E9-19580. 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: Service Annual Survey.

Form Number(s): SA-22T thru SA-813 (81 forms total).

OMB Control Number: 0607-0422.

Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Burden Hours: 271,284.

Number of Respondents: 78,730.

Average Hours Per Response: 3 hours and 27 minutes.

Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau requests an extension with revision of the current OMB approval of the Service Annual Survey (SAS). Today, over 50 percent of all economic activity is accounted for by services that are narrowly defined to exclude retail and wholesale trade. The U.S. Census Bureau currently measures the total output of most of these service industries annually in its Service Annual Survey. This survey currently covers all or some of: Transportation and Warehousing; Information; Finance and Insurance; Real Estate and Rental and Leasing; Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services; Administration and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services; Health Care and Social Assistance; Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation; and Other Services. The survey will expand to cover two new sectors, Utilities and Educational Services, and all industries within the sectors mentioned above.

Data from the SAS are essential to a better understanding and higher quality estimates of economic growth, real output, prices, and productivity for our nation's economy. A broad spectrum of government and private stakeholders use these data in analyzing business and economic sectors; developing statistics on services; forecasting economic growth; and compiling data on productivity, prices and gross domestic product (GDP). In addition, trade and professional organizations use these data to analyze industry trends, benchmark their own statistical programs and develop forecasts. Private businesses use these data to measure market share, analyze business potential and plan investments. Comprehensive, comparative annual data on the services sector are not available from any other source.

Annually, the SAS collects total revenue, total expenses, and general expense detail items. Some sectors also collect revenue detail items that are specific to a particular industry. The availability of these data greatly improve the quality of the intermediate-inputs and value-added estimates in BEA's annual input-output and GDP by industry accounts.

The data produced in the SAS are critical to the accurate measurement of total economic activity. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the primary Federal user, uses the information to develop the national income and product accounts, compile benchmark and annual input-output tables, and compute GDP by industry. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) uses these data as inputs to its Producer Price Indexes and in developing productivity measurements. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) use the data for program planning and development of the National Health Expenditure Accounts. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) uses these data to assess the impact of regulatory policies. International agencies use the data to compare total domestic output to changing international activity. Private industry also uses these data as a tool for marketing analysis.

Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; not-for-profit institutions.

Frequency: Annually.

Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.

Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, sections 182, 224 and 225.

OMB Desk Officer: Brian Harris-Kojetin, [phone].

Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, [phone], Department of Commerce, Room 7845, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at [e-mail]).

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB Desk Officer either by fax [phone]) or e-mail ([e-mail]).

Dated: August 11, 2009.

Glenna Mickelson,

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.