Today, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics released the monthly Jobs Report which shows the unemployment rate has dropped to 3.4% with more than a half million jobs created in January and 800,000 manufacturing jobs created in the last two years. “President Biden’s economic plan is working,” said Commerce Secretary Raimondo . “When President Biden took office, the unemployment...

From February 6—10, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves will travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico to announce funding for Puerto Rico and address the importance of responding to the Economic Census, the official five-year measure of American business and the economy. Data provided by businesses fuels the most comprehensive economic statistics available, representing all U.S. industries and...

By George E. Jenkins, Chief Financial Officer for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) I grew up on a plantation in Savannah, Georgia, in the deeply segregated South. My grandfather and father were butlers and field hands, and my mother was a maid. They were determined that I would have a better life, and they were my mentors and true heroes during my early life. I went to an...

Mailout of the 2022 Economic Census has begun! The Economic Census serves as the cornerstone of the nation’s economic statistics and the information it collects helps shape decisions that affect the health of the economy. Sent to over 4 million business locations, this provides the most comprehensive data available at the national, state, and local level, representing most industries and...

By Junish A. Arora As the new Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer (CDO) at the Department of Commerce, I wanted to share my diversity story and some recent thoughts on the value proposition for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA). Born in India, my family immigrated to the United States when I was five years old. I grew up in a community in south New Jersey, which at...

NOAA satellites, which are crucial in weather and climate forecasts, helped rescue 397 people from potentially life-threatening situations throughout the U.S. and its surrounding waters in 2022. NOAA’s polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites are part of the global Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking system, or COSPAS-SARSAT, which uses a network of U.S. and international spacecraft to...

“Everybody can be great because anybody can serve” U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Deputy Secretary Don Graves participated in service events yesterday in the Washington, D.C. area to honor the life, work, and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a National Day of Service and honors Dr. King’s achievements as a civil rights leader who...

On Friday, January 13, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves traveled to Chicago to highlight the recently announced Minority Business Development Agency’s Capital Readiness Program , a $93.5 million grant competition dedicated to helping minority, women, and other underserved entrepreneurs grow and scale their businesses. “Entrepreneurship is a pathway to the American Dream,” said Deputy...