Census Pulse Survey: Tracking Jobs and Wallets This Spring
Published Date: 2/28/2025
Notice
Summary
The Census Bureau is gearing up to run the Household Trends and Outlook Pulse Survey (HTOPS) in March, April, and May 2025 to gather quick, up-to-date info on jobs, income, and other important topics. This affects households nationwide who might be asked to share their experiences, helping the government understand how current events impact people. These surveys are approved and funded, so expect fast, fresh data without extra costs to participants.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.
Households May Be Asked to Respond
You may be invited to take the Census Household Trends and Outlook Pulse Survey (HTOPS) in March, April, or May 2025. The Census plans March collection of 10,000 respondents and April/May collections of 20,350 respondents, each response averaging 0.333 hours (20 minutes). Participation is voluntary and all panelists will receive an incentive for each complete questionnaire.
Near Real-Time Public Data Release
The HTOPS will produce and publish public-use data files and detailed data tables to provide near real-time information on jobs, income, and other topics to federal, state, and local agencies, academics, the media, and the public.
Recruitment From Master Address File
HTOPS panelists and households were recruited from the Census Bureau's Master Address File, which allows HTOPS responses to be available for linkage to administrative records securely maintained and curated by the Census Bureau.
Internet and Telephone Response Options
Invitations to HTOPS will be sent by email and SMS and questionnaires will be mainly internet self-response; respondents who do not use the internet may respond via computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI).
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
Related Federal Register Documents
2026-20249, Notice of Data Sharing Activity
Starting October 2, 2026, the Census Bureau will share some business survey data with the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to help make U.S. economic stats more accurate and efficient. This affects businesses that voluntarily provide info in Census surveys, with no legal pressure to share. Only trusted BEA staff sworn to keep data secret will see the info, and there’s no cost impact for businesses.
2026-20155, Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD)
The Census Bureau wants to keep collecting data for the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) program, which helps track jobs and workers over time. They’re asking the public to comment by November 30, 2026, before they get final approval from the Office of Management and Budget. This keeps the data flowing without adding extra hassle or cost to businesses and workers.
2026-20167, Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; DOC-Census Workforce Development Collection
The Census Bureau is asking for approval to collect info from 230 workforce training groups linked to Manufacturing USA and two grant programs. This new data will help track how well these training programs work by connecting participant info with Census data. The goal? To make smarter decisions about future workforce investments without adding too much extra work—each group spends just 1-2 hours a year on this.
2026-20153, Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Quarterly Services Survey (QSS)
The U.S. Census Bureau wants to keep running the Quarterly Services Survey for three more years without changes. This survey asks certain U.S. service businesses for info to help track the economy. If you’re involved, you can comment by November 30, 2026, but there’s no new cost or extra paperwork planned.
2026-19301, Proposed Data Sharing Activity
The Census Bureau wants to share some business data with the Bureau of Economic Analysis to help improve economic reports. This change affects businesses whose data is collected and aims to make government info more useful without extra costs. People have until November 23, 2026, to share their thoughts on this plan.
2026-18481, Decennial Census of the Population of Americans; Proposed Residence Criteria and Proposed Regulations for Demographic Questions
The Census Bureau is proposing to add two new parts to the Code of Federal Regulations governing the decennial census of population and housing. First, the Census Bureau is proposing to add a part outlining the residence criteria used for identifying each person's "usual residence," as needed to determine whether and where to count them in the census of the population throughout the United States. Second, the Census Bureau is proposing to add a part establishing standards and restrictions for the inclusion of certain demographic questions on the decennial census short-form questionnaire and any other questionnaire used for the enumeration of the population. The Census Bureau is considering these two additions to better prioritize and fulfill its Constitutional mandate to count for apportionment the "whole number of persons in each State" based on the concept of "usual residence"--a process that factors in an element of allegiance but otherwise should be colorblind and should not be distorted in any way by questions about immaterial personal characteristics, such as race. Although these two parts are somewhat related and complementary, each is being proposed independently based on its own merits. These proposals are intended to ensure fidelity to the Constitution, improve and protect the core decennial census data, and promote efficiency.
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