Census Bureau Annual Social & Economic Supplement

The Census Bureau plans to request clearance for the collection of 
data concerning the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to be 
conducted in conjunction with the February, March, and April Current 
Population Survey (CPS). The Census Bureau has conducted this 
supplement annually for over 50 years. The Census Bureau, the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics, and the Department of Health and Human Services 
sponsor this supplement.

In the ASEC, the Census Bureau collects information on work experience,
personal income, noncash benefits, health insurance coverage, and migration.
The work experience items in the ASEC provide a unique measure of the 
dynamic nature of the labor force as viewed over a one-year period. 
These items produce statistics that show movements in and out of the 
labor force by measuring the number of periods of unemployment 
experienced by people, the number of different employers worked for 
during the year, the principal reasons for unemployment, and part-/
full-time attachment to the labor force. We can make indirect 
measurements of discouraged workers and others with a casual attachment 
to the labor market.

The income data from the ASEC are used by social planners, 
economists, government officials, and market researchers to gauge the 
economic well-being of the country as a whole and selected population 
groups of interest. Government planners and researchers use these data 
to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of various assistance 
programs. Market researchers use these data to identify and isolate 
potential customers. Social planners use these data to forecast 
economic conditions and to identify special groups that seem to be 
especially sensitive to economic fluctuations. Economists use ASEC 
data to determine the effects of various economic forces, such 
as inflation, recession, recovery, and so on, and their differential
 effects on various population groups.

A prime statistic of interest is the classification of people in 
poverty and how this measurement has changed over time for various 
groups. Researchers evaluate ASEC income data not only to determine 
poverty levels but also to determine whether government programs are 
reaching eligible households.

New questions are proposed for the ASEC, beginning in 2010. The 
questions are related to: 
(1) Medical expenditures; 
(2) presence and cost of a mortgage on property; 
(3) child support payments; and 
(4) amount of child care assistance received. 

These questions will enable analysts and policymakers to obtain
better estimates of family and household income, and to gauge 
poverty status more precisely. To offset respondent burden, 
some questions will be removed from the ASEC. Those removed 
include questions on transportation assistance, child care 
services, and questions on receipt of government assistance 
related to welfare reform.

Full Announcement