# Employment Status Codes (EMPSTAT) Code Question **URL:** \ **Category:** CPS\ **Created:** [March 21, 2017, 8:34pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/employment-status-codes-empstat-code-question/1657 "2017-03-21T20:34:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SGlosser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SGlosser](https://forum.ipums.org/u/SGlosser)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2017, 8:34pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/employment-status-codes-empstat-code-question/1657/1 "2017-03-21T20:34:00Z")
If I’m not mistaken EMPSTAT is the IPUMS CPS variable corresponding to Census/BLS CPS PEMLR – Census/BLS calls it the monthly labor force recode. The actual codes for the two are very similar except unemployed. IPUMS’ EMPSTAT breaks unemployed down to Unemployed, experienced worker (21) and Unemployed, new worker (22). Census/BLS’s PEML breaks unemployed down to Unemployed, on layoff (3) and Unemployed, looking (4). Is the IPUMS classification for unemployed in EMPSTAT correct? Is experienced worker the same as layoff and new worker the same as looking? Or does IPUMS break down unemployed between those who have had jobs in the past and those entering the labor force for the first time? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![JeffBloem](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.ipums.org/jeffbloem/32/40_2.png) [@JeffBloem](https://forum.ipums.org/u/JeffBloem)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2017, 3:14pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/employment-status-codes-empstat-code-question/1657/2 "2017-03-22T15:14:00Z")
In IPUMS CPS, [EMPSTAT](https://cps.ipums.org/cps-action/variables/EMPSTAT#codes_section) isn’t quite the same as the BLS variable PEMLR. IPUMS CPS actually breaks down many of the codes available in PEMLR. [LABFORCE](https://cps.ipums.org/cps-action/variables/LABFORCE#codes_section) is a binary variable indicating if the respondent is in the labor force. [ABSENT](https://cps.ipums.org/cps-action/variables/ABSENT#description_section) identifies whether persons who did not work during the previous week had a job or business from which they were temporarily absent and, if so, whether they were absent due to a layoff or for some other reason. [LOOKING](https://cps.ipums.org/cps-action/variables/LOOKING#codes_section) is a binary variable indicates whether persons who did not work during the previous week had actively sought a job within the past four weeks. I hope this helps. ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_McKenna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/35a633/32.png) [@Claire\_McKenna](https://forum.ipums.org/u/Claire_McKenna)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2022, 9:27pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/employment-status-codes-empstat-code-question/1657/3 "2022-09-28T21:27:58Z")
I came here to search for questions/answers about comparability between EMPSTAT and the Census PEMLR. I’m trying to distinguish those who are unemployed and job-searching. You refer in this post to LOOKING, but I see that it’s not available (at least for recent years). How should we distinguish whether an individual is unemployed and job-searching? Thanks very much. ---
**Author:** ![Ivan\_Strahof](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.ipums.org/ivan_strahof/32/626_2.png) [@Ivan\_Strahof](https://forum.ipums.org/u/Ivan_Strahof)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/employment-status-codes-empstat-code-question/1657/4 "2022-10-04T19:52:19Z")
[WHYUNEMP](https://cps.ipums.org/cps-action/variables/WHYUNEMP#codes_section) (reason for unemployment) should give you the data that you’re looking for on job searching. While temporarily laid off workers are considered unemployed in [EMPSTAT](https://cps.ipums.org/cps-action/variables/EMPSTAT#description_section) regardless of whether they were searching for a job, WHYUNEMP distinguishes between unemployed respondents who were on temporary layoff (Job loser/ on layoff) and those who were unemployed and looking for work (codes 2-6). You may also be interested in the unharmonized variable [UH\_LK\_B1](https://cps.ipums.org/cps-action/variables/UH_LK_B1#codes_section), which further distinguishes between respondents who were and were not searching for work. [This forum post](https://forum.ipums.org/t/whyunemp-temporary-layoff/3825) goes into further detail on these variables and explains how definitions used to construct them have changed over time. ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_McKenna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/35a633/32.png) [@Claire\_McKenna](https://forum.ipums.org/u/Claire_McKenna)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 3:38pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/employment-status-codes-empstat-code-question/1657/5 "2022-10-05T15:38:27Z")
Thanks very much. And thank you for linking to the other post; I had not seen. So, in WHYUNEMP, those coded with a 2 are (permanent) involuntary job losers who are job-searching. Other codes refer to separations for other reasons; and they’re all searching, too. ---
**Author:** ![Ivan\_Strahof](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.ipums.org/ivan_strahof/32/626_2.png) [@Ivan\_Strahof](https://forum.ipums.org/u/Ivan_Strahof)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 5:25pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/employment-status-codes-empstat-code-question/1657/6 "2022-10-11T17:25:27Z")
Those coded with a 1 for WHYUNEMP are temporarily laid-off workers. They may or may not be searching for other work since they are expected to be recalled by their employer at a later date. Those with one of the remaining in-universe codes (i.e. 2-6) however must be searching for work. Using UH\_LK\_B1, you will find that many of the temporarily laid-off workers do in fact report searching for alternative work as well. It is up to the individual research whether to include these respondents in the unemployed and looking for work population. I hope that helps clarify things.