[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 8 (Friday, January 11, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2446-2447]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-00390]


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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 
proposed extension of the ``Well-being Supplement to the American Time 
Use Survey.'' 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 March 12, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Amelia Vogel, 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: Amelia Vogel, BLS Clearance Officer, 
at 202-691-7628 (this is not a toll free number). (See Addresses 
section.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The American Time Use Survey (ATUS) is the Nation's first federally 
administered, continuous survey on time use in the United States. It 
measures, for example, time spent with children, working, sleeping, or 
doing leisure activities. In the United States, several existing 
Federal surveys collect income and wage data for individuals and 
families, and analysts often use such measures of material prosperity 
as proxies for quality of life. Time-use data substantially augment 
these quality-of-life measures. The data also can be used in 
conjunction with wage data to evaluate the contribution of non-market 
work to national economies. This enables comparisons of production 
between nations that have different mixes of market and non-market 
activities.
    The ATUS is used to develop nationally representative estimates of 
how people spend their time. This is done by collecting a time diary 
about the activities survey respondents did over a 24-hour period 
``yesterday,'' from 4 a.m. on the day before the interview until 4 a.m. 
on the day of the interview. In the one-time interview, respondents 
also report who was with them during the activities, where they were, 
how long each activity lasted, and if they were paid. All of this 
information has numerous practical applications for sociologists, 
economists, educators, government policymakers, businesspersons, health 
researchers, and others.
    The Well-being Module, a supplement to the ATUS, provides an 
additional dimension to data on time use by providing information about 
how Americans experience their time. Specifically, the Module collects 
information about how happy, tired, sad, and stressed individuals were 
yesterday, and the degree to which they felt pain, for three activities 
randomly selected from the time diary. The Well-being Module also 
collects data on whether people were interacting with anyone while 
doing the selected activities and how meaningful the activities were to 
them. Some general health questions, a question about overall life 
satisfaction, and a question about respondents' overall affective 
experience yesterday also are asked.
    Information collected in the Well-being Module will be published as 
a public data set to facilitate research on numerous topics, such as: 
How people experience time spent in different activities, times of 
social interaction, and pain; the relationship between health and time 
use; and the relationship between evaluative and experienced well-
being. The Well-being Module supports the mission of the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics to provide relevant information on economic and social 
issues by providing a richer understanding of Americans' use of time 
and workers' affective experiences. For example, the data facilitate 
research on how workers experience pain on and off the job and whether 
this experience varies by occupation.
    The data also closely support the mission of the Module's sponsor, 
the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of 
Health, to improve the health and well-being of older Americans. For 
example, data from the Well-being Module facilitate research on the 
relationship between well-being and health for persons at different 
stages in life and with varying individual characteristics. The data 
also can be used to examine the experience of pain and aging.

II. Current Action

    Office of Management and Budget clearance is being sought to extend 
the collection of the ATUS Well-being Module--a supplement to the 
ATUS--for an additional six months, through

[[Page 2447]]

December 2013. The proposed extension of the Well-being Module will 
facilitate more robust and in-depth analysis on key topics of interest 
to the supplement's sponsor: The relationship between evaluative and 
experienced well-being and the health and well-being of eldercare 
providers. These topics only can be studied with the 2012 and later 
data because questions on eldercare and life evaluation were not a part 
of the ATUS and Well-being Module when the first wave was collected in 
2010.
    A question on life satisfaction and another that measures 
respondents' overall emotional experience yesterday were added to the 
second wave of the Well-being Module which began in January 2012. 
Additionally, questions to identify eldercare and eldercare activities 
in the time diary were added to the main ATUS in 2011. The well-being 
of eldercare providers is of interest to the NIA and policy makers 
because the elderly population is growing, along with a reliance on 
informal care providers to assist them. An extension of the collection 
period for the Well-being Module would provide researchers with two 
full years of supplementary data for the full Well-being questionnaire 
and corresponding data on eldercare from the ATUS. Additional data also 
would facilitate analysis of the well-being of other subpopulations, 
beyond eldercare providers.

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: Extension without change of a currently approved 
collection.
    Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    Title: Well-being Supplement to the American Time Use Survey.
    OMB Number: 1220-0185.
    Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Total Respondents: 6,400.
    Frequency: One time.
    Total Responses: 6,400.
    Average Time per Response: 5 minutes.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 533 hours.
    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 7th day of January 2013.
Eric Molina,
Acting Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor 
Statistics.
[FR Doc. 2013-00390 Filed 1-10-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P