Putting data to work on behalf of America’s workers

On Wednesday, June 15, Brookings Metro hosted an event marking the release of the U.S. Department of Labor’s new initiative to improve and expand access to Labor Department data. Deputy Secretary Julie A. Su announced during the event the department’s first-of-its-kind Enterprise Data Strategy aimed at assessing how data is collected, analyzed, and leveraged for the best use on behalf of America’s workers. Through this comprehensive strategy, the Department of Labor will improve measurements of job quality, better evaluate outcomes by race and gender, modernize the system and help make it more accessible.

Following her remarks, Deputy Secretary Su participated in a moderated conversation with Annelies Goger, a Brooking fellow whose current research focuses on digital transformation in labor and education data systems, and Lesley Hirsch, assistant commissioner of research and information at the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The panelists discussed how more comprehensive labor data can be leveraged at the state level for the benefit of wage earners, job seekers, and retirees.