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Technical Note

   The estimates in this release are obtained from the Current Popu-
lation Survey (CPS), which provides detailed information on the labor 
force, employment, and unemployment.  The survey is conducted monthly 
for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau using a 
scientifically selected national sample of about 60,000 households.  
Questions were asked of persons 17 years of age and older regarding 
their prior service in the U.S. Armed Forces.  Data are tabulated for 
persons 18 years of age and older.
   
   The data in this release are annual averages for 2008, compiled from
the results of the monthly survey, which collects information on the
labor force status of the population as well as a number of demographic
characteristics including veteran status.  In addition, a veterans sup-
plement to the CPS obtains information on presence and degree of service-
connected disability, membership in the Reserve or National Guard, and 
other topics related to prior service in the Armed Forces.  The most re-
cent such supplement was conducted in August 2007; a news release issued 
in April 2008 (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/vet.pdf) presented 
highlights of this survey along with the annual averages for 2007.  The 
next veterans supplement is scheduled to be conducted in August 2009, 
and the results will be issued in spring 2010 along with the 2009 annual 
averages.  This release presents annual averages only.
   
   Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired 
individuals upon request.  Voice phone:  (202) 691-5200; TDD message re-
ferral phone number:  1-800-877-8339.

Definitions
   
  The definitions underlying the data in this release are as follows:
  
  Veterans are men and women who previously served on active duty in
the U.S. Armed Forces.  Members of the Reserve and National Guard are
counted as veterans if they had ever been called to active duty.  Per-
sons who are on active duty at the time of the survey are outside the
scope of the survey and thus not counted as veterans in the CPS.  Per-
sons who reside in institutions, such as nursing homes and prisons, are 
also outside the scope of the CPS and are not surveyed.
   
   Nonveterans are men and women who never served on active duty in the
U.S. Armed Forces.
   
   World War II, Korean War, Vietnam-era, and Gulf War-era veterans are
men and women who served in the Armed Forces during these periods, re-
gardless of where they served.  Veterans who served in more than one
wartime period are classified in the most recent one.
   
   Veterans of other service periods are men and women who served in the
Armed Forces at any time other than World War II, the Korean War, the
Vietnam era, or the Gulf War era.  Although U.S. Armed Forces were en-
gaged in several armed conflicts during other service periods, these
conflicts were more limited in scope and included a smaller proportion
of the Armed Forces than the selected wartime periods.  Veterans who
served during one of the selected wartime periods and during another
period are classified in the wartime period.
   
   Veteran status is obtained from responses to two questions.  The
first is, "Did you ever serve on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces?"
If yes, the person is asked, "Are you still in the Armed Forces?"  An-
swers of yes to the first question and no to the second question qualify 
the person as a veteran.
   
   Period of service is obtained from answers to the question asked of
veterans, "When did you serve on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces?"
The following service periods are identified:
  
  Gulf War era II  --   September 2001-present
  Gulf War era I   --   August 1990-August 2001
  Vietnam era      --   August 1964-April 1975
  Korean War       --   July 1950-January 1955
  World War II     --   December 1941-December 1946
  Other service periods  --   All other time periods

Period-of-service definitions are modified occasionally to reflect
changes in law, regulations, and program needs of the survey sponsors.


                               - 5 -

Reliability of the estimates

   Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and non-
sampling error.  When a sample, rather than the entire population, is
surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates will differ from
the "true" population values they represent.  The exact difference, or
sampling error, varies depending on the particular sample selected, and
this variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate.  
There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an esti-
mate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors 
from the "true" population value because of sampling error.  BLS analyses 
are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence.

  The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error.  Nonsampling er-
ror can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment 
of the population, the inability to obtain information for all respondents 
in the sample, the inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide 
correct information, and errors made in the collection or processing of 
the data.

  For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and in-
formation on estimating standard errors, see the explanatory note for
the household survey online at http://www.bls.gov/cps/eetech_methods.pdf.