A bipartisan group of nine U.S. Senators led by Mark Warner (D-VA) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) formally petitioned the U.S. Department of Labor, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and the U.S. Census Bureau on March 6, 2026, to drastically expand data collection regarding the impact of artificial intelligence on the national workforce. The lawmakers contend that current federal statistical frameworks are insufficient to track the “inflection point” created by the rapid deployment of generative AI and autonomous systems. The coalition is requesting immediate updates to major federal surveys to capture real-time trends in job loss, hiring shifts, and the automation of specific occupational tasks.
The legislative push centers on the argument that policymakers, researchers, and private-sector entities currently lack the “high-quality, timely data” necessary to navigate the economic transition. While private-sector reports and academic studies have provided varying forecasts—ranging from extreme job disruption to net employment growth—the senators emphasized that the federal government must serve as the primary, objective source of truth. The letter specifically highlights that predictive machine learning and agentic AI are already performing functions that historically required human intelligence, necessitating a more “agile” response from the nation’s statistical agencies.
To address these visibility gaps, the senators proposed several technical modifications to existing survey instruments. They recommended integrating supplemental AI-focused questions into the Current Population Survey (CPS), which serves as the foundation for the monthly national jobs report. Furthermore, the group suggested that the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) be updated to include data on the wages and occupations of new hires versus those who separate from employers, specifically tracking whether these movements are directly related to a company’s adoption of AI technologies.
“Reporting from across the private sector, academia, and media depict an uncertain picture of artificial intelligence’s current and potential impact on the workforce, with some use cases demonstrating a high probability of job disruption and others making the case for employment growth,” the senators wrote in the joint correspondence. “As such, it is imperative that the federal government serves as an agile, objective, and reliable source of information regarding the significant labor market changes that this technological advancement presents.”
The demand for more granular data follows the enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, which included a provision encouraging the BLS to evaluate AI’s role in the economy. This bipartisan effort also aligns with the AI-Related Job Impacts Clarity Act, a piece of legislation previously introduced by Warner and Hawley that would mandate quarterly reporting from federal agencies and publicly traded companies on AI-driven layoffs. Projections cited by the lawmakers suggest that without intervention and clear data, AI could contribute to unemployment rates reaching 10% to 20% within the next five years, particularly impacting entry-level white-collar roles and new labor market entrants.
In addition to Warner and Hawley, the letter was signed by Senators Todd Young (R-IN), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Jim Banks (R-IN), Tim Kaine (V-VA), and Mike Rounds (R-SD). The coalition urged the agencies to look beyond existing case studies and begin “swiftly and considerably” building out a more robust infrastructure for labor market measurement. This request comes as Anthropic and other AI developers begin experimenting with new metrics like “observed exposure” to quantify how much of a professional role can be automated, a metric the senators believe should be standardized by federal authorities.
The urgency of the request is underscored by shifting labor dynamics in 2025 and 2026, where AI was cited as a primary driver for job cuts in multiple high-growth sectors. Recent Pew Research Center data indicates that roughly one in five American workers now use AI in their daily roles, while 52% of the workforce expresses concern regarding long-term job security. By demanding that the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau modernize their data collection, the Senate group aims to move past anecdotal evidence toward a structured, data-driven framework that can inform future labor laws, retraining programs, and economic stimulus measures.
