[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 153 (Wednesday, August 8, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 39052]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16915]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce 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.
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: Business and Professional Classification Report.
    OMB Control Number: 0607-0189.
    Form Number(s): SQ-CLASS.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Number of Respondents: 57,000.
    Average Hours per Response: 13 minutes.
    Burden Hours: 12,350.
    Needs and Uses: This request is for continued clearance of the 
Business and Professional Classification Report (SQ-CLASS). The primary 
purpose of SQ-CLASS Report is to meet the ongoing sample needs of the 
Census Bureau's various surveys of the retail trade, wholesale trade, 
and services portions of the economy (our current business surveys) as 
defined by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). 
The data collected by the SQ-CLASS report are used to update the 
samples in our current business surveys to reflect newly opened 
establishments. Additionally, establishments in the five-year economic 
census will receive data collection instruments specifically tailored 
to their industry based on the classification information obtained by 
the SQ-CLASS report.
    To keep current with rapid changes in the marketplace caused by new 
businesses (a.k.a. births) the Census Bureau samples newly assigned 
Employer Identification Numbers (EINs) obtained from the Internal 
Revenue Service. Each EIN can only be selected once for the SQ-CLASS 
report. Companies are selected for the SQ-CLASS sample based on the 
presence of a newly filed application for an EIN. Companies in the 
sample are asked to provide data about the establishment(s) associated 
with the new EIN including a more reliable measure of size, consisting 
of sales in two recent months, company affiliation information, a new 
or more detailed industry classification code, and other key 
information needed to maintain proper coverage of the business universe 
on the Business Register for the current business surveys.
    Based on information collected on the SQ-CLASS form, EINs meeting 
the criteria for inclusion in the Census Bureau's current business 
surveys may be eligible for a second phase of sampling. Companies with 
new EINs selected in this second sampling are asked to report annually 
on the annual retail, wholesale, and service surveys. A subsample of 
the wholesale and retail EINs also may be added to the monthly retail 
and wholesale surveys. Similarly, a subsample of companies with new 
EINs in the service industries are asked to report in the quarterly 
services surveys.
    The Economic Census and the current business surveys represent the 
primary source of facts about the structure and function of the U.S. 
economy, providing essential information to government and the business 
community in making sound decisions. This information helps build the 
foundation for the calculation of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 
other economic indicators. Crucial to its success are the accuracy and 
reliability of the Business Register, which provides the Economic 
Census and current business surveys with their establishment lists. 
Critical to the quality of information housed in the Business Register 
is that each of the statistical units has an accurate industry 
classification, measure of size, activity status, and physical address 
assigned to it. The vital information obtained from the SQ-CLASS report 
is fed back to the Business Register to represent changes in industries 
and confirm coverage between the years of the Economic Census.
    We are not proposing any major changes to the collection. Minimal 
changes are being made to the economic activity descriptions in the 
primary business activity question on the SQ-CLASS report. These 
changes include providing additional examples of activities included in 
a specific economic sector. Respondents will continue to choose the 
economic sector of their business and then select their type of 
business from a list of business activities based on their response to 
the question about their economic sector. These selections correspond 
to NAICS codes, which are then assigned to each business establishment. 
If the respondents do not see their business activity listed, then they 
will provide a brief description of their business activity. The 
response is then assigned a NAICS code by an analyst using an automated 
coding tool. This is the same methodology that the Census Bureau uses 
in the Economic Census to assign industry classification.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Frequency: One time.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: The Census Bureau conducts this survey under the 
authority of Title 13, U.S.C., Sections 131, 182, and 193. This 
collection is made mandatory under the provisions of Title 13 U.S.C., 
Sections 224 and 225.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce 
collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to [email protected] or fax to (202) 395-5806.

Sheleen Dumas,
Departmental Lead PRA Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018-16915 Filed 8-7-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-07-P