[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 140 (Monday, July 22, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43929-43930]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-17523]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; National Longitudinal Study of Unemployment
Insurance Recipients (NLS-UI)
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy/Chief Evaluation
Office, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL), as part of its continuing
effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a
preclearance 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 (PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program
helps to ensure that required 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.
A copy of the proposed ICR can be obtained by contacting the office
listed below in the addresses section of this notice.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the
addresses section below on or before September 20, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either one of the following
methods: Email: [email protected]; Mail or Courier: Robert
Pavosevich, U.S. Department of Labor ETA/OUI/DFAS, Room S-4231, 200
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington DC 20210. Instructions: Please
submit one copy of your comments by only one method. All submissions
received must include the agency name and OMB Control Number identified
above for this information collection. Because we continue to
experience delays in receiving mail in the Washington, DC area,
commenters are strongly encouraged to transmit their comments
electronically via email or to submit them by mail early. Comments,
including any personal information provided, become a matter of public
record. They will also be summarized and/or included in the request for
OMB approval of the information collection request.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Pavosevich by telephone at 202-
693-2935 (this is not a toll-free number) or by email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background: The unemployment insurance (UI) program was designed
to reduce financial hardships for unemployed workers, assist with
reemployment, and ameliorate the negative effects of unemployment on
the economy as a whole. By providing temporary income support, UI
benefits can smooth the transition to new circumstances, reduce
financial distress, and provide workers with a buffer while they search
for jobs. Furthermore, to reduce the potential incentive for UI
recipients to prolong their unemployment, UI benefits are time-limited
and provide only a partial replacement of lost earnings.
Understanding how workers adjust to the changes in income during
and after UI claim spells would enable policymakers to assess how well
the program is serving the nation's workers and refine it to meet the
needs of unemployed workers while encouraging them to return to work.
However, information about UI recipients is generally obtained from
retrospective surveys, which might not provide sufficient insight into
the dynamic adjustments after job loss or the recipients' satisfaction
with the program structure.
The National Longitudinal Study of Unemployment Insurance
Recipients (NLS-UI), funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of
the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Chief Evaluation Office, will help
policymakers and program administrators gain information about the
experiences of UI recipients. The study will examine the extent to
which the UI program reduces recipients' financial hardships, the ways
in which job search and reemployment expectations change during and
after benefit collection, and customers' satisfaction levels with the
UI program. The study will address research questions in six broad
topic areas: (1) Adequacy of UI benefits, (2) reemployment
expectations, (3) job search, (4) total UI benefit usage, (5)
employment outcomes, and (6) UI recipients' satisfaction with the UI
program.
This package requests clearance for three surveys of UI recipients
that will take place over approximately nine months. The surveys will
be timed to coincide with the early, middle, and post-UI collection
experiences of about 2,800 UI recipients in two states who filed to
receive a first payment during 2013. Each survey will take about 25
minutes, on average, and they will be administered by web and computer-
assisted telephone interviewing. Administrative UI claims data will
also be collected from both states to obtain identifying and contact
information about UI recipients who will be surveyed and to learn about
their UI benefit collection experiences.
II. Desired Focus of Comments: Currently, the Department of Labor
is soliciting comments concerning the above data collection for the
National Longitudinal Study of Unemployment Insurance Recipients (NLS-
UI). Comments are requested to:
* 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 information collection on those who
are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic,
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mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms
of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submissions of
responses.
III. Current Actions: At this time, the Department of Labor is
requesting clearance to conduct three surveys of about 2,800 UI
recipients for the National Longitudinal Study of Unemployment
Insurance Recipients (NLS-UI).
Type of review: New information collection request.
OMB Control Number: 1205-0NEW.
Affected Public: UI benefit recipients in two states who filed to
receive a first payment during 2013.
Frequency: Three interviews.
Total Responses: 5,694 (1,898 per three survey waves).
Average Time per Response: 25 minutes.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 2,372 hours.
Average Annual Other Burden Cost: $0.
Comments submitted in response to this request will be summarized
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget
approval; they will also become a matter of public record.
James H. Moore, Jr.,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, U.S. Department of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2013-17523 Filed 7-19-13; 8:45 am]
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