By the middle of 1937 Congress had become acutely aware of the need for more adequate data to serve as a basis for formulating national policy and to administer programs concerning the relief of unemployment. Efforts to alleviate the economic hardships resulting from joblessness had assumed substantial proportions, but there existed no reliable yardstick to indicate the areas where further assistance was needed or the extent to which the various emergency programs were adequate in meeting the problems attacked.