Question

Current population survey. The employment status (employed or unemployed) of each individual in the U.S. workforce is a set of data that is of interest to economists, businesspeople, and sociologists. To obtain information about the employment status of the workforce, the U.S. Bureau of the Census conducts what is known as the Current Population Survey. Each month interviewers visit about 50,000 of the 117 million households in the United States and question the occupants over 14 years of age about their employment status. Their responses enable the Bureau of the Census to estimate the percentage of people in the labor force who are unemployed (the unemployment rate).

a. Define the population of interest to the Census Bureau.
b. What variable is being measured? Is it quantitative or qualitative?
c. Is the problem of interest to the Census Bureau de- scriptive or inferential?

Answer 1

The Census Bureau is interested in the employment status of individuals over 14 years old in US households. This qualitative variable's measurement leads to inferential statistical analyses to estimate the national unemployment rate. The Current Population Survey provides detailed labor supply data, including employment statistics and earnings measures.

Step-by-step explanation:

The population of interest to the Census Bureau in the Current Population Survey consists of individuals over 14 years of age living within the 117 million households in the United States. The variable being measured is the employment status of these individuals, which is categorized as either employed or unemployed. This variable is qualitative in nature as it describes a trait or category rather than a numeric value.

The problem of interest to the Census Bureau is inferential, as it involves making estimations about the entire population's unemployment rate based on data collected from a sample, which in this case is approximately 50,000 households. The survey aims to provide reliable statistics on labor supply, disaggregated by age, gender, educational attainment, and other factors such as labor force participation rates and various measures of earnings across different demographic groups.