• Mature Women cohort
• Young Women cohort

Mature Women cohort

This section reviews (1) the occupational classification coding systems used by the Census Bureau to classify occupations of NLS respondents and other household members and (2) the occupational prestige scoring systems assigned to 1960 Census occupations. Data on the occupation(s) that respondents were seeking or in which they were employed or received training were collected during most survey years. In addition, select surveys collected information on the occupation of intervening and dual jobs.

Coding by occupation was based on an open-ended question (e.g., "What kind of work [are/were] you doing?"). Follow-up questions fielded during some survey years elicited more specific information on job duties and job titles. Interviewers entered verbatim responses from the respondent into the questionnaire; Census personnel then coded the responses using the 1960, 1980, 1990, and/or 2000 Census Bureau Alphabetical Index of Occupations and Industries. Table MW1 shows which coding systems were used in various survey years.

A series of edited variables (O & I Rewrite) provides three-digit and one-digit occupational codes for the current or last job ever reported by the respondent.  The universe for these variables is all respondents interviewed in a given survey year for whom occupational data were ever collected.  This series ended in 1993 because the 1960 codes were discontinued.

The User Notes in the Industries section of this guide provide additional information on the editing and creation procedures utilized for certain occupation variables.

Occupational prestige indices

The following occupational prestige scores are provided for select variables:

1. Duncan Index: All three-digit 1960 Census occupational categories have been assigned a two-digit ordinal prestige score based upon the education and income distributions of the occupation. The scores, ranging from 0 to 97, may be interpreted either as estimates of prestige ratings or simply as values on a scale of occupational socioeconomic status. For details, see Duncan (1961).
2. Bose Index: This ordinal measure of the prestige of an occupation was developed from responses of a sample of 197 white households in the Baltimore metropolitan area to questions about the prestige of 110 selected occupations. The rankings within each occupation were averaged and the mean values transformed to a metric with values 0 to 100 (Bose 1973). The latter scores were regressed on the 1959 median earnings and 1960 median years of school completed of the civilian experienced labor force employed in these occupations (Census 1960). The resultant equation was then used to estimate the mean prestige scores for occupations of the Mature Women. See Attachment 4 in the Young Women Codebook Supplement for more information.

Young Women cohort

This section reviews (1) the occupational classification coding systems used by the Census Bureau to classify occupations of NLS respondents and other household members and (2) the occupational prestige scoring systems assigned to 1960 Census occupations. Data on the occupation(s) that respondents were seeking or in which they were employed or received training were collected during most survey years. In addition, select surveys have collected information on the occupation of intervening and dual jobs.

Coding by occupation has been based on an open-ended question (e.g., "What kind of work [are/were] you doing?"). Follow-up questions fielded during some survey years elicit more specific information on job duties and job titles. Interviewers enter verbatim responses from the respondent into the questionnaire; Census personnel then coded the responses using the 1960, 1980, 1990 and/or 2000 Census Bureau Alphabetical Index of Occupations and Industries. Table YW1 shows which coding systems were used in various survey years.

A series of edited variables (O & I Rewrite) provides three-digit and one-digit occupational codes for the current or last job ever reported by the respondent. The universe for these variables is all respondents interviewed in a given survey year for whom occupational data were ever collected. This series ended in 1993 because the 1960 codes were discontinued.

The User Notes in the Industries section of this guide provide additional information on the editing and creation procedures utilized for certain occupation variables.

Occupational prestige indices

The following occupational prestige scores are provided for select variables:

1. Duncan Index: All three-digit 1960 Census occupational categories have been assigned a two-digit ordinal prestige score based upon the education and income distributions of the occupation. The scores, ranging from 0 to 97, may be interpreted either as estimates of prestige ratings or simply as values on a scale of occupational socioeconomic status. For details, see Duncan (1961).
2. Bose Index: This ordinal measure of the prestige of an occupation was developed from responses of a sample of 197 white households in the Baltimore metropolitan area to questions about the prestige of 110 selected occupations. The rankings within each occupation were averaged and the mean values transformed to a metric with values 0 to 100 (Bose 1973). The latter scores were regressed on the 1959 median earnings and 1960 median years of school completed of the civilian experienced labor force employed in these occupations (Census 1960). The resultant equation was then used to estimate the mean prestige scores for occupations of the Young Women. See Attachment 4 in the Young Women Codebook Supplement for more information.

GED and SVP scores

The 1968, 1971, and 1973 surveys of the Young Women include created variables providing two special occupational scores: a General Education Development (GED) score and a Specific Vocational Preparation (SVP) score (Department of Labor 1965, Appendix B). The GED score is a representation of the amount of general education or life experience needed to perform a given job. The score represents three factors: reasoning development, mathematical development, and language development; each of these factors is divided into six levels, with one representing the least amount of education and six the most. The first number in the 3-digit GED score represents the level of reasoning required for the job, the second number is the level of mathematical achievement, and the last number indicates language requirements.

The SVP score considers the opposite proposition: that some amount of time is required to learn to perform a specific occupation at an average level of competence. This single-digit score ranges from 1 to 9, with 1 meaning that the job only requires a short demonstration, 2 indicating that the job requires up to 30 days of training and experience, and so on up to 9, which means that the job requires more than 10 years of specific learning and experience before it can be performed at an acceptable level.

References

Bose, Christine E. Jobs and Gender: Sex and Occupational Prestige. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Center for Metropolitan Planning and Research, 1973.

Bose, Christine E. Jobs and Gender: Sex and Occupational Prestige. New York: Praeger Publishing, 1985.

Census Bureau. 1960 Census of Population Alphabetical Index of Occupations and Industries (Revised Edition). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1960.

Census Bureau. "1970 Occupation and Industry Classification Systems in Terms of Their 1960 Occupation and Industry Elements." Technical Paper 26. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1972.

Census Bureau. 1980 Census of Population Classified Index of Industries and Occupations. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1980.

Census Bureau. Census of Population and Housing, 1990, Alphabetical Index of Industries and Occupations. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1990.

Census Bureau. "The Relationship Between the 1970 and 1980 Industry and Occupation Classification Systems." Technical Paper 59. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989.

Census Bureau. U.S. Census of Population: 1960. Subject Reports. Occupational Characteristics. Final Report PC (2)-7A. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1960.

Duncan, O.D. "A Socioeconomic Index for All Occupations." In Occupations and Social Status, A.J. Reiss, Jr. et al. New York: Free Press, 1961.

Scoville, James G. The Job Content of the U.S. Economy 1940-1970. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1969.

U.S. Department of Labor. "Dictionary of Occupational Titles (Fourth Edition)."Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1977.