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Census Bureau Survey To Gauge Household Wealth
A nationwide survey conducted by the Commerce Dept.’s Census Bureau in 1995 found that the median net worth of U.S. households stood at $40,200, not statistically different from the 1993 level.
Beginning next Oct. 1, Census Bureau filed representative will ask questions about household wealth and other topics of 37,500 U.S. households to determine if these numbers have changed. The questions are part of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), designed to measure change over time. Selected households may remain in the survey through 2003.
"The SIPP provides the country not only with current and accurate income statistics, but also with data on household net worth, which is the value of assets, minus debts," said Arthur G. Dukakis, director of the Census Bureau’s Boston regional office. "The information on household wealth paints a particularly vivid portrait for analysts and policymakers of the economic resources available to households at any given time."
The survey also tracks changes in people’s jobs, the type of work they do, the number of people actively looking for work and education. Respondents also may be asked about other topics, such as retirement and pension plan coverage, child care and work schedules.
The summarized results will answer questions such as:
-Do more people have lapses in health insurance coverage now that in the past?
-How many households have IRA’s or Keogh accounts? What is their value? How has ownership of these assets changed in recent years?
-How many people visit a medical doctor at least onetime during the course of a year?
-In a given year, o more people enter or exit poverty?
-How much money do work-related expenses, such as parking, tolls, licenses, union dues and uniforms, cost people?
By law, the Census Bureau keeps all information about survey respondents and their household confidential. Households selected in the survey will receive a letter from the director of the Census Bureau. The filed representatives who conduct initial interviews carry official photo-identification cards. Some follow-up interviews may be conducted by telephone.
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