E7-5578. Submission for OMB Review: Comment Request

March 21, 2007.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has submitted the following public information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). A copy of this ICR, with applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained by calling Ira Mills on 202-693-4122 (this is not a toll-free number) or E-Mail: [e-mail], or by accessing http://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain.

Comments should be sent to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for U.S. Department of Labor/Bureau of Labor Statistic (BLS), Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, 202-395-7316 (this is not a toll free number), within 30 days from the date of this publication in the Federal Register.

The OMB is particularly interested in comments which:

• Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;
• Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
• Enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and
• Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved Collection.

Title: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

OMB Number: 1220-0109.

Frequency: Biennially.

Affected Public: Individuals or households.

Type of Response: Reporting.

Instrument	Total respondents	Total responses	Average time per response (minutes)	Estimated total burden (hours)
NLSY79 Pretest Sample Replenishment Screener	1,000	1,000	3	50
NLSY79 Pretest Sample Replenishment Interview	100	100	15	25
Total	1,100	1,100		75

Total Annualized Capital/Startup Costs: 0.

Total Annual Costs (operating/maintaining systems or purchasing services): 0.

Description: BLS requests OMB approval to conduct interviews to replenish the pretest sample of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort (NLSY79). The NLSY79 is a nationally representative survey of people who were born in the years 1957 to 1964 and lived in the U.S. when the survey began in 1979. NLSY79 participants were interviewed annually from 1979 to 1994 and have been interviewed every two years since 1994. The focus of the survey is labor market experiences, but the survey also covers topics that affect or are affected by labor market activity. These topics include education, training, marital and family relationships, fertility, childcare, health, substance use, and others.

Prior to each round of the NLSY79, a pretest has been conducted with a separate, smaller sample to help ensure the proper functioning of questionnaires, procedures, and systems and to rectify any problems before the main fielding of the NLSY79. Over time, the size of the pretest sample has declined significantly, and the characteristics of pretest participants now differ so sharply from the characteristics of most NLSY79 participants that the pretest no longer is a useful tool to detect and remedy problems with the survey. For this reason, BLS and its contractors have decided to replenish the pretest sample. The process of replenishing the sample requires new sample members to be interviewed for about 15 minutes during the summer of 2007. The information obtained from this interview will be used for an input file during the NLSY79 Round 23 pretest that is planned for October 2007. Because the NLSY79 is longitudinal, the questions that respondents are asked in one round sometimes depend on the responses they provided in previous rounds. The summer 2007 interview is necessary to obtain information that will enable all questions to function properly in the October 2007 pretest.

Ira L. Mills,

Departmental Clearance Officer/Team Leader.