2 Data Sources

We rely on four main sources of data. The purpose of this chapter is to describe each of them and how they are used in this project.

2.1 Current Population Survey (CPS)

The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a monthly survey of about 60,000 U.S. households conducted by the United States Census Bureau on behalf of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). It is the primary source of information on the US labor force; economists get many important statistics–the unemployment rate, for example–from this survey. The CPS also includes basic demographic characteristics for each respondent– things like race, gender, and disability status.

The monthly CPS is a rotating panel design; households are interviewed for four consecutive months, are not in the sample for the next eight months, and then are interviewed for four more consecutive months. This structure has been important for our research– we can track the same people over the course of the year to examine how their disability and labor force status change over time. Respondents are asked about their labor force status in each of the eight months they are surveyed. However, demographic characteristics (including disability status) are only collected in the first month of each four-month period. That demographic information is then applied to the next three months of the interview period.

How do we use the CPS?

Nasiha and Louise’s original paper relied entirely on CPS data for disability incidence, labor force participation, and work hours. Much of the work I’ve done also uses CPS data– for example, the breakdowns by gender, education, geography, type of job, etc. We also use the CPS’s panel structure to measure flows into and out of the labor force and changes in disability status over time.

Accessing the Data

You can access CPS micro data using IPUMS CPS.

2.1.1 CPS Disability Questions

In addition to the labor force questions that economists often consider, the CPS also asks individuals whether they have physical, mental, or emotional conditions that cause serious difficulties with daily activities. Many of the large population surveys include the same six questions on disability, and the CPS is no different. You’ll notice that none of the questions actually use the word “disability.”

Here are the 6 disability questions included in the CPS:

  1. Is anyone deaf or does anyone have serious difficulty hearing? (We call this a hearing disability.)
  2. Is anyone blind or does anyone have serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses? (We call this a vision disability.)
  3. Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does anyone have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions? (We call this a cognition disability.)
  4. Does anyone have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs? (We call this a physical disability.)
  5. Does anyone have difficulty dressing or bathing? (We call this a self-care disability.)
  6. Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does anyone have difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping? (We call this a mobility disability.)

You notice that questions 3 and 6 lend themselves to overlap.

2.1.2 CPS Telework Questions

Since October 2022, the CPS survey has included questions about remote work. We use them to construct the telework rate– the share of employed people that teleworked last week.

Here are the four telework questions we look at:

  1. At any time LAST WEEK, did you telework or work at home for pay?
  2. Last week, you worked [fill: person’s total hours worked last week]. How many of these hours did you telework or work at home for pay?
  3. Did you telework or work at home for pay in February 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic started? (This question was discontinued after November 2023)
  4. Last week, did you do more, less, or the same amount of telework or work at home for pay as in February 2020 (before the COVID-19 pandemic)? (This question was discontinued after November 2023)

2.2 American Community Survey (ACS)

The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It’s purpose is to more regularly gather information that was previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census. It includes questions on ancestry, US citizenship status, educational attainment, income, language proficiency, migration, disability, employment, and housing characteristics. The annual survey includes roughly 3.5 million households.

The Census publishes ACS 1-Year estimates and ACS 5-Year estimates. We use the 1-Year estimates. Check out this webpage for an explanation of the differences between and advantages of each version of the ACS.

How do we use the ACS?

The primary advantage of the ACS is that it includes many more households, so we view it as more reliable than the CPS. However, the last year for which data is available is 2023, so it is not as recent. It also does not allow us to track the same individuals over time.

We used the ACS to confirm/re-examine many of our findings from the CPS. We’ve used the ACS to calculate labor force participation, telework, disability indicidence, and changes in disability over time. We’ve also executed some of our breakdowns (gender, education, etc.) using data from the ACS.

The CPS and the ACS generally produce similar results (the trends in disability and participation are the same, but the levels are different).

Accessing the Data

You can access ACS micro data using IPUMS USA.

2.2.1 ACS Disability Questions

The ACS disability questions are exactly the same as the CPS disability questions:

  1. Is anyone deaf or does anyone have serious difficulty hearing? (We call this a hearing disability.)
  2. Is anyone blind or does anyone have serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses? (We call this a vision disability.)
  3. Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does anyone have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions? (We call this a cognition disability.)
  4. Does anyone have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs? (We call this a physical disability.)
  5. Does anyone have difficulty dressing or bathing? (We call this a self-care disability.)
  6. Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does anyone have difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping? (We call this a mobility disability.)

2.2.2 ACS Remote Work Question

The ACS measures remote work through a question about commuting. Specifically, it asks how a respondent usually gets to work, and one of the options is “worked from home”. This is a more limited measure of remote work as it will capture only those that work primarily from home. Accordingly, the ACS remote work rate is much lower than the one we get using the CPS data. However, an advantage of the ACS is that the question has been asked consistently over time, including pre-pandemic years.

Here’s the question:

How did this person usually get to work LAST WEEK? Mark ONE box for the method of transportation used for most of the distance.

  • Car, truck, or van
  • Bus
  • Subway or elevated rail
  • Long-distance train or commuter rail
  • Light rail, streetcar, or trolley
  • Ferryboat
  • Taxicab
  • Motorcycle
  • Bicycle
  • Walked
  • Worked from home
  • Other method

2.3 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)

The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a state-based system of telephone health surveys that collects information on health risk behaviors, preventive health practices, and health care access primarily related to chronic disease and injury. Data is collected annually and includes about 400,000 adult interviews each year.

We use the BRFSS to examine more detailed health information for the American population, beyond the rudimentary disability measures. The BRFSS includes information on depression, mental health issues, COVID and COVID symptoms, and disability. It allows us to examine the population that reports having both disabilities and long COVID. However, we cannot get detailed labor force information from the BRFSS.

We’re a bit wary of this survey– the disability rates rates are unusually high but generally follow the same trend that we see in the ACS and CPS.

How do we use the BRFSS?

As stated above, we use the BRFSS to look at more detailed health characteristics of the American population. We want to flesh out whether the rise in disability incidence is due to long COVID or something else such as anxiety/depression. This survey data allows us to look at other conditions people with disabilities report having– do they have depression? Do they have long COVID?

Accessing the Data

You can access the annual BRFSS survey data here.

2.3.1 BRFSS Disability Questions

The disability questions included in the BRFSS are the same as the ACS and CPS:

  1. Is anyone deaf or does anyone have serious difficulty hearing? (We call this a hearing disability.)
  2. Is anyone blind or does anyone have serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses? (We call this a vision disability.)
  3. Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does anyone have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions? (We call this a cognition disability.)
  4. Does anyone have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs? (We call this a physical disability.)
  5. Does anyone have difficulty dressing or bathing? (We call this a self-care disability.)
  6. Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does anyone have difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping? (We call this a mobility disability.)

We have disability data from the BRFSS from 2016 onward.

2.3.2 BRFSS Long COVID Questions

The BRFSS also contains a number of questions related to COVID-19 and COVID symptoms. These questions differ slightly depending on the survey year.

2022 Questionnaire

In 2022, respondents were asked if a doctor, nurse or other health professional has ever told them they’ve tested positive for COVID-19. They also had the option to report using an at home test without the assistance of a health professional. Respondents who answered affirmatively were asked the following:

  • Did you have any symptoms lasting 3 months or longer that you did not have prior to having coronavirus or COVDI-19?

Respondents who answer affirmatively to the question above are considered part of the population who has “ever had Long COVID.” Those that have had COVID are also asked what symptoms they experienced: (1) tiredness or fatigue, (2) difficulty thinking or concentrating or forgetfulness/memory problems, (3) difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, (4) joint or muscle pain, (5) fast-beating or pounding heart (heart palpitations) or chest pain, (6) dizziness on standing, (7) depression, anxiety, or mood changes, (8) symptoms that get worse after physical or mental activities, (9) no long term symptoms, (10) loss of taste or smell, and (11) other.

2023 Questionnaire

In 2023, respondents were asked if they have ever tested positive for COVID-19 using (using a rapid point-of-care test, self-test, or lab test) or told by a doctor or other health care provider that they have or had COVID-19. Those who respond affirmatively are asked the following:

  • Do you currently have symptoms lasting 3 months or longer that you did not have prior to having coronavirus or COVID-19?”

This measures the share of the population that is currently experiencing long COVID– a key difference from the question above.

2.3.3 BRFSS Mental Health Questions

The BRFSS often includes interesting questions on mental health/depression, but rarely are they available for more than one survey year. We use two main mental health questions from the survey that are included each year:

  1. Has a doctor, nurse, or other health professional ever told you that you had a depressive disorder (including depression, major depression, dysthymia, or minor depression)?
    • So this question captures the share of the population that has ever experienced some form of depression.
  2. Now thinking about your mental health, which includes stress, depression, and problems with emotions, for how many days during the past 30 days was your mental health not good?
    • According to the literature, spending more than 14 days in “poor mental health” categorizes a person as having poor mental health.
    • This will capture people currently experiencing mental health problems.

2.4 Household Pulse

Originally launched in April 2020, the Household Pulse Survey (HPS) collects data to measure how the pandemic/emergent issues during this period impacted U.S. households from a social and economic perspective. It asked individuals about their experiences in terms of employment status, food security, housing, physical and mental health, access to health care, and educational disruption. It has a very low response rate and we do not find it reliable.

The survey asked individuals about COVID and long COVID.

You can access the data here.