[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 168 (Wednesday, August 30, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Page 51568]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-14355]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    DOC will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
clearance the following proposal for collection of information under 
the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: Service Annual Survey.
    Form Number(s): Too numerous to list here (77 unique forms).
    Agency Approval Number: 0607-0422.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Burden: 208,941 hours.
    Number of Respondents: 57,652.
    Avg. Hours per Response: 3 hours and 37 minutes.
    Needs and Uses: Today, over 50 percent of all economic activity is 
accounted for by services that are narrowly defined to exclude retail 
and wholesale trade. The U.S. Census Bureau currently measures the 
total output of most of these service industries annually in its 
Service Annual Survey (SAS). This survey covers all or some of the 
following nine sectors: Transportation and Warehousing; Information; 
Finance and Insurance; Real Estate and Rental and Leasing; 
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services; Administration and 
Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services; Health Care and 
Social Assistance; Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation; and Other 
Services.
    Data from the SAS are essential to a better understanding and 
higher quality estimates of economic growth, real output, prices, and 
productivity for our nation's economy. A broad spectrum of government 
and private stakeholders use these data in analyzing business and 
economic sectors; developing statistics on services; forecasting 
economic growth; and compiling data on productivity, prices and gross 
domestic product (GDP). In addition, trade and professional 
organizations use these data to analyze industry trends, benchmark 
their own statistical programs and develop forecasts. Private 
businesses use these data to measure market share, analyze business 
potential and plan investments. Comprehensive, comparative annual data 
on the services sector are not available from any other source.
    In addition to the general expense detail items that the SAS 
collects annually, the SAS will expand to collect additional detailed 
expense items in the 2007 survey year to replace the Business Expenses 
Survey (BES) for the industries that are currently covered by the SAS. 
In the 2008 survey year, the SAS will collect the same expense detail 
items as were collected in the 2006 survey year.
    As is done every year before the Economic Census, the SAS will 
collect sales tax data in the 2006 survey year.
    In order to reduce the number of the SAS forms, the SAS will 
combine generic forms at the sector level and will no longer have 
different forms for company level reporting units and Employer 
Identification Number (EIN) reporting units or taxable and tax-exempt 
firms. These changes will decrease the number of SAS forms from 272 to 
77 unique forms.
    The availability of these data will greatly improve the quality of 
the intermediate-inputs and value-added estimates in BEA's annual 
input-output and GDP by industry accounts.
    The data produced in the SAS are critical to the accurate 
measurement of total economic activity.
    The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the primary Federal user, 
uses the information to develop the national income and product 
accounts, compile benchmark and annual input-output tables, and compute 
GDP by industry. Agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation 
(DOT) use the data for policy development and program management and 
evaluation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) uses these data as 
inputs to its Producer Price Indexes and in developing productivity 
measurements. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) use 
the data for program planning and development of the National Health 
Expenditure Accounts. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) uses 
these data to assess the impact of regulatory policies. International 
agencies use the data to compare total domestic output to changing 
international activity. Private industry also uses these data as a tool 
for marketing analysis.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit, Not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Sections 182, 224, and 225.
    OMB Desk Officer: Susan Schechter, (202) 395-5103.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Diana Hynek, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0266, Department of Commerce, room 6625, 14th and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 
[email protected]).
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to Susan Schechter, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-395-7245) or e-
mail ([email protected]).

    Dated: August 24, 2006.
Madeleine Clayton,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
 [FR Doc. E6-14355 Filed 8-29-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P