Industry | National Longitudinal Surveys

For both employee and self-employed jobs, respondents' verbatim descriptors of their business or industry are coded using a three-digit Census code frame. Freelance jobs that do not qualify as self-employment are coded according to the type of work performed. (See Attachment 1: Census Industrial & Occupational Classification Codes for more details about the Census coding).

Important Information About Using Industry Data

If the job has already been reported during a previous interview, that job's start-date information was already gathered during that previous interview. Respondents are read a description of the industry they reported as of the last interview date and asked if there was any change between the last interview date and the current interview date (or stop date for jobs that ended). If there is no difference, the job is assigned the same industry code; if the respondent reports a change, a new industry code is assigned for the current round. However, if the job has been previously reported and the respondent's total job length was less than 13 weeks, no additional information is collected in the current interview. In this situation the relevant data are available in the previous round's data. Note: In 2013, this criteria changed from "less than 13 weeks" to "less than 26 weeks."
Some respondents reported a job for the first time in round 2 that ended before the round 1 interview date. (These jobs should have been reported in round 1 but were overlooked by the respondent.) In these cases no industry information was collected.

Employee Jobs

The NLSY97 asks respondents age 14 or older to report the industry of each employer as of the job's start date. Respondent descriptors of the "kind of business or industry at the job's start date"--or, if the respondent is confused by the question, "what did they make or do where you worked"--are the basis of the industrial codes. For employee jobs lasting more than 13 weeks (starting in 2013, this was changed to "jobs lasting 26 weeks or more"), respondents also describe the business or industry as of the job's stop date (or at the survey date for on-going jobs). In addition, the interviewer codes whether the business was mainly manufacturing, retail trade, wholesale trade, or something else, requesting respondent help if necessary. Survey staff then coded each employer's industry.

Through Round 5, respondent industry and occupation were coded using the 1990 Census code frames. As part of the 2000 Decennial Census, the Census Bureau and BLS revised the industry and occupation code frames. The 2002 Census codes frames are now available for all rounds. The move to the new frame maintains comparability with the Current Population Survey (CPS) and other federal surveys, which have adopted the new frame. In addition, using historical code frames becomes increasingly problematic over time as new industries and occupations arise that are inadequately handled in the old frame. At the same time, changing frames can introduce disruption into the longitudinal record; it may not always be appropriate to change frames whenever updates occur.

A second change underlies the shift to the 2002 code frame. While NORC had previously performed all coding to the 1990 code frames, the industry and occupation coding tasks were completed by the Census Bureau for the 2002 frames. There are documented differences in coding practices across the two organizations, so house effects in coding are likely to surface in the data. The process followed by the Census Bureau includes use of the respondents' reports of usual duties, title, etc., and contextual information on respondent income and education. Problem cases are selected for manual review by an experienced coder or coding supervisor. Rates of manual review are similar for the NLSY97 as for the CPS. Wherever possible the Census Bureau has attempted to implement for this survey the coding procedures in place for the CPS.

Users should note that the 2002 frame differs considerably from the 1990 frame in organization, level of granularity, and other characteristics. Analyses of NLSY97 as well as CPS data indicate that jobs within a single category of one frame may disperse broadly to a variety of codes in the other frame.

To view tables summarizing industries and occupations reported by NLSY97 respondents with employee jobs, go to Industry & Occupation Tables.

Freelance Jobs

In rounds 1-3, NLSY97 youths not classified as self-employed (self-employed=job where the respondent is age 16 or older and usually earning $200 or more per week) described the type of work they performed. NORC personnel coded these verbatim descriptions for release in the data set. This information is located in variable FREELANCE_JOBS_COD.xx. Because the Census codes are not appropriate for this freelance employment, the descriptions were classified using a separate coding frame with categories such as babysitting, mowing, pet care, and snow shoveling. This information is located in variable FREELANCE_JOBS_NEWCOD.xx for rounds 1-5. The reporting of freelance jobs was limited in round 4 to respondents born in 1983-84 and in round 5 to those born in 1984. The coding of these jobs was changed beginning in round 3. At that time the freelance codes were redone for rounds 1 and 2 to match the new coding system, which began in round 3. Both the old and new codes are available for these rounds. Starting in round 6, no freelance jobs section is included.

