Notice2022-01381
Information Collection Activities; Comment Request
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
January 25, 2022
Issuing agencies
Labor DepartmentLabor Statistics Bureau
Abstract
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 "The Consumer Expenditure Surveys: The Quarterly Interview and the Diary." A copy of the proposed information collection request can be obtained by contacting the individual listed below in the Addresses section of this notice.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 16 (Tuesday, January 25, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3841-3843]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-01381]
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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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[[Page 3842]]
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 ``The Consumer
Expenditure Surveys: The Quarterly Interview and the Diary.'' 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 28, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Nora Kincaid, 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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b8faf4ebe7e8eaf9e7e8cddad4d1dbf8dad4cb96dfd7ce"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3a787669656a687b656a4f585653597a585649145d554c">[email protected]</span></a>.
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 Consumer Expenditure (CE) Surveys collect data on consumer
expenditures, demographic information, and related data needed by the
Consumer Price Index (CPI) and other public and private data users. The
continuing surveys provide a constant measurement of changes in
consumer expenditure patterns for economic analysis and to obtain data
for future CPI revisions. The CE Surveys have been ongoing since 1979.
The data from the CE Surveys are used (1) for CPI revisions, (2) to
provide a continuous flow of data on income and expenditure patterns
for use in economic analysis and policy formulation, and (3) to provide
a flexible consumer survey vehicle that is available for use by other
Federal Government agencies. Public and private users of price
statistics, including Congress and the economic policymaking agencies
of the Executive branch, rely on data collected in the CPI in their
day-to-day activities. Hence, data users and policymakers widely accept
the need to improve the process used for revising the CPI. If the CE
Surveys were not conducted on a continuing basis, current information
necessary for more timely, as well as more accurate, updating of the
CPI would not be available. In addition, data would not be available to
respond to the continuing demand from the public and private sectors
for current information on consumer spending.
In the Quarterly Interview Survey, each consumer unit (CU) in the
sample is interviewed every three months over four calendar quarters.
The sample for each quarter is divided into three panels, with CUs
being interviewed every three months in the same panel of every
quarter. The Quarterly Interview Survey is designed to collect data on
the types of expenditures that respondents can be expected to recall
for a period of three months or longer. In general the expenses
reported in the Interview Survey are either relatively large, such as
property, automobiles, or major appliances, or are expenses which occur
on a fairly regular basis, such as rent, utility bills, or insurance
premiums.
The Diary (or recordkeeping) Survey is completed at home by the
respondent family for two consecutive one-week periods. The primary
objective of the Diary Survey is to obtain expenditure data on small,
frequently purchased items which normally are difficult to recall over
longer periods of time.
II. Current Action
Office of Management and Budget clearance is being sought for the
proposed revision of the Consumer Expenditure Surveys: The Quarterly
Interview (CEQ) and the Diary (CED).
The continuing CE Surveys provide a constant measurement of changes
in consumer expenditure patterns for economic analysis and obtain data
for future CPI revisions.
In the CEQ, CE is seeking clearance to make the below changes.
CE will add point of purchase questions for electrical vehicle
charging including the location (street intersection or location such
as the name of the shopping center), the city, state, company, and
method of payment where electric charging services were obtained. CE
will also implement Computer Assisted Recording Instrument (CARI)
technology into CE for quality control and research purposes. CARI is a
tool available during data collection to capture audio along with
response data. With the respondent's consent, a portion of each
interview is recorded unobtrusively. The respondent's consent will be
obtained through a consent request question asking for the respondent's
permission to record the interview for quality control purposes.
Lastly, the questions on armed forces will be asked prior to the
question on veteran status and individuals who indicate they are in the
armed forces will no longer be asked if they are a veteran.
The CED uses both a CAPI instrument and the paper Diary CE-801,
Record of Your Daily Expenses. CE plans to update the Diary CE-801
paper Diary as well as implement an online version for non-emergency
data collection.
The CED Diary collects information on CU expenditures by asking
each selected sample unit to keep two one-week diaries of all
expenditures. The Diary is necessary to collect expenditures that
respondents may not be able to recall in a retrospective interview.
Several changes will be made to the Diary, both the online and the
paper version. First the column ``Mark (X) if purchased for someone not
on your list'' will be removed. Second, the specific type of alcohol
purchased will no longer be collected and the question will be updated
to ``Were alcoholic beverages included in total cost?''; the columns
for ``wine'', ``beer'', and ``other'' columns will be replaced with
``yes'' and ``no'' columns; and ``Enter the total cost of the alcohol''
will be replaced with ``If YES--How much?'' Third, the column ``Mark
(X) one that best describes the type of meal'' will be deleted as the
meal type (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack/drink) is no longer needed.
Fourth, instruction on the Diary flap on `How to Fill Out Your Diary'
will be updated to reflect the above changes. The Diary flap
instructions will also be updated to indicate that food trucks should
be included in `Mobile Vendor' establishments.
The advance letters for both the CEQ and CED will be updated to
reflect changes in the estimated time to complete the interview. These
letters explain the nature of the information the BLS wants to collect
and the uses of the CEQ or the CED data, as appropriate; informs the
respondents of the confidential treatment of all identifying
information they provide; requests the respondents' participation in
the survey; describes the survey's compliance with the relevant
provisions of the Privacy Act and the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) disclosure requirements; and provides a link to the address of
the respondent's informational web page.
[[Page 3843]]
III. Desired Focus of Comments
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is particularly interested in
comments that:
<bullet> 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.
<bullet> 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.
<bullet> Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected.
<bullet> 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: The Consumer Expenditure Surveys: The
Quarterly Interview and the Diary.
OMB Number: 1220-0050.
Type of Review: Revision.
Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
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Total Total Average time per Estimated
Form respondents Frequency responses response total burden
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CEQ--Interview................ 5,000 4 20,000 68 minutes...... 22,667
CEQ--Reinterview.............. 2,400 1 2,400 10 minutes...... 400
CED--Diary (record-keeping)... 6,250 2 12,500 60 minutes...... 12,500
CED--Diary (Interview)........ 6,250 2 12,500 19 minutes...... 3,958
CED--Diary (Reinterview)...... 1,250 1 1,250 10 minutes...... 208
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Totals.................... .............. .............. 48,650 ................ 39,733
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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, on this 19th day of January 2022.
Eric Molina,
Acting Chief, Division of Management Systems.
[FR Doc. 2022-01381 Filed 1-24-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-P
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