IPUMS does not provide original (source) variables from the ATUS. However, you can access the original data and variables from the Bureau of Labor Statistics directly.
To determine the reason that all out-of-labor-force respondents are not in the labor force, you would need to use EMPSTAT in combination with another variable. Using EMPSTAT, LOOKING, and RETIRED together is inadequate to determine the reason for labor force inactivity for the full universe of respondents, as you noted. This is because the universes of the variables LOOKING and RETIRED are more restrictive than stated in our documentation, and do not include all respondents who are out of the labor force. I have included more details on the universes of these variables, based on the original 2023 ATUS questionnaire, at the end of this post.
I suggest using the variable FWK in the original ATUS data from the BLS. The universe of this variable is all respondents, and asks, “In the LAST SEVEN DAYS, did you do ANY work for [pay/either pay or profit]?” Response options include:
- Yes
- No
- Retired
- Disabled
- Unable to work
Combining information from this variable from the recoded employment status variable (EMPSTAT), you should be able to determine, for each respondent, whether they were in the labor force, and if not, why not. While the IPUMS variables RETIRED and EMPSTAT only record individuals as retired if they were also retired in the final CPS interview (due to the universes of the variables in the original data), FWK allows any respondent to state that they were retired. I will ask our IPUMS ATUS team to provide FWK on our platform in the future.
Additional information about the universes of RETIRED and LOOKING
Individuals are asked whether they did any work for pay or profit in the last seven days before they have the opportunity to be asked about retirement. Individuals who report they did work for pay or profit in the last seven days are not asked whether they are still retired, even if they reported being retired in the last CPS interview. Additionally, the age restriction on being asked the retirement question means that some individuals who were retired in the eighth CPS interview were not asked if they are still retired, due to their age. The original ATUS variable RET asks, “The last time we spoke to someone in this household you were reported to be retired. Are you still retired?” This question is asked of the following people:
- Retired (final CPS interview) AND when asked if they did any work for pay or profit in the last seven days, they said no, retired, or disabled (ATUS interview) AND age 65+ (ATUS interview) AND does not have a business or farm (ATUS interview)
- Retired (final CPS interview) AND when asked if they did any work for pay or profit in the last seven days, they said no, retired, or disabled (ATUS interview) AND age 65+ (ATUS interview) AND there is more than one household member (ATUS interview)
- Retired (final CPS interview) AND when asked if they did any work for pay or profit in the last seven days, they said no, retired, or disabled (ATUS interview) AND they have a business or farm but did not work on it in the last seven days (or did not know whether they worked on it, or refused to say) (ATUS interview) AND age 65+ (ATUS interview)
Overall, the universe statement for the IPUMS variable RETIRED in IPUMS ATUS seems to lack some of the detail implied by the ATUS questionnaire. I will discuss this with our IPUMS ATUS team, who will determine whether any updates are necessary.
The universe of IPUMS variable LOOKING also seems to be more complex than indicated by our documentation. In the ATUS questionnaire linked above, the original ATUS variable LK (on page 41) asks, “Have you been doing anything to find work during the last 4 weeks?” The universe of the variable is “LAY6M = 2, Don’t Know, Refused or DP didn’t work and didn’t have a disability that prevented DP from working or DP indicated retired but wanted a job full or part time.” The original ATUS variable LAY6M asks, “Have you been given any indication that you will be recalled to work within the next 6 months?” and a code of 2 is a no response.