December 2025 monthly data are now available via IPUMS CPS. Note that October data were not collected during the U.S. federal government shutdown.
COVIDLOOK
Prevented from looking for work due to COVID-19 pandemic
- Codes
- Description
- Comparability
- Universe
- Availability
- Flags
- Questionnaire Text
- UnHarmonized Variables
Codes and Frequencies
Description
COVIDLOOK reports whether the COVID-19 pandemic prevented those respondents who were not in the labor force from looking for work during the past four weeks.
This variable is part of a battery of five supplemental questions added to the CPS basic monthly survey in May of 2020 to measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor force. For more information on how the pandemic affected the CPS, see our detailed documentation here.
Universe
- Civilians 16+ who are not in the labor force.
Availability
| Years | Jan | Feb | ASEC | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | - | - | - | - | - | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2021 | X | X | - | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 2022 | X | X | - | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | - | - | - |
