[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 126 (Friday, July 1, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39565-39566]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-14075]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 ``Job Openings and 
Labor Turnover Survey.'' A copy of the proposed information collection 
request 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 August 30, 2022.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) collects data on 
job vacancies, labor hires, and labor separations. As the monthly JOLTS 
time series grow longer, their value in assessing the business cycle, 
the difficulty that employers have in hiring workers, and the extent of 
the mismatch between the unused supply of available workers and the 
unmet demand for labor by employers will increase. The study of the 
complex relationship

[[Page 39566]]

between job openings and unemployment is of particular interest to 
researchers. While these two measures are expected to move in opposite 
directions over the course of the business cycle, their relative levels 
and movements depend on the efficiency of the labor market in matching 
workers and jobs.
    Along with the job openings rate, trends in hires and separations 
may broadly identify which aggregate industries face the tightest labor 
markets. The quits rate, the number of persons who quit during an 
entire month as a percentage of total employment, may provide clues 
about workers' views of the labor market or their success in finding 
better jobs. In addition, businesses will be able to compare their own 
turnover rates to the national, regional, and major industry division 
rates.
    The BLS uses the JOLTS form to gather employment, job openings, 
hires, and total separations from business establishments. The 
information is collected once a month at the BLS Data Collection Center 
(DCC) in Atlanta, Georgia. The information is collected using Computer 
Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI), Web, email, and FAX. An 
establishment is in the sample for 36 consecutive months.

II. Current Action

    Office of Management and Budget clearance is being sought for the 
Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The BLS is requesting 
an extension to the existing clearance for the JOLTS. There are no 
major changes being made to the forms, procedures, data collection 
methodology, or other aspects of the survey. Increasing public interest 
in the JOLTS Survey has led to the addition of state estimates and has 
broadened incorporation of JOLTS data in economic analyses conducted by 
Federal, State, and major economic research organizations.

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 of Collection: Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.
    OMB Number: 1220-0170.
    Type of Review: Extension.
    Affected Public: Federal Government; State, Local, or Tribal 
governments; Businesses or other for-profit; Not-for-profit 
institutions; Small businesses and organizations.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                   Average time
       Affected public             Total           Frequency           Total       per response      Estimated
                                respondents                          responses        (min.)       total burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Private.....................           7,155  Monthly...........          85,858              10          14,310
State, Local, & Tribal Gov't           1,123  Monthly...........          13,474              10           2,246
Federal Gov't...............             386  Monthly...........           4,637              10             773
                             -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals..................           8,664  Monthly...........         103,968              10          17,328
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 June 24, 2022.
Eric Molina,
Acting Chief, Division of Management Systems.
[FR Doc. 2022-14075 Filed 6-30-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P