Report: Federal statistical system needs help to meet its ‘basic mission’ in the face of upheaval

The federal statistical system is facing “unprecedented strain, uncertainty and transformation” in the face of staffing losses, funding pressures and threats to statistical integrity, according to a report from the American Statistical Association released in early December. 

“Immediate action must be taken to halt the severe decline in the federal statistical agencies’ ability to meet their basic mission,” it reads. 

Most of the 13 statistical agencies have lost from 20% to 30% of their staff since fiscal 2024, according to the report, as the Trump administration has sought to shrink the size of the federal workforce. 

One of the most extreme examples is the National Center for Education Statistics at the Department of Education, which terminated all but three employees in March, the report says. The organization produces data like the congressionally mandated Nation’s Report Card, meant to show what K-12 students know in subjects like math and science. 

Other statistical agencies also saw workforce losses. The workforce at the Office of Research, Evaluation and Statistics at the Social Security Administration, for example, is now about half its former size. 

The contract freezes, cancellations and funding cuts in the early months of the Trump administration also have “had a major impact on statistical operations,” the report says.

Contracts at NCES were also cut in the spring, although many have since been brought back at a reduced scope and without employees to oversee them, according to the report.

The statistical system is also dealing with empty leadership posts, agency relocations and the elimination of statistical products without the consultation of Congress and other stakeholders, as well as threats to safeguards meant to ensure the integrity of the statistics produced in these agencies, the report’s authors write.

President Donald Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in August after accusing her without evidence that numbers showing stalled job growth were “rigged.” The former commissioner has since called the move an attack on the institution’s independence.

“Everything in government is embedded in politics and is embedded in accountability,” Mark Calabria, the U.S. chief statistician, said at an event in November when asked about trust in statistical agencies and concerns about politicization.

The statistical system was already facing declining budgets, staffing shortages and a need to modernize even before the current administration, as ASA has detailed in previous reports, but resources and capacity for innovation have further eroded since January, the latest report states.

“The significant loss of staff — and the particular types of employees lost — has deeply affected how statistical agencies operate. These reductions have weakened agencies’ ability to innovate, modernize, manage effectively, mentor staff, engage with data users, and communicate with stakeholders,” the report says. “Across the system, modernization and IT work were hit hardest.”

The federal statistical system is also dealing with fewer responses to surveys and a decline in trust. Calabria said that reversing the long-term decline in response rates is a top priority, as is data security.

“The status quo is not sustainable,” the latest report says. “Without sufficient resources, leadership continuity, and system-wide coordination, the nation risks losing the statistical data infrastructure that enables sound policy, economic growth, and efficient and smooth governance.”

The report’s authors emphasize the importance of statistics, which are largely invisible but have real-world value.

“Federal statistics are fundamental infrastructure, similar to roads, bridges and power grids,” said ASA Executive Director Ron Wasserstein in a statement.