Jim Spletzer received his Bachelor's degree in economics and mathematics from Knox College in 1985, and his Ph.D. in economics from Northwestern University in 1990. He joined the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1990 as a research economist, and became the Director of Research for the Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics in 2001. He joined the U.S. Census Bureau in 2012 as Principal Economist for the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) program in the Center for Economic Studies. Mr. Spletzer retired from the U.S. government in 2022.

Mr. Spletzer joined IZA as a Research Fellow in May 2002 and serves in his personal capacity.