The US Census Bureau provides the most statistcs on employment in the US. There are many different surveys which the agency uses in order to collect data; a few of these are the American Community Survey, The Survey of Business Owners, as well as The Current Population Survery. All of these surveys are an integral part of policy making, and of the distributing of state and federal public funds. Each survey includes a question on ethnic origin; this provides an illustration onthe situation of members of various minorities within the labour market in the US.

The collection of this information can help identify whether certain ethnic groups hold which professions more often, and whether they are more often represented in certain positions than others. This is done in order to discover unequal treatment, and discrimination in career advancement opportunities, as well as in the hiring process. The most important point in collecting sensitive data from US labour statistics is the list from the Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation. A business that is committed to the standards of Equal Employment Busineses provides positions solely on the basis of their suitability and qualifications. Characteristics such as ethnicity, gender, relgion, and sexuality are perceived as unimportant criteria. By interviewing such ‘Equal Employment Businessses’, data can be used to compare the employment of minorities to that of the majority.

This data shows the development of the number of representatives of certain ethnic groups in employment. For example, the share of Central American (Hispanic) workers has increased by 53 % since 2000. The use of this data can be used to show the proportions of members from different ethnic origins in regard to employment. African Americans make-up 11 % of the American work force, and 13 % of the population. This proportion of unemployed African-Americans in relation to the population is much higher when compared to the White population.

If a discrepancy in comparison to the majority is recognized, the law can be used to prevent such discriminations in advance. In construction, for example, some states require entrepreneurs to meet a certain quota of employees with different ethnic origins or gender. If this quota is not met, the company will be taxed higher. If the quota is met, taxes are remitted. Initiatives like this make it imppossibleto ignore discrimination in the labour market.