Effective September 1995, a number of revisions were made to the CPS public use files. Most were related to the recent phase-in of a new sample based on the results of the 1990 Census. This phase-in was completed in June 1995. Part of this changeover was the use of new metropolitan area definitions based on the results of the 1990 Decennial Census in selecting the new sample. As such, beginning in September 1995, metropolitan area definitions effective June 30, 1993 will be identified subject to confidentiality restrictions on the CPS public use files. The new variables and their locations are given below.
Concurrent with this revision, several other changes were made to the CPS public use files. The most important of these was the creation of a new set of household identification numbers for the September forward files. Bureau of the Census confidentiality restrictions require that we preclude the possibility of matching any households from data files before and after the September 1995 date. In conjunction with this, the Bureau revised its sample household numbering scheme. These two considerations resulted in the creation of a 15 character household identification number. The location of this number is now in characters 1-15 (previously 1-12) of all non-March files and characters 344-358 (previously 320-331) on the March files.
Also, on non-March files, the following variables changed locations
| Location | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Old | New |
| HUINTTYP | 13-14 | 16-17 |
| HULENSEC | 15-19 | 109-113 |
The other change involves the suppression of several 3-digit occupation codes. Specifically, Codes 003 and 016 (legislators and postmasters, respectively) are collapsed into Code 022, (managers and administrators, N.E.C.) Also, Code 179, (judges) was collapsed into Code 178, (lawyers). None of the changes affected any of the occupation recodes.
| NON-MARCH LOCATIONS | MARCH LOCATIONS | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 1995 | Prior to | March 1996 | ||
| Geographic Variable | Prior to September 1995 | and Forward | September 1995 | and Forward |
| MSA/PMSA FIPS CODE | 96-99 | 97-100 | 44-47 | 44-47 |
| CODE CMSA FIPS CODE | 94-95 | 95-96 | 53-54* | 53-54 |
| METROPOLITAN/NON-METROPOLITAN STATUS | 107-108 | 105 | 57 | 57 |
| CENTRAL CITY/BALANCE STATUS | 111-112 | 104 | 58 | 58 |
| MSA/PMSA SIZE | N/A | 107 | 56* | 56 |
| CMSA/MSA SIZE | 103-104 | 108 | 55* | 55 |
| INDIVIDUAL CENTRAL CITY CODE | 109-110 | 106 | 285 | 285 |
| FIPS COUNTY CODE | N/A | 101-103 | N/A | 50-52 |
*NOT ON THE MARCH 1995 FILE
Source: Microdata Access Branch, Administrative and Customer Services Division
