The Department of Labor believes its new open data portal — which brings together datasets on everything from unemployment insurance claims to county-level childcare prices — will be “a win for everyone.” Federal data experts see the tool as “an important first step.”
In announcing the launch of the portal last month, DOL put the finishing touches on a data project started during the first Trump administration and soft-launched in the final months of the Biden administration.
The public unveiling of the portal, which features a data visualization gallery and a modern API that allows users to make customized data requests, put the DOL in compliance with the 2019 OPEN Government Data Act and the federal data strategy. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a press release that the new portal represented a “significant improvement” over a decommissioned data page that only hosted enforcement data from five agencies.
Amy O’Hara, president of the Association of Public Data Users and a Georgetown University research professor, said in an interview with FedScoop that “sustained attention” to the portal will be crucial to its utility as a valuable public resource. Keeping the datasets updated and ensuring “good version control” are among the key factors in making the tool a long-term success.
Tracking changes to the federal workforce has been much easier to do since January, when the Office of Personnel Management launched a data portal of its own.
Regarding the OPM page, O’Hara said she’s “glad it’s there” — but it’s missing some critical datasets, like disability status. Still, the OPM page and DOL’s data portal stand in stark contrast to some earlier Trump administration efforts, including DOGE-launched sites — like its so-called wall of receipts — that “seem to be rather unplanned,” she added.
Add new comment