Data users familiar with the CPS data files in prior years will see many similarities between the format of this file and those files released before January 1994. As in the past, there are numeric locations on the file which correspond to each variable. There is only one record layout which contains the variables for children, adults, and armed forces members. In prior years, each type of person had a separate record layout.
Item Naming Conventions
H - Household item
G - Geography item
*P - Person item (includes adult items, child items, and armed
forces items)
* There is no need to distinguish adult, child, and armed forces items in the variable names in the new system. The recode PRPERTYP (located in positions 161-162) tells you what category the person is in.
E - Edited item
U - Unedited item
X - Allocation flag (see Attachment 16 for more information)
W - Weight
R - Recode
For multiple entry items, the file contains a separate variable for each possible response. Each item has the same descriptive name but a number is added as the last digit. For example, Question 22A allows separate entries for up to 6 job search methods. The item names are PELKM1 (this item is edited), PULKM2, (this item is unedited), PULKM3, etc. These items are located in positions 296-307 of the record layout.
Source: Microdata Access Branch, Administrative and Customer Services Division
