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# History

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### Demographic FAQs

### Also in this Section:

                          - What day was the census taken each decade?
                          - When was Puerto Rico first included in a census of the United States?
                          - When was the first census in the United States?
                          - When did the U.S. Census Bureau begin using statistical sampling?
                          - Why do the schedules used in the 1790-1820 censuses differ?
                          - When did the U.S. Census Bureau begin collecting housing data?
                          - Have census records always been confidential?

## When did the U.S. Census Bureau begin using statistical sampling?

The Census Bureau first used statistical sampling methods during the 1937 test survey of unemployment (Enumerative Check Census). This survey estimated the scope of unemployment in the United States during the Great Depression and served as a "check" on a more inclusive, voluntary census effort attempting to measure the nation's unemployment rate.
William Lane Austin

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Measuring America's People, Places, and Economy

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