Description

IND is an un-recoded variable that reports the type of industry in which the person performed an occupation, which is recorded in the variables OCC (Occupation) and OCC1950 (Occupation, 1950 basis). In census usage, "industry" currently refers to work setting and economic sector, as opposed to the worker's specific technical function, or "occupation". Prior to 1930, the occupation and industry concepts were not so clearly distinguishable from one another.

Some persons work in more than one industry. Generally, the instructions asked for the industry from which the person earned the most money. Respondents not sure about this were to report the industry in which they spent the most time. For persons listing more than one industry, the samples use the first one listed. Persons not currently employed were to give their most recent industry.

Universe Note: "New Workers" are persons seeking employment for the first time, who had not yet secured their first job.

Note Regarding Multi-Year Samples: In Multi-Year ACS files, IND codes are based on the year that the file was publicly released (see YEAR). For example, in the 2011-2015 5-year ACS sample, the IND codes for respondents from 2011 and 2012 were crosswalked by the Census Bureau to the set of IND codes used in 2015 to create a single vintage of the industry variable. See the Industry and Occupation Code Lists and Crosswalks page on the Census Bureau's website for more guidance on how codes are matched across years.

IND is a 4-digit un-recoded variable reporting the type of industry in which the person performed an occupation, which is recorded in the variables OCC (Occupation) and OCC1950 (Occupation, 1950 basis). In census usage, "industry" currently refers to work setting and economic sector, as opposed to the worker's specific technical function, or "occupation". Prior to 1930, the occupation and industry concepts were not clearly distinguishable from one another. Some persons work in more than one industry. Generally, the instructions asked for the industry from which the person earned the most money. Respondents unsure about this were to report the industry in which they spent the most time. For persons listing more than one industry, the samples use the first one listed. Persons not currently employed were to give their most recent industry. IND specific variable codes for missing, edited, or unidentified observations, observations not applicable (N/A), observations not in universe (NIU), top and bottom value coding, etc. are provided below if applicable by Census year (and data sample if specified).

IND Specific Variable Codes
See links below for details regarding OCC codes:
1910 Industry Codes
1930 Industry Codes
1940 Industry Codes
1950 Industry Codes (also applied to the 1920 data) - see IND1950
1960 Industry Codes
1970 Industry Codes
1980 Industry Codes
1990 Industry Codes
2000 and 2000-2002 ACS Industry Codes
2003-2007 ACS/PRCS Industry Codes
2008-2012 ACS/PRCS Industry Codes
2013-2017 ACS/PRCS Industry Codes
2018-Onward ACS/PRCS Industry Codes

Comparability

Industry information from the 1920 census is only available via the IND1950 variable. For all other years, IND classifies industries according to the contemporary Census Bureau classification systems. In 1930 and 1940, IND classifications were recoded from their original alpha-numeric codes into numeric classifications. For the 1930 1% and 5% samples, the alpha-numeric codes are retained in IND1930.

The meaning of the industry codes varies across years. See the codes and frequencies page for the values in each year.

To increase comparability over time, the IPUMS provides IND1950 and IND1990, which apply common classification systems over time. These variables are created in the same way as the parallel occupational variables, which are discussed at length in " Integrated Occupation and Industry Codes and Occupational Standing Variables in the IPUMS." Unlike IND, the IND1950 variable is also available for the 1850-1920 samples (with industry inferred from the respondents' reported occupation prior to 1910).

For 1940 and 1950, information on past industry was collected for sample-line persons not currently in the labor force, in UIND (Usual industry) and RIND (Industry, labor reserve), respectively.

The term "labor force" and other key employment terms are defined in the documentation for EMPSTAT.

Universe

Availability

• 2022: All samples
• 2021: All samples
• 2020: All samples
• 2019: All samples
• 2018: All samples
• 2017: All samples
• 2016: All samples
• 2015: All samples
• 2014: All samples
• 2013: All samples
• 2012: All samples
• 2011: All samples
• 2010: ACS; ACS 3yr; ACS 5yr
• 2009: All samples
• 2008: All samples
• 2007: All samples
• 2006: All samples
• 2005: All samples
• 2004: All samples
• 2003: All samples
• 2002: All samples
• 2001: All samples
• 2000: All samples
• 1990: All samples
• 1980: All samples
• 1970: All samples
• 1960: All samples
• 1950: All samples
• 1940: All samples
• 1930: 1%; 5%
• 1920: --
• 1910: --
• 1900: --
• 1880: --
• 1870: --
• 1860: --
• 1850: --

• 2022: All samples
• 2021: All samples
• 2020: All samples
• 2019: All samples
• 2018: All samples
• 2017: All samples
• 2016: All samples
• 2015: All samples
• 2014: All samples
• 2013: All samples
• 2012: All samples
• 2011: All samples
• 2010: PRCS; PRCS 3yr; PRCS 5yr
• 2009: All samples
• 2008: All samples
• 2007: All samples
• 2006: All samples
• 2005: All samples
• 2000: All samples
• 1990: All samples
• 1980: All samples
• 1970: All samples
• 1930: --
• 1920: --
• 1910: --

Flags

Editing Procedure

OCC (Occupation), IND (Industry), and CLASSWKR (Class of worker)
ACS Years: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
ACS editing procedure:
The ACS asks a series of interrelated questions about a person's job, including what class of worker they are (eg, private for profit, not-for -profit, government, etc), their occupation, and information about their employer.
Note: OCC and IND are also edited and allocated with the earnings variables. See INCWAGE for more editing and allocation procesures.
First, for everyone who is under 16 OCC, IND, and CLASSWKR will all be "Not in Universe." For anyone who last worked 5 or more years ago and is unemployed or not in the labor force (EMPSTAT, WORKEDYR), OCC, IND, and CLASSWKR will all be "Not in Universe."
The editing of these variables begins by making sure the reported occupation (OCC), employment status (EMPSTAT), industry (IND), and class of worker (CLASSWKR) are all consistent with each other. For example, if EMPSTAT reports that a person is in the military, IND will be edited to "Military" and CLASSWKR will be edited to "Federal Government." Likewise, if a person reports their occupation as "Postal Clerk" but the industry is not "Postal service" the occupation will be changed to "Mail clerks except postal service." There are many similar changes that are not reported here for brevity's sake.
Among those who report themselves as employed (EMPSTAT), self-employed (CLASSWKR), and who are not in the military, occupation (OCC) will be used to make sure the appropriate industry (IND) was selected. For example, a self-employed "Groundskeeper" will have an industry value of "Landscaping services." There are many similar changes that are not reported here for brevity's sake.
If a person is employed, but leaves their industry blank, occupation will be used to infer industry. For example, if a person reports being a "Funeral director" but has no reported industry, IND will be replaced with "Funeral homes." There are many similar changes that are not reported here for brevity's sake.
If a person is older than 15, is employed (EMPSTAT), but occupation is missing, the reported industry (and sometimes class of worker) will be used to determine occupation. For example, if a person's industry is "Agricultural production" and their class of worker is "Self-employed not incorporated," OCC will be replaced with "Farmers." If industry if "Forestry" OCC will be replaced with "Forestry workers except logging." There are many similar changes that are not reported here for brevity's sake.
If a person is older than 15, is employed (EMPSTAT), industry will be used to assign or change the class of worker. For example, if IND is "Postal service," class of worker will be made "Federal government." There are many similar changes that are not reported here for brevity's sake.
Farming
If a person is 16 or 17 and reports their occupation as "Farm manager or farmer," OCC will be replaced with "Agricultural worker." If a person is 16 or 17 and their occupation is "Supervisors, farming, fishing, and forestry workers" and their class of worker is not "Private" or "Government," CLASSWKR will be replaced with "Private for profit
Among those 18 and older whose occupation is "Farm, ranch, and agricultural managers" and who are self-employed (CLASSWRK), OCC will be changed to "Farmer." If CLASSWRK is "Without pay family," OCC will be replaced with "Farmer" and CLASSWRK will be "Self-employed not incorporated." If CLASSWRK is not reported, it will be replaced with "Private for profit."
Among those 18 and older whose occupation is "Farmer" and class of worker is "Private" "Government" or "Self-employed incorporated", OCC will be made "Farm, ranch, and agricultural managers." If CLASSWKR is not reported or "Without pay family" CLASSWKR will be replaced with "Self-employed not incorporated"
Among those 18 and older whose occupation is "Supervisors, farming, fishing, and forestry workers" and industry is 0170 or 0180 (Census original codes - unclear what industries these are) and CLASSWKR is "Self-employed not incorporated," OCC will be replaced with "Farmers." If CLASSWKR is " Self-employed incorporated," OCC will be replaced with "Farm, ranch, and agricultural managers." If CLASSWKR is not reported or is "Without pay family," CLASSWKR will be replaced with "Private for profit."
Among those 18 and older whose occupation is "Farm workers" and CLASSWKR is "Self-employed not incorporated," OCC will be replaced with "Farmers." If CLASSWKR is " Self-employed incorporated," OCC will be replaced with "Farm, ranch, and agricultural managers." If CLASSWKR is not reported, it will be replaced with "Private for profit."
Education and Earnings to adjust OCC and IND
Education and earnings are also used to edit the occupation and industry. If a person with an education (EDUC) that is lower than required by a specific occupation (eg, someone with less than high school who reports being an "Accountant or auditor") and also reports low weekly earnings (INCWAGE, WKSWORK2), the occupation will be changed to a related field that is more consistent with the reported education (eg, "Bookkeepers, accounting, and auditing clerks"). There are many similar changes that are not reported here for brevity's sake.
Military adjustments
If a person who is 16 or older reports their industry as "Military" but their occupation is inconsistent with the Armed Forces, their occupation will be adjusted. For example, if a person in the military reports being a "Legislator," OCC will be replaced with a rotation of "General and operations managers" and "Mangers, all other." There are many similar changes that are not reported here for brevity's sake.
If a person reports not being active duty military (VETSTAT), but reports their industry as "Active duty military," IND will be changed to "National security and international affairs." Their OCC value will also be adjusted to a similar non-military value if they report being a "Military officer" or "Other military." In 2007 and later, whose employment status (EMPSTAT) is "Civilian labor force" reports their industry as "Military," IND will be changed to "National security and international affairs." In 2007 and later, if a person under 17 reports their occupation (OCC) or industry (IND) as "Military," their OCC will be changed to "Miscellaneous office and administrative support workers, including desktop publishers" and IND to "National security and international affairs."
Adjusting earnings
If a person is 16 or older, reports working in the past 12 months, and is self-employed not incorporated (CLASSWKR), and has positive wages (INCWAGE) but no self-employment income (INCBUS00), their value for INCWAGE and INCBUS00 will be swapped.
If a person is 16 or older, reports working in the past 12 months, and is not self-employed not incorporated (CLASSWKR), and no positive wages (INCWAGE) but positive self-employment income (INCBUS00), their value for INCWAGE and INCBUS00 will be swapped.
If a person is 16 or older, reports working in the past 12 months, and is not self-employed not incorporated (CLASSWKR), and no positive wages (INCWAGE) and negative self-employment income (INCBUS00), CLASSWKR will be replaced with "Self-employed not incorporated."
Flags
The flag variables (QOCC, QIND, QCLASSWK) will indicate when the values of OCC, IND, and CLASSWKR are allocated.
Internal ACS variable : OCC IND COW