In This Chapter

Chapter 12.
Foreign Labor Statistics

Background
From its inception, BLS has collected and published comparative statistical information on labor conditions and developments abroad. Foreign labor research and statistical analyses have been undertaken because (1) comparisons between U.S. and foreign labor conditions shed light on U.S. economic performance relative to other industrial nations; (2) comparisons provide information on the competitive position of the United States in foreign trade, which has an important influence on the U.S. economy and employment; (3) information on labor conditions published by a majority of foreign countries is not readily available to U.S. labor representatives, employers, Government officials, and others, and is often not available in English; and (4) often, only an expert can judge the quality and comparability of foreign statistical data.

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