[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 223 (Monday, November 21, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70775-70777]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25312]



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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; Annual Integrated Economic 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 survey, the Annual Integrated Economic Survey (AIES), 
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 20, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by 
email to [email protected]. Please reference Annual Integrated 
Economic Survey (AIES) in the subject line of your comments. You may 
also submit comments, identified by Docket Number USBC-2022-0024, 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 Blynda Metcalf, U.S. Census Bureau, Associate Directorate for 
Economic Programs (ADEP) by phone (301) 763-4781, or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Census Bureau plans to conduct the AIES on an annual basis, 
beginning for survey year 2023 (collected in calendar year 2024) and a 
Dress Rehearsal for the AIES for survey year 2022 (collected in 
calendar year 2023). The AIES is a new survey designed to integrate and 
replace seven existing annual business surveys into one survey. The 
AIES will provide the only comprehensive national and subnational data 
on business revenues, expenses, and assets on an annual basis. The AIES 
is designed to combine Census Bureau collections to reduce respondent 
burden, increase data quality, and allow the Census Bureau to operate 
more efficiently to reduce costs. The existing collections integrated 
into the AIES are the Annual Retail Trade Survey (ARTS), Annual 
Wholesale Trade Survey (AWTS), Service Annual Survey (SAS), Annual 
Survey of Manufactures (ASM), Annual Capital Expenditures Survey 
(ACES), Manufacturer's Unfilled Orders Survey (M3UFO), and the Report 
of Organization. The ARTS has been conducted annually since 1951 to 
collect sales, expenses, and other items for the retail sector of the 
economy. The AWTS has been conducted annually since 1978 to collect 
data on sales, inventories, operational expenses, and purchases for 
wholesale trade. The SAS has been conducted annually since 1982 to 
collect revenues and other measures for most traditional service 
industries. The ASM has been conducted annually since 1948 to collect 
revenues, expenses, capital expenditures, fuels and electric energy 
used, and inventories in the manufacturing sector. The ACES has been 
conducted annually since 1996 to collect capital spending for new and 
used structures and equipment in agriculture, construction, mining, 
manufacturing, retail, wholesale, and service sectors. The M3UFO began 
collecting manufacturing revenue and unfilled orders data in 2010. The 
Report of Organization has been collecting information on organization 
and structure of firms to maintain the Business Register on an annual 
basis since 1973.
    Estimates currently published in ARTS, AWTS, SAS, ASM, and ACES 
will be produced as part of the AIES and expanded to include 
subnational data across the economy. Previously, the ASM 
(manufacturing) was the only annual survey being integrated into AIES 
that produced subnational data. AIES will produce subnational data for 
manufacturing, retail, wholesale, and service sectors if quality 
standards are met. The AIES information previously collected on the 
Report of Organization will continue to be used to update the Business 
Register, and the AIES data previously collected on the M3UFO will 
continue to be used for the Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and 
Orders (M3) Survey benchmarking purposes. Data users will be able to 
access the AIES estimates through the use of visualizations and 
data.census.gov. Private businesses, organizations, industry analysts, 
educators and students, and economic researchers have used the data and 
estimates provided by these seven existing collections for analyzing 
and conducting impact evaluations on past and current economic 
performance, short-term economic forecasts, productivity, long-term 
economic growth, market analysis, tax policy, capacity utilization, 
business fixed capital stocks and capital formation, domestic and 
international competitiveness trade policy, product development, market 
research, and financial analysis. Trade and professional organizations 
have used the estimates to analyze industry trends and benchmark their 
own statistical programs, develop forecasts, and evaluate regulatory 
requirements. Government program officials and agencies have used the 
data for research, economic policy making, and forecasting. Based on 
the use of the data of the existing collections, estimates produced 
from the AIES will serve as a benchmark for Census Bureau indicator 
programs, such as the Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food 
Services (MARTS), the Monthly Retail Trade Survey (MRTS), 
Manufacturers' Shipments Inventories & Orders (M3), Monthly Wholesale 
Trade Survey (MWTS), and the Quarterly Services Survey (QSS). Like the 
previous collections, the AIES will provide updates to the Longitudinal 
Research Database (LRD), and Census Bureau staff and academic 
researchers with special sworn status will continue to use the LRD for 
micro data analysis. The Census Bureau will also continue to use 
information collected in the AIES to update and maintain the 
centralized, multipurpose Business Register that provides sampling 
populations and enumeration lists for the Census Bureau's economic 
surveys and censuses. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will 
continue to use the estimates to derive industry output for the input-
output accounts and for the gross domestic product (GDP). We expect 
that the Bureau of Labor

