[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 216 (Thursday, November 9, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77363-77365]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24732]


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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.

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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

[[Page 77364]]

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 
``National Compensation 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 January 8, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Nora Kincaid, 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: Nora Kincaid, BLS Clearance Officer, 
at 202-691-7628 (this is not a toll-free number.) (See ADDRESSES 
section.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    The National Compensation Survey (NCS) is an ongoing survey of 
earnings and benefits among private firms, States, and local 
government. The NCS is used to produce the Employment Cost Trends, 
including the Employment Cost Index (ECI) and Employer Costs for 
Employee Compensation (ECEC), employee benefits data (plan access, 
coverages, and provisions), Modeled Wage Estimates (MWE), and data used 
by the President's Pay Agent. This data is used by compensation 
administrators and researchers in the public and private sectors. Data 
from the NCS are used to help in determining monetary policy (as a 
Principal Federal Economic Indicator). The integrated program's single 
sample produces both time-series indexes and cost levels for industry 
and occupational groups, thereby increasing the analytical potential of 
the data.
    The NCS employs probability methods for selection of occupations, 
which ensures that sampled occupations represent all occupations in the 
workforce, while minimizing the reporting burden on respondents. The 
survey collects data from a sample of employers. These data will 
consist of information about the duties, responsibilities, and 
compensation (earnings and benefits) for a sample of occupations for 
each sampled employer.
    Data will be updated on a quarterly basis. The updates will allow 
for production of data on change in earnings and total compensation.

II. Current Action

    Office of Management and Budget clearance is being sought for an 
extension of the NCS.
    The NCS collects earnings and work level data on occupations for 
the nation. The NCS also collects information on the cost, provisions, 
and incidence of major employee benefits through its benefit cost and 
benefit provision publications.
    The BLS has been using a revised approach to the Locality Pay 
Survey (LPS) component of the NCS; this uses data from two current BLS 
programs--the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey 
and the NCS program. This approach uses OEWS data to provide wage data 
by occupation and by area, while NCS data are used to specify grade 
level effects. This approach is also being used to extend the 
estimation of pay gaps to areas that were not included in the prior 
Locality Pay Survey sample, and these data have been delivered to the 
Pay Agent (in 2023, data for 115 areas were delivered).
    The NCS has a national survey design. The NCS private industry 
sample is on a three-year rotational cycle, with one frozen sample year 
every ten years for the NCS private industry sample when a new NCS 
State and local government sample starts (approximately in 2025).
    The NCS continues to provide employee benefit provision and 
participation data. These data include estimates of how many workers 
receive the various employer-sponsored benefits. The data also include 
information about the common provisions of benefit plans.
    NCS collection will use a number of collection forms having unique 
private industry and government initiation and update collection forms 
and versions. For NCS update collection, the forms or screens give 
respondents their previously reported information, the dates they 
expected change to occur to these data, and space for reporting these 
changes.
    For electronic collection, the NCS uses a Web-based system (Web-
Lite) that allows NCS respondents, using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) 
encryption and the establishment's schedule number, to upload data 
files to a secure BLS server that forwards those files to the assigned 
BLS field economist.
    Some benefits, called ``Other benefits,'' data are collected to 
track the emergence of new or changing benefits over time. The BLS only 
asks whether sampled occupations receive these benefits and 
periodically modifies this list.

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: National Compensation Survey.
    OMB Number: 1220-0164.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit; not-for-profit 
institutions; and State, local, and tribal governments.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit; not-for-profit 
institutions; and State, local, and tribal governments.
    Total Respondents: 19,567 (three-year average).
    All figures are based on a three-year average. The total responses 
are higher as some respondents are contacted multiple times.

[[Page 77365]]



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                                                                                          Average
                                                                       Respondents     responses per   Total number of  Average minutes    Total hours
                                                                                            year          responses
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Three-year average.................................................          19,567           2.7545           53,897          46.1603           41,465
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                            Collection Forms
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National Compensation Survey  NCS 24-1P, NCS 24-    Establishment Form,
 (Private Industry sample).    2P, NCS 24-5P, NCS-   Earnings Form,
                               9P, SO-1003P, E-      Benefits Form,
                               update, SO100BF-      Earning Update
                               1GP, IDCF.            Form, Benefits
                                                     Update Form, E-
                                                     update Screen,
                                                     Benefits Update
                                                     Fillable Form, NCS
                                                     IDCF Screen.
National Compensation Survey  NCS 24-1G, NCS 24-    Establishment Form,
 (State and local government   2G, NCS 24-5G, NCS-   Earnings Form,
 sample).                      9G, SO-1003G, E-      Benefits Form,
                               update, SO100BF-      Earning Update
                               1GP, IDCF.            Form, Benefits
                                                     Update Form, E-
                                                     update Screen,
                                                     Benefits Update
                                                     Fillable Form, NCS
                                                     IDCF Screen.
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    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, this 3rd day of November 2023.
Eric Molina,
Chief, Division of Management Systems, Branch of Policy Analysis.
[FR Doc. 2023-24732 Filed 11-8-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P