The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the United States Department of Labor is the principal fact-finding agency for the federal government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics. The BLS is an independent national statistical agency that collects, processes, analyzes, and disseminates essential statistical data to the American public, the US Congress, other federal agencies, state and local governments, business, and labor. The BLS also serves as a statistical resource to the Department of Labor.

Reports estimates of the civilian noninstitutional population ages 16 and older that are employed. Estimates are segmented by sociodemographic characteristics. Employed persons are all those who, during the reference week, (1) did any work at all as paid employees, worked in their own business or profession or on their own farm, or worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in a family-operated enterprise; and (2) all those who did not work but had jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily absent due to illness, bad weather, vacation, childcare problems, labor dispute, maternity or paternity leave, or other family or personal obligations (whether or not they were paid by their employers for the time off and whether or not they were seeking other jobs). Each employed person is counted only once, even if he or she holds more than one job. Included in the total are employed citizens of foreign countries who are residing in the United States, but who are not living on the premises of an embassy. Excluded are persons whose only activity consisted of work around their own home (such as housework, painting, repairing, and so forth) or volunteer work for religious, charitable, and similar organizations.

The Current Population Survey is a monthly survey of the civilian noninstitutional population ages 16 and older conducted with a probability sample of 60,000 households in the United States by the Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The resulting Labor Force Statistics dataset, presented here, provides a comprehensive body of information on the employment and unemployment experience of the nation's population, classified by age, sex, race, and other characteristics. Data are collected by personal and telephone interviews. The survey reference period is the calendar week (Sunday through Saturday) that includes the 12th day of the month; the actual survey is conducted during the following week, ie, the week containing the 19th day of the month. Basic labor force data are gathered monthly; data on special topics are gathered in periodic supplements. Persons less than 16 years of age are excluded from the official estimates because child labor laws, compulsory school attendance, and general social custom in the US severely limit the types and amount of work that children under age 16 can do. (Prior to 1948, the sampled population included those ages 14 and older.) Persons on active duty in the US Armed Forces are excluded from coverage, as is the institutional population, which consists of residents of penal and mental institutions and homes for the aged and infirm. Data availability varies by indicator and time period.

The Current Population Survey currently uses the 2010 Census occupational classification and the 2012 Census industry classification. These classifications were derived from the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) and the 2012 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), respectively, to meet the special classification needs of demographic household surveys. The Census classifications use the same basic structure as the SOC and NAICS, but are generally less detailed. Seasonally adjusted statistics are estimated by X-13 ARIMA-SEATS (X-13), with procedures based on moving averages, or “filters,” that successively average a shifting timespan of data, thereby providing estimates of seasonal factors that change in a smooth fashion from year to year. The CPS follows Office of Management and Budget race classifications. Hispanic or Latino ethnicity is a separate demographic concept and people of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity may be of any race. In the survey process, survey respondents select the race or races and ethnicity they consider themselves to be. The CPS implemented changes to the race classifications in January 2003 that affect data comparability over time. For more information, see M. Bowler et al, Revisions to the Current Population Survey Effective in January 2003,” available at https://www.bls.gov/cps/rvcps03.pdf .