[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 246 (Friday, December 23, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78999-79000]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27949]


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

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

[[Page 79000]]

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 reinstatement with change 
of the ``Contingent Worker Supplement (CWS) to the Current Population 
Survey (CPS)'' to be conducted in July 2023. 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 February 21, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Erin Good, BLS Clearance Officer, Division 
of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room G225, 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 purpose of this request for review is for the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics (BLS) to obtain clearance for a reinstatement with change 
for the Contingent Worker Supplement (CWS) to the Current Population 
Survey (CPS), which was last conducted in May 2017. The proposed CWS 
questions focus on contingent workers--those who do not expect their 
jobs to last or who report that their jobs are temporary--and workers 
in alternative employment arrangements, such as independent 
contractors, on-call workers, temporary help agency workers, and 
workers provided by contract firms.
    Because this supplement is part of the CPS, the same detailed 
demographic information collected in the CPS will be available on 
respondents to the supplement. Comparisons will be possible across 
characteristics such as sex, race and ethnicity, age, and educational 
attainment of the respondent.
    The CWS will provide information on the number and characteristics 
of workers in contingent jobs and alternative employment arrangements. 
Although the CWS was fielded 5 times from 1995 to 2005 and then in May 
2017, there have been no comparable and reliable statistics in recent 
years to show how the number and characteristics of these workers are 
changing over time. The July 2023 CWS will allow researchers and policy 
makers to evaluate how the number and characteristics of these workers 
has evolved. Policy makers also can use these data to inform the design 
of regulations for different types of workers.
    BLS is proposing to add new questions and remove outdated questions 
to the CWS. New questions on task-based and app-based work are designed 
to provide insight into additional work arrangements like digital labor 
platform work. (This new content replaces the 2017 items on 
electronically-mediated employment.) The 2023 supplement will also ask 
about work arrangements on second jobs for multiple jobholders. Our 
data users noted the absence of information about second jobs as a 
particular shortcoming of prior supplements.

II. Current Action

    Office of Management and Budget clearance is being sought for the 
CPS Contingent Worker Supplement to the CPS. A reinstatement with 
change of this previously approved collection, for which approval has 
expired, is needed to provide the Nation with timely information about 
contingent and alternative work arrangements.

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; and
     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: Contingent Worker Supplement (CWS) to the 
Current Population Survey (CPS).
    OMB Number: 1220-0153.
    Type of Review: Reinstatement, with change.
    Affected Public: Households.
    Total Respondents: 47,000.
    Frequency: Once.
    Total Responses: 47,000.
    Average Time per Response: 6 minutes.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 4,700 hours.
    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 December 16, 2022.
Leslie A. Bennett,
Chief, Division of Management Systems.
[FR Doc. 2022-27949 Filed 12-22-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P