[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 166 (Friday, August 27, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46958-46959]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-22336]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the
ADDRESSES section of this notice on or before October 26, 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).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karin G. Kurz, BLS Clearance Officer.
(See ADDRESSES section.)
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Proposed Collection
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is soliciting comments
concerning the proposed new collection of the ``Job Openings and Labor
Turnover Survey (JOLTS).'' A copy of the proposed information
collection request (ICR) can be obtained by contacting the individual
listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.
II. Background
The JOLTS will provide 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 would greatly enhance policy makers' understanding of imbalances
between the demand and supply of labor. Presently there is no economic
indicator of the demand for labor with which to assess the presence of
labor shortages in the U.S. labor market. The availability of unfilled
jobs (the number of job vacancies or the vacancy rate) is an important
measure of tightness of job markets, parallel to existing measures of
unemployment.
JOLTS statistics will reveal structural labor market conditions,
such as the effectiveness of job matching and training processes,
implications of unemployment insurance and welfare, and deficient
demand for labor.
JOLTS statistics can be used for the following purposes:
As an indicator of business cycles and their causes and
consequences;
As a basic economic indicator of growth, productivity and
welfare;
As a tool for considering the implications of unemployment
policy, labor market policy; and
As an indicator of inflation and wage growth.
The ratio of the unemployment rate to the vacancy rate can be a
very powerful indicator and reveal important information about how to
effectively manage unemployment. As recently as 1998, Robert M. Solow
in Proceedings of the British Academy noted that, ``. . . national
unemployment counts exist almost everywhere, whereas vacancy statistics
are quite rare.''
[[Page 46959]]
III. Current Actions
The information will be collected once a month using Computer
Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) and Touch-tone Data Entry (TDE).
An establishment will be included in the sample for 18 consecutive
months.
During the first six months of data collection, the interviewer
will call the respondent and conduct the interviews over the telephone
using CATI. During these interviews, the interviewer will prepare the
respondent for transition to TDE. The data for the establishment's
final twelve months in the sample will be collected via TDE.
The following data elements will be collected:
Total Employment;
Total Number of Job Openings;
Total Hires;
Quits;
Layoffs and Discharges; and
Other Separations.
The reference period for the data are the pay period including the
12th of the month for Total Employment, the last business day of the
month for Job Openings, and the entire month for Hires and Separations.
The information will be published monthly by combined North
American Industry Classification System sector, at the National level
and total non-agriculture level, by Census region. The data will be
made public via press release and on the BLS Web site.
Type of Review: New collection.
Agency: The Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Title: Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.
OMB Number: BLS-1411.
Affected Public: Federal Government; State or local governments;
Businesses or other for-profit; Not-for-profit institutions; Small
businesses or organizations.
Total Respondents:: 16,000.
Frequency: Monthly.
Total Responses: 111,440 (annual average).
Average Time Per Response: 6 minutes.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 11,144 (annual average).
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 ICR; they also will become a matter of public record.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 23rd day of August 1999.
Karen A. Krein,
Acting Chief, Division of Management Systems, Bureau of Labor
Statistic.
[FR Doc. 99-22336 Filed 8-26-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-24-M