An Exploration of Current Population Survey Nonresponse

Music City Center 

The U.S. Current Population Survey (CPS) produces a wealth of labor force statistics for a variety of demographic groups, including those in The Employment Situation, a monthly release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics that is designated as a Principal Federal Economic Indicator by the Office of Management and Budget. In an environment of depressed response rates, any significant nonresponse bias in the CPS is of great economic consequence. Throughout most of its nearly 80-year history, CPS response rates were above 90 percent, but declines accelerated in the 2010s before the upheaval of the Covid-19 pandemic and into its temporal stasis near 70 percent, increasing the likelihood of nonresponse bias and the potential for adverse national impacts. In this paper, various aspects of CPS nonresponse and weighting are explored, with the intent to identify possible bias, plausible corrections, and critical areas for continued research.

Current Population Survey

CPS

nonresponse

bias 

Government Statistics Section