Gains
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
When Businesses Are Hiring for the Wrong Reasons
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Gov't Shutdown Unlikely to Have Long-Term Economic Effect
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Weak Numbers in Delayed Jobs Report, Uncertainty for Next Month
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
BLS Should Not Allow Government Shutdown to Delay Jobs Report
- | Housing Housing
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Tale of Two Labor Markets in Virginia
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Benefits of Detailed Regulatory Impact Analysis Outweigh the Costs
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Worrisome Labor Participation Rate Underscores Job Market Concerns
- | Government Spending Government Spending
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary