Article: A Trip to BLS

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A Trip to BLS

In July, two separate groups of MRSD statisticians from varying teams made a trip down to the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) National Office in Washington, D.C. to attend seminars and trainings on labour market theory and surveys. These sessions, conducted by subject matter experts from the BLS and Census Bureau, were designed to enhance our understanding of labour market data, while also fostering stronger international ties between MRSD and our global counterparts.

The seminars and training sessions covered a wide range of topics, addressing every aspect of the survey journey, from sampling and methodology to operations and to dissemination of the collected data. Beside highlighting the importance of an effective survey design to minimise respondent burden, the trainers also conducted informative sessions on data collection processes and seasonal adjustment of data, underscoring new ways of translating our data into more meaningful insights for publication.

As survey data collection in the United States dates back to 1915, we certainly stand to gain from the wealth of knowledge and experience the Americans have acquired from coordinating an extensive scale of data collection that pans across 50 states and learn from their successful work practices. To facilitate a more productive knowledge-sharing session, Singapore’s best practices and experiences were also shared with our global counterparts. This two-way learning allowed the teams to engage in a more purposeful discourse as the diverse perspectives let us draw from a wider range of ideas and solutions, ultimately contributing to an effective problem-solving discussion for all teams as we shared about the current challenges faced in our survey journey.

Some of the more memorable insights gained include learning about the unique BLS’s American Time Use Survey which is conducted in an interesting format of a ‘diary’ and discovering that the first batch of respondents who was interviewed for BLS’s National Longitudinal Survey back in 1979 is still being interviewed today! Additionally, in one session, we were privileged to hear from Brian Monsell, the mathematical statistician who worked on the X12-ARIMA program that MRSD currently uses for seasonal adjustment of data. We were also fortunate to meet a team of Nigerian delegates from the National Bureau of Statistics during one of our training sessions, enabling us to have a more fruitful exchange of information and dialogue.

All in all, the trip to BLS was truly a valuable and enriching experience for both our personal and professional growth. It was heartening to know that we are on a very similar trajectory as other international statistical agencies with regard to our data collection processes and aligned on our research topics as well as goals such as to maximise response rates, maintain high data quality, and alleviate respondent burden. Moreover, their openness in their sharing – which includes practices that have worked well for them, along with the challenges that they have encountered and their processes to resolve these issues – inspired us to adopt similar solutions to enhance our own approach to surveys and data back home. The insightful visit has piqued our curiosity about how BLS will continue to refine their data collection processes in the coming years. If the opportunity arises, we would be honoured to visit one of their four data collection centres across the country to witness their on-the-ground operations first-hand.

A Trip ​to BLS

A Trip to BLS