The March 2026 monthly data and the January 2026 data that were recently re-released by the Census Bureau are now available via IPUMS CPS. October 2025 data were not collected during the U.S. federal government shutdown.
- Codes
- Description
- Comparability
- Universe
- Availability
- Flags
- Questionnaire Text
- UnHarmonized Variables
Codes and Frequencies
Description
COVIDUNAW reports whether the respondent was unable to work during the previous four weeks because their employer closed or lost business due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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 about the pandemic period.
Universe
- Civilians 16+.
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 | - | - | - |