Self-Employment

For all freelance jobs reported in rounds 1-3 in which respondents are considered self-employed (age 16 or older and usually earn $200 or more per week), the survey asked about the business or industry classification of the job. The series of questions determining the industry was similar to that asked for employee jobs. Survey staff then coded the industry of each self-employed job using the 1990 Census industrial codes.

The structure of the questionnaire changed in round 4, based on the age of the respondent. Older respondents (those born in 1980-82 for round 4 and those born in 1980-83 for round 5) reported self-employment jobs in the employee jobs section, answering industry questions like those listed above for employee jobs. These jobs were coded the same way as employee-type jobs. Younger respondents (those born in 1983-84 for round 4 and those born in 1984 for round 5) continued to list self-employment jobs in the freelance section. If a freelance job met the earnings requirement for self-employment, the industry was coded using the 1990 Census codes. Beginning in round 6, no freelance sections were included. All self-employed jobs were reported and coded in the same way as employee jobs.

Comparison to Other NLS Surveys: Industry is collected each year from NLSY79 respondents; however, the jobs must meet minimum hours worked and weeks worked requirements before this information is collected. For the NLSY79, industry is coded using the 1970 (through 1993) and/or 1980 (1982-present) industrial classification codes. Industry is also coded using the 1970 and 1990 (for the CPS job only) codes for Children of the NLSY79 age 15 and older. For the Mature and Young Women, industry was coded using 1960, 1980, and 1990 systems. The industries of Older and Young Men were recorded using 1960 codes for all years; in the final two Older Men surveys, industry was doublecoded using the 1980 system. For more information, consult the appropriate cohort's User's Guide.

Survey Instruments: These questions are found in the employment section of the Youth Questionnaire. Question names begin with YEMP- and roster items begin with YEMP_.

Related User's Guide Sections	Occupation
Main Area of Interest	Employment: Industry & Occupation
Supplemental Areas of Interest	Training

Industry & Occupation Tables

These tables summarize the industries and occupations reported by NLSY97 respondents with employee jobs.

Table 1A. Industry of NLSY97 Respondents at Current or Most Recent Employee Job, 2002 Codes, by Round

Industry of Job #01	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10
Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries	101	110	102	92	82	66	64	57	49	54
Mining	--	1	--	3	7	10	12	16	17	24
Utilities	--	4	5	9	13	16	12	9	15	15
Construction	135	219	230	315	364	430	458	496	509	507
Manufacturing	71	157	254	346	345	392	408	423	440	492
Wholesale Trade	21	45	81	89	86	114	135	160	141	149
Retail Trade	409	1021	1330	1604	1557	1497	1406	1239	1130	1121
Transportation & Warehousing	22	45	81	119	130	144	157	176	189	220
Information & Communication	86	117	117	137	149	133	148	148	145	170
Finance, Insurance & Real Estate	44	106	132	167	227	263	315	361	400	437
Professional & Related Services	154	300	383	518	520	603	608	632	688	789
Education, Health & Social Services	188	379	498	626	792	929	997	1060	1141	1200
Entertainment, Accommodations & Food Services	802	1610	1906	1985	1810	1557	1355	1184	1046	1024
Other Services	204	226	229	327	376	418	405	397	340	323
Public Administration	18	35	57	79	82	96	102	112	143	159
Active Duty Military	--	7	35	62	54	51	44	36	35	26
ACS Special Codes	22	19	27	16	14	20	26	10	19	26
Total working at an employee job	2277	4402	5457	6494	6608	6739	6652	6516	6447	6736
Note: This table is based on responses about the respondent's industry for the first job listed on the respondent's roster, which is typically his or her current or most recent job (e.g., YEMP_INDCODE-2002.01). The universe is respondents who reported that their current or most recent job was a civilian employee-type job; military, freelance, and self-employment are not included. Some respondents reported a military occupation in the civilian question series. They may actually be civilians, or they may be members of the Armed Forces who reported their class of worker incorrectly.

Table 1B. Industry of NLSY97 Respondents at Current or Most Recent Employee Job, 2002 Codes, by Round

Industry of Job #01	R11	R12	R13	R14	R15	R16	R17	R18	R19	R20
Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries	51	51	48	53	45	52	54	43	44	45
Mining	34	39	32	40	45	37	45	29	31	19
Utilities	24	28	34	37	38	35	33	32	44	39
Construction	507	471	438	407	430	361	406	391	409	398
Manufacturing	520	511	481	451	451	432	490	493	545	538
Wholesale Trade	168	162	167	155	176	153	150	127	143	134
Retail Trade	993	897	864	763	692	626	650	560	546	518
Transportation & Warehousing	216	219	193	203	202	226	252	262	327	351
Information & Communication	152	179	154	148	149	127	109	107	105	111
Finance, Insurance & Real Estate	443	426	439	418	415	361	393	392	405	389
Professional & Related Services	797	841	817	860	813	778	785	757	730	710
Education, Health & Social Services	1215	1343	1351	1353	1378	1371	1400	1355	1386	1367
Entertainment, Accommodations & Food Services	942	905	852	750	718	635	583	529	518	424
Other Services	314	345	334	332	333	293	285	237	262	246
Public Administration	204	220	238	247	249	249	267	262	283	283
Active Duty Military	28	35	29	29	22	21	18	13	14	9
ACS Special Codes	13	21	15	19	10	474	307	225	179	153
Total working at an employee job	6621	6693	6486	6265	6166	6231	6227	5814	5971	5734
Note: This table is based on responses about the respondent's industry for the first job listed on the respondent's roster, which is typically his or her current or most recent job (e.g., YEMP_INDCODE-2002.01). The universe is respondents who reported that their current or most recent job was a civilian employee-type job; military, freelance, and self-employment are not included. Some respondents reported a military occupation in the civilian question series. They may actually be civilians, or they may be members of the Armed Forces who reported their class of worker incorrectly.

Table 2A. Occupation of NLSY97 Respondents at Current or Most Recent Employee Job, By Round

2002 Census Occupation Codes	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10
Executive, Administrative & Managerial	9	18	39	55	69	95	118	159	214	245
Management Related	3	7	12	26	33	55	79	107	148	211
Mathematical & Computer Sciences	2	8	27	52	44	56	72	76	90	106
Engineers, Architects & Surveyors	--	1	6	7	9	13	19	28	33	54
Engineers & Related Technicians	1	2	6	18	21	19	20	17	19	24
Physical Scientists	--	1	1	1	1	--	5	5	16	15
Social Scientists & Related Workers	--	--	--	--	1	4	5	10	10	12
Life, Physical, & Social Science Techs	3	1	6	12	8	13	13	21	25	22
Counselors, Social, & Religious Workers	17	19	20	29	41	44	55	67	79	87
Lawyers, Judges & Legal Support Workers	1	1	1	1	3	8	14	24	27	36
Teachers	25	34	46	75	95	132	162	206	246	271
Education, Training & Library Workers	13	40	50	49	55	71	73	77	68	57
Entertainers, Sports & Related Workers	51	65	66	85	98	85	95	94	99	97
Media & Communication Workers	3	17	19	26	36	41	48	43	46	56
Health Diagnosis & Treating Practitioners	--	--	--	4	9	16	23	36	48	66
Health Care Technical & Support	7	42	77	136	152	228	250	280	333	339
Protective Service	18	51	63	89	114	125	111	126	133	152
Food Preparations & Serving Related	526	1024	1248	1346	1223	1047	883	791	674	647
Cleaning & Building Service	240	348	313	347	293	300	251	243	237	236
Entertainment Attendants, Related Workers	41	80	82	74	85	89	54	46	42	42
Funeral Related Occupations	--	--	1	1	1	--	--	--	--	1
Personal Care & Service Workers	117	130	186	244	295	342	366	340	286	277
Sales & Related Workers	418	1062	1310	1400	1418	1297	1204	1048	958	950
Office & Admin. Support Workers	276	534	753	969	1090	1108	1156	1083	1039	1092
Farming, Fishing & Forestry	89	108	92	84	80	59	50	46	42	48
Construction Trades & Extraction Workers	113	194	216	300	343	395	433	448	452	470
Installation, Maint. & Repair Workers	36	58	78	134	132	148	160	183	187	196
Production & Operating Workers	8	32	52	64	44	56	72	82	73	79
Food Preparation	9	10	17	26	29	31	33	29	30	24
Setters, Operators, & Tenders	52	97	148	202	212	258	238	266	268	296
Transportation & Material Moving Workers	189	379	462	555	507	533	525	490	471	469
Military Specific Occupations	--	7	35	62	54	51	44	36	35	26
ACS Special Codes	10	32	25	21	13	20	21	9	19	33
Total # of Respondents Working Job #1	2277	4402	5457	6495	6608	6739	6652	6516	6447	6736
Note: This table is based on responses about the respondent's occupation for the first job listed on the respondent's roster, which is typically his or her current or most recent job (e.g., YEMP_OCCODE-2002.01). The universe is respondents who reported that their current or most recent job was a civilian employee-type job; military, freelance, and self-employment are not included. Some respondents reported a military occupation in the civilian question series. They may actually be civilians, or they may be members of the Armed Forces who reported their class of worker incorrectly.

