This section describes the labor force status variables. It does not provide either a comprehensive discussion of all questions asked in the "Current Labor Force Status" sections of the survey instruments or a thorough treatment of the detailed information available on labor market transitions and work histories. Users should consult the table of contents for references to additional labor market-related topics of interest such as work experience, job characteristics, job satisfaction, industries, occupations, wages, etc.
Each questionnaire's "Current Labor Force Status" section collects information on the labor market activity in which respondents were engaged during most of the week prior to the interview. This series is based on the questions asked in the monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) of American households conducted by the Census Bureau for the Department of Labor. The primary purpose of the CPS is to collect up-to-date information about the number of persons in the country who are employed, unemployed, or out of the labor force during a given survey week. Results from the CPS surveys, released in the monthly publication Employment and Earnings, provide detailed information, classified by age, sex, race, and various other characteristics, on the employment and unemployment experiences of the U.S. population.
Survey Week Labor Force Status: Two sets of variables describe each respondent's labor force status during the survey week for each survey. Due to the redesign of the Current Population Survey in 1994 and the subsequent redesign of the comparable Young Women questions, the questions and related variables are slightly different starting in 1995.
| Ten Employment-Related Questions Used to Create ESR/MLR | |||||
| Major activity Whether worked last week Hours worked Whether absent from job Why absent from job Whether looking for work What doing to find work Reason could not take job (availability for work) Occupation Class of worker |
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| ESR/MLR - 1 WORKING | ESR/MLR - 2 WITH A JOB, NOT AT WORK |
ESR/MLR - 3 UNEMPLOYED (LOOKING FOR WORK) | |||
| Positive indicators | 1. Working last week 2. 15+ hours worked 3. Class of worker entry other than "never worked" 4. 1-14 hours worked combined with class of worker entry other than "without pay" |
1. Absent from job or business 2. Class of worker entry other than "without pay" or "never worked" 3. Reason for absence from work other than "layoff" or "new job to begin in 30 days" |
1. Absent from job or business 2. Reason for absence is "layoff" or "new job to begin in 30 days" 3. Looking for work 4. Any entry in class of worker (including "never worked" and "without pay") 5. Method of looking for work entered other than "nothing" |
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| Negative indicators | 1. 1-14 hours worked combined with class of worker = "without pay" | 1. Reason for absence from work is "layoff" or "new job to begin in 30 days" 2. Working last week 3. Any hours worked 4. Class of worker is "without pay" |
1. Method of looking for work is "nothing" 2. Not available for work 3. Reason for absence from work is "other" (not "layoff" or "new job to begin in 30 days") 4. Working last week 5. Any hours worked |
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| Source: Census Bureau. "Standardized Employment Status Questions and Recodes." Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, April 1977. This document is distributed by CHRR as "Attachment 5: Employment Status Recodes" and is an important source of information on exceptions to the general indicators listed above. | |||||
Related Variables: Information available on the employment status of household members is described in the "Household Composition" section of this guide.
Survey Instruments & Documentation: Questions on main survey week activity are located at the beginning of the "Current Labor Force Status" section of each questionnaire. Each year's Interviewers' Reference Manual provides detailed instructions for interviewers on how to code this section of the questionnaire in a manner consistent with CPS. Decision rules that guide Census in its creation of the ESR/MLR variables can be found in "Attachment 5: Standardized Employment Status Questions and Recodes" (Census 1977) in the Codebook Supplement (PDF).
| User Notes: The various codes that categorize activities for those respondents not in the labor force vary across survey years and cohort. Table 4.23.2 presents the coded values by survey year for the ESR/MLR variables. |
| 68-77 | 78-82 | 83 | 85-88 | 91, 93 | 95-2003 | |
| Working | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| With a Job, Not at Work | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Unemployed | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| Unemployed, Layoff | 3 | |||||
| Unemployed, Looking | 4 | |||||
| In School | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| Keeping House | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | |
| Retired | 7 | 5 | ||||
| Unable to Work | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | |
| Disabled | 6 | |||||
| (Code Not Used) | 7 | 7 | ||||
| Other | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| Never Worked | 0 | |||||
| Noninterview | -5 | |||||
While the "Current Labor Force Status" sections of NLS questionnaires follow the wording and format of those asked in the CPS, users should be aware that NLS CPS sections include additional questions over and above those found in the CPS surveys.
Classification of "unemployed" and "out of the labor force" for the telephone surveys in 1975, 1977, 1980, and 1982 is not absolutely consistent with CPS definitions due to the absence of one question, "What were you doing last week to find work?"Beginning in 1995, MLR replaced ESR to match changes in the Current Population Survey; the decision rules for MLR are slightly different. In this year, CHRR also began to create the status variable, which had previously been created by the Census Bureau.
Researchers examining employment over time can construct a loose approximation of ESR/MLR by using positive responses to the following three questions: (1) Did you do any work at all last week? (2) Did you have a job or business from which you were temporarily absent? and (3) Have you been looking for work? A respondent, for example, who is coded "other" on 'Activity Most of Survey Week' but has a job from which she was absent would be reclassified as "working."
