United States Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 20233.
1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000. The present description relates to the 2000 Census (carried out on 1 April).
(a) Geographical scope: Whole country. Separate censuses were held for Island areas of the United States (i.e.: American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands).
(b) Persons covered: All persons who were living in the United States as of Census Day, as well as the following individuals: persons in the military residing in the United States; persons in the military residing overseas and their dependent family members living with them; crews of military vessels with a US home port; crews of US flag merchant vessels engaged in inland waterway transportation, docked in a US port or sailing from one US port to another US port; US citizens employed overseas as civilians by the US Government, including dependent family members living with them.
The basic sampling unit for the long census questionnaire form was the housing unit, including all occupants. For group living quarters, the sampling unit was persons. The sampling rate varied based on precensus-occupied housing unit estimates. When all sampling rates across the United States were taken into account, approximately one out of six housing units was included in the sample.
(a) The calendar week preceding completion of the census form to define the currently active population for most industry and occupation questions.
(b) The year 1999 to determine the labour force status and income.
The present description applies to the currently economically active population.
(a) Total population, by age and sex: yes
Economically active population by:
(b) Sex and age group: yes
(c) Industry: yes
(d) Occupation: yes
(e) Status in employment: yes
(f) Highest educational level: yes
(g) Hours of work per week; number of weeks worked: yes
(h) Other characteristics: yes
Re (a) The age is defined in terms of age on 1 April 2000 (Census Day).
Re (g) The reference year for hours worked per week and weeks worked per year is 1999.
Re (h) The census also collected information on place of work, means of transportation to work, private vehicle occupancy, travel time to work during 1999, last time worked (reference years: 1995 to 2000, or prior to 1994), and work disability as of the day the census form was completed.
(a) Economically active population: The labour force includes all persons classified in the civilian labour force (persons aged 16 years and over classified as employed or unemployed), plus members of the US Armed Forces (persons on active duty with the United States Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard). It excludes institutionalized persons, seasonal workers who were enumerated in an off-season or when they were not looking for work, and persons who were doing only incidental, unpaid family work (less than 15 hours during the reference week). The reference week was not necessarily the same calendar week for all persons. Members of the armed forces living in barracks or on ships were not asked questions concerning temporary absence from a job or business, job search, or availability to accept a new job. [It should be noted that the data on employment status (referred to as labour force status in previous censuses) were derived from questions which were asked of a sample of the population aged 15 years and over but that Census 2000 tabulations only refer to persons 16 years old and over].
(b) Employment: The primary questions used to determine if a person should be counted as employed are: “Last week, did this person do any work for either pay or profit?”, “Last week, was this person on layoff from a job?” and “Last week, was this person temporarily absent from a job or business?”.
It is reported that the following categories are included:
i) persons who worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers on a family farm or in a family business;
ii) persons who were “with a job but not at work”, i.e. those who did not work during the reference week but had jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily absent due to illness, bad weather, industrial dispute, vacation, or other personal reasons;
iii) working students with a part-time job (not reported separately in Census 2000 tabulations);
iv) seasonal or occasional workers who were employed or who were looking for a job during the reference period (not reported separately in Census 2000 tabulations);
v) apprentices and trainees (not reported separately in Census 2000 tabulations).
Employment status is a recode that uses many questions to determine whether persons are employed, unemployed, not in the labour force or in the armed forces. The United States Armed Forces is an “all-volunteer” force. Members of the armed forces who reside in the United States can be identified separately in the census by using the Industry, Occupation and Class of Worker tabulations. There are no conscripted persons, either military or civilian in the United States.
(c) Unemployment: Considered as unemployed were all civilians aged 16 years and over who were neither “at work” nor “with a job, but not at work” during the reference week, and had been looking for a job during the last four weeks and were available to start a job. Also included as unemployed were civilians 16 years and over who did not work at all during the reference week, were on temporary layoff from a job, had been informed that they would be re-called to work within the next six months or had been given a date to return to work and were available to return to work, except for temporary illness. The questions used to determine if a person was unemployed are “Last week, was this person on layoff from a job?” and “Has this person been looking for work during the last four weeks?”.
Both employed persons and currently unemployed persons who had been employed between 1995 and 2000 are classified by industry, occupation, and employment status.
(a) Industry: Based on the questions: “For whom did the person work?” and “What kind of work was this person doing?”. The classification is based on the 1997 United States standard, the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS). Cases not classified by computer were coded by clerical staff using the “Alphabetical Index of Industries and Occupations” and “Employer Name List”, prepared from the American Business Index and NAICS, converted to population census equivalents. The Census 2000 industry classification used 265 categories for employed persons. These categories were classified into 14 major industry groups. Links to ISIC have not been established. Although an adaptation of the 1970 census industrial classification was developed that allowed comparisons to the international classification system through 1990, the Census 2000 industry classification system was based on the 1997 NAICS rather than the 1980 Standard Occupational Classification Manual. The NAICS differs from most industry classifications because it is a supply-based or a production-oriented economic concept, but the questionnaire items and concepts for Census 2000 are essentially the same as those used in the 1970 through 1990 censuses.
(b) Occupation: Based on the questions "What kind of work was this person doing?” and “What were this person’s most important activities or duties?”. The occupation system used in the Census 2000 consisted of 509 specific occupational categories for employed persons, arranged in 23 major occupational groups subdivided into 96 minor groups, 449 broad groups, and 821 detailed occupations. This classification is based on the Standard Occupational Classification Manual: 2000. Links to ISCO have not been established.
(c) Status in employment (Class of worker)*: Based on the question “What was this person?”. Respondents could choose from among the following eight response options: Employee of a private-for-profit company or business or of an individual, for wages, salary or commissions; Employee of a private not-for-profit, tax-exempt, or charitable organization; Local government employee; State government employee; Federal government employee; Self-employed in own not incorporated business, professional practice, or farm; Self-employed in own incorporated business, professional practice, or farm; Working without pay in family business or farm. The information on class of worker refers to the same jobs as a respondent’s industry and occupation, categorizing persons according to the type of ownership of the employing organization. The category of self-employed in own incorporated business workers is included with private wage and salary workers because they are paid employees of their own companies.
(d) Level of education: Based on the questions “At any time since February 1, 2000, has this person attended regular school or college?”, “What grade or level was this person attending?”, and “What is the highest degree of level of school this person has completed?”. Sixteen groups are used to code the data from this latter question, which is used to determine educational attainment. Although this classification system is not linked to the International Standard Classification of Education, the tabulation of school enrolment by employment status is similar to that published in the 1980 and 1990 US census reports.
Answers to the above questions, when combined with employment status for the population 16 to 19 years old, allow for calculating the proportion of persons who are not enrolled in school and are not high school graduates (“dropouts”) and, therefore, an unemployment rate for the “dropout” population.
The subject “Year last worked” was dropped for Census 2000. It was replaced by an abbreviated screener that was included with questions about industry, occupation and class of worker.
Racial categories changed between 1990 and 2000 to reflect new Office of Management and Budget guidelines and Census Bureau policy, as follows: White; Black or African American; American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; Some other race; Two or more races.
Although “American FactFinder” (http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet) is the most comprehensive source of Census 2000 data, providing all summary file tables for all levels of census geography, the Census Bureau also offers a broad range of census information on the Internet, accessible from the Census 2000 Gateway, located at
http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html, as well as via electronic media (CD-ROM/DVD) and in print.
A complete list of Census 2000 release dates with their release status and levels of geography is available at http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/c2kproducts.html.
Detailed results of Census 2000 are contained in a series of five files called summary files, which are available via the Internet, CD-ROM or DVD. In addition, three series of reports derived from these files are available in print and in Portable Document Format (PDF).
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*N.B.: The US Census Bureau is aware that there is a problem in the employment status data of Census 2000 (including Tables P38, P43-46, PCT35, P149A-1, P1504-1, PCT35, PCT69A-1 and PCT70A-1). For further information, see Summary File 3: Data Note 4, updated December 2002 located at: http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/notes/errata.pdf.