[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 17, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7912-7913]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-3876]


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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 ``Hours at Work Survey.''
    A copy of the proposed information collection request (ICR) can be 
obtained by contacting the individual listed below in the address 
section of this notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
addresses section below on or before April 19, 1999.
    The Bureau of Labor Statistics is particularly interested in 
comments with:
     Evaulate 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;
     Evaulate 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, NE Washington, DC 20212. Ms. Kurz can be 
reached on 202-606-7628 (this is not a toll free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    It has been long recognized by experts in the field of productivity 
measurement and analysis that the appropriate measure of labor input 
for productivity statistics is hours worked rather than hours paid. The 
importance of this distinction was further emphasized by 
recommendations of the Panel to Review Productivity Statistics of the 
National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences. In the mid-
1970s, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) established a task force to 
review existing programs and surveys and to determine the most 
efficient procedure for measuring hours worked. Based on the findings 
and recommendations of that task force, BLS developed the Hours at Work 
Survey (HWS) that has provided a unique data series for assessing 
productivity since 1982.
    The HWS collects data for production and non-supervisory worker for 
each of the major industrial sectors of the nonagricultural economy on 
a yearly basis. Data are collected for the number of hours worked and 
hours paid in order to construct ratios of hours worked and hours paid, 
which then are used to convert hours paid data from the Current 
Employment Statistics (CES) program to hours at work, for use in the 
development of productivity statistics. Hours at work exclude paid 
leave (holidays, vacations, sick and personal or administrative leave 
such as personal business, funeral leave, and jury duty) while hours 
paid do not. Productivity is better measured as the ratio of output to 
hours spent in production. The collection of information on hours at 
work must be done annually because of the cyclical sensitivity of 
productivity measures.

II. Current Actions

    Ratios of hours at work to hours paid are needed to measure labor 
input for productivity statistics. The ratios of hours at work to hours 
paid provided by this survey are used to convert hours paid, which are 
based on data from the CES Program, to hours at work. The resulting 
hours at work measures then are incorporated into the BLS labor and 
multifactor productivity statistics published annually and quarterly.
    Based on results of a 1992 Response Analysis Survey (RAS), BLS 
identified some areas of concern that led to changes in wording, 
content, and format of instructions, and a new HWS questionnaire 
layout. The redesigned HWS is intended to improve the quality of the 
data in the survey by reducing errors due to questionnaires or from 
respondents and interviewers; to increase the proportion of responses 
obtained by mail; and to improve Computer Assisted Telephone 
Interviewing (CATI) follow-up data collection so that CATI data are 
more consistent with data obtained by mail.
    The redesigned HWS questionnaire has undergone some changes to 
reduce the survey's response burden. HWS data now are requested only 
annually. The questionnaire is respondent-friendly with instructions 
close to the questions, an uncluttered appearance, questions that 
better fit respondent data sources, and questions that result in 
higher-quality data.
    BLS is adding a RAS to the HWS to evaluate the quality of the data 
obtained from the survey, including the accuracy of the responses 
provided and the extent to which respondents have the requested 
information readily available.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    Title: Hours at Work Survey.
    OMB Number: 1220-0076.
    Affected Public: Business and other for profit.

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                                                                                                                                             Estimated
                  Form                    Total number              Frequency              Total annual    Average minutes per response    total annual
                                         of respondents                                      responses                                     burden hours
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BLS 2000N..............................           2,500  Annually.......................           2,500  1 Hour........................           2,500
BLS 2000P..............................           3,500  Annually.......................           3,500  1 Hour........................           3,500
RAS....................................            1000  One Time.......................           1,000  15 min........................             250
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      Totals...........................           6,000  ...............................           7,000  ..............................           6,250
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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.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 11th day of February 1999.
W. Stuart Rust, Jr.,
Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
[FR Doc. 99-3876 Filed 2-16-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-M