2011-29815. Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; 2012 Company Organization Survey

AGENCY:

U.S. Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES:

To ensure consideration, written comments must be submitted on or before January 17, 2012.

ADDRESSES:

Direct all written comments to Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at [e-mail]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions should be directed to Joy P. Pierson, Economic Planning and Coordination Division, U.S. Census Bureau, Room 8K319, Washington, DC 20233-6100 (or by email at [e-mail]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

The Census Bureau conducts the annual Company Organization Survey (COS) to update and maintain a central, multipurpose Business Register (BR) database. In particular, the COS supplies critical information on the composition, organizational structure, and operating characteristics of multi-location companies.

The BR serves two fundamental purposes:

—First and most important, it provides sampling populations and enumeration lists for the Census Bureau's economic surveys and censuses, and it serves as an integral part of the statistical foundation underlying those programs. Essential for this purpose is the BR's ability to identify all known United States business establishments and their parent companies. Further, the BR must accurately record basic business attributes needed to control sampling and enumeration. These attributes include industrial and geographic classifications, and name and address information.

—Second, it provides establishment data that serve as the basis for the annual County Business Patterns (CBP) statistical series. The CBP reports present data on the number of establishments, first quarter payroll, annual payroll, and mid-March employment summarized by industry and employment size class for the United States, the District of Columbia, island areas, counties, and county-equivalents. No other annual or more frequent series of industry statistics provides comparable detail, particularly for small geographic areas.

II. Method of Collection

The Census Bureau will conduct the 2012 COS in conjunction with the 2012 Economic Census and will coordinate these collections to minimize response burden. The consolidated COS/census mail canvass will direct inquiries to the entire universe of multi-location enterprises, which comprises roughly 164,000 parent companies and more than 1.6 million establishments. The decrease in response burden for the 2012 COS of 36,733 hours is the result of obtaining most multi-location establishment data as part of the 2012 Economic Census. Additionally, the panel will include approximately 100,000 large single-location companies to capture data for the Enterprise Statistics Program (ESP). In 2010 the Census Bureau pretested ESP questions under its Generic Clearance for pretesting research. In 2011 the COS collected data from all multi-location companies and will use these data to baseline the 2012 Economic Census data. The primary collection medium for the COS and Economic Census is a paper questionnaire; however, many enterprises will submit automated/electronic COS and Economic Census reports. For 2012, electronic reporting will be available to all COS and Economic Census respondents. Companies will receive and return responses by secure Internet transmission. Companies that cannot use the Internet will receive a CD-ROM containing their electronic data. All respondents will be allowed to mail the data via diskette or CD-ROM or submit their response data via the Internet. COS content is identical for all of the reporting modes.

The 2012 COS will include company-level questions to approximately 164,000 multi-location enterprises with industrial activities out-of-scope of the 2012 Economic Census. The company-level portion will include inquiries on ownership or control by domestic or foreign parents, ownership of foreign affiliates, research and development, leased employment, and manufacturing activities related to the Enterprise Statistics Program. Additional COS inquiries will apply to the 15,000 multi-unit establishments classified in industries that are out-of-scope of the economic census. The additional inquiries will list an inventory of those out-of-scope establishments and request updates to these inventories, including: Additions, deletions, and changes to information on EIN, name and address, industrial classification, end-of-year operating status, mid-March employment, first quarter payroll, and annual payroll. The economic census will collect data for all other establishments of multi-establishment enterprises, including those items listed above. Also for 2012, we will collect data for single-location companies on Form NC-99801 to further capture data for the Enterprise Statistics Program.

III. Data

OMB Control Number: 0607-0444.

Form Number: NC-99001 (for multi-establishment enterprises) and NC-99801 (for single-location companies).

Type of Review: Regular submission.

Affected Public: Business and not-for-profit institutions.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 264,000 (164,000 enterprises and 100,000 single units).

Estimated Time per Response: .44 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 90,784.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: $2,692,653.

Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.

Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. Sections 131, 182, 224, and 225.

IV. Request for Comments

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden (including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

Dated: November 15, 2011.

Glenna Mickelson,

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.