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     Nearly 2,000 Census Bureau field representatives will interview about 70,000 households across the nation during the week of Nov. 12, 2006, for the Current Population Survey (CPS), which is sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

     Prior to the survey, local households selected in the nationwide sample will receive an informational letter from Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon. Some participants are interviewed by telephone and others are interviewed in person. The field representatives carry official identification.

     Every month, Census Bureau field representatives ask selected households questions relevant to the U.S. labor force, such as their employment status, hours worked, earnings, age, sex, race, marital status, educational attainment, occupation and industry. From those answers come estimates of the unemployment rate, released monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

     “The CPS is the primary source of information for state and local governments and businesses regarding the country’s labor force,” said George Grandy Jr., director of the Census Bureau’s Atlanta regional office. “The survey also collects information on rates of voting and registration by a variety of characteristics, such as race, Hispanic origin and age. The Census Bureau collects these data in the CPS every other November.”

     The Census Bureau’s monthly Current Population Survey — which dates from 1942 — is the longest-running household survey in the country.