Abstract: The Bureau of the Census states that, "The Current Population Survey is a monthly survey of about 50,000 households...[which] has been conducted for more than 50 years. The CPS is the primary source of information on the labor force characteristics of the U.S. population. The sample is scientifically selected to represent the noninstitutional population...[It] provides estimates for the nation as a whole and serves as part of model-based estimates for individual states and geographic areas." (See the Bureau of the Census, CPS) This document outlines using CPS Utilties in EDS. CPS Utilites is a commerical product that delivers the data through a custom interface. This is not a complete guide to using the CPS Utilities Database but it does give an overview of CPS.

Using CPS Utilities involves a series of steps:

• Select the relevant DVD (for January/February files, March files, October files, or Outgoing rotation files)
• Start the CPS Utilities Extraction Software
• Setup files within CPS Utilites
• Run Extract
• Create a request file
• Case Selection
• Preview, Test, and Extract
• More Information

Select the relevant DVD

The CPS Utilities is comprised of January/February files, March files (the most widely used), October Files, and Outgoing Rotation Files. From the list below choose which DVD and ask a staff member to get it for you.

• ASEC (CPS March Files) 1962-latest
• CPS October Files 1968-latest
• CPS January/February, 1973-latest
• CPS Outgoing Rotation Files 1979- latest

Start the CPS Utilities Extraction Software

To start CPS Utilities, do the following:

• Insert the DVD in the CD/DVD drive.
• Set up a folder in c:/work using your uni for folder name; if you UNI is ab123 then the path you are creating should be c:\work\ab123.
• CPS Utilites is listed in the Start Menu and as a desk-top icon.

On starting the program a screen like the following will appear.



If you would like to exit CPS Utilities completely, select the Exit button at any time.

Setup files within CPS Utilites

Start by choosing the change Setup option in top menu on the opening screen.

On this screen you must change ONLY ONE THING, you must change the Working directory to point to your folder, in this example, c:\work\ab123 .



Note: Please DO NOT CHANGE the path to anything other than the working directory.

Click on Save New Settings.

Run Extract

Clicking on Save New Setting will bring you back to the entry screen. Select the survey you want and click on Start. This will bring up the following Utilities Screen:



You can search variables by selecting the Search button, and reach relevant documentation from the Documentation button.

Create a request file

If you run CPS utilities multiple times, you may have a request file that you saved previously that you are editing. But the first time you must create a new request file. A request file contains information on your extraction including variables and subsetting criteria, e.g. age > 65 or sex=1 (keep only males). Select the button New to create a new request file. Type in the name of a new request file and click OK.

Selecting Variables

The list of variables for the study that matches the DVD you selected will appear in the upper box. To select a variable higlight it and then hit the Add button and it will appear in the lower right window. To select multiple variables, hold down the Ctrl key as you make additional selections. If you know your variable names you can type and add them one by one.

Case Selection

If you would like to subset your data by adding selection criteria, you can do so by right-clicking on a selected variable. In addition right-clicking will give you other options if you want to make changes to your requested variables. Subsetting your data will make your files much smaller and easier to handle and your extraction will run faster. If you only need a subset of observations it is encouraged that you do it here rather than via a statistical software program later.

For example, if you wanted records of only males you would do the following:

• Highlight the variable sex
• Right-click and select Add selection criteria to selected variable and a box will appear on the screen
• As the variable documentation indicates, enter the value 1 in the screen (since 1=Male and 2=Female)

Preview, Test, and Extract

The next step is selecting the years you would like to do the extraction for, again holding down the Ctrl key to select multiple years. By default each year will be saved in separate files. But if you want to extract all years in a single file go to Extraction options and select Extraction and select Combine Years?. Once you have done that, you are now ready to do your extraction.

Warning! These extraction files can be very large and can take a very long time. For this reason, we recommend that you proceed slowly through your extraction by doing the following steps:

• Select Extraction options, click on Extraction and check Preview report only? and run that to see if the data looks like you wanted. Press Extract
• If you haven't already done so, consider whether you should take a subset of your data.
• The default output file is space delimited ASCII file. You may change it to Stata, SAS and SPSS format. You can find these options under Output File in Extraction Options.
• If after viewing the results of the previous two steps you are satisfied that your extraction is what you need, then do the full extraction by de-selecting Preview report only? and click on Extract for final extraction.

A series of messages will appear on the screen including one which will indicate how big your extraction file will be. The larger it is, the longer it will take to run. Hit Esc to cancel at any time.

If you have done a test run on a limited number of records, it will give you the message that certain files already exist in your directory. If those files are from your test run, you can simply replace them. If they are from another extraction you have done that you still need, you should rename the old files before proceeding.

Your output files will automatically be saved in your folder in the directory you created in c:\work..

After extraction is finished you may immediately execute and load your results to the statistical program you have previously selected by selecting Last extraction report, then click on Execute code.