[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 54 (Thursday, March 20, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15612-15614]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-06130]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Comment Request for Information Collection for OMB 1205-0452, ETA 
9047 Reemployment of Unemployment Insurance (UI) Benefit Recipients 
Report, Extension Without Revision

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (Department), as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a 
preclearance consultation program to provide the public and Federal 
agencies with an opportunity to comment on

[[Page 15613]]

proposed and/or continuing collections of information in accordance 
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. 
This program helps 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, ETA is soliciting comments concerning the proposed 
extension for collection of data on the ETA 9047 Reemployment of UI 
Benefit Recipients report (current expiration date is September 30, 
2014).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
addresses section below on or before May 19, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Valerie Rodall, Office of 
Unemployment Insurance, Employment and Training Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor, Room S-4519, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20210. Telephone number: 202-693-3194 (this is not a 
toll-free number). Individuals with hearing or speech impairments may 
access the telephone number above via TTY by calling the toll-free 
Federal Information Relay Service at 1-877-889-5627 (TTY/TDD). Email: 
[email protected]. A copy of the proposed information collection 
request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the person listed above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Required by Congress under the Government Performance and Results 
Act of 1993 (GPRA), the Department's Strategic Plan is an integral part 
of the budget process. Among the purposes of the GPRA are to improve 
Federal program effectiveness and public accountability by focusing on 
program results, service quality, and customer satisfaction.
    Outcome Goal 1.3 in the Department's fiscal year (FY) 2011-2016 
Strategic Plan--help workers who are in low-wage jobs or out of the 
labor market find a path into middle-class jobs--focuses on improving 
the operational performance and effectiveness of the Federal/state UI 
program. This goal is supported in part by the performance measure:
    Percent of UI claimants reemployed by the end of the first quarter 
after the quarter in which they received their first payment.
    ETA collects the data to measure the facilitation of reemployment 
of UI benefit recipients through the ETA 9047 report. OMB approved the 
Department's request to begin collecting UI reemployment data through 
the ETA 9047 report on July 26, 2005. This data collection was renewed 
in 2011 through September 30, 2014.
    ETA has also included UI reemployment as a performance measure for 
UI Performs, the Department's performance management system for the UI 
program. Per UI Program Letter (UIPL) No. 17-08 (May 14, 2008), 
Acceptable Levels of Performance (ALP)--the minimum performance 
criteria for UI Performs Core Measures--are set annually for each 
state. The ALPs take into account the state's total unemployment rate 
and the percentage of UI claimants who are exempt from active work 
search or Employment Service (ES) registration requirements because 
they are job-attached. Analyses of the data indicate that UI 
reemployment is strongly related to these two factors.

Data Collection

    Each calendar quarter, states report on the ETA 9047 report 
separate counts for individuals receiving their first UI payments who 
are exempt from active work search or ES registration requirements, in 
most cases because they are job-attached with definite recall dates, 
and those not exempt from active work search or ES registration 
requirements.
    States also report on the ETA 9047 report the number of those first 
payment recipients for whom intrastate or out-of-state employers 
reported wages in the subsequent quarter. States obtain these counts by 
crossmatching the Social Security Numbers (SSNs) of claimants who 
received UI first payments with the UI wage records for the subsequent 
calendar quarter. ETA issued instructions on obtaining out-of-state 
reemployment data through matching the SSNs of UI first payment 
recipients with UI wage records in the National Directory of New Hires 
in UIPL No. 1-06, Change 1 (August 2, 2006).

UI Reemployment GPRA and UI Performs Measures

    The UI reemployment GPRA and UI Performs measures are defined as 
the percentage of all UI claimants receiving a first payment in a 
calendar quarter who were paid wages in the following calendar quarter, 
based on state UI wage records.
    ETA believes that this measure encourages the state agencies that 
administer UI--which share responsibility with all Workforce Investment 
partners in facilitating the reemployment of UI beneficiaries--to be 
innovative in the steps they take to facilitate these individuals' 
reemployment.
    The following table summarizes GPRA targets and performance for the 
UI reemployment measure.

                                          GPRA Targets and Performance
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        FY 2012     FY 2012     FY 2013     FY 2013     FY 2014
                 Performance measure                    target      actual      target      actual      target
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Facilitate Reemployment:
    Percent of UI claimants who were reemployed by         56.4        62.4        63.0      * 62.5        64.7
     the end of the first quarter after the quarter
     in which they received their first payment.....
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* UI reemployment for the period July 2012 to June 2013, which is the most recent data available.

    ETA's analyses of the data show that state performance in the 
reemployment of UI benefit recipients is significantly influenced by 
forces outside the control of the agency administering the state UI 
program, most notably by the economic conditions in the state, as 
measured by the total unemployment rate, and the percent of UI benefit 
recipients who are job-attached, as measured by the percent of 
claimants who are not required to conduct active work search or 
register with the state ES. State ALPs for the UI Performs Core Measure 
reflect state-specific data for these two factors. State ALPs and 
performance for the period January to December 2012 are available at 
http://www.oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/pdf/Core_Measures.pdf. (Click the 
``State ALP Table'' link in the Acceptable Levels of Performance column 
in the Reemployment Measure section.)

[[Page 15614]]

II. Review Focus

    The Department 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 Actions

    Type of Review: Extension without revision.
    Title: ETA 9047 Reemployment of UI Benefit Recipients.
    OMB Number: 1205-0452.
    Affected Public: State Workforce Agencies (SWAs).
    Estimated Total Annual Respondents: 53 SWAs.
    Annual Frequency: Quarterly.
    Estimate Total Annual Responses: 212 per year (53 SWAs x 4 
quarterly reports per year).
    Average Time per Response: 10 hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,120 hours.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Cost Burden: $0.
    Comments submitted in response to this comment request will be 
summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the ICR; 
they will also become a matter of public record.

    Dated: March 14, 2014.
Eric M. Seleznow,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, Labor.
[FR Doc. 2014-06130 Filed 3-19-14; 8:45 am]
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