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 understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. Currently, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments concerning the proposed reinstatement without change of the “Current Population Survey (CPS) Displaced Worker, Job Tenure, and Occupational Mobility Supplement” to be conducted in January 2022 and January 2024. 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 July 19, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

Send comments to Erin Good, 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 BLS_PRA_Public@bls.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Erin Good, BLS Clearance Officer, at 202-691-7763 (this is not a toll free number). (See Addresses section.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

The CPS Displaced Worker, Job Tenure, and Occupational Mobility supplement is conducted biennially and was last collected in January 2020.

This supplement will gather information on workers who have lost or left their jobs because their plant or company closed or moved, there was insufficient work for them to do, or their position or shift was abolished. Data will be collected on the extent to which displaced workers received advance notice of job cutbacks or the closing of their plant or business. For those workers who have been reemployed, the supplement will gather data on the types of jobs they found and will compare current earnings with those from the lost job. The incidence and nature of occupational changes in the preceding year will be queried. The survey also probes for the length of time workers (including those who have not been displaced) have been with their current employer. Additional data to be collected include information on the receipt of unemployment compensation, the loss of health insurance coverage, and the length of time spent without a job.

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 information collected by this survey will be used to determine the size and nature of the population affected by job displacements and the needs and scope of programs serving adult displaced workers. It also will be used to assess employment stability by determining the length of time workers have been with their current employer and estimating the incidence of occupational change over the course of a year. Combining the questions on displacement, job tenure, and occupational mobility will enable analysts to obtain a more complete picture of employment stability. This is especially relevant given the increase in unemployment due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which may also have accelerated structural changes in the economy.

II. Current Action

Office of Management and Budget clearance is being sought for the CPS Displaced Worker, Job Tenure, and Occupational Mobility Supplement to the CPS. A reinstatement without change of this previously approved collection, for which approval has expired, is needed to provide the Nation with timely information about displaced workers, job tenure, and occupational mobility.

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: CPS Displaced Worker, Job Tenure, and Occupational Mobility Supplement.

OMB Number: 1220-0104.

Type of Review: Reinstatement, without change.

Affected Public: Households.

Total Respondents: 48,000.

Frequency: Once, biennially.

Total Responses: 48,000.

Average Time per Response: 8 minutes.

Estimated Total Burden Hours: 6,400 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.