Tables 4.23.3, 4.23.4, and 4.23.5 depict labor force status as measured by Employment Status Recode and Monthly Labor Recode variables. Readers should note that these tables contain unweighted frequencies and should only be used as an aid in describing raw frequency counts in these data. They must not be used to make inferences about population data.
| Survey Year | Total Intv'd | In the Labor Force | Out of the Labor Force | Not Intv'd | |||||
| Total | Employed | Unemployed | Total | Retired | Unable to Work1 | Other2 | |||
| 1968 | 5159 | 2460 | 2051 | 409 | 2699 | -- | 2 | 2697 | -- |
| 1969 | 4930 | 2564 | 2194 | 370 | 2366 | -- | 9 | 2357 | 229 |
| 1970 | 4766 | 2656 | 2265 | 391 | 2110 | -- | 18 | 2092 | 393 |
| 1971 | 4714 | 2718 | 2339 | 379 | 1996 | -- | 20 | 1976 | 445 |
| 1972 | 4625 | 2747 | 2403 | 344 | 1878 | -- | 20 | 1858 | 534 |
| 1973 | 4424 | 2685 | 2440 | 245 | 1739 | -- | 24 | 1715 | 735 |
| 1975 | 4243 | 2679 | 2377 | 302 | 1564 | -- | 29 | 1535 | 916 |
| 1977 | 4108 | 2678 | 2414 | 264 | 1430 | -- | 26 | 1404 | 1051 |
| 1978 | 3902 | 2555 | 2359 | 196 | 1347 | -- | 22 | 1325 | 1257 |
| 1980 | 3801 | 2627 | 2453 | 174 | 1174 | -- | 29 | 1145 | 1358 |
| 1982 | 3650 | 2640 | 2419 | 221 | 1010 | -- | 28 | 982 | 1509 |
| 1983 | 3547 | 2580 | 2373 | 207 | 967 | -- | 25 | 942 | 1612 |
| 1985 | 3720 | 2810 | 2640 | 170 | 910 | -- | 30 | 880 | 1439 |
| 1987 | 3639 | 2862 | 2715 | 147 | 777 | -- | 29 | 748 | 1520 |
| 1988 | 3508 | 2781 | 2687 | 94 | 727 | -- | 39 | 688 | 1651 |
| 1991 | 3400 | 2736 | 2645 | 91 | 664 | 2 | 61 | 601 | 1759 |
| 1993 | 3187 | 2605 | 2517 | 88 | 582 | 3 | 58 | 521 | 1972 |
| 1995 | 3019 | 2384 | 2330 | 54 | 635 | 25 | 117 | 493 | 2140 |
| 1997 | 3047 | 2443 | 2364 | 79 | 604 | 41 | 172 | 391 | 21123 |
| 1999 | 2900 | 2253 | 2203 | 50 | 647 | 74 | 215 | 358 | 2259 |
| 2001 | 2806 | 2057 | 2012 | 45 | 749 | 161 | 247 | 341 | 2353 |
| 2003 | 2859 | 2024 | 1950 | 74 | 835 | 238 | 304 | 293 | 2300 |
| Note: This table is based on R00726.00, R01356.00, R02200.00, R03263.00, R04100.00, R04944.00, R05436.00, R05850.00, R07012.00, R07529.00, R08001.00, R09428.00, R10563.00, R11052.00, R12234.00, R13612.00, R15716.00, R16813.00, R35764.00, R43443.00, R55171.00, and R76108.00. |
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| 1 "Disabled" in 1995 and subsequent surveys. | |||||||||
| 2 Depending on the survey year, "other" may include categories such as in school, keeping house, and never worked. Consult the codebook for information on specific categories available in a given year. |
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| 3 Includes two interviewed respondents for whom MLR data are unavailable. | |||||||||
| Survey Year | Total Intv'd | In the Labor Force | Out of the Labor Force | Not Intv'd | |||||
| Total | Employed | Unemployed | Total | Retired | Unable to work1 | Other2 | |||
| 1968 | 3700 | 1796 | 1561 | 235 | 1904 | -- | 1 | 1903 | -- |
| 1969 | 3530 | 1857 | 1656 | 201 | 1673 | -- | 5 | 1668 | 170 |
| 1970 | 3435 | 1937 | 1712 | 225 | 1498 | -- | 9 | 1489 | 265 |
| 1971 | 3385 | 1949 | 1744 | 205 | 1436 | -- | 8 | 1428 | 315 |
| 1972 | 3328 | 1982 | 1786 | 196 | 1346 | -- | 9 | 1337 | 372 |
| 1973 | 3194 | 1913 | 1788 | 125 | 1281 | -- | 9 | 1272 | 506 |
| 1975 | 3068 | 1902 | 1739 | 163 | 1166 | -- | 11 | 1155 | 632 |
| 1977 | 2974 | 1879 | 1746 | 133 | 1095 | -- | 11 | 1084 | 726 |
| 1978 | 2838 | 1818 | 1711 | 107 | 1020 | -- | 7 | 1013 | 862 |
| 1980 | 2769 | 1854 | 1780 | 74 | 915 | -- | 10 | 905 | 931 |
| 1982 | 2659 | 1892 | 1770 | 122 | 767 | -- | 11 | 756 | 1041 |
