[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 140 (Thursday, July 20, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45111-45112]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-18351]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Bureau of Labor Statistics


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor.

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. The Bureau of Labor Statistics 
(BLS) is soliciting comments concerning the proposed reinstatement of 
the ``National Longitudinal Survey of Women.'' A copy of the proposed 
information collection request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the 
individual listed in the Addresses section of this notice.

[[Page 45112]]


DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
Addresses section of this notice on or before September 18, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Sytrina D. Toon, BLS Clearance Officer, 
Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room 3255, 
2 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC 20212, telephone number 
202-691-7628 (this is not a toll-free number).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sytrina D. Toon, BLS Clearance 
Officer, telephone number 202-691-7628. (See Addresses section.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:   

I. Background

    The National Longitudinal Survey of Women (NLSW) has been conducted 
since the late 1960s. Historically, the NLSW was collected as two 
surveys, the Survey of Work Experience for Mature Women (which includes 
women born from April 2, 1923 to April 1, 1937) and the Survey of Work 
Experience for Young Women (which includes women born in the years 1944 
to 1954). In 1995, the Bureau of the Census, which collects the data 
for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, combined the mature and young 
women's cohorts into a single survey, a change that has improved the 
efficiency of survey operations.
    The data collected in the NLSW contribute to the knowledge about 
opportunities and services for women who are in the labor force, want 
to re-enter the labor force, or choose not to participate in the labor 
force. Survey data also contribute to the knowledge about women's 
ability to succeed in the job market and how their levels of success 
relate to educational attainment, vocational training, prior 
occupational experiences, general and job-specific experiences, and 
retirement decisions.
    Research based on the NLSW contributes to the formation of national 
policy in the areas of education, training and employment programs, 
unemployment compensation, and retirement income from pensions and 
Social Security. In addition, members of the academic community publish 
articles and reports based on NLSW data for the Department of Labor 
(DOL) and other funding agencies. The DOL uses the measurement of 
changes in the labor market to design programs that would ease 
employment and unemployment problems. The survey design provides data 
gathered over time to form the only data set that contains this type of 
information for this important population group. Without the collection 
of these data, an accurate longitudinal data set could not be provided 
to researchers and policymakers, and the DOL could not perform its 
policy- and report-making activities, as described above.

II. Desired Focus of Comments

    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.

III. Current Action

    The 2001 NLSW will document work experience, labor force 
attachment, participation in educational or training programs, 
financial status, health, and health insurance coverage. The survey 
will be used to identify any significant trends in women's work 
experience as a whole. The survey will continue to obtain detailed 
information on the work history and pension coverage of respondents' 
husbands. In addition, the survey will obtain information on 
intergenerational transfers of time and money between respondents and 
their parents or their spouses' parents.
    As in previous administrations of the NLSW, 10 percent of the 
sample in 2001 will be asked to participate in a brief follow-up 
interview that will last approximately 5 minutes. This reinterview is a 
quality-control tool, in which managers at the Census Bureau ask 
respondents a few questions to verify that an interview took place.
    Type of Review: Reinstatement, with change, of a previously 
approved collection for which approval has expired.
    Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    Title: National Longitudinal Survey of Women.
    OMB Number: 1220-0110.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Total Respondents: 7,575.
    Frequency: Biennially.
    Total Responses: 7,575.
    Average Time Per Response: 60 minutes for pretest and main 
fielding; 5 minutes for reinterview.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 6,976.

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                                                                                                     Estimated
             Form                   Total          Frequency          Total        Average time    total burden
                                 respondemts                        responses      per response     (in hours)
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Pretest......................              30  Biennially......              30  60 minutes.....              30
Main Fielding................           6,859  Biennially......           6,859  60 minutes.....           6,889
Reinterview..................             686  Biennially......             686  5 minutes......              57
    Totals...................           7,575    /////////.....           7,575  60 minutes.....          6,976
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An allowance of 30 extra hours has been added to the burden estimate for the main fielding to account for the
  possibility of a complete pretest failure, which would necessitate interviewing pretest respondents during the
  main fielding period.

    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 14th day of July 2000.
Karen A. Krein,
Acting Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor 
Statistics.
[FR Doc. 00-18351 Filed 7-19-00; 8:45 am]
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