I am looking at OCC in 2000(5%)data. For OCC, 000=N/A,992=unemployed. In my case, by tab OCC, the number of observations with “000” values is 1,100,990, the number of observations with "992"values is 35,340.
However, by tab LABFORCE, the number of observations “not in labor force” is 2,189,717.
My question is that why these variables give different numbers for people who are “not in labor force”? Thanks.
For the 1980-2000 censuses and the ACS samples, persons not in the labor force (LABFORCE=1) still receive an occupation code (OCC) if they worked within the last five years. Thus, LABFORCE and OCC do not define precisely the same population in these years. Specifically, LABFORCE is more restrictive, defining the labor force as only those who had a job or looked for work during the previous week. See here for OCC’s specific universe information.
Hope this helps.