CPS Basic Documentation

The primary documentation for the various CEPR data extracts are the programs themselves. They provide an exact description of the definition of each of the variables and, in most cases, are heavily annotated.

The Census Bureau has produced a great deal of useful documentation about the CPS Basic. The best place to start is the joint Census-BLS CPS home page.

For each year with significant changes to variables or their definitions, the Census provides Codebooks with subject definitions and Data Dictionaries to help understand each variable. For additional codebooks and technical documentation, visit the NBER CPS Basic page.

Data Dictionaries

Additional Codebooks (pdf format)