Here Are the US Economic Surveys Affected by Budget Constraints

By Molly Smith

December 11, 2024 at 5:00PM EST

Security fencing outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, March 7, 2024. Election-year politics will increase the focus on President Joe Biden's State of the Union address and lawmakers' reactions, as he's stumping to the nation just months before voters will decide control of the House, Senate, and White House. Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- US statistical agencies have been underfunded for decades, which is putting both the quality and quantity of data produced at risk.

A Bloomberg Businessweek investigation reveals what’s causing the funding squeeze and how it may get worse. Fewer people are responding to government surveys, which is making the data collection effort more difficult and costly. And Donald Trump has vowed to slash federal spending when he returns to the White House.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is barely maintaining the sample size of its Current Population Survey, which produces the unemployment rate among other figures. Absent a permanent increase in appropriations, the agency will probably have to cut the sample next year, according to BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer.

Its peers at the Bureau of Economic Analysis and National Agricultural Statistics Service have had to make more drastic cuts by nixing some series altogether.

Here’s a list of government surveys affected by budget constraints: