[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 135 (Tuesday, July 15, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41849-41850]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-17821]



[[Page 41849]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Bureau of Labor Statistics


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 
with 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 Consumer Expenditure Surveys: 
The Quarterly Interview and the Diary.'' 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 
Addresses section below on or before September 15, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Amy A. Hobby, BLS Clearance Officer, 
Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room 4080, 
2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Washington, DC 20212, telephone number 
202-691-7628. (This is not a toll free number.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy A. Hobby, BLS Clearance Officer, 
telephone number 202-691-7628. (See ADDRESSES section.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Consumer Expenditure (CE) Surveys collect data on consumer 
expenditures, demographic information, and related data needed by the 
Consumer Price Index (CPI) and other public and private data users. The 
continuing surveys provide a constant measurement of changes in 
consumer expenditure patterns for economic analysis and to obtain data 
for future CPI revisions. The CE Surveys have been ongoing since 1979.
    The data from the CE Surveys are used (1) for CPI revisions, (2) to 
provide a continuous flow of data on income and expenditure patterns 
for use in economic analysis and policy formulation, and (3) to provide 
a flexible consumer survey vehicle that is available for use by other 
Federal Government agencies. Public and private users of price 
statistics, including Congress and the economic policymaking agencies 
of the Executive branch, rely on data collected in the CPI in their 
day-to-day activities. Hence, data users and policymakers widely accept 
the need to improve the process used for revising the CPI. If the CE 
Surveys were not conducted on a continuing basis, current information 
necessary for more timely, as well as more accurate, updating of the 
CPI would not be available. In addition, data would not be available to 
respond to the continuing demand from the public and private sectors 
for current information on consumer spending.
    In the Quarterly Interview Survey, each consumer unit (CU) in the 
sample is interviewed every three months over five calendar quarters. 
The sample for each quarter is divided into three panels, with CUs 
being interviewed every three months in the same panel of every 
quarter. The Quarterly Interview Survey is designed to collect data on 
the types of expenditures that respondents can be expected to recall 
for a period of three months or longer. In general the expenses 
reported in the Interview Survey are either relatively large, such as 
property, automobiles, or major appliances, or are expenses which occur 
on a fairly regular basis, such as rent, utility bills, or insurance 
premiums.
    The Diary (or recordkeeping) Survey is completed at home by the 
respondent family for two consecutive one-week periods. The primary 
objective of the Diary Survey is to obtain expenditure data on small, 
frequently purchased items which normally are difficult to recall over 
longer periods of time.

II. Desired Focus of Comments

    The Bureau of Labor Statistics is particularly interested in 
comments that:
    [sbull] 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;
    [sbull] 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;
    [sbull] Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    [sbull] 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 BLS and the Census Bureau have converted the paper and pencil 
CE Diary Household Characteristics Questionnaire to a computer assisted 
personal interview (CAPI) instrument. The CE Diary Household 
Characteristics CAPI instrument will be implemented in January 2004.
    Several changes were made in the CAPI version of the CE Diary 
Household Characteristics Questionnaire. The implementation of CAPI 
allowed for several enhancements of the survey.
    The race and ethnicity questions have been fully implemented in the 
Diary CAPI in accordance with the Office of Management and Budget's 
(OMB) 1997 published ``Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and 
Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity.'' The placement and 
exact wording of these questions were based on consultations with the 
interagency group formed to study the implementation of these 
standards, in an effort to maintain comparability with other household 
surveys collecting this information. The race and ethnicity questions 
were fully implemented in the CE Quarterly Interview CAPI Survey in 
April 2003.
    For Diary 2004, as part of the implementation of CAPI, other 
changes will be made. The Diary CAPI instrument will have five 
sections. The first four sections are similar to the current CE-802 
with some changes. The fifth section is a questionnaire assessment that 
includes questions for the respondent about the task of filling out the 
diaries and for the field representative about the case in general.
    The changes for the Diary Household Characteristics Questionnaire 
include the deletion of some questions in Section 2, the reduction of 
the number of recall questions from 11 to 4 in Section 3, and the 
implementation of brackets or income categories in Section 4. The BLS 
implemented the brackets in the income sections of the Quarterly 
Interview Survey in 2001.
    Minor changes will also be made to the CE Quarterly Interview CAPI 
Instrument. ``Hobbies'' will be changed to ``Arts and Crafts'' to more 
clearly

[[Page 41850]]

indicate what types of expenditures should be reported. The types of 
expenditures collected in Section 20B, Haircutting will be expanded 
also for clarification. Added to this question will be wording 
regarding manicures and other salon services. For utilities, the 
quantity consumed and the unit of measure questions will be deleted. 
And finally, money put into educational savings accounts will be 
collected separately in its own question in Section 22G.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    Title: The Consumer Expenditure Surveys: The Quarterly Interview 
and the Diary.
    OMB Number: 1220-0050.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                     Estimated
              Form                     Total         Frequency         Total       Average time    total burden
                                    respondents                      responses     per response        hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CE Quarterly Interview CAPI                9,629               4          38,516              90          57,774
 Instrument.....................
Quarterly Interview Reinterview.           2,118               1           2,118              15             530
CE Diary: CE-802 Household                 7,745               3          23,235              25           9,681
 Questionnaire..................
CE Diary: CE-801, Record of Your           7,745               2          15,490             105          27,108
 Daily Expenses.................
CE Diary Reinterview CE-880 CE-            1,293               1           1,293              12             259
 880(N).........................
                                 -----------------
    Totals......................          17,374  ..............          80,652  ..............         95,352
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note: Reinterview respondents are a subset of the original number of respondents for each survey.
  Therefore, they are not counted again in the totals. Also, for the Diary, the ``Record of Your Daily
  Expenses'' respondents are the same as the ``Household Questionnaire'' respondents.

    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    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 3rd day of July, 2003.
Cathy Kazanowski,
Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
[FR Doc. 03-17821 Filed 7-14-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P