[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 107 (Friday, June 4, 1999)] [Notices] [Pages 30067-30068] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 99-14178] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Bureau of Labor Statistics Proposed Collection; Comment Request ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 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 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 revision and combination of the ``Manual for Developing Local Area Unemployment Statisics'' (OMB Number 1220-0017) and the ``Local Area Unemployment Statistics Reports'' (OMB Number 1220-0043). The two collections are being revised and combined into a single information collection titled the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) Program, retaining OMB Number 1220-0017. 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 below on or before August 3, 1999. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is particularly interested in comments which: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. ADDRESSES: Send comments to Karin G. Kurz, BLS Clearance Officer, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Room 3255, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC 20212. Ms. Kurz can be reached on 202-606-7628 (this is not a toll free number). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background The Bureau of Labor Statistics has been charged by Congress (29 USC Chapters 1 and 2) with the responsibility of collecting and publishing monthly information on employment, the average wage received, and the hours worked by area and industry. The process for developing residency-based employment and unemployment estimates is a cooperative Federal-State program which uses employment and unemployment inputs available in State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs). The labor force estimates developed and issued in this program are used for economic analysis and as a tool in the implementation of Federal economic policy in such areas as employment and economic development under the Workforce Investment Act and the Public Works and Economic Development Act, among others. The estimates also are used in economic analysis by public agencies and private industry, and for State and area funding allocations and eligibility determinations according to legal and administrative requirements. Implementation of current policy and legislative authorities could not be accomplished without collection of the data. The reports and manual covered by this request are integral parts of the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program insofar as they insure and/or measure the timeliness, quality, consistency, and adherence to program directions of the LAUS estimates and related research. II. Current Actions The BLS is revising and combining two previously-separate information collection requests which make up the LAUS program: the Manual for Developing Local Area Unemployment Statistics (OMB Number 1220-0017) and the Local Area Unemployment Statistics Reports (OMB Number 1220-0043). All aspects of the program now are automated. Exportable software eliminated the need for the Monthly Report on Continued Claimants by Place of Residence (LAUS 6). Electronic transmittals of any corrections to regularly submitted data have eliminated the need to use Monthly and Area Correction Forms (LAUS 13 and 14). The paper forms previously approved, BLS 3040, LAUS 2 and LAUS 3, also have been eliminated. All data are entered directly into BLS-provided systems. BLS, as part of its responsibility to develop concepts and methods by which SESAs prepare estimates under the LAUS program, developed a manual for use by the SESAs. The manual explains the conceptual framework for the State and area estimates of employment and unemployment, specifies the procedures to be used, and discusses the theoretical and empirical basis for each procedure. Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection. Agency: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Title: Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) Program. OMB Number: 1220-0017. Affected Public: State government. Total Respondents: 52. Frequency: Monthly and Annually. Total Responses: 82,718. [[Page 30068]] Average Time Per Response: 1.60 hours. Estimated Total Burden Hours: 131,600 hours. Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0. Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): $0. 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, D.C. this 1st day of June 1999. W. Stuart Rust, Jr., Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor Statistics. [FR Doc. 99-14178 Filed 6-3-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4510-24-M