Question

Employment statistics in the US are often based on two nationwide monthly surveys: the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey. The CPS samples approximately 60,000 US households and collects the employment status, job type, and demographic information of each resident in the household. The CES survey samples 140,000 nonfarm businesses and government agencies and collects the number of payroll jobs, pay rates, and related information for each firm. (a) What is the population in the CPS survey? (b) What is the population in the CES survey? (c) For each of the following statistical questions, state whether the results from the CPS or CES survey would be more relevant. i. Do larger companies tend to have higher salaries? ii. What percentage of Americans are selfemployed? iii. Are married men more or less likely to be employed than single men?

Short answer

a) The population in the CPS survey is US households. \n b) The population in the CES survey is nonfarm businesses and government agencies.\n c) i. CES would be more relevant for the question 'Do larger companies tend to have higher salaries?'. \n ii. CPS would be more relevant for the question 'What percentage of Americans are selfemployed?'. \n iii. CPS would be more relevant for the question 'Are married men more or less likely to be employed than single men?'.

Step-by-step solution

Identify Population in CPS Survey

The population in a survey refers to the group that the survey is studying or targeting. For the Current Population Survey (CPS), the population being targeted is US households. The survey collects information regarding the employment status, job type, and demographics of each resident in the household.

Identify Population in CES Survey

For the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, the population being targeted is nonfarm businesses and government agencies. Thus, these are the entities about which the survey collects information. The information collected includes the number of payroll jobs, pay rates and other related information.

Relate Surveys with Statistical Questions

The CPS survey which contains information about individuals and their employment would be more relevant for questions relating to the employment status or behavior of certain demographics. On the other hand, the CES survey, which collects data on salaries and employment from the perspective of firms and businesses, would be more suitable for questions regarding companies and their employment patterns.

Evaluate Relevance of CPS and CES surveys for each question

i. For the question 'Do larger companies tend to have higher salaries?', the CES survey would be more relevant because it collects data related to pay rates from businesses and agencies.\n ii. For the question 'What percentage of Americans are selfemployed?' the CPS survey would be more relevant since it collects data on employment type at an household level.\n iii. For the question 'Are married men more or less likely to be employed than single men?', the CPS survey would be more relevant because it collects data on employment status and demographic information, which includes marital status.