Job Tenure Supplement Sample Notes

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The Job Tenure Supplement (also known as the Employee Tenure and Occupational Mobility Supplement) collects additional employment information from respondents. Supplement questions include the respondent's type of work, industry, and occupation from one year ago, and how long they have worked for their current employer.

This supplement is usually collected during January or February, and the earliest form of the survey was fielded in 1973 as the Job Tenure and Occupational Mobility Supplement. IPUMS CPS Job Tenure Supplement data is available for 1983, 1987, and all years from 1996 onward.

Job Tenure Supplement eligiblity requirements have changed over time.

In 1983 the survey was fielded as the Job Tenure/Occupation Mobility and Training Supplement. Eligible respondents were civilians aged 14 or older who were employed in the reference week, or were unemployed during the reference week but had ever been employed. Although original Census Bureau documentation indicates that unemployed respondents were eligible for the supplement as a whole, they are not in universe (NIU) for Job Tenure variables. This eligibility requirement is reflected in JTRESP in this year.

As in 1983, the 1987 survey was fielded as the Job Tenure/Occupation Mobility and Training Supplement. Census Bureau documentation indicates all civilian respondents aged 14 or older were eligible for the supplement, but only employed civilians aged 14 or older were in-universe for Job Tenure variables. This eligibility requirement is reflected in JTRESP in this year.

In Job Tenure supplements from 1996 onward, the Job Tenure supplement universe includes civilians aged 15 or older who were employed during the reference week. Since 1996 the Displaced Worker supplement has been fielded in the same month as the Job Tenure supplement. Therefore it is necessary to take care in choosing the correct weight for each supplement question. The supplement weight for Displaced Workers is DWSUPPWT, while the Job Tenure weight is JTSUPPWT. The appropriate weight for each variable in either of these supplements is indicated by the first two letters of the variable name. If the variable begins with "DW" and is found in the Displaced Worker Supplement group, use DWSUPPWT. If the variable begins with "JT" and is found in the Job Tenure Supplement group, use JTSUPPWT.

In each file, there are respondents who were eligible for the supplement but were not interviewed. These respondents can be located using the supplement eligibility flag (JTRESP).

Job Tenure and Occupational Mobility Supplement Codebooks

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