| 1983 | 2585 | 1859 | 1746 | 113 | 726 | -- | 11 | 715 | 1115 |
| 1985 | 2767 | 2070 | 1979 | 91 | 697 | -- | 20 | 677 | 933 |
| 1987 | 2719 | 2137 | 2065 | 72 | 582 | -- | 18 | 564 | 981 |
| 1988 | 2628 | 2092 | 2032 | 60 | 536 | -- | 21 | 515 | 1072 |
| 1991 | 2552 | 2068 | 2014 | 54 | 484 | 2 | 32 | 450 | 1148 |
| 1993 | 2417 | 2003 | 1945 | 58 | 414 | 2 | 30 | 382 | 1283 |
| 1995 | 2268 | 1823 | 1785 | 38 | 445 | 18 | 55 | 372 | 1432 |
| 1997 | 2285 | 1881 | 1831 | 50 | 404 | 33 | 80 | 291 | 14153 |
| 1999 | 2189 | 1750 | 1710 | 40 | 439 | 61 | 106 | 272 | 1511 |
| 2001 | 2119 | 1585 | 1553 | 32 | 534 | 129 | 125 | 280 | 1581 |
| 2003 | 2115 | 1550 | 1502 | 48 | 565 | 193 | 144 | 228 | 1585 |
| Note: This table is based on R00032.00 (race), R00706.00, R00857.00, R01308.00, R01989.00, R02822.00, R03049.00, R03270.00, R04511.00, R04858.00, R05237.00, R06617.00, R08841.00, R09995.00, R12924.00, R16813.00, R35764.00, R43443.00, R55171.00, and R76108.00. |
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| 1 "Disabled" in 1995 and subsequent surveys. | |||||||||
| 2 Depending on the survey year, "other" may include categories such as in school, keeping house, and never worked. Consult the codebook for information on specific categories available in a given year. |
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| 3 Includes two interviewed respondents for whom MLR data are unavailable. | |||||||||
| Survey Year | Total Intv'd | In the Labor Force | Out of the Labor Force | Not Intv'd | |||||
| Total | Employed | Unemployed | Total | Retired | Unable to work1 | Other2 | |||
| 1968 | 1459 | 664 | 490 | 174 | 795 | -- | 1 | 794 | -- |
| 1969 | 1400 | 707 | 538 | 169 | 693 | -- | 4 | 689 | 59 |
| 1970 | 1331 | 719 | 553 | 166 | 612 | -- | 9 | 603 | 128 |
| 1971 | 1329 | 769 | 595 | 174 | 560 | -- | 12 | 548 | 130 |
| 1972 | 1297 | 765 | 617 | 148 | 532 | -- | 11 | 521 | 162 |
| 1973 | 1230 | 772 | 652 | 120 | 458 | -- | 15 | 443 | 229 |
| 1975 | 1175 | 777 | 638 | 139 | 398 | -- | 18 | 380 | 284 |
| 1977 | 1134 | 799 | 668 | 131 | 335 | -- | 15 | 320 | 325 |
| 1978 | 1064 | 737 | 648 | 89 | 327 | -- | 15 | 312 | 395 |
| 1980 | 1032 | 773 | 673 | 100 | 259 | -- | 19 | 240 | 427 |
| 1982 | 991 | 748 | 649 | 99 | 243 | -- | 17 | 226 | 468 |
| 1983 | 962 | 721 | 627 | 94 | 241 | -- | 14 | 227 | 497 |
| 1985 | 953 | 740 | 661 | 79 | 213 | -- | 10 | 203 | 506 |
| 1987 | 920 | 725 | 650 | 75 | 195 | -- | 11 | 184 | 539 |
| 1988 | 880 | 689 | 655 | 34 | 191 | -- | 18 | 173 | 579 |
| 1991 | 848 | 668 | 631 | 37 | 180 | 0 | 29 | 151 | 611 |
| 1993 | 770 | 602 | 572 | 30 | 168 | 1 | 28 | 139 | 689 |
| 1995 | 751 | 561 | 545 | 16 | 190 | 7 | 62 | 121 | 708 |
| 1997 | 762 | 562 | 533 | 29 | 200 | 8 | 92 | 100 | 697 |
| 1999 | 711 | 503 | 493 | 10 | 208 | 13 | 109 | 86 | 748 |
| 2001 | 687 | 472 | 459 | 13 | 215 | 32 | 122 | 61 | 772 |
| 2003 | 744 | 474 | 448 | 26 | 270 | 45 | 160 | 65 | 715 |
| Note: This table is based on R00032.00 (race), R00706.00, R00857.00, R01308.00, R01989.00, R02822.00, R03049.00, R03270.00, R04511.00, R04858.00, R05237.00, R06617.00, R08841.00, R09995.00, R12924.00, R16813.00, R35764.00, R43443.00, R55171.00, and R76108.00. |
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| 1 "Disabled" in 1995 and subsequent surveys. | |||||||||
| 2 Depending on the survey year, "other" may include categories such as in school, keeping house, and never worked. Consult the codebook for information on specific categories available in a given year. |
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