1. BLS Metadata Repository – Issues and Progress
Daniel Gillman
US Bureau of Labor Statistics

2. Outline BLS Programs Time Series Data Dissemination Metadata Model
BLS Repository
Wolfram Data Summit
Wolfram Data Summit
9/10/2010

4. BLS Programs 8 Major Program Areas Inflation & Prices Employment
Unemployment
Pay & Benefits
Spending & Time Use
Productivity
Workplace Injuries
International
Wolfram Data Summit
Wolfram Data Summit
9/10/2010

5. Time Series Measure or index over time 30 series types Tables
Index: number relative to fixed point
30 series types
Subset by
Industry
Occupation
Geography (state, county, MSA, etc)
Tables
Generated from time series data
Wolfram Data Summit
9/10/2010

6. Data Dissemination All time series Tables Web site: http://www.bls.gov
8 major numbers
Unemployment rate (m)
Consumer price index (m)
Producer price index (m)
Employment cost index (q)
Average hourly earnings (m)
Payroll employment (m)
Productivity (q)
Import price index (m)
All time series
Tables
Wolfram Data Summit
9/10/2010

7. Data dissemination
Wolfram Data Summit
9/10/2010

8. Data Dissemination Organized by programs
Time series in ASCII files by FTP
Some tables
Crude database search
Little metadata
Web site itself
Hidden in FTP directories
Handbook of Methods
Seasonal adjustment
Wolfram Data Summit
9/10/2010

9. Data Dissemination Requires knowing Relies on “Series ID”
Organization of BLS
Specific surveys or programs
Specific series
Terms & technical meaning
E.g., earnings
Relies on “Series ID”
Brittle scheme for identifying series
Known by power users
Wolfram Data Summit
9/10/2010

10. Metadata Supports Does not support Dissemination Support Data.Gov
Time series and tables
Does not support
Internal processing
Describing survey life-cycle
Microdata (respondent level)
Wolfram Data Summit
9/10/2010

11. Metadata Hard to collect Need “simple” model
Maybe not so easy
Basic metadata already on FTP sites
Support finding data by
Traditional means
Series ID, BLS structure
New means
Subject matter
Wolfram Data Summit
9/10/2010

12. Metadata Previous BLS focus group study Metadata must support this
Users find data by
Time
Place
Subject (title or keywords)
Structure of agencies not known
Technical terms not known
Metadata must support this
Wolfram Data Summit
9/10/2010

13. Model Model – Time Series Data Element Classification Concept
Naming Convention
Wolfram Data Summit
9/10/2010

14. Model
Wolfram Data Summit
9/10/2010

15. BLS Repository Under development Requirement – fast response Testing –
Flat single table design
Using Apache Lucene Solr
Open source enterprise search
Various interface approaches
Visual Basic
Java
Wolfram Data Summit
9/10/2010

16. BLS Repository Need term map Link terms to relevant data
Common terms to technical terms
Definitions for technical terms
Concept based management
Link terms to relevant data
Manage multi-faceted search
Development schedule
Still research project
Wolfram Data Summit
9/10/2010

17. Daniel Gillman gillman.daniel@bls.gov