New Report Documents Continued Staffing, Leadership Strains at Federal Statistical Agencies

Below is a guest post from Michelle Crosby and Steve Pierson of the American Statistical Association.

The American Statistical Association (ASA) “FedStat Health” project team recently released its mid-year status report, 2026 Midyear Update: Resources and Leadership Supporting Federal Statistics. As someone who spends every day monitoring, analyzing, and advocating for our nation’s data infrastructure, we are pleased to share key takeaways with the Data Rescue Project community—because the health of our federal statistical agencies directly impacts the data we all rely on. We would also like to request your help.

What the Mid-Year Update Reveals

Federal statistical agencies—from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau to the National Center for Health Statistics—form the bedrock of evidence-based policymaking, public health monitoring, and socio-economic research. When these agencies face systemic hurdles, federal data more broadly is impacted.

The ASA’s mid-year review documents several key dynamics affecting our national data ecosystem over the past six months:

• Staffing losses: All 13 federal statistical agencies have experienced staffing reductions since January 2025. Six agencies have lost at least one-third of their workforce and two have lost more than two-thirds. While hiring has resumed at many agencies, it’s only for a handful of positions at most and, for the others, recruitment has barely begun to offset earlier losses.
• Widespread leadership vacancies: As of July 28, 2026, only 6 of the 13 agencies are headed by permanent, non-acting leaders.
• Eroding purchasing power: Most agencies received FY26 appropriations close to FY25 levels, but after accounting for inflation, purchasing power continued to decline. Eight agencies have lost at least 18% of their purchasing power since FY09.
• Proposed further cuts: The administration's FY27 budget request again proposes substantial reductions for most statistical agencies, with funding for 2030 Census preparations as the principal exception.
• Significant agency transitions: The National Agricultural Statistics Service lost nearly 40% of its staff since 2024 and is expected to lose more with a relocation for many positions from Washington, DC, to St. Louis, Missouri. The former Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics at the Social Security Administration has lost nearly 70% of its staff amid a restructuring that leaves its future role as a statistical agency uncertain.

In addition to concluding that agencies are in a weakened and vulnerable position, the authors note that the pace of change has slowed in 2026 compared to the disruptions of 2025. Several agencies have resumed hiring, and, with the exception of the National Center for Education Statistics, most continue to regularly release their products. Some agencies have also introduced new statistical tools and products despite resource constraints.

At the same time, the report finds that recent policy changes—including changes to civil service protections and new restrictions on privacy-protection methods used by the Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis—are likely to have lasting implications for the agencies' operating environments.

Three Actionable Ways You Can Get Involved

We greatly admire and appreciate the work and passion of the Data Rescue Project community. We also be grateful for your support of our efforts to assess and monitor the health of the federal statistical agencies: 

1. Send us your feedback on our work and ideas for continued work to better track the health of the agencies and support them. 
2. Join our citizen science project to monitor changes in statistical-agency products.
3. Spread the word on the importance of federal statistics and the risks they face with your networks and policymakers. 

Looking Ahead

Public data is a common good. Without rigorous, independent, and well-resourced federal statistical agencies, our collective ability to understand public health trends, economic shifts, and community needs is compromised.

We look forward to continued collaboration and coordination.