EXAMPLE 5 The Current Population Survey

Government economic and social data come from large sample surveys of a nation’s individuals, households, or businesses. The monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) is the most important government sample survey in the United States. Many of the variables recorded by the CPS concern the employment or unemployment of everyone over 16 years old in a household. The government’s monthly unemployment rate comes from the CPS. The CPS also records many other economic and social variables. For the CPS:

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Population: The more than 123 million U.S. households. Notice that the individuals are households rather than people or families. A household consists of all people who share the same living quarters, regardless of how they are related to each other.

Sample: About 60,000 households interviewed each month.