The recodes indicating the status and type of employment separation initiating a nonemployment spell for a reference month (REMPSEP1- REMPSEP5) have been updated for 2022 SIPP data to better account for multiple job holders who experience a temporary layoff. Unlike single job holders, when a multiple job holder separates from a job while maintaining employment at another, they do not experience a period of nonemployment. Temporary layoffs are coded as ‘8’ in the set of REMPSEP(n) variables.

For multiple job holders, the REMPSEP(n) variables in 2021 SIPP data were coded as nonzero only during the week a permanent separation was observed and zero otherwise, including if a temporary layoff was observed. This created some inconsistency with how layoffs were measured for multiple job holders versus for single job holders, the latter of which has REMPSEP(n) = 8 for the duration of a temporary layoff spell.

For 2022 SIPP data, REMPSEP(n) has been updated to be ‘8’ for the entire duration of a temporary layoff spell, regardless of concurrent employment status. Users can use the REMPSEP variables in combination with week-specific employment status recodes (RWKESR1- RWKESR5) to identify respondents working additional jobs during a temporary layoff spell. It is important to note that this change does not affect permanent layoffs (REMPSEP(n) =9), which are coded the same in 2021 and 2022 SIPP data.