2023-18232. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Consumer Price Index Commodities and Services Survey

ACTION:

Notice of availability; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)-sponsored 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 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES:

The OMB will consider all written comments that the agency receives on or before September 25, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function.

Comments are invited on: (1) whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Department, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimates of the burden and cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Nicole Bouchet by telephone at 202–693–0213, or by email at [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services. Each month, BLS data collectors called economic assistants, visit or call thousands of retail stores, service establishments, rental units, and doctors' offices, all over the United States to obtain information on the prices of the thousands of items used to track and measure price changes in the CPI. The collection of price data from retail establishments is essential for the timely and accurate calculation of the commodities and services component of the CPI. The CPI is then widely used as a measure of inflation, indicator of the effectiveness of government economic policy, deflator for other economic series, and as a means of adjusting dollar values. For additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related notice published in the Federal Register on April 3, 2023 (88 FRN 19678).

This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and the public is generally not required to respond to an information collection, unless the OMB approves it and displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information that does not display a valid OMB Control Number. See5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.

Agency: DOL–BLS.

Title of Collection: Consumer Price Index Commodities and Services Survey.

OMB Control Number: 1220–0039.

Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profits; Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local and Tribal Governments.

Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 46,305.

Total Estimated Number of Responses: 323,281.

Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 113,840 hours.

Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $0.

(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D))

Nicole Bouchet,

Acting Departmental Clearance Officer.