The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor is the principal Federal agency responsible for measuring labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy. Its mission is to collect, analyze, and disseminate essential economic information to support public and private decision-making. As an independent statistical agency, BLS serves its diverse user communities by providing products and services that are objective, timely, accurate, and relevant.
Economic data describe businesses, industries, economies, and the labor force. Included in this subject area also are income and poverty information for persons, households, and families.
The General Social Survey (GSS), conducted 20 times since 1972 by NORC, a national organization for research at the University of Chicago, contains a standard ‘core’ of demographic and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. The GSS is the largest project funded by the Sociology Program of the National Science Foundation and, except for U.S. the Census, the most frequently analyzed source of information in the social sciences. This page contains links to GSS data sets, code books, and related information helpful for making use of GSS data.
Demographic data enhanced with geographic and mapping tools.
Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 / United States. Bureau of the Census. - Bicentennial ed. Washington: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census : for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1975. - 2 v; Includes bibliographical references and indexes.; House document (United States. Congress (93rd, 1st session : 1973). House) ; no. 93-78. - Call Number: REF HA202.B87 [OR ONLINE]
Standard two-volume digest of historical statistics originally produced for the Bicentennial. Very convenient lookup tool for statistical data, now entirely online in two PDF files, one for each volume.
Historical Statistics of the United States: Earliest Times to the Present / Susan B. Carter. - Millennial ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. - Susan B. Carter ... [et al.].; 5 v. : ill. ; 29 cm; Rev. update of: Historical statistics of the United States, colonial times to 1970. Bicentennial ed. Washington : U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1975.; Includes bibliographical references and indexes.; v. 1. Population -- v. 2. Work and welfare -- v. 3. Economic structure and performance -- v. 4. Economic sectors -- v. 5. Governance and international relations. - Call Number: REF HA202.H57
Five-volume "Millennial Edition" of this standard statistical reference is the basic starting point for all historical questions that might require the use of statistical evidence. Drawn from a wide variety of sources and comprehensive in its topical scope.
Social and behavioral data cover a wide spectrum of subjects including crime, education, justice, religion, sexual behavior, and substance abuse. Opinion surveys and sociometric data are also found here.
This site, hosted by the University of Virginia Library, provides census data for each U.S. state and county from 1790 to 1970. The information was drawn from a statistical data file created by the the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) [Study Number 0003, "Historical Demographic, Economic and Social Data: The United States, 1790-1970"]. The online viewing tools work best for browsing.
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