Experts warn about the 'crumbling infrastructure' of federal government data

Experts warn about the 'crumbling infrastructure' of federal government data toggle caption Brian Witte/AP The stability of the federal government's system for producing statistics, which the U.S. relies on to understand its population and economy, is under threat because of budget concerns, officials and data users warn. And that's before any follow-through on the new Trump administration and Republican lawmakers' pledges to slash government spending, which could further affect data production. In recent months, budget shortfalls and the restrictions of short-term funding have led to the end of some datasets by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, known for its tracking of the gross domestic product, and to proposals by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to reduce the number of participants surveyed to produce the monthly jobs report. A "lack of multiyear funding" has also hurt efforts to modernize the software and other technology the BLS needs to put out its data properly, concluded a r ... Read full article.