BLS Pays $25/Hour for Part-Time CPI Data Collector

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is Expanding Its Workforce to Maintain Inflation Data Accuracy

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is actively seeking part-time economic assistants across the United States to collect essential price data for the consumer price index (CPI), a critical measure of inflation. This effort comes as the agency faces challenges due to staffing shortages and increasing reliance on statistical methods to fill in gaps in its data collection process.

The BLS has posted 25 job listings for part-time positions in major metropolitan areas such as New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Chicago. These roles are crucial for gathering prices from local businesses, which directly influence one of the most closely watched inflation indicators in the country. Some of these positions were recently opened, with deadlines ranging from Monday to the end of the week.

The need for these roles has become more urgent as the BLS has experienced a significant reduction in staff, with a reported 20% decrease since the start of President Donald Trump’s administration. To compensate for this loss, the agency has increasingly turned to statistical techniques to estimate missing prices in the CPI. This approach helps maintain the accuracy of the data but raises concerns about potential errors if the number of missing prices increases.

According to Omair Sharif, president of Inflation Insights LLC, “If these positions are filled quickly, then it is very likely that the rate of imputed prices in the CPI will decline sharply in the coming months, which would greatly reduce the margin of error around the current estimates.”

The starting pay for these positions varies by location, with wages ranging from $21.54 per hour in some areas to $25.39 in New York. Additionally, roles in Dallas and Tampa, Florida, require fluency in Spanish, reflecting the diverse nature of the communities where the data is collected.

In June, the BLS announced that it had temporarily suspended price collection in three metro areas due to insufficient resources. However, the agency stated that this suspension had little impact on the overall CPI. By the end of July, the BLS reported that approximately 15% of the sample in other areas was also suspended, though it did not provide details on how this affected the data.

Two of the current job postings are located in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Provo, Utah—both of which were mentioned in the June notice regarding the suspension of data collection. These postings are particularly notable given the ongoing federal hiring freeze, which is set to continue for another month. When asked about the nature of these positions, a BLS spokesperson confirmed that “BLS was granted an exception to hire CPI data collectors at this time.”

President Trump has repeatedly criticized the BLS, arguing that the agency needs reform to restore public confidence in its data. Much of this criticism has focused on leadership changes, as the administration has been working to appoint a new commissioner after firing the previous one last month. Currently, a third of the agency’s top-level leadership positions remain vacant, which are essential for overseeing research, hiring, and training efforts.

The newly posted roles on USA Jobs require between 16 and 32 hours of work per week, depending on workload and training needs. Economic assistants will be responsible for visiting retail and service establishments, such as department stores and hotels, to collect price data. They will also gather information from online sources. A minimum of one year of specialized experience is required, and these positions do not lead to full-time employment.

The BLS has emphasized the importance of maintaining accurate inflation data, even amid staffing challenges. As the agency continues to adapt to its current constraints, the recruitment of additional data collectors remains a priority to ensure the reliability of the CPI.