[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 214 (Tuesday, November 9, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62150-62151]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-24502]


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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 Pulse Survey

AGENCY: Census Bureau, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, invites 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. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment on the 
proposed new Business Pulse Survey prior to the submission of the 
information collection request (ICR) to OMB for approval.

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before January 10, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by 
email to [email protected]. Please reference Business Pulse 
Survey in the subject line of your comments. You may also submit 
comments, identified by Docket Number USCB-2021-0027, to the Federal e-
Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. All comments received 
are part of the public record. No comments will be posted to http://www.regulations.gov for public viewing until after the comment period 
has closed. Comments will generally be posted without change. All 
Personally Identifiable Information (for example, name and address) 
voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do 
not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or 
protected information. You may submit attachments to electronic 
comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to Stephanie Studds, Chief, Economic Indicator Division, 301-763-2633, 
and [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The U.S. Census Bureau plans to request a 3-year approval from the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for a new survey, the Business 
Pulse Survey. During the Coronavirus pandemic, the Census Bureau 
launched new weekly and monthly programs to measure the pandemic's 
impact on the economy. The Census Bureau was commended by policy 
makers, media, academia, and other stakeholders on its timeliness and 
rapid response to their data needs to understand the impact of the 
pandemic on the economy. The Census Bureau has a need to collect and 
publish economic baseline data on a frequent, ongoing basis.
    The Business Pulse Survey will be a new experimental survey with 
bi-weekly data collection and publication. This continuous near real 
time data publication will provide a baseline of the U.S. economy and 
will measure change as a result of current and future economic shocks. 
The ongoing nature of the Business Pulse Survey is in response to 
stakeholder feedback on the Small Business Pulse Survey (SBPS), which 
was that economic baseline or `norms' data would have been helpful to 
have in comparison to the SBPS data on pandemic impact.
    The Business Pulse Survey will evolve and progress to its full 
desired scope over time, in stages or phases. The Census Bureau plans 
to learn from the incremental progress of the Business Pulse Survey and 
make improvements to the survey as it matures. Initially, the Business 
Pulse Survey will be an expansion of the Small Business Pulse Survey 
(OMB Number: 0607-1014). The SBPS was restricted to small businesses 
with 1-499 employees and included only a single island territory, 
Puerto Rico. The Business Pulse Survey's initial sample criteria will 
include all single unit employer businesses in the U.S. and U.S. Island 
Areas. At full scope, the Business Pulse Survey will allow for data 
collection from businesses across most non-farm sectors of the U.S. 
economy, while producing statistics on employer and non-employer 
businesses across all employer size classes, as well as geographically 
detailed data on the fifty U.S. states, Washington DC, and the U.S. 
Island Areas.
    The Business Pulse Survey will collect the following high-level 
topics:

 Overall current business performance or business climate
 Change in operating revenues/sales/receipts
 Change in employment
 Change in hours of paid employees

[[Page 62151]]

 Expectations: Future performance

    Business Pulse Survey data would be collected in near-real time and 
disseminated as experimental products. Business Pulse Survey data will 
be experimental with the goal of meeting Census Bureau quality 
standards for regularly occurring, non-experimental statistics.

II. Method of Collection

    The data will be collected by paper or electronic instruments, 
depending on whether respondent email is available.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-XXXX.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission, new information collection 
request.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 45,000 responses/bi-weekly.
    Estimated Time per Response: 6 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 117,000.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0 (This is not the cost of 
respondents' time, but the indirect costs respondents may incur for 
such things as purchases of specialized software or hardware needed to 
report, or expenditures for accounting or records maintenance services 
required specifically by the collection.)
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C., Sections 131 and 182.

IV. Request for Comments

    We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau 
to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is 
necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether 
the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy 
of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed 
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden 
on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include, or summarize, each comment in our 
request to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, 
phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information 
in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--
including your personal identifying information--may be made publicly 
available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold 
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-24502 Filed 11-8-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P