The SPACE statement is used to bypass records in a file without reading those records.

<space statement>

── SPACE ── ( ──<file designator>── , ──<arithmetic expression>── ) ───►
►─┬───────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────┤
  └─<action labels or finished event>─┘

The value of the arithmetic expression determines the number of records to be spaced and the direction of the spacing. If the value of the arithmetic expression is positive, the records are spaced in a forward direction; if it is negative, the records are spaced in the reverse direction.