Sign Petition Against Eliminating BLS International Labor Comparisons Program

Mar 11 2010

The Bureau of Labor Statistics International Labor Comparisons Program is proposed for elimination in the President's FY-2011 budget. For just $2 million annually and with 50 years of experience, the BLS International Labor Comparisons Program produces timely, high-quality international comparisons of labor force, productivity, hourly compensation and prices for many industrialized countries.

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is among those calling for the program's continuation, noting the importance of the international comparisons of labor force productivity and hourly compensation "in assessing the competitiveness of the U.S. manufacturing sector in an increasingly global economy. EPI uses this data in the international comparisons chapter of The State of Working America and in other reports. Economist Josh Bivens cited the BLS International Labor Comparisons in his 2009 paper, Squandering the Blue-Collar Advantage, where he refuted a popular argument that high wages and labor unions were to blame for the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs. Rather, he showed that American manufacturing workers earn lower wages than many key U.S. trading partners, while also posting higher levels of productivity."

Please click here to sign the petition urging the BLS to continue this important program at www.ipetitions.com/petition/saveilc/.