[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 20, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16265-16266]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6711]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB 
Review; Comment Request; Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics (BLS) sponsored information collection request (ICR) 
revision titled, ``Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey,'' (JOLTS) to 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for 
use in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

[[Page 16266]]


DATES: Submit comments on or before April 19, 2012.

ADDRESSES: A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation; 
including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency 
of response, and estimated total burden may be obtained from the 
RegInfo.gov Web site, http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, on the 
day following publication of this notice or by contacting Michel Smyth 
by telephone at (202) 693-4129 (this is not a toll-free number) or 
sending an email to [email protected].
    Submit comments about this request to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for the DOL-BLS, Office of 
Management and Budget, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, Telephone: 
(202) 395-6929/Fax: (202) 395-6881 (these are not toll-free numbers), 
email: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Michel Smyth by telephone at 
(202) 693-4129 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The JOLTS collects data on job vacancies, 
labor hires, and labor separations. The data can be used as demand-side 
indicators of labor shortages. These indicators of labor shortages at 
the national level greatly enhance policy makers' understanding of 
imbalances between the demand and supply of labor. Presently there is 
no other economic indicator of labor demand with which to assess the 
presence of labor shortages in the U.S. labor market. The availability 
of unfilled jobs is an important measure of job market tightness, 
symmetrical to unemployment measures. This submission has been 
characterized as a revision, because of minor edits to some of the 
cover letters, the addition of two new postcard reminders (email and 
fax), an update to the BLS confidentiality pledge, and the 
discontinuation of information collected in order to perform response 
analysis for two industries. This research has been performed. The 
JOLTS program plans to perform response analysis again sometime in the 
future and will seek an appropriate burden increase at that time.
    This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency 
generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and 
the public is generally not required to respond to an information 
collection, unless it is approved by the OMB under the PRA and displays 
a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any 
other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to 
penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if the 
collection of information does not display a valid OMB Control Number. 
See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6. The DOL obtains OMB approval for this 
information collection under OMB Control Number 1220-0170. The current 
OMB approval is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2012; however, it 
should be noted that existing information collection requirements 
submitted to the OMB receive a month-to-month extension while they 
undergo review. For additional information, see the related notice 
published in the Federal Register on November 10, 2011 (76 FR 70165).
    Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the OMB, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the address shown in 
the ADDRESSES section within 30 days of publication of this notice in 
the Federal Register. In order to help ensure appropriate 
consideration, comments should reference OMB Control Number 1220-0170. 
The OMB 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 submission of responses.
    Agency: DOL-BLS.
    Title of Collection: Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey 
(JOLTS).
    OMB Control Number: 1220-0170.
    Affected Public: Private Sector--Businesses or Other For-Profits 
and Nor-For-Profit Institutions; Federal Government; and State, Local, 
and Tribal Governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 10,825.
    Total Estimated Number of Responses: 129,900.
    Total Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 21,650.
    Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $0.

    Dated: March 14, 2012.
Michel Smyth,
Departmental Clearance Officer..
[FR Doc. 2012-6711 Filed 3-19-12; 8:45 am]
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