Friday, September 7, 2012

How We Measure Poverty and Income

"Income, poverty and health insurance estimates for 2011 from the Current Population Survey (CPS) will be released Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012. One-year estimates from the 2011 American Community Survey (ACS) will be released on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012.

In all likelihood, the national estimates from these two sources will not be identical. Why not? Which is correct? Well, it’s complicated.

The Current Population Survey serves as the nation’s primary source of statistics on labor force characteristics. A supplement to the survey provides the official annual statistics on the nation’s income and poverty levels as well as statistics on age, sex, race, marital status, educational attainment, employee benefits, work schedules, school enrollment, health insurance, noncash benefits and migration..."

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