This data collection is comprised of responses from two sets of survey questionnaires, the basic Current Population Survey (CPS) and a survey administered as a supplement to the January CPS questionnaire on the topic of Displaced Workers, Employee Tenure, and Occupational Mobility in the United States.

The CPS, administered monthly, collects labor force data about the civilian noninstitutional population living in the United States. Moreover, the CPS provides current estimates of the economic status and activities of this population which includes estimates of total employment (both farm and nonfarm), nonfarm self-employed persons, domestics, and unpaid helpers in nonfarm family enterprises, wage and salaried employees, and estimates of total unemployment. Data from the CPS are provided for the week prior to the administration of the survey.

All persons eligible for the labor force items of the basic CPS were also eligible for the supplement. The supplement was designed to be a proxy response supplement, meaning a single respondent could provide answers for all eligible household members, provided the respondent was a household member 15 years of age or older. Persons 20 years of age and older, who lost or left a job involuntarily within the last three years (based on operating decisions of a firm, plant, or business in which the worker was employed) were eligible for the first part of the supplement, which consisted of the Displaced Workers items. Persons 15 years of age and older who were employed during the reference week were eligible for the second part of the supplement, which consisted of the Employee Tenure and Occupational Mobility items.

Respondents were queried on reasons for job displacement, industry and occupation of the former job, group health insurance coverage, job tenure, and weekly earnings. Additional data refer to periods of unemployment as well as number of jobs held, use of unemployment benefits, whether residence was changed to seek work in another area, current health insurance coverage, and current weekly earnings.

Although the main purpose of the survey was to collect information on an individual's employment situation, a very important secondary purpose was to collect information on demographic characteristics such as age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, marital status, veteran status, educational attainment, family relationship, occupation, and income.