USING DATA COLLECTED IN A SAMPLE SURVEY OF RESIDENT INSTITUTIONS WHICH PROVIDE NURSING OR PERSONAL CARE TO THE AGED OR CHRONICALLY ILL, EMPLOYEES WERE DESCRIBED IN TERMS OF AGE AND SEX, JOB CATEGORIES, HOURS WORKED PER WEEK, FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT STAFF, AND RATIO OF RESIDENTS TO EMPLOYEES. SOME FINDINGS WERE--(1) NURSING AND PERSONAL CARE HOMES EMPLOYED AN ESTIMATED 281,000 PERSONS WORKING 15 OR MORE HOURS PER WEEK, (2) OVER HALF THE EMPLOYEES WERE NURSING PERSONNEL, (3) PROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL OTHER THAN NURSES AND ADMINISTRATORS WERE FEW IN NUMBER, (4) ABOUT ONE-THIRD OF THE REGISTERED NURSES AND ALMOST THREE-TENTHS OF THE "OTHER PROFESSIONAL" STAFF WORKED PART-TIME AND WERE USED MORE OFTEN IN NURSING CARE HOMES THAN IN THE OTHER TYPES, (5) THE AGES OF NURSING STAFF VARIED FROM A MEDIAN OF 42 FOR NURSE AIDES TO 48 FOR REGISTERED NURSES AND LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSES WHILE THE MEDIAN AGE FOR "OTHER PROFESSIONAL" AND TECHNICAL STAFF WAS 52, (6) ONLY 1 OF 10 EMPLOYEES WAS MALE, (7) THERE WERE MORE EMPLOYEES IN NURSING CARE HOMES THAN IN THE OTHER TYPES WITH THE EMPLOYEE-RESIDENT RATIO 1 TO 2 COMPARED WITH 1-3 IN THE OTHER TYPES. THIS DOCUMENT IS AVAILABLE AS FS2.85/2--12-NO. 5 FOR 30 CENTS FROM GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, NORTH CAPITOL AND H STREETS, N.W., WASHINGTON, D.C. 20401. (JK)