2015-11928. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.

Title: Current Population Survey, Basic Demographic Items.

OMB Control Number: 0607-0049.

Form Number(s): There are no forms. We conduct all interviews on computers.

Type of Request: Emergency review.

Number of Respondents: 708,000.

Average Hours Per Response: 0.0273.

Burden Hours: 19,347.

Needs and Uses: The Census Bureau plans to request clearance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the collection of same sex marriage data as part of the basic demographic information on the Current Population Survey (CPS) beginning in June 2015. The current clearance expires July 31, 2017. The CPS has been the source of official government statistics on employment and unemployment for over 50 years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Census Bureau jointly sponsor the basic monthly survey. The Census Bureau also prepares and conducts all the field work. At the OMB's request, the Census Bureau and the BLS divide the clearance request in order to reflect the joint sponsorship and funding of the CPS program. The BLS submits a separate clearance request for the portion of the CPS that collects labor force information for the civilian non-institutional population. Some of the information within that portion includes employment status, number of hours worked, job search activities, earnings, duration of unemployment, and the industry and occupation classification of the job held the previous week.

The justification that follows is in support of the demographic data.

The demographic information collected in the CPS provides a unique set of data on selected characteristics for the civilian non-institutional population. Some of the demographic information we collect are age, marital status, gender, Armed Forces status, education, race, origin, and family income. We use these data in conjunction with other data, particularly the monthly labor force data, as well as periodic supplement data. We also use these data independently for internal analytic research and for evaluation of other surveys. In addition, we use these data as a control to produce accurate estimates of other personal characteristics.

Affected Public: Individuals or Households.

Frequency: Monthly.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Section 182; and Title 29, United States Code, Sections 1-9.

This information collection request may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to [e-mail] or fax to [phone].

Dated: May 13, 2015.

Glenna Mickelson,

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.