Chapter 2.
Employment, Hours, and Earnings from the Establishment Survey

Comparison with the Current Population Survey
The Current Employment Statistics survey, also known as the payroll survey, excludes unpaid family workers, domestic workers in private homes, agricultural workers, proprietors, and other self-employed persons, all of whom are covered by the Current Population Survey (CPS), a survey of households. Moreover, the payroll survey counts a person who is employed by two or more establishments at each place of employment, but the household survey counts a person only once, and classifies the individual according to the major activity. Certain persons on unpaid leave for the entire reference period are counted as employed under the household survey but are not included in the employment count derived from the payroll survey.

The household survey emphasizes the employment status of individuals and provides much information on the demographic characteristics (sex, age, and race) of the labor force. The survey is not well suited to furnishing detailed information on the industrial and geographic distribution of employment. The establishment survey provides limited information on personal characteristics of workers; however, it is an excellent source for detailed industrial and geographic data. In addition, it provides hours and earnings information that relates directly to the employment figures. The payroll and household surveys thus complement each other.

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