2020-15594. Information Collection Activities; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor.

ACTION:

Notice of information collection; request for comment.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a pre-clearance consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This program helps to ensure that the requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments concerning the proposed revision of the “Report on Current Employment Statistics.” A copy of the proposed information collection request can be obtained by contacting the individual listed below in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

DATES:

Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice on or before September 18, 2020.

ADDRESSES:

Send comments to Carol Rowan, BLS Clearance Officer, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room 4080, 2 Massachusetts Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20212. Written comments also may be transmitted by email to [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Carol Rowan, BLS Clearance Officer, 202-691-7628 (this is not a toll free number). (See ADDRESSES section.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The Current Employment Statistics (CES) program provides current monthly statistics on employment, hours, and earnings, by industry and geography. CES estimates are among the most visible and widely-used Principal Federal Economic Indicators (PFEIs). CES data are also among the timeliest of the PFEIs, with their release each month by the BLS in the Employment Situation, typically on the first Friday of each month. The statistics are fundamental inputs in economic decision processes at all levels of government, private enterprise, and organized labor.

The CES monthly estimates of employment, hours, and earnings are based on a sample of U.S. nonagricultural establishments. Information is derived from approximately 295,000 reports (from a sample of 150,000 employers with State Unemployment Insurance (UI) accounts comprised of 697,000 individual worksites), as of April 2020. Each month, firms report their employment, payroll, and hours on forms identified as the BLS-790. The sample is collected under a probability-based design. Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands collect an additional 8,500 reports.

A list of all form types currently used appears in the table below. Respondents receive variations of the basic collection forms, depending on their industry.

The CES program is a voluntary program under Federal statute. Reporting to the State agencies is voluntary in all but three States (New Mexico, Oregon, and South Carolina), Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. To our knowledge, the States that do have mandatory reporting rarely exercise their authority. The collection form's confidentiality statement cites the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act and mentions the State mandatory reporting authority.

II. Current Action

Office of Management and Budget clearance is being sought for the Report on Current Employment Statistics.

Automated data collection methods are now used for most of the CES sample. Approximately 150,000 reports are received through Electronic Data Interchange. Web data collection accounts for 65,000 reports. Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing is used to collect 65,000. Touchtone Data Entry is used for 6,000 reports.

The balance of the sample is collected through other methods including submission of transcripts, emails, fax, and other special arrangements.

III. Desired Focus of Comments

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is particularly interested in comments that:

• 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.
• 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 submissions of responses.

Title of Collection: Report on Current Employment Statistics.

OMB Number: 1220-0011.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Affected Public: State or local governments; Businesses or other for profit; Non-profit institutions.

Industry	Reports	Minutes per report	Frequency of response	Annual responses	Annual burden hours
A—Mining and Logging	1,091	10	12	13,092	2,182
B—Construction	10,963	10	12	131,556	21,926
C—Manufacturing	9,580	10	12	114,960	19,160
E—Service Providing Industries	189,875	10	12	2,278,500	379,750
G—Public Administration	65,168	6	12	782,016	78,202
S—Education & Health Services	18,771	6	12	225,252	22,525
Total	295,448			3,545,376	523,745

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

Signed at Washington, DC, on July 13, 2020.

Eric P. Molina,

Acting Chief, Division of Management Systems.