[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 96 (Monday, May 18, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29749-29751]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-10561]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Bureau of Labor Statistics


Information Collection Activities; Comment Request

AGENCY: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 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

[[Page 29750]]

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 revision of the 
``Current Population Survey (CPS).'' 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 July 17, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Erin Good, 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 email to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin Good, BLS Clearance Officer, 202-
691-7763 (this is not a toll-free number). (See Addresses section.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The CPS has been the principal source of the official Government 
statistics on employment and unemployment for over 75 years. The labor 
force information gathered through the survey is of paramount 
importance in keeping track of the economic health of the Nation. The 
survey is the only source of monthly data on total employment and 
unemployment. The Employment Situation news release contains data from 
this survey and is designated as a Principal Federal Economic Indicator 
(PFEI). Moreover, the survey also yields data on the characteristics of 
persons not in the labor force. The CPS data are used monthly, in 
conjunction with data from other sources, to analyze the extent to 
which, and with what success, the various components of the American 
population are participating in the economic life of the Nation.
    The labor force data gathered through the CPS are provided to users 
in the greatest detail possible, in conjunction with the demographic 
information obtained in the survey. In brief, the labor force data can 
be broken down by sex, age, race, ethnicity, marital status, family 
composition, educational level, certification and licensing status, 
disability status, and other characteristics. Through such breakdowns, 
one can focus on the employment situation of specific population groups 
as well as on general trends in employment and unemployment. 
Information of this type can be obtained only through demographically 
oriented surveys such as the CPS.
    The basic CPS data also are used as an important platform on which 
to base the data derived from the various supplemental questions that 
are administered in conjunction with the survey. By coupling the basic 
data from the monthly survey with the special data from the 
supplements, one can get valuable insights on the behavior of American 
workers and on the social and economic health of their families.
    There is wide interest in the monthly CPS data among Government 
policymakers, legislators, economists, the media, and the general 
public. While the data from the CPS are used in conjunction with data 
from other surveys in assessing the economic health of the Nation, they 
are unique in various ways. Specifically, they are the basis for much 
of the monthly Employment Situation report, a PFEI. They provide a 
monthly, nationally representative measure of total employment, 
including farm work, self-employment, and unpaid family work; other 
surveys are generally restricted to the nonagricultural wage and salary 
sector, or provide less timely information. The CPS provides data on 
all job seekers, and on all persons outside the labor force, while 
payroll-based surveys cannot, by definition, cover these sectors of the 
population. Finally, the CPS data on employment, unemployment, and on 
persons not in the labor force can be linked to the demographic 
characteristics of the many groups that make up the Nation's 
population, while the data from other surveys often have limited 
demographic information. Many groups, both in the government and in the 
private sector, are eager to analyze this wealth of demographic and 
labor force data.

II. Current Action

    Office of Management and Budget clearance is being sought for a 
revision of the Current Population Survey (CPS). This survey is being 
revised to temporarily add five questions to the Current Population 
Survey (CPS) to collect data on the effects of novel coronavirus 
(COVID-19) and the attempts to constrain the spread of the illness. 
These questions ask about responses to COVID-19 during the previous 4 
weeks--specifically, whether respondents teleworked due to COVID-19, 
were unable to work because an employer closed or lost business, and 
were paid for hours not worked. A question for people not in the labor 
force will ask if respondents did not look for work in the previous 4 
weeks because of COVID-19. In addition, respondents will be asked 
whether any household members needed non-coronavirus-related medical 
care in the previous 4 weeks but did not get it because of the 
pandemic.
    Also, while letters are typically sent to households entering the 
CPS sample for the first time to inform them that they have been 
selected for the survey, those letters may be suspended during periods 
where the Census Bureau's National Processing Center, which handles 
mailings, is closed to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
    These data were approved for monthly collection for 180 days under 
Emergency OMB Clearance Package 1220-0194, which expires on October 31, 
2020.
    The revision of 1220-0100 requests approval to extend collection of 
the CPS for three years, but the additional COVID-19 data are not 
intended to be collected for that full timeframe. A non-substantive 
change request will be submitted to remove the COVID-19 questions and 
the associated respondent burden from the survey when the BLS 
determines they are no longer relevant to this collection.

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.

[[Page 29751]]

    Title: Current Population Survey (CPS).
    OMB Number: 1220-0100.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Households.
    Total Respondents: 49,500 per month.
    Frequency: Monthly.
    Total Responses: 594,000.
    Average Time per Response: 9.6 minutes.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 95,040 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, on May 8, 2020.
Mark Staniorski,
Chief, Division of Management Systems.
[FR Doc. 2020-10561 Filed 5-15-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P