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Statistics (BLS) will continue to use the data as input to its Producer 
Price Index (PPI) and in developing productivity measurements; the 
Federal Reserve Board (FRB) will continue to use the data to prepare 
the Index of Industrial Production, to improve estimates of investment 
indicators for monetary policy, and in monitoring retail credit 
lending; the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will 
continue to use the data to estimate expenditures for the National 
Health Accounts and for monitoring and evaluating healthcare 
industries; and the Department of the Treasury will continue use the 
data to analyze depreciation and to research economic trends.
    The AIES covers domestic, nonfarm employer businesses with 
operations during the survey year. Non-employer businesses are not 
within the scope of this new AIES. The Census Bureau will submit a 
separate request for approval to collect data from non-employer 
businesses, if it is determined that a collection is needed to produce 
those estimates.
    The AIES will collect the following information from employer 
businesses in sample:

--Business characteristics, including employment, operating status, 
organizational change, ownership information, and co-op status
--Business classification, including business activity, type of 
operation, and tax status
--Revenue, including sales, shipments, and receipts, revenue by class 
of customer, taxes, contributions, gifts, and grants, products, and e-
commerce activity
--Operating expenses, including purchased services, payroll, benefits, 
rental payments, utilities, interest, resales, equipment, materials and 
supplies, research and development, and other detailed operating 
expenses
--Assets, including capital expenditures, inventories, and depreciable 
assets
--Robotic equipment

