Time Series Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic at BLS for Monthly and Weekly Series

• Activity Number: 199 - Novel Time Series Approaches for Official Statistics in the Time of COVID-19
• Type: Topic-Contributed
• Date/Time: Tuesday, August 10, 2021 : 1:30 PM to 3:20 PM
• Sponsor: Business and Economic Statistics Section
• Author(s): Brian C Monsell*
• Companies: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Keywords: signal extraction; calendar adjustment; outlier adjustment

Abstract

Statistical agencies around the world faced a number of unique challenges as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is no exception, and time series researchers developed a number of responses to these challenges. This paper will summarize work related to seasonal adjustment processing (concentrating on the Current Population Survey), changes in related software, and new research in modeling reference week calendar effects.