U.S. Census Bureau data show that the March 2004 unemployment rate in the United States was 5.7 percent; the median household income for calendar year 2003 was $43,318 and the proportion of the country’s population in poverty that year was 12.5 percent.

     The information for all three indicators was gathered in the Census Bureau’s monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) — which dates from 1942 — making it the longest-running household survey in the country.

     “The CPS is the primary source of information for governments and businesses about the country’s labor force,” said James Holmes, director of the Census Bureau’s Atlanta Regional Office. “Even though this survey is conducted throughout the year, the greatest diversity of data is collected in the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) over the three-month period of February, March and April.”

     Each month during the survey, Census Bureau field representatives ask selected households questions relevant to characteristics of the U.S. labor force, including employment status, hours of work, earnings, age, sex, race, marital status, educational attainment, occupation and industry. From their answers come estimates of the unemployment rate, released monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). In addition, in the ASEC, the CPS collects statistics on topics such as income and poverty, health insurance coverage, demographic characteristics of households and families, living arrangements and geographical mobility. By law, all information that could identify survey respondents or their households is confidential.

     Prior to the survey, local households selected in the nationwide sample receive a letter from Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon. Some are interviewed by telephone and others in person. The field representatives carry official identification cards.

     Sponsored by the BLS and the Census Bureau, the ASEC supplement to the CPS will be conducted this year during the weeks of Feb. 13, March 13 and April 17, 2005, when nearly 2,000 Census Bureau field representatives will interview about 78,000 households.

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