Table 2B. Occupation of NLSY97 Respondents at Current or Most Recent Employee Job, By Round

2002 Census Occupation Codes	R11	R12	R13	R14	R15	R16	R17	R18	R19	R20
Executive, Administrative & Managerial	283	323	350	400	454	534	578	601	682	731
Management Related	244	259	254	240	247	291	287	293	310	298
Mathematical & Computer Sciences	117	129	134	134	142	152	158	161	169	167
Engineers, Architects & Surveyors	57	63	58	53	51	48	45	50	46	39
Engineers & Related Technicians	27	35	27	24	24	29	22	21	26	23
Physical Scientists	20	20	26	28	29	28	25	22	20	22
Social Scientists & Related Workers	15	20	18	25	21	14	13	24	31	23
Life, Physical, & Social Science Techs	16	16	19	17	15	16	9	5	6	3
Counselors, Social, & Religious Workers	105	133	131	143	137	128	126	126	131	127
Lawyers, Judges & Legal Support Workers	38	47	54	59	51	57	62	63	65	69
Teachers	297	317	329	314	312	322	298	286	284	280
Education, Training & Library Workers	59	59	61	59	60	49	54	47	51	56
Entertainers, Sports & Related Workers	107	105	110	108	104	95	89	75	77	76
Media & Communication Workers	62	81	76	67	69	65	62	66	67	51
Health Diagnosis & Treating Practitioners	96	117	130	156	164	188	200	213	214	209
Health Care Technical & Support	317	366	345	345	335	339	327	285	284	296
Protective Service	147	174	182	179	172	176	167	155	159	155
Food Preparations & Serving Related	579	557	494	432	405	384	359	323	292	261
Cleaning & Building Service	232	236	230	226	203	232	207	198	196	196
Entertainment Attendants, Related Workers	43	45	31	39	39	30	30	31	27	20
Funeral Related Occupations	1	3	2	1	1	--	--	--	--	1
Personal Care & Service Workers	274	278	275	276	265	253	245	207	211	172
Sales & Related Workers	811	786	773	667	631	588	583	502	497	462
Office & Admin. Support Workers	1064	963	933	904	883	866	882	803	811	778
Farming, Fishing & Forestry	42	38	34	36	29	33	31	23	27	21
Construction Trades & Extraction Workers	467	427	403	374	355	327	348	313	323	291
Installation, Maint. & Repair Workers	216	226	225	211	214	200	208	204	229	204
Production & Operating Workers	74	79	71	72	61	71	79	78	85	75
Food Preparation	20	24	26	22	18	19	19	19	16	15
Setters, Operators, & Tenders	290	275	244	222	244	228	241	222	215	235
Transportation & Material Moving Workers	454	433	397	392	400	433	435	405	462	434
Military Specific Occupations	28	35	29	29	22	21	18	13	14	9
ACS Special Codes	19	24	15	11	9	15	20	18	13	19
Total # of Respondents Working Job #1	6621	6693	6486	6265	6166	6231	6227	5852	6040	5818
Note: This table is based on responses about the respondent's occupation for the first job listed on the respondent's roster, which is typically his or her current or most recent job (e.g., YEMP_OCCODE-2002.01). The universe is respondents who reported that their current or most recent job was a civilian employee-type job; military, freelance, and self-employment are not included. Some respondents reported a military occupation in the civilian question series. They may actually be civilians, or they may be members of the Armed Forces who reported their class of worker incorrectly.