# Why is the number of observations for employed (empstat=01,10 or 12) smaller than the sum of fulltime and parttime **URL:** \ **Category:** CPS\ **Created:** [March 20, 2015, 4:26am UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/why-is-the-number-of-observations-for-employed-empstat-01-10-or-12-smaller-than-the-sum-of-fulltime-and-parttime/831 "2015-03-20T04:26:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![syjnj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@syjnj](https://forum.ipums.org/u/syjnj)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2015, 4:26am UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/why-is-the-number-of-observations-for-employed-empstat-01-10-or-12-smaller-than-the-sum-of-fulltime-and-parttime/831/1 "2015-03-20T04:26:00Z")
According to my tabulation, the number of observations employed (empstat=01,10 or 12) is smaller than the sum of observations working fulltime or parttime (fullpart=1 or 2). This is so weird because the number of individuals working fulltime and parttime should add up to the number of working people. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_Moreland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f1d935/32.png) [@Tim\_Moreland](https://forum.ipums.org/u/Tim_Moreland)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 7:45pm UTC](https://forum.ipums.org/t/why-is-the-number-of-observations-for-employed-empstat-01-10-or-12-smaller-than-the-sum-of-fulltime-and-parttime/831/2 "2015-03-26T19:45:00Z")
The discrepancy here is due to a difference in the reference period of each variable. [FULLPART](https://cps.ipums.org/cps-action/variables/FULLPART#description_section) records the full-time/part-time status of respondents who were employed during the previous calendar year. In contrast, [EMPSTAT](https://cps.ipums.org/cps-action/variables/EMPSTAT#description_section) refers to respondents’ employment status over the past week. As a result, FULLPART will capture a larger number of employed persons. Hope this helps.