The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has decided not to proceed with plans to reduce the sample size for employment surveys

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said in its employment report on Friday that it no longer plans to reduce the sample size of key labor market surveys, as the recently passed continuing resolution "allows BLS to use funds from the Current Population Survey (CPS, also known as Household Survey) at a faster rate."

BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer first announced plans to cut sample sizes in June this year, citing budget constraints and declining response rates making surveys more expensive and difficult to conduct.

The plan was set to start reducing 5,000 households from early 2025, bringing the total down to 55,000. The BLS received about $700 million in appropriations during the fiscal year that just ended in September. Advocacy group "Friends of BLS" and former White House economists recently urged lawmakers to add approximately $20 million for fiscal year 2025 but current proposals from both the House and Senate fall far short of this request. The short-term spending bill passed in September will keep government operations running until December, including providing $6 million support for CPS.