English Explanation Why We Are Asking More Questions

CPS-264(MIS-5)(L) LOS ANGELES
(10-2013)

DC

Attachment D-2
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. Census Bureau
Washington, DC 20233-0001
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR

FROM THE DIRECTOR
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU
Last year, your address was among those which the U.S. Census Bureau selected for the Current
Population Survey (CPS). This survey provides the official government figures on employment and
unemployment issued each month.
It is now time to interview at your address again; our reason for returning is to find out what
changes have occurred in employment, family size, school enrollment, and other important subjects.
Even if you have moved to this address since our last visit, we need to know about your household
and to interview you several times over a period of a few months. A Census Bureau representative,
who will show an official identification card, will call on you within the next week or so.
We would like to remind you that we collect this information for the Bureau of Labor Statistics in
order to provide vital up-to-date estimates of the number of persons working, the number who are
unemployed, and many other related facts. We are conducting this survey under the authority of
Title 13, United States Code, Section 182. Section 9 of this law requires us to keep all information
about you and your household strictly confidential. We may use this information only for statistical
purposes. Any Census Bureau employee who violates these provisions is subject to a fine up to
$250,000 or a prison sentence up to five years or both.
Because this is a sample survey, your answers represent not only yourself and your household, but
also hundreds of other households like yours. For this reason, your continued participation in this
voluntary survey is extremely important to ensure the completeness and accuracy of the final results.
Although there are no penalties for failure to answer any question, each unanswered question lessens
the accuracy of the final data. Your continued cooperation will be a distinct service to our country.
On the other side of this letter are answers to questions which participants ask most frequently about
this survey.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,

John H. Thompson
Further information
may be obtained from:
REGIONAL DIRECTOR
US CENSUS BUREAU
15350 SHERMAN WAY STE 400
VAN NUYS CA 91406-4203
Telephone: 1–800–992–3530, #2

census.gov

Current Population Survey (CPS) – Frequently Asked Questions
Who uses this information? What is this survey all about?
In a country as big as ours and one that changes so rapidly between decennial censuses, people in
government, business, and other groups need up-to-date facts in order to plan efficient and adequate
programs. It is important to know how many people are working or out of work (to help direct programs
which would contribute to an expanding economy and provide new jobs), how many children will be
attending school (to plan for schools and the training of an adequate number of teachers), how many
new families are forming (to plan for adequate housing to meet their needs), and so on. Occasionally, we
may combine data from the CPS with data from other government agencies to provide a comprehensive
set of summary information about employment, income, and participation in various government
programs. The CPS is one of the most important and timely sources of information used to make such
plans.
How was I selected for this survey?
Actually, we selected your address rather than you personally for this survey. Each month, we
scientifically select about 18,000 groups of addresses to represent the United States. Each of the
address groups contains about four housing units and altogether result in about 55,000 interviewed
households each month. If you should move away while your address is still in the survey, we would
interview the family that moves in.
How many times will I be contacted and how long will it take?
Our representatives contact occupants of a selected dwelling eight times—4 months in one year and the
same 4 months in the following year. Our representatives contacted this address four times last year and
your address is scheduled for four more interviews. In addition, we contact a small number of
households twice during one of the 8 months to ensure the validity of our statistics and verify that our
representatives are doing the best job possible. On occasion, selected households may be asked to
participate in other surveys after they have completed their CPS interviews. On average, a CPS interview
should take about 10 to 15 minutes. Your interview may be somewhat shorter or longer than this
depending on such things as the number of adults in your household or the type of questions asked in a
given month. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of
information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Paperwork Project 0607-0049, U.S.
Census Bureau, 4600 Silver Hill Road, AMSD-3K138, Washington, D.C. 20233. You may e-mail
comments to [email protected]; use "Paperwork Project 0607-0049" as the subject.
What protection do I have? Is this survey authorized by law?
All information individuals give to the Census Bureau is held in the strictest confidence by law (Title 13,
United States Code, Section 9). Title 13, United States Code, Section 182, and Title 29, United States
Code, Sections 1 through 9, authorize the collection of most of the information we request in this survey.
In some months, the survey may contain questions authorized under laws other than those cited; further
information concerning the authority for any particular portion of the survey can be obtained from the
representative who contacts your household. The Office of Management and Budget Control number for
CPS is 0607-0049. Without this number we would not be able to conduct this survey. To ensure your
protection, the laptops used for the data collection are password protected and all survey responses are
encrypted.
Why do you include me? I’m retired.
Some retirees may feel that their activities are not important to this type of survey and wonder why we
include them. In order to have an accurate picture of the entire population, it is necessary to include
people in all age groups. Our experience with interviewing retirees shows that many are participating in
the labor force because they work part time or are looking for work. This information, along with data on
other subjects such as income, health, and housing, assists in measuring the economic condition of the
elderly population as a whole.

CPS-264(MIS-5)(L) (10-2013)