DOI: 10.3886/icpsr37191
title: Current Population Survey, May 2017: Contingent Worker Supplement
title: Archival Version

description: NADAC data users should note that this data collection contains data on arts-related occupations. Please read the summary below for details.
This data collection is comprised of responses from two sets of survey questionnaires, the basic Current Population Survey (CPS) and a survey on the topic of Contingent Employment in the United States, which was administered as a supplement to the February 2017 CPS. In addition to administering the basic CPS, interviewers asked the supplementary questions in three-fourths of the sample households.
The CPS, administered monthly, is a labor force survey providing current estimates of the economic status and activities of the population of the United States, for the week prior to the survey. Specifically, the CPS provides estimates of total employment (both farm and nonfarm), nonfarm self- employed persons, domestics, and unpaid helpers in nonfarm family enterprises, wage and salaried employees, and estimates of total unemployment.
The Contingent Work Supplement questions were asked of all applicable persons age 16 years and older. The supplement data is comprised of information on contingent or temporary work that a person did without expecting continuing employment from the particular employer they happened to be working for. Also included is information about each worker's expectation of continuing employment, satisfaction with their current employment arrangement, current job history, transition into the current employment arrangement, search for other employment, employee benefits, and earnings. The occupation and industry information variables in this data collection can help the data users identify individuals who worked in arts and culture related fields. The occupations are listed in categories like "Architecture and engineering occupations" and "Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations," which include professions such as artists, architects designers, actors, musicians, and writers. Industries related to the arts and culture are in the "Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation" category. The supplement questions were not asked of unpaid family workers and persons not looking for work (this includes persons not in the labor force and unemployed persons on layoff who are not looking for work). Demographic variables include age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, marital status, veteran status, educational attainment, occupation, and income.
description: The main purpose of the Current Population Survey is to collect information on the employment situation in the United States. A very important secondary purpose is to collect information on demographic characteristics such as age, sex, race, marital status, educational attainment, family relationship, occupation, and industry. The statistics resulting from these questions serve to update similar information collected once every 10 years through the decennial census, and are used by government policymakers and legislators as important indicators of our nation's economic situation and for planning and evaluating many government programs.
description: The data contain nine weight variables:

Household Weight -- HWHHWGT -- Used in tallying household characteristics.
Family Weight -- PWFMWGT -- Used only in tallying family characteristics.
Longitudinal Weight -- PWLGWGT -- Found only on adult records matched from month to month (used for gross flows analysis).
Outgoing Rotation Weight -- PWORWGT -- Used for tallying information collected only in outgoing rotations.
Final Weight -- PWSSWGT -- Used for most tabulations, controlled to independent estimates for (1) States; (2) Origin, Sex, and Age; and (3) Age, Race, and Sex.
Veteran's Weight -- PWVETWGT -- Used for tallying veteran's data only.
Composited Final Weight -- PWCMPWGT -- Used to create BLS's published labor force statistics.
Supplement Weight -- PWSUPWGT -- Used in tallying individuals on the file.
Supplement Outgoing Rotation Weight -- PWSORWGT -- Used to account for supplement non-response in outgoing rotations.

Users are strongly encouraged to refer to the User Guide for additional detailed information on how to use these weights, and how they were derived.
description: A multistage probability sample was selected to represent the universe of approximately 56,000 households.
description: Datasets: 
DS1: Current Population Survey, May 2017: Contingent Worker Supplement
description: The CPS universe consists of all persons in the civilian noninstitutional population of the United States living in households. Smallest Geographic Unit: County
description: computer-assisted personal interview (CAPI); computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI)Users should note that CPS does not recommend using the variables PESIPEM and PESIPEMWJ as collected because they contain a large number of incorrect yes answers. CPS believes the recoded data (PRSIPEM, PRSIPEMWJ, PRSOEM, and PRSOEMWJ) provide a better picture of the number and characteristics of electronically mediated workers.