Census Bureau Announces Transition to New Longitudinal Design for Household Pulse Survey
The U.S. Census Bureau today announced Phase 4.2 will be the final phase of the Household Pulse Survey (HPS) using current methodology. Plans are to transition the HPS to a new longitudinal design.
In collaboration with multiple federal agencies, the Census Bureau launched the HPS in April 2020 to measure the social and economic impact of COVID-19 in near real-time to inform federal and state action. While these data have proven valuable, the Census Bureau seeks to mature the HPS in a manner that reduces burden and enables measurement of change over time – while preserving its agility and value to the data user community.
Beginning in October, HPS will transition to a longitudinal design that will continue to address the need for timely data and ensure long-term sustainability. In January 2025, HPS will be relaunched as the Household Trends and Outlook Pulse Survey (HTOPS), utilizing a panel design comparable to surveys like the Survey of Income and Program Participation.
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Evolving the Household Pulse Survey
In March of 2020, the world changed due to a global pandemic. Many U.S. Census Bureau programs were at a standstill. We had no way to reach the public — our field representatives could not go on personal visits; our telephone centers were closed, pausing telephone interviewing; and our processing center was closed, suspending the mailing of invitations. We could not collect crucial information at a time when it was most needed.
A small group convened to discuss how to collect these critical data. From those discussions, the Household Pulse Survey (HPS) was born. The HPS is a program developed by the Census Bureau to meet data needs for informing emerging policy questions in an exceptionally timely way. Conceived in March 2020 and launched in April 2020 to address critical data gaps for understanding the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the HPS was initially seen as a source for guiding emergency response across multiple dimensions of American life.
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