Census 2006 PUMFs

Question

A user would like to know if a release date has been set for the Census 2006 PUMFs. Also, they'd like to know if a guide is currently available and if it will be ready before the PUMF release date. Lastly, they'd like to know how much the PUMF will be represented compared to the total file (in %).

Answer

To date, summer 2009 is the planned release date for the PUMFs. However, it's still too early to know how much the PUMF files will be represented compared to the entire file in percentage terms.

Here is a summary of our Census PUMFs.

Census 2006 Publice Use Microdata Files (PUMF):

Individual PUMF file (2.7 % of population) (800,000 records)

· Same file as in the past
· Unit of analysis is person
· Provincial breakdown (legal jurisdiction for education, health etc.)
· Most Census Metropolitan Areas for diversity studies (Maybe top 15? not sure yet until we finalize)
· On and off reserve flag as per request from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC)
· Variables taken from the questionnaire. Allows users to create their own derived variables
· File focused on individual characteristics and less household and family variables
· Release projected for summer 2009



Hierarchical PUMF File (1% of population) (150,000 records)

· Data by Regions (5 maybe - Ont, Que, BC, East & West) - no other provinces
· Some Census Metropolitan Areas for diversity studies (maybe top 6, not sure right now until analysis is done)
· Links the 3 universes (individual linked to family or household) - Unit of analysis are person, family & household
· Variables taken from the questionnaire. Users can create their own derived variables
· Allows for international comparison since some international agencies are producing Hierarchical files for allow better analysis
· Release projected for summer 2010

We have presented this plan to Microdata release committee and have their approval to continue. We will return to Microdata release committee sometime in March 2008 with our final content for approval of the Individual PUMF File to be released in the Summer of 2009.