[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 243 (Tuesday, December 17, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66253-66254]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-31981]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of the Census


National Employers Survey; Proposed Agency Information Collection 
Activity; Comment Request

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort 
to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on 
proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before February 18, 
1997.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to Linda Engelmeier, Acting 
Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 
5327, 14th and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
copies of the information collection instrument(s) and instructions 
should be directed to Steven Rudolph, Bureau of the Census, Department 
of Commerce, EPCD-FB3, Washington, DC 20233, (301) 457-2594 or (301) 
457-4433 (fax).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    In the Fall of 1994, the Census Bureau conducted the National 
Employers Survey (NES) for the National Center on the Employment 
Quality of the Workforce (EQW), a non-profit research group. The NES 
collected data for a regression-based econometric study of how 
employment, hiring, training, investment, and productivity relate to 
each other. We surveyed a representative panel of just over 3,000 
domestic business establishments with 20 or more employees. In the 
Spring of 1995, we conducted the NES-II, a follow-up survey of the 
business establishments that completed the interviews in the original 
survey. These surveys were the first attempts to measure these factors. 
The EQW began issuing findings from the study in February 1995 and the 
results generated great interest from all levels. Subsequently, they 
released several studies and they are performing additional analyses 
which will generate further studies.
    (The EQW's continued work on how employment, hiring, training, 
investment, and productivity relate to each other is now being 
sponsored by the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) and 
the new National Center for Postsecondary Improvement (NCPI). CPRE is 
located at the University of Pennsylvania and the NCPI is a joint 
endeavor of Stanford University, the University of Pennsylvania, and 
the University of Michigan.)

[[Page 66254]]

    Major findings included information on what attributes firms looked 
for when hiring employees. They found that attitude and communications 
skills were highly valued by employers while grades and teachers' 
recommendations were not. Their analysis indicates that investment in 
human capital (training) had at least as big a return, (in many groups, 
including services, a bigger return) on investment in physical capital. 
They also were able to estimate production functions, using regression-
based techniques, from the data sets. These findings provide a baseline 
for employers, public and private, for formulating and gauging human 
resources decisions and policies in a manner that will provide the most 
effective return on productivity in the workplace.
    The NES-3 is designed to provide more precise measurements of the 
relationship between employers and the providers of educational and 
training services. It will ask questions that will identify the 
apparent disconnect between schools and employers the previous surveys 
found.
    In all, we plan to complete 6,500 interviews with business 
establishments throughout the United States. In order to reduce burden 
and increase information, the NES-3 will exclude those with under 20 
employees as this group accounts for a large number of establishments 
(with a relatively small number of employees) that generally do little 
training and do not have complex hiring and workplace-related 
practices. If these smaller establishments were included in the panel, 
it would have increased the number of businesses substantially while 
providing little information. The panel oversamples the large 
establishments and those in manufacturing as these units have programs 
and policies the survey is measuring.
    The NES-3 panel has three components:

--A national sample of 4,000 that will produce about 3,000 completed 
observations.
--A sample of five States (California, Kentucky, Michigan, Maryland and 
Pennsylvania) of about 3,300 that will produce 2,500 completed 
interview that will include a few questions on State-specific programs 
to explain their effect and to relate their impact to the Nation as a 
whole.
--Those business establishments that completed the first two NES 
surveys--about 1,300--that will produce about 1,000 completed 
interviews to investigate stability and dynamics.

    In addition to the Department of Education, other governmental 
agencies have shown a strong interest. These include the General 
Accounting Office and the Department of Labor. Education, in 
particular, has a direct interest in and need for some of the 
information from the proposed survey. They have requested that the 
survey include questions to collect information to measure two 
indicators (job turnover and remedial education) that will be used by 
the Department of Education to assess the progress and results from the 
implementation of the School-To-Work Act.

II. Method of Collection

    We will continue to use Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing 
(CATI) to collect the information from the respondents in the NES-3, as 
it proved very efficient and effective. CATI minimizes improper 
responses as the interviewers are well trained and the data can be 
edited and corrected while the respondent is on the phone. In this 
survey, CATI should also minimize response time by automatically 
skipping unnecessary questions based on prior responses or specific 
characteristics and by ensuring that the proper person or office 
answers the questions. We have designed the interview to be as 
conversational as possible. Most of the questions request information 
on characteristics, programs and policies. Quantitative questions are 
very broad and we encourage reasonable estimates as it keeps the flow 
of information moving. On the whole, respondents of the previous 
surveys found the interview to be fast paced and even enjoyable. 
Response rates for these voluntary survey were quite good--around 75 
percent. As with the original surveys we will provide all respondents 
with a copy of the findings.
    We will send an advance letter to 8,600 businesses in the panel, 
giving a basic overview of the survey. We estimate that it will take 
the respondent ten minutes to read the letter. It will not ask them to 
answer any questions in advance of the interview. As the survey 
requests only general information and accepts estimates, we expect the 
respondent would require very minimal time to prepare for the 
interview. Based on our experience with the previous surveys, the NES-3 
interview should require an average of thirty minutes to complete.

III. Data

    OMB Number: 0607-0787.
    Form Number: NES-3.
    Type of Review: Regular.
    Affected Public: Businesses with 20 or more employees.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 8,600 (6,500 interviewed cases and 
2,100 other cases).
    Estimated Time Per Response: 40 minutes (letter and interview) for 
interviewed cases, 10 minutes (letter only) for other cases.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 4,683.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost: $279,000.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Sections 8 and 9.

IV. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information 
collection; they also will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: December 11, 1996.
Linda Engelmeier,
Acting Departmental Forms Clearance Officer, Office of Management and 
Organization.
[FR Doc. 96-31981 Filed 12-16-96; 8:45 am]
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