of the household 15 years of age or older as of a particular calendar week. Based on responses to questions on work and job search activities, each person 16 years and over in a sample household is classified as employed, unemployed, or not in the labor force.

The CPS began in 1940, and responsibility for conducting the CPS was given to the Census Bureau in 1942. In 1994, the CPS was redesigned. CPS is a survey that is employment-focused, enumerator-conducted, continuous, and cross-sectional. The BLS increased the sample size by 10,000