Bloomberg reports US Senate appropriators are urging the Bureau of Labor Statistics to change how it collects data so it has a clearer picture of the gig economy and advances in technology. The Senate Appropriations Committee also directed the agency to conduct its survey on the nation’s contingent workforce on a biennial basis. The BLS last month released data that showed independent contractors represented 6.9% of total employment in the US in May 2017, down from 7.4% when it last measured independent contractors in February 2005; however, the figures differ from other estimates and pointed to differences in how the BLS measures independent contractors.