CURRENT POPULATION SURVEY: A monthly survey of 60,000 occupied households undertaken by the Bureau of the Census which is then used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to estimate the employment, unemployment, and labor force status of the entire population. The Current Population Survey (CPS) contains an extensive series of questions designed to identify the wide range of ways a person can be categorized as employed, unemployed, in the labor force, or not in the labor force. The CPS is THE source of data used to calculate the nation's official unemployment rate, as well as other employment measures, such as the employment rate and labor force participation rate. See also | Bureau of Labor Statistics | employment | unemployment | labor force | unemployment rate | employment rate | labor force participation rate | alternative unemployment rates |
