[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 36 (Tuesday, February 24, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9266-9267]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-4670]



[[Page 9266]]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Bureau of Labor Statistics


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

ACTION: Notice.

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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 
an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of 
information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program helps to ensure that 
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. Currently, the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments concerning the proposed 
revision of the ``National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 97 (NLSY97).'' 
A copy of the proposed information collection request (ICR) 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 
addressee section below on or before April 27, 1998. The Bureau of 
Labor Statistics is particularly interested in comments which:
     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; and
     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.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Karin G. Kurz, BLS Clearance Officer, 
Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room 3255, 
2 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20212. Ms. Kurz can be 
reached on 202-606-7628 (this is not a toll free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Part of the mission of the Department of Labor (DOL) is to promote 
the development of the U.S. labor force and the efficiency of the U.S. 
labor market. BLS contributes to this mission by gathering information 
about the labor force and labor market and disseminating it to policy 
makers and the public so that participants in those markets can make 
more informed and, thus, more efficient choices.
    The collection of the NLSY97 data will aid in the understanding of 
labor market outcomes faced by individuals in the early stages of 
career and family development and represents an important means of 
fulfilling BLS responsibilities.

II. Current Actions

    This proposed collection covers the next three waves of the NLSY97 
cohort. This will cover waves two through four of a longitudinal study 
of youths who were 12 through 16 years old on December 31, 1996. DOL 
will interview these youths on a yearly basis to study how young people 
make the transition from full-time schooling to the establishment of 
their families and careers. The longitudinal focus of this survey 
requires the collection of information about the same individuals over 
many years in order to trace their education, training, work 
experience, fertility, income and program participation. Recognizing 
the crucial role of schools in training the next generation of workers, 
we plan to collect data on which schools these youths attend to measure 
the characteristics of those schools and relate them to the cognitive 
development of the respondents. In addition we will use existing data 
resources about these schools and measure the youth's academic 
aptitudes both directly and by collecting scores on other standardized 
tests the youth may have taken.
    A major purpose of the data collection is to determine the 
strengths and weaknesses of the process for guiding the nation's youth 
from school to work. The transition from school to work, and the 
process of establishing a more permanent career, takes several years 
and proceeds at a different pace for different people. Accordingly, 
these data will help us understand how different youths negotiate the 
transition and which youths experience less favorable outcomes for the 
work transition. This study will help us identify the antecedents and 
causes for youths experiencing difficulties making the school to work 
transition. By comparing these data to comparable data from previous 
cohorts, we will be able to identify and understand some of the 
dynamics of the labor market and whether and how the experiences of 
this cohort of young people differs from those of earlier cohorts.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    Title: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 97 (NLSY97).
    OMB Number: 1220-0157.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households and not-for-profit 
institutions (secondary schools).

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                                                                                                     Estimated  
             Form                   Total          Frequency          Total        Average time    total burden 
                                 respondents                        responses      per response       (hours)   
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Youth........................           9,100  Annually........           9,100  1 hour.........           9,100
Transcript request (letter)..           1,800  Annually........           1,800  30 minutes.....             900
Validation reinterview.......           1,300  Annually........           1,300  6 minutes......             130
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    Totals...................          10,900  ................          12,200  ...............          10,130
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    Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0.
    Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $0.
    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.


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    Signed at Washington, DC, this 19th day of February, 1998.
W. Stuart Rust, Jr.,
Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
[FR Doc. 98-4670 Filed 2-23-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-M