Current Population Survey
Overview
The primary source of labor force statistics for the US population. Monthly survey of ~60,000 households providing employment, unemployment, and demographic data.
Key Data Points
- Employment status
- Occupation and industry
- Hours worked
- Earnings (some months)
- Demographics
Use in AI/Data Work
- Benchmarking workforce composition
- Tracking occupation trends (including data/AI roles)
- Calibrating sample representativeness
- Understanding labor market context
Limitations
- Self-reported data
- Occupation codes lag new job types
- Gig/contract work undercounted
- Monthly sample variance
Related: 00-source—bls-oews