Kathleen Utgoff Explained

Kathleen Utgoff
Office1:	Commissioner of Labor Statistics Bureau of Labor Statistics
Predecessor1:	Katharine Abraham
Successor1:	Keith Hall
Term Start1:	July 2002
Term End1:	July 2006

Kathleen Utgoff is an American economist. She was Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2002–2006.^[1]

Education

Utgoff holds a BA degree in Economics from California State University, Northridge, and a PhD in Economics from UCLA (1978).

Career

Utgoff began her career at the Center for Naval Analyses and served as a senior economist at the Council of Economic Advisers during the Reagan administration. President Reagan appointed her as executive director of the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation in 1985.^[2]

During her time as Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS increased the number of data series published and expanded internet-based data collection. Utgoff is also credited with establishing an "unofficial motto" for BLS: "When asked whether the glass is half full or half empty, the bureau’s response is, It’s an eight-ounce glass with four ounces of liquid."^[3]

Selected works

• Utgoff, Kathleen Classen. "Compensation levels and quit rates in the public sector." Journal of Human Resources (1983): 394-406.
• Utgoff, Kathleen P., and Zvi Bodie. "The PBGC: A costly lesson in the economics of federal insurance." In Government Risk-Bearing, pp. 145–166. Springer, Dordrecht, 1993.
• Utgoff, Kathleen P. "Pension Reform Strengthens Defined-Benefit Plans." Compensation and Benefits Management 4 (1988): 273-5.

References

1. Web site: Commissioners : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. www.bls.gov. en-us. 2017-03-16.
2. Web site: Past PBGC Directors and Executive Directors. www.pbgc.gov. en. 2017-03-16.
3. News: How Economic Data Is Kept Politics-Free. Cohen. Patricia. 2016-11-03. The New York Times. 2017-03-16. 0362-4331.