Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 16, 1995 TAG: 9504150024
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: F-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
He isn't a tax investigator, out early. No, this officer carrying a laptop computer is a cog in the wheel that turns out the national unemployment rate and similar reports.
The Bureau of the Census, an arm of the U.S. Department of Commerce, has collected data directly from citizens for more than 50 years. Its Roanoke area field representative goes calling around the 19th of each month.
In March, the survey taker asked additional questions for an annual poverty analysis due out next year. This month, he is asking low-income families if they have enough food for a future study by the Department of Agriculture.
Some 150 field representatives in Virginia, West Virginia, the Carolinas, Kentucky, a portion of Maryland and the District of Columbia gather data for the Current Population Survey, from which the national, state and regional unemployment rates are gleaned.
These are significant statistics. Wall Street and the Federal Reserve have shifted billions of dollars based on the results of these monthly doorstep surveys.
Businesses integrate data such as Virginia's median annual household income - currently $36,433 - into decisions about expansion and labor contracts with unions.
For the households involved, the gravity of the government agent's monthly visit is only heightened by tactics that call to mind foreign diplomacy or even spying.
The field representatives are prompt and businesslike. They dress according to the customs of the communities they visit. They drive unmarked vehicles. They ask to come inside. The only clue is a window placard in the car saying the driver is on official government business.
"The confidentiality is so good, most people do not realize it's being done in their community," said Carol Hankeison, a senior field representative based in Greensboro, N.C.
A computer in Jefferson, Ind., randomly picks households for the survey from a list of those who answered the 1990 census questionnaire.
Each household provides information for the employment survey for four months, after which a new crop of respondents is recruited. The field representative asks whether each member of the household is working and, if so, asks the type of job, pay and hours.
The government doesn't pay for the information. Nearly 95 percent of people cooperate when they're asked to participate, said Laurie Walker, a survey statistician in the bureau's Charlotte, N.C. office.
Some do so, however, only if they can remain nameless. Field representatives handle these situations by referring to family members as "person A" and "person B" after the initial visit. Name don't go into permanent survey records, even if provided.
To encourage participation, the bureau promises secrecy to those who reveal what's on their paycheck stubs. It promises not to rat on tax scofflaws. "The Census Bureau has a strong [reputation] for not divulging information to any other branch of the government," Hankeison said. "We can be fined or put in jail."
But the bureau does spot-check the accuracy of information it receives with agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service, keeper of tax returns, Hankeison said.
The advent of high-speed computers has no doubt made that task easier, while other technology has eliminated some of the drudgery of data collection.
In 1994, the bureau phased the collection of data by paper and pencil to thunderous applause. Under the old system, "every letter, every number was a little dot you had to fill in," Hankeison said.
Today, the field representative types answers to questions into laptop computer. After the end of each day, the field rep programs the computer to transmit the data by modem from his or her home to Washington, D.C., during the middle of the night.
After survey candidates are identified and notified by mail of their selection, the process of gaining their cooperation begins with a knock at the door.
"There's all sorts of techniques the census bureau teaches their field representatives to gain cooperation," said Dee Dee Hager, information assistant.
Field officers stress the advantages to the nation of having the jobless rate and other measures tabulated from live data. They note that the federal government allocates larger economic-assistance grants to areas with the highest unemployment rates.
"That's the hard part," Hager said. "Making that person say, 'Okay, that will benefit me.'For the most part, families chosen for the survey greet the field representative warmly, perhaps offering up a cup of coffee.
"Most people invite us inside," said Hankeison, a field officer for 10 years. "Most people take us into the living room."
Some families prefer to get right down to business. "Other folks, they want to know, 'Is the computer heavy? Have you been out in this heat all day?'''
Their friendliness is uplifting, she said. "It really restores your faith in people."
by CNB