[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 183 (Wednesday, September 22, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57817-57819]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-23663]


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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 
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. The 
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments concerning the 
revision of the ``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 of this notice on or before November 22, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Nora Kincaid, BLS Clearance Officer, 
Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room 4080, 
2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Washington, DC 20212. Written comments 
also may be transmitted by fax to 202-691-5111 (this is not a toll free 
number).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nora Kincaid, BLS Clearance Officer, 
at 202-691-7628 (this is not a toll free number). (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

[[Page 57818]]

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. Current Action

    Office of Management and Budget clearance is being sought for the 
Consumer Expenditure Surveys: The Quarterly Interview and the Diary.
    The continuing CE Surveys provide a constant measurement of changes 
in consumer expenditure patterns for economic analysis and obtain data 
for future CPI revisions.
    The Consumer Expenditure Quarterly Interview Survey has recently 
undergone a thorough review. The proposed changes from this review fall 
into two major categories: Streamlining the current questions in 
several sections and updating several questions and sections to reflect 
the current marketplace. In the streamlining category, the BLS deleted 
or collapsed obsolete questions. For example, previously clothing 
purchases were asked separately for those over and under two years old. 
These questions were combined into one section for all clothing 
purchases. Sewing products were moved to `Miscellaneous Expenditures' 
after `arts and crafts.'
    To keep the survey current and to fulfill the requirements of the 
Consumer Price Index (CPI), question wording changed and new items were 
added. For example, additional questions were added to collect more 
detailed information on whether rental payments include services such 
as cable, Internet, or household furnishings; and to determine whether 
business properties are residential or commercial. Changes were made to 
keep the survey current with products and services available in the 
marketplace and to provide better data for analytical purposes such as 
the addition of electronic book readers.
    Minor changes to the Diary CAPI instrument are proposed for 2011. 
The changes include minor updates to the race and origin questions 
asked of each Consumer Unit member.
    In addition, the BLS proposes the addition of a ``research 
section'' to the CEQ CAPI instrument. This section will be used to 
gather information from respondents on a range of topics being studied. 
The intent is that any particular set of questions in this section will 
not be asked for more than one year. Initially this section will be 
used to collect outlet data for five broad categories of expenditures: 
Electronics, music, clothing, restaurant food, and groceries as well as 
one question on whether or not the household has a working landline 
phone. These data are being collected by CE on behalf of the CPI to aid 
in their research into bias in the Telephone Point of Purchase Survey 
(TPOPS), given that the TPOPS sample consists of only landline 
telephone numbers. Respondents will be asked a maximum of twelve 
questions. These questions will be asked for all interviews for one 
calendar quarter of data collection. This particular test is not 
intended to determine the feasibility of collecting outlet data in the 
CE Interview survey on a long term basis.
    A full list of the proposed changes to the Quarterly Interview 
Survey and Diary Survey are available upon request.
    In addition to the TPOPS test, the Consumer Expenditure program is 
planning several tests over the next several years in an effort to 
improve the CE surveys in the areas of both data quality and respondent 
burden.

III. Desired Focus of Comments

    The Bureau of Labor Statistics is particularly interested in 
comments that:
     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.
     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.
    Type of Review: Revision.
    Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    Title: The Consumer Expenditure Surveys: The Quarterly Interview 
and the Diary.
    OMB Number: 1220-0050.
    Affected Public: Individuals or Households.

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                                                                                   Average time
              Form                     Total         Frequency         Total       per response      Estimated
                                    respondents                      responses       (minutes)     total burden
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CEQ--Interview..................           8,825               4          35,300              60          35,300
CEQ--Reinterview................           4,400               1            4400              10             733
CED--Diary (record-keeping).....           7,050               2          14,100             105          24,675
CED--Diary (Interview)..........           7,050               3          21,150              25           8,813
CED--Diary (Reinterview)........           1,400               1           1,400              10             233
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    Totals......................  ..............  ..............          76,350  ..............          69,754
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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 14th day of September 2010.
Kimberley Hill,
Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
[FR Doc. 2010-23663 Filed 9-21-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P