[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 100 (Wednesday, May 26, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28332-28333]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11102]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

 Census Bureau


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Business and Professional Classification Report

    The Department of Commerce will submit the following information 
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the 
general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and 
continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of 
our information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the 
Federal Register on March 8, 2021 during a 60-day comment period. This 
notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: Business and Professional Classification Report.
    OMB Control Number:0607-0189.
    Form Number(s): SQ-CLASS.
    Type of Request: Regular submission, Request for an Extension, 
without Change, of a Currently Approved Collection.
    Number of Respondents: 58,000.
    Average Hours per Response: 13 minutes.
    Burden Hours: 12,567.
    Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census Bureau requests continued clearance 
of

[[Page 28333]]

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.
    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. Businesses in Support Activities for Crop Production 
(NAICS 1151) and Support Activities for Animal Production (NAICS 1152) 
will be added to the scope and collection of the 2022 Economic Census 
in order to fill a recognized measurement gap. To ensure that 
businesses are properly classified before the 2022 Economic Census 
collection, the scope of the SQ-CLASS is being expanded to include 
businesses in the Agriculture Sector (NAICS 11) that are not fully 
classified. This change adds approximately 6,000 cases to the SQ-CLASS 
collection in Fiscal Year 2022 and a small number of additional cases 
in succeeding years, with minor modifications to the SQ-CLASS 
instrument and instructions. In the Federal Register notice dated March 
8, 2021 located in Vol. 86, No. 43, on page 13,280, this change to our 
sampling structure was not mentioned.
    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 (IRS). Each EIN can only be selected once for the SQ-
CLASS report. EINs selected for the SQ-CLASS 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 (BR) 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 are eligible for a second phase of sampling. The retail, 
wholesale, and services EINs selected in this second sampling are asked 
to report annually on the annual retail, wholesale, and service 
surveys. A subsample of the retail and wholesale EINs are also asked to 
report monthly on the monthly retail and wholesale surveys. Similarly, 
a subsample of the service EINs are asked to report in the quarterly 
services survey.
    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 BR data, which provides the Economic Census and 
current business surveys with their establishment lists. Critical to 
the quality of information housed in the BR 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 BR 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. If the respondent does not 
see their business activity listed, then they will provide a brief 
description of their business activity. 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 organizations.
    Frequency: One time.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. Sections 131, 182 and 193.
    This information collection request may be viewed at 
www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view the Department of 
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of 
this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 
Find this particular information collection by selecting ``Currently 
under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search 
function and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB 
Control Number 0607-0189.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-11102 Filed 5-25-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P