[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 8 (Thursday, January 11, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1944-1945]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-00374]


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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 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 revision of the ``Quarterly Census of 
Employment and Wages Business Supplement.'' 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 March 11, 2024.

[[Page 1945]]


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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Business Supplement 
(QBS) is a versatile collection instrument designed to capture 
information on the US economy quickly and efficiently. The QBS 
collection is designed to incorporate new questionnaires as the need 
arises to allow BLS to collect and publish information quickly so that 
stakeholders and data users can understand the impact of specific 
events, or economic issues of relevance, on the US economy.
    The BLS will primarily use the Annual Refiling Survey (ARS) as a 
platform for conducting the QBS. Each year, the BLS Quarterly Census of 
Employment and Wages (QCEW) Program conducts the ARS by reaching out to 
approximately 1.5 million establishments requesting verification of 
their main business activity, and their mailing and physical location 
addresses. The fully web-based ARS allows for an accelerated timeframe 
for collection and provides a low-cost platform for conducting the 
quick, short surveys of the QBS. The QBSs accompanying the ARS have 
little data collection overhead, leveraging the respondent contact 
process undertaken as part of the production ARS. QBS respondents 
already logged into the ARS secure website are directed to a QBS and 
asked to answer a limited number of additional survey questions after 
completing the ARS. QBS respondents that are not in the ARS are 
solicited using established contact methods (email and/or printed 
letters) and directed to a stand-alone interface to access and answer 
the QBS questions online.

II. Current Action

    Office of Management and Budget clearance is being sought for a 
revision of the QCEW Business Supplement (QBS).
    The QBS is designed to encourage a fast response and minimize 
respondent burden on the public by limiting the number of questions on 
each survey and by asking questions that respondents should be able to 
answer without research or referring to records. In this manner, BLS 
can provide information that is needed quickly and is not collected 
elsewhere. The QBS will incorporate new questionnaires as the need for 
data arises, as frequently as twice a year. The BLS plans to conduct 
multiple small surveys under the QBS clearance. The 2024 survey will 
focus on establishments' telework policies and practices, recent 
experiences in hiring, and how they advertise vacancies. These 
questions were previously asked in the 2022 QBS collected under this 
clearance (the 2022 Business Response Survey). Asking these questions 
again, a full two years later, will provide an understanding of how 
these business operations have changed.

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: QCEW Business Supplement.
    OMB Number: 1220-0198.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit, not-for-profit 
institutions, and farms.
    Total Number of Respondents: 80,000.
    Frequency: Once.
    Total Responses: 80,000.
    Average Time per Response: 5 minutes.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 6,667 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 January 5, 2024.
Eric Molina,
Chief, Division of Management Systems, Branch of Policy Analysis.
[FR Doc. 2024-00374 Filed 1-10-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P