Friday, March 05, 2010
As part of his efforts to rein in government spending, President Barack Obama wants to eliminate the International Labor Comparisons (ILC) office, a move that has upset unions, academics and business leaders. Costing about $2 million a year, the ILC consists of 16 economists located within the Bureau of Labor Statistics who track labor conditions in other countries and compare the data to the U.S.
Supporters of the office insist the information it produces is important for American officials to know in order to see how the nation is faring compared to the rest of the world. For instance, the ILC has shown that American manufacturing jobs have declined at a faster pace than those in Canada, Germany or Japan since 1979.
Some observers believe the move to eliminate the ILC and transfer its staff elsewhere within the bureau would spare the administration any embarrassing statistics about the state of labor in the country.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Obama Administration Plans to Close International Labor Comparisons Office (by Alec MacGillis, Washington Post)
International Labor Comparisons (Department of Labor)
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