The Employed Labor Force (ELF) query system

The Employed Labor Force (ELF) query system provides employed worker population estimates (workers >= 15 years) from 1980 through the present. Estimates may be derived for numerous demographics and work-related characteristics including industry sectors being targeted through the NIOSH National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA). Estimates are based on a subset of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Current Population Survey (CPS) public access data files maintained by the NIOSH Division of Safety Research (DSR), Surveillance and Field Investigation Branch (SFIB), Special Studies Team (SST).

Administered for the BLS by the U.S Bureau of the Census, the CPS is a monthly household survey of the U.S civilian non-institutionalized population that is conducted to measure national labor force participation and employment. The NIOSH ELF query system is based on a subset of CPS data that includes only those persons whose age is greater than or equal to 15 and who are classified as "Employed - At Work" or "Employed - Absent" according to the CPS monthly labor force variable. Estimates derived from this query system exclude unemployed workers and thus do not represent the total U.S. civilian labor force.

DISCLAIMER: This site is independent of the BLS, and there is no implied or expressed endorsement of the results by the BLS. Whereas SST uses CPS public data files and makes every effort to produce accurate results, the query system results may not match BLS published estimates because of SST interpretations of how to best calculate CPS-based employed worker estimates for occupational safety and health purposes.