In This Chapter |
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Chapter 1.
Labor Force Data Derived from the Current Population
Survey
Description of the Survey
The CPS collects information on the labor force status of the
civilian noninstitutional population 15 years of age and older,
although labor force estimates are reported only for those 16
and older. Persons under 16 years of age are excluded from the
official estimates because child labor laws, compulsory school
attendance, and general social custom in the United States
severely limit the types and amount of work that these children
can do. Persons on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces are
excluded from coverage. The institutional population, which
also is excluded from coverage, consists of residents of penal
and mental institutions and homes for the aged and infirm.
The CPS is collected each month from a probability sample of
approximately 60,000 households. Respondents are assured that all
information obtained is completely confidential and is used only
for the purpose of statistical analysis. Although the survey is
conducted on a strictly voluntary basis, refusals to cooperate
amount to only about 4 percent each month. (Another 3 to 4
percent of eligible households are not interviewed because of
other failures to make contact.)
A calendar week was selected as the survey reference period
because the period used must be short enough so that the data
obtained are current, but not so short that such occurrences as
holidays or bad weather might cause erratic fluctuations in the
information obtained. In addition, the reference period should
not be so long that it challenges the recall of the respondent.
A calendar week fulfills these conditions. Since July 1955, the
calendar week, Sunday through Saturday, that includes the 12th
day of the month has been defined as the reference week. The
actual survey is conducted during the following week, the week
containing the 19th day of the month.
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Last Modified Date: April 17, 2003
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