CPS Advance Letter MIS 5

DC
U.S. Census Bureau
Washington, DC 20233-0001
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR

Message from the Director, U.S. Census Bureau:

Dear Resident,
Last year, your address was selected for the Current Population Survey (CPS). This monthly
survey is the source of the Nation’s unemployment rate that you may hear about in the news.
The U.S. Census Bureau conducts this survey in partnership with the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
It is important that we contact your address again to find out what changes have occurred in
employment, family size, and other important subjects since last year. Your participation
is important, even if nothing has changed.
The success of this survey depends on your participation. Your responses are needed since
they:
● determine funding to help veterans and the unemployed get better job training.
● are used by the Federal Reserve to set the interest rates in our country (which affects
your savings and borrowing rates).
● determine which local areas qualify for federal grants to help build new businesses.
Answers to frequently asked questions are on the back of this letter. If you have other
questions, please visit census.gov/cps, or call your Census Bureau Regional Office
at 1–800–992–3530, #2.
You do not need to take any action at this time. A Census Bureau representative will contact
you soon to ask your household to complete the survey.
Thank you in advance for participating in this important survey.

CPS-264(MIS-5)(L) LOS ANGELES
(6-2021)

census.gov

What is the Current Population Survey?
The Current Population Survey is the primary source of monthly labor force statistics, and is
used to keep the Nation informed of the economic and social wellbeing of its people. Information
collected in this survey helps measure how the economy and labor force are doing across the
country and in your community. This survey asks questions about employment and also has
questions about education, health, family income, housing, and other important subjects in
certain months.
I did this last year. Why are you asking me to do this again?
The U.S. Census Bureau chose your address, not you personally, to participate in this survey.
Interviewing the same address over time is the most accurate way to measure any changes in
the U.S. labor force. For this reason, it is important for us to contact this address again. Your
participation is important even if nothing has changed.
How long will this take?
On average, this survey takes 10 to 15 minutes. We will contact you to do an interview once a
month over the next 4 months. We will work with you to schedule interviews at the best times for
you. Each interview can be over the phone or in person at the location of your choosing. Send
comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information,
including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Demo Survey Comments 0607-0049, U.S.
Census Bureau, 4600 Silver Hill Road, ADDP-8H590, Washington, D.C. 20233. You may e-mail
comments to DEMO.PAPERWORK@census.gov; use "Demo Survey Comments 0607-0049" as
the subject.
Will information I provide be confidential?
The Census Bureau is required by law to protect your information. The Census Bureau is not
permitted to publicly release your responses in a way that could identify you or your household.
Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, your data are protected from
cybersecurity risks through screening of the systems that transmit your data.
Federal law protects your privacy and keeps your answers confidential (Title 13, United States
Code, Section 9). Title 13, United States Code, Sections 8(b), 141, and 182; and Title 29,
United States Code, Section 2 authorize the collection of most of the information we request in
this survey. The information provided to us may only be shared with other Census Bureau staff
for the work-related purposes as identified in the Privacy Act System of Record Notice
COMMERCE/Census-3, Demographic Survey Collection (Census Bureau Sampling Frame).
In some months, the survey may contain questions authorized under laws other than those
cited; further information concerning the authority for any particular portion of the survey can be
obtained from the representative who contacts your household. Your voluntary participation in
this survey is important. This collection has been approved by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB Number: 0607-0049). Without this number, we could not conduct this survey.

CPS-264(MIS-5)(L) (6-2021)