Notice2023-24732
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
November 9, 2023
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 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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 216 (Thursday, November 9, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 216 (Thursday, November 9, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77363-77365]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c48688979b9496859b94b1a6a8ada784a6a8b7eaa3abb2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d0929c838f8082918f80a5b2bcb9b390b2bca3feb7bfa6">[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 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:
<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: 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
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