This complete defense of government information is kind of amazing. Yes, the BLS is better than most agencies, maybe almost any, but there is always a lot of "garbage in, garbage out" problems. I'm sorry, I just don't buy that the government even as all the information necessary to track jobs fully in this economy. Yes, they try to make up for it with estimates, but those estimates are based on assumptions about what's going on in the economy, assumptions that other analysts rightly should question at points.
Maybe it's because I spend enough of my work life dealing with low wage workers who don't come near any statistical agency-- they are "independent contractors" or off the books or otherwise kept out of business records quite purposefully. Wages records are manipulated, overtime work is not reported.
And I am still supposed to take the BLS numbers as gospel?
Nathan Newman