    Additional topics of collections in the AIES include sources of 
revenue for providers (e.g., hospitals and other businesses in the 
health industry) of select services such as inpatient days, outpatient 
visits to hospitals, patient visits for other selected health 
industries, revenue from telemedicine services, and expenses for 
electronic health records. Product data will be collected from 
businesses operating in manufacturing and services industries. 
Merchandise lines data will be collected from businesses operating in 
select retail industries will collect merchandise lines data. Detailed 
inventories will be collected for trucks, truck tractors, and trailers.
    The AIES may include new questions each year based on relevant 
business topics. Potential topics for such new questions could include 
technological advances, management and business practices, exporting 
practices, and globalization. Any new questions will be submitted to 
OMB for review using the appropriate clearance vehicle.
    In 2020 and 2021, research was conducted on the potential impacts 
of a coordinated collection of SAS, ARTS, and AWTS. This coordinated 
collection research was designed to investigate the impact of 
implementing the existing contact strategy that encompassed multiple 
survey requests. Following this coordinated collection research effort, 
approximately 19 interviews were conducted with nonrespondents, and 35 
interviews were conducted with respondents. In 2021, AIES data 
accessibility and recordkeeping studies were conducted with about 60 
companies. In 2022, a pilot AIES survey was administered to 78 
companies, including 2,863 establishments, to test the respondent 
experience; the pilot AIES survey focused on the layout and design of 
the collection instrument and harmonized content. From the pilot 
survey, 10 interviews were conducted with respondents, and 15 Response 
Analysis Surveys (RAS) were completed by respondents. Cognitive testing 
encompassing survey structure, instrument design, and respondent 
reporting process was conducted with about 40 companies in 2022. 
Usability testing on the electronic collection instrument will be 
conducted with up to 30 companies at the end of 2022 and will continue 
into 2023. A Phase II pilot will be conducted in February 2023 with 
approximately 562 companies. Phase II will follow the same model as the 
first pilot with debriefing interviews and a response analysis survey 
planned. In the Spring of 2023, we also plan to conduct Large Firm 
Response Research with up to 35 of the largest firms in the AIES 
sample. All the afore-mentioned work has been, or will be, conducted 
under the Census Bureau's Generic clearance for Field Tests and 
Evaluations (OMB# 0607-0971) or the Generic Clearance for Questionnaire 
Pretesting Research (OMB# 0607-0725).
    In June of 2023, the Census Bureau plans to conduct a Dress 
Rehearsal for the AIES with up to 10,000 companies. The Dress Rehearsal 
will be large-scale test of the forms and procedures planned for the 
AIES. The burden estimate is 3 hours and 47 minutes per respondent. The 
Dress rehearsal will allow us to examine patterns of non-response and 
to determine what additional support respondents will need. Paradata 
gathered from respondents' interactions with the online collection 
instrument during the Dress Rehearsal will help refine our burden 
estimate. We will also compare the quality of responses received to 
historic data collected in the 7 surveys the AIES will replace. Up to 
30 debriefing interviews with respondents will also be conducted.
    The total annual reporting burden for the Dress Rehearsal will be 
37,786 hours (10,000 x 3 hours and 47 minutes). Debriefing interviews 
will take approximately 1 hour each and will add 30 hours to this 
total.
    To minimize the burden imposed on respondents already in sample for 
the seven annual surveys the AIES will replace, we will use the AIES 
responses from companies that participate in the Dress Rehearsal to 
satisfy their reporting requirement for the annual surveys for which 
they are in sample for the 2022 survey year. Given that the AIES Dress 
Rehearsal will be conducted during the same calendar year as we will be 
conducting the 2022 Economic Census, we may use AIES Dress Rehearsal to 
supplement Economic Census responses, pursuant to 13 U.S.C. 193.
    After conclusion of the Dress Rehearsal, and based on refinements 
made to forms and procedures, the Census Bureau will begin conducting 
the full-scale AIES in 2024. The AIES will select a stratified 
sequential random sample of 380,199 companies from a frame of 
approximately 5.4 million companies constructed from the Business 
Register, which is the Census Bureau's master business list. The AIES 
will impose an estimated 1,436,619 hours of annual reporting burden 
(380,199 x 3 hours and 47 minutes). If the current sample size or 
burden estimate changes, based on our analysis of paradata information 
gathered during the Dress Rehearsal, the Census Bureau will submit a 
request to adjust the burden using the appropriate clearance vehicle. 
Businesses which reported business activity on Internal Revenue Service 
tax forms 941, ``Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return''; 944, 
``Employer's Annual Federal Tax Return''; 1065 ``U.S. Return of 
Partnership Income''; or any one of the 1120 corporate tax forms will 
be eligible for selection.
    The AIES will replace the ARTS, AWTS, SAS, ASM, ACES, M3UFO, and 
the Report of Organization in survey year 2023, at which time the 
Census

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Bureau will discontinue these collections.

II. Method of Collection

    The AIES Dress Rehearsal conducted for survey year 2022 and the 
AIES conducted for survey year 2023 and beyond will be collected using 
Centurion, the Census Bureau's secure online survey collection tool. 
Respondents will receive an email and/or letter notifying them of their 
requirement to respond and how to access the survey. Responses will be 
due approximately 30 days from receipt. Select businesses will receive 
a due date reminder via a letter or email prior to the due date. 
Additionally, email follow-ups and up to three mail follow-ups to 
nonrespondents will be conducted at approximately one-month intervals. 
Selected nonrespondents will receive a priority class mailing for the 
third follow-up if needed. Selected nonrespondents will also receive 
follow-up telephone calls.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0607-XXXX.
    Type of Review: Regular submission, new collection.
    Affected Public: Businesses, or other for profit or non-profit 
institutions or organizations.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: Dress Rehearsal--10,000 companies; 
AIES--380,199 companies.
    Estimated Time Per Response: 3 hours and 47 minutes per company.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: Dress Rehearsal--37,816; 
AIES--1,436,619.
    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: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. Sections 131, 182, and 193.

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. 2022-25312 Filed 11-18-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P