[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 35 (Friday, February 21, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10190-10192]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03504]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Bureau of Labor Statistics


Information Collection Activities; Comment Request

AGENCY: Bureau of Labor Statistic, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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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. 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 ``Consumer Price 
Index Commodities and Services 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 April 21, 2020.

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, 
202-691-7628 (this is not a toll free number). (See ADDRESSES section.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Under the direction of the Secretary of Labor, the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics (BLS) is directed by law to collect, collate, and report 
full and complete statistics on the conditions of labor and the 
products and distribution of the products of the same; the Consumer 
Price Index (CPI) is one of these statistics. The collection of data 
from a wide spectrum of retail establishments and government agencies 
is essential for the timely and accurate calculation of the Commodities 
and Services (C&S) component of the CPI.
    The CPI is the only index compiled by the U.S. Government that is 
designed to measure changes in the purchasing power of the urban 
consumer's dollar. The CPI is a measure of the average change in prices 
over time paid by urban consumers for a market basket of goods and 
services. The CPI is used most widely as a measure of inflation,

[[Page 10191]]

and serves as an indicator of the effectiveness of government economic 
policy. It is also used as a deflator of other economic series, that 
is, to adjust other series for price changes and to translate these 
series into inflation-free dollars. Examples include retail sales, 
hourly and weekly earnings, and components of the Gross Domestic 
Product.
    A third major use of the CPI is to adjust income payments. Over 2 
million workers are covered by collective bargaining contracts, which 
provide for increases in wage rates based on increases in the CPI. At 
least eight states have laws that link the adjustment in state minimum 
wage to the changes in the CPI. In addition, as a result of statutory 
action, the CPI affects the income of almost 132 million of Americans: 
64 Million Social Security beneficiaries, 4 million military and 
Federal Civil Service retirees, and 34 million food stamp recipients 
have cost-of-living adjustments tied to the CPI. Changes in the CPI 
also affect the cost of lunches for 30 million children who eat lunch 
at school. Under the National School Lunch Act and Child Nutrition Act, 
national average payments for those lunches and breakfasts are adjusted 
annually by the Secretary of Agriculture on the basis of the change in 
the CPI series, ``Food away from Home.'' Since 1985, the CPI has been 
used to adjust the Federal income tax structure to prevent inflation-
induced tax rate increases.

II. Current Action

    Office of Management and Budget clearance is being sought for the 
proposed extension of the Consumer Price Index Commodities and Services 
Survey.
    In January 2018, BLS introduced a new geographic area sample for 
the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The CPI will rotate its sample to new 
geographic areas on a continuous basis, over a 4-year transition 
period, until all new areas have been brought into the sample. The last 
time the sample was revised was in 1998. There are notable 
methodological changes with the introduction of a new geographic area 
sample. First, the sample classification structure has been changed. 
The 1998 design classified areas into four Census regions (Northeast, 
Midwest, South, and West) by three size classes. The 2018 design 
classifies these areas into the same four Census regions, plus nine 
Census divisions: New England, Middle Atlantic, East North Central, 
West North Central, South Atlantic, East South Central, West South 
Central, Mountain, and Pacific. Primary sampling units (PSUs) are 
classified into one of two population-size classes--self-representing 
or non-self-representing. Second, the PSU area definitions have been 
updated using Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) Core-Based 
Statistical Areas (CBSAs) definitions. There are two types of CBSAs: 
Metropolitan and micropolitan. A metropolitan CBSA has an urban core of 
more than 50,000 people, and a micropolitan CBSA has an urban core of 
10,000 to 50,000 people. CBSAs may cross state borders. Currently, BLS 
publishes the CPI-U, which covers approximately 89% of the U.S. 
population. Third, in the new design, the number of sampled PSUs in the 
CPI has been reduced from 87 to 75. This change will increase the 
average number of price quotes per index area. Finally, changes were 
made to the stratification variables and the sampling process for 
selecting non-self-representing PSUs.
    The continuation of the collection of prices for the CPI is 
essential since the CPI is the nation's chief source of information on 
retail price changes. If the information on C&S prices were not 
collected, Federal fiscal and monetary policies would be hampered due 
to the lack of information on price changes in a major sector of the 
U.S. economy, and estimates of the real value of the Gross National 
Product could not be made. The consequences to both the Federal and 
private sectors would be far reaching and would have serious 
repercussions on Federal government policy and institutions.

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.
    Title: Consumer Price Index Commodities and Services Survey.
    OMB Number: 1220-0039.
    Type of Review: Extension without change of a currently approved 
collection.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; not for profit 
institutions; and State, Local or Tribal Government.

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                                       Total                           Total       Average time      Estimated
                                    respondents      Frequency       responses     per response    total burden
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Pricing.........................          36,547          8.7811         320,923            0.33         105,905
Outlet Rotation.................          15,500               1          15,500             1.0          15,500
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    Total.......................          52,047             n/a         336,423             n/a         121,405
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[[Page 10192]]

    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 February 2020.
Mark Staniorski,
Chief, Division of Management Systems.
[FR Doc. 2020-03504 Filed 2-20-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-24-P