- ESD
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Observed the first Monday in September, Labor Day is an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers. The holiday is rooted in the late 19th century, when labor activists pushed for a federal holiday to recognize the many contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity and well-being. On June 28, 1894, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday.
The labor movement following the Civil War was a tumultuous time politically and a highly contentious time between labor and business interests. Initial attempts to create a department of labor that would represent a voice of labor were met with political resistance. The first bureau of labor statistics, established in Massachusetts in 1869, was an attempt to address labor problems by collecting and publishing impartial statistics. By 1883, 12 states had created their own bureaus of labor statistics. The federal Bureau of Labor was created in 1884 and was housed in the Department of Interior.
Some of the first assignments included establishing a consumer expenditure survey and reports focusing — through the impartial lens of statistics — on some of the most important questions of the day, including research on industrial depressions, the effects of tariffs on wages and prices, and the effects of machinery costs on production, productivity, wages and employment.
A reputation for impartiality through the lens of statistics opened the door for a national Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and ultimately paved the way for creating the Department of Labor in 1913. To this day, the data that BLS collects, compiles, analyzes and publishes is the gold standard and has a reputation for impartiality. As the official BLS partner in Washington, ESD’s DATA Division plays an important part in preserving and perpetuating